On the Tabernacle and the Priestly Garments (Book I, chapters 1.1–1.8)

On the Tabernacle and the Priestly Garments

The Venerable Bede

AD 673–735

Bede explains the tent that Moses made in the desert, its furnishings and the robes of the priests, in three books. He takes the ark, the table, the lampstand, the curtains, the altars and each piece of the high priest’s dress as signs of Christ, of the Church and of the Christian life.

Book I

Chapter 1.1

Moses, ascending the mountain of God with Joshua, left Aaron and Hur to govern the people. As we are about to discuss, with the Lord's help, the representation of the tabernacle and its vessels and utensils, we must first examine and more closely consider the location's layout and the circumstances of things, how they were when these commands were given. For all things, as the Apostle says, happened to them in a figure: they were written for our instruction (1 Corinthians X). Indeed, all things, not only the deeds or words contained in the Holy Scriptures, but also the positions of places, hours, and times, and also the circumstances of the events spoken or done. The Lord said to Moses, "Ascend to me on the mountain," etc. Therefore, the Lord giving the law to Moses first called him to the summit of the mountain so that, having stayed there on high, he could more freely hear what he should teach the people as commandments when he descended back to the lower regions. And from the height of that place, he could gather how lofty and how far removed from human doctrines is the law he receives, and how it can only be perfectly understood or kept by those who, by living more loftily and perfectly, separate themselves from earthly contagions. Hence, he also commanded the people to wait in the lower regions until Moses returns, to imply typically that the mysteries of his law are heavenly indeed and can only be grasped by the more perfect, but that even the weak are not deprived of the occasion of salvation, if they humbly endeavor to listen to the wisdom of their elders. Similarly, in the Gospel, the Lord, calling the new heralds of grace to a mountain, instructed them with salutary precepts; so that from the very position of the place it might be evident that he gave them lofty commands for living and promises of reward: according to the Psalmist's phrase, "Your justice is like the mountains of God" (Psalm 36:6). But even after the resurrection, again appearing to them on a holy mountain, he sent them to preach, not only to the people of Israel but to the whole world: "Go," he said, "teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you" (Matthew 28:19-20). So the Lord gave the commandments of both the law and the Gospel on a mountain to commend the sublimity of both Testaments.

But because the Scripture of the law was to be committed to the people of Israel alone at that time, while the grace of the Gospel was to be preached by the apostles to all the nations throughout the world, it was appropriate that Moses alone ascended to the mountain to receive the law, whereas the apostles together with the Lord on the mountain, listened to the doctrine of the Gospel with the people hearing. And at the coming of the Holy Spirit, by which the same grace and truth of the Gospel were more manifestly given to the Church, not only the apostles but also a large multitude of the faithful gathered together in the upper room on Mount Sion received it, and this in the division of diverse tongues, so that by such a miracle it might be signified that the Church would praise God in the languages of all nations throughout the world.

"And I will give you," he says, "two stone tablets, and the law and commandments," etc. This is similar to that which we have placed above from the Gospel: "Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you." Therefore, neither Moses, nor the apostles, nor any of the learned should teach the people of God any other precepts than those which the Lord himself taught, which he has prescribed for us to observe according to the eternal decree of his council, and in the observation of which he wished us to have eternal life. Just as nor can teachers omit anything from those things which he commanded to be done, but it is necessary for them to commit all that he commanded to their hearers. And he wrote these on stone tablets, because he firmly established them to be guarded with a fixed intention in the faithful hearts of the elect. When he proposes their examples for us to imitate, he shows the established statutes of his law as if written in stone. For Daniel also saw the Lord in the figure of a stone cut from the mountain without hands demolishing the pomp of the worldly kingdom, so that his kingdom alone might remain without end (Dan. II). And Peter exhorts the faithful, saying: "And you, as living stones, are being built up into a spiritual house" (I Pet. II).

Moses and Joshua, his minister, arose. Joshua, the minister of Moses, both by name and by action designates the Lord and Savior. He is rightly called the minister of Moses because, appearing in the flesh, he deigned to undertake the ceremonies of the Mosaic law: for he did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. He follows in all the footsteps of Moses: because in all that Moses speaks or writes, he is either typically or manifestly designated as if an inseparable companion, he will be found if he is diligently sought. Hence he says to the Jews: "If you believed Moses, you would perhaps believe me also, for he wrote about me" (Matt. V). And Moses, ascending the mountain of God, said to the elders: Wait here until we return to you, etc. Aaron is interpreted as the mountain of strength, Hur is interpreted as fire or light. Hence Aaron designates the Savior, the Lord, and Hur designates the Holy Spirit: because Isaiah also says of this, And in the last days, the mountain of the house of the Lord will be prepared at the top of the mountains (Isaiah 2:2). And He appeared upon the apostles in the light of fire. Therefore, ascending to the Lord, Moses left Aaron and Hur, that is, the mountain of strength and the light of fire, in the plains, to govern the people. And if we cannot follow our teachers to the height of divine contemplation, let us diligently be careful that no temptation draws us back from the vicinity of the mountain of God; but let us insist on the works of virtues according to our own measure, adhering with a steadfast heart to the sacraments of our Redeemer, in which we have been initiated; and let us strive to preserve the grace of His Spirit, with which we have been sealed, unsullied in ourselves. And if any adversity questions us, let us immediately invoke the help of the same Redeemer, who through the gift of the Holy Spirit has been accustomed to protect and deliver His faithful from all evils. And there is no doubt that if we persevere in our endeavors, our weakness and humility will be strengthened and exalted through the mountain of strength, and will become stronger than all the temptations of the enemy; and through the light and fire of the Holy Spirit, our ignorance will be enlightened, and our soul will be kindled to the love of the same merciful Creator.

And when Moses had ascended, the cloud covered the mountain. Just as the mountain on which Moses received the law designates the height of perfection which was to be written in the same law, so the cloud covering the mountain signifies the grace of divine protection: by which every person enjoys the more, the higher they ascend to scrutinize the wonders of God's law with the eyes of their heart revealed. For the cloud covered not only the mountain on which Moses ascended; but also the people walking through the deserts, who could by no means ascend to the heights, the cloud nevertheless sent from heaven cast a shadow over them. From where it is written: He spread a cloud for their protection, because truly the Lord protects all who fear Him, the small with the great, with heavenly blessing. And the glory of the Lord dwelled on Sinai, etc. It must be known that not only the height, but also the name of the mountain, where the law was given, figuratively denotes the perfection of that law. Sinai means "My Measure" or "My Amphora." Therefore, it was divinely arranged that the mountain where the law would be given would be called "My Amphora": as if the Lord Himself, by this name, signified that His law would promulgate a perfect rule of living to all and would render to each according to their works, as He Himself said: "For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged" (Matthew 7). And: "With the measure you use, it will be measured to you" (Mark 4).

It is well said that, with Moses ascending, the cloud and the glory of the Lord covered the mountain for six days, but on the seventh day, He called him to the higher parts of the mountain. For we are commanded to work for six days in the law and rest on the seventh. And Moses, ascending the mountain, is covered by the cloud and the glory of the Lord for six days: so that it is mystically insinuated that anyone who follows the Lord's commandments with just works is indeed worthy of divine protection. For the same Lord, who commanded Moses to ascend the mountain, also surrounded him with His cloud and brightness as he ascended: because He who grants us the gift of working well also enlightens us as we work well, lest we falter, and protects us lest we be consumed by the temptations of the ancient enemy, as by the heat of the sun.

On the seventh day, however, the Lord calls Moses to the higher places because, after the perfection of works, the law promises us eternal rest: so that those who cared to stand before the Lord in the height of righteous action may now merit to ascend to His vision and conversation, as the Psalmist says, "Indeed, the one who gives the law will also give a blessing" (Psalm 84). "They will go from strength to strength; the God of gods will be seen in Zion." This is known to be granted to some of the elect in this life, that after the perfection of an active life, they ascend to the grace of divine contemplation, as much as and how much this can happen to those still clothed in flesh: which was also granted to many of the patriarchs and prophets, and preeminently to Moses himself, of whom it is specifically said that he spoke with God face to face, as a man speaks with his friend (Exodus 33). Hence it can be specifically understood that he was protected by the cloud and the glory of the Lord on the mountain for six days; on the seventh day, however, called to His conversation, he ascended to the higher parts of the mountain, because certainly, through the good works given to him by the Lord, he deserved to be more enlightened by Him and overshadowed by all the incursions of evil, and thus he reached the higher gifts of vision and conversation with Him.

The midst of the darkness, from which he is said to have been called, does not signify any darkness in God: but because He inhabits inaccessible light (1 Timothy 6), and as the same Apostle says, "Whom no one has seen or can see" (ibid.). For that darkness is the obscurity of heavenly mysteries, indeed inaccessible to earthly hearts, but penetrable to Moses and the other blessed pure in heart by the revealing grace of God: to whom it is said in the Psalm, "Come to Him and be enlightened" (Psalm 34). For His light is inaccessible to our powers, yet it is approached through His gifts. Where it is aptly added: But the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like burning fire, etc. For the appearance of the glory of the Lord appeared like burning fire; because it illuminates the hearts of the elect with the gift of heavenly knowledge, and inflames them with the ardor of its charity. In the cloud, therefore, in darkness, and in fire the glory of the Lord appeared. Namely in the cloud, because it protects us from the heat of temptations. Truly in darkness, because the power of His majesty cannot be fully comprehended by any creature. For the peace of God surpasses all understanding (Phil. IV). Moreover, in the burning fire, because it illuminates the minds of the faithful with the knowledge of heavenly goods and inflames them with hope and love. And this glory of the Lord indeed the sons of Israel see from afar and from below, but Moses penetrates more deeply by ascending higher; for indeed the perfect ones see the hidden mysteries of the divine perfectly and sublimely. But we, mindful of our fragility and inertia, although we are unable to enter and comprehend this, let us at least strive to remain close by believing, hoping, and loving, and to gaze upon it. For just as the sons of Israel keep their eyes on the mountain of God and on the appearance of His glory from afar, so those weak ones in the church, desiring to see God with all their heart, keep the eyes of their mind intensely fixed on the memory of eternal brightness. Just as they dwell in the vicinity of the mountain of God, which they knew Moses ascended, when they restrain themselves by that rule of living, so that they never allow their steps of action to stray too far from the imitation of the highest lives, even if they are not yet able to fully follow their footsteps to perfection.

Chapter 1.2

Moses, called to the higher parts of the mountain on the seventh day, stayed there with the Lord for forty days and nights. And Moses, having entered the midst of the cloud, went up the mountain and remained there for forty days and forty nights. Moses, having entered the midst of the cloud, went up the mountain, with the preachers of the divine law, among whom Moses himself was eminent for observing sublimely the uncertain and hidden things of divine wisdom, as the Lord invited and led them. Moses was with the Lord for forty days and nights so that by this span of time he might learn that only those who would receive the decalogue of the law, which he had received with his people, could fulfill it, aided by the grace of evangelical truth, which was to be described in four books. For four times ten make forty. Or certainly that a time would come when the same decalogue precepts, which he then received with one people of the children of Israel, by the largess of divine grace, would be spread to the knowledge of all nations, which are contained in the four parts of the world, and that all might attain eternal salvation through the observance of these precepts by their nations. But since we have briefly learned by what miraculous ascent Moses reached the reception of the law, let us now turn our ears and minds to hear what he heard and to explain to the best of our ability the very mandates of the law. It follows:

Chapter 1.3

The sons of Israel are commanded to offer first fruits to the Lord and to make a sanctuary. (Exod. XXV.) The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to the sons of Israel, that they take, etc. And we take the first fruits of our goods to the Lord, when whatever good we do, we truly attribute all of it to divine grace, and from the depth of our heart profess that we cannot have even the beginning of a good action or thought except from the Lord: but we confess that our evils, always from ourselves with the devil instigating, are both begun and completed, and can only be forgiven by the Lord granting it. The Pelagians do not want to take the first fruits of their goods to the Lord, but to retain them for themselves, because they presumptuously think they have some good of their own without the grace of God. It is well commanded to Moses to accept the first fruits from a person who offers willingly. For God loves a cheerful giver (II Cor. IX). And the Apostle commands us to do good not out of sadness or necessity, but from the purpose of the heart (Ibid.). Knowing that he does this, the prophet glories in the Lord, saying: I will freely sacrifice to you (Psal. LIII).

These are the things you ought to take: gold, silver, and brass, etc. All these material things which the Lord commanded to be offered by the former people to make a sanctuary; we too, who desire to be spiritual children of Israel, that is, imitators of the people who see God, ought to offer with spiritual understanding, so that through such voluntary offerings we may also deserve to make a sanctuary for Him within us, and He may deem to dwell in our midst, that is, to consecrate a dwelling for Himself in our heart. We offer gold when we shine with the clarity of true wisdom, which is in right faith. We offer silver when confession is made from our mouth unto salvation. We offer brass when we rejoice to spread that same faith by public preaching. We offer hyacinth when we lift our hearts upwards. We offer purple when we subject our body to suffering. We offer twice-dyed scarlet when we burn with dual love, that is, of God and neighbor. We offer fine linen when we preserve the chastity of the flesh. We offer goats' hair when we put on the habit of penitence and sorrow. We offer red ram skins when we see the leaders of the Lord's flock baptized in their own blood. We offer blue skins when we hope to have spiritual bodies in the heavens after death. We offer acacia wood when, having purged the thorns of sins, we serve the Lord alone with clean flesh and soul.

We offer oil for the lamps when we shine with the fruits of charity and mercy. We offer spices, ointment, and sweet-smelling incense when we spread the good reputation of our good actions far and wide as an example of living well. We offer onyx stones and gems to adorn the ephod and the breastplate when we praise with due admiration the miracles of the saints, which have adorned thoughts devoted to God and works of virtue. And we take these into aid of our faith whenever necessary. For since we usually carry burdens on our shoulders, rightly through the ephod, that is, the upper garment, the works of the just and pious labors for the Lord are signified. And since the seat of thoughts is in the breast, rightly in the breastplate, which is the garment of the priestly breast, the pure thoughts of the elect are expressed. And onyx stones and gems adorn the ephod and the breastplate, when to the remarkable actions and thoughts of the greatest Fathers the signs of miracles are also joined. Nor does anything prevent us from understanding the merits of martyrdom added to good works in the onyx stones, which are said to be of a blood-red color. Of all these things, each in its place, we must speak more fully with the help of God's grace.

And they shall make a sanctuary for me (he says), and I will dwell in the midst of them, etc. The Lord showed Moses the tabernacle on the mountain, and the vessels consecrated for its worship: because He manifestly demonstrated to him, who remained with Him for such a long time, how much piety, humility, and purity, angelic virtues joyfully obey their Creator. These virtues are the perfect tabernacle of Him, who has never ceased to dwell and inhabit them since they were created. In the resurrection, the likeness of their life and common conversation before the Lord is promised to us too: whoever now, having left behind the contagions of this world, strive to imitate their life on earth, that is, in praising and loving the Lord, and also in loving and helping one's neighbor in God, provoking even enemies to the love of God through works of piety, such were they to whom the Apostle says: But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit (Rom. VIII). Therefore, the tabernacle that was shown to Moses on the mountain is that heavenly city and celestial homeland, which at that time was believed to consist only of holy angels: but after the passion, resurrection, and ascension into heaven of the Mediator between God and men, it received the glorious and abundant multitude of holy souls too. The vessels of that tabernacle are each of the persons of blessed spirits: from all of whom that Jerusalem, which is the mother of us all, consists in true peace and unity.

It should be noted more diligently that the children of Israel are commanded to make a sanctuary for the Lord, not partially similar, but according to every likeness of the tabernacle which He showed to Moses, and of all its vessels for its worship. For if we aim for the companionship of angels in heaven, we ought to always imitate their life on earth, . . . . as far as harmless bodies do not slow us down, and earthly limbs, mortal members dull us. But if perhaps you ask, how can a mortal man imitate this heavenly tabernacle, living in flesh? They love God and their neighbors: imitate this. They help the miserable, though not angels who are all blessed, at least men: imitate this. They are humble, gentle towards each other, appeased, they obey divine commands: imitate this as much as you can. They say, do, and think nothing evil, nothing idle, nothing unjust, persevering in divine praises, with word and mind attending: imitate this as much as you can, and you will have built a sanctuary for the Lord according to the example shown to Moses on the mountain, and our Lord and Savior coming with the Father will make His dwelling with you: and after this life, into that tabernacle which you imitated, He will introduce you to perpetual blessedness. This follows.

Chapter 1.4

Description of the Ark. And thus you shall make it: construct the ark of acacia wood. The ark, which is commanded to be made first of all in the tabernacle, not incongruously signifies the very incarnation of our Lord and Savior, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2). Indeed, the ark is rightly ordered to be constructed of acacia wood. For acacia wood is said to be of a light and incorruptible nature, not much different from the quality of the white thorn. Therefore, the ark was made of acacia wood: because the body of the Lord was composed of members free from all stain of vices. And these same woods are very similar to thorns, because although He did not come in the flesh of sin, yet He came in the likeness of sinful flesh, as the Apostle says (Romans 8). It follows:

Of which the length should have two and a half cubits, etc. Some are accustomed to ask of what quantity the cubit should be estimated, which Moses placed either in the ark of Noah or in the making of the tabernacle: which, if we see the words of Josephus, the question will be easily solved. For it should not be thought that a man of Jewish priestly lineage, of excellent genius, and very learned in both divine and secular scriptures, could have been unaware of this. He therefore says: Also, the ark was made of five handbreadths in length, three handbreadths in width (Antiq. Book III, Chap. 8). Whence it is clearly evident that it designates that cubit which two handbreadths complete. Mystically, however, the length of the ark signifies the longsuffering of our Lord and Redeemer, by which he lived among men. The width signifies the very breadth of charity, by which he wished to come to us and dwell among us. The height signifies the hope of future exaltation, for he foresaw that either he himself would be glorified or that he would glorify others after his passion. Whence it is aptly said that the length of the ark was of two cubits, obviously because of the doctrine and works by which he shone forth in the world. Hence also the evangelist Luke claims to have made a speech about the things which Jesus began to do and teach (Acts I). And his fellow citizens, marveling, said: Whence does this man have such wisdom and mighty works? (Matt.

XIII) referring wisdom to the wondrous things he said: mighty works, to the things he did. But that the ark had, in length, after two cubits even a half, can be referred to the slowness of human frailty: which could not yet, as was worthy, grasp the sublime sayings or works of the Savior. Whence it was also plainly said of some of his mystical actions: These things his disciples did not understand at first, but when Jesus was glorified (John XII). Similarly, concerning his more sublime sayings: "And this word was hidden from them, and they did not understand what was being said" (Luke 18). The ark had two cubits in length because the Lord, clear in flesh by word and deeds, appeared. It also had half a cubit because he patiently bore the slowness of the disciples, who could not yet fully grasp his words or deeds. The width of the ark was one cubit, due to the administration of the Lord's charity, by which he sought to unite his chosen ones in God. Therefore, praying to the Father for them, he said: "I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be one in Us" (John 17). And shortly after:

"I have made your name known to them and will make it known, so that the love with which you loved me may be in them, and I in them" (Ibid.). It had after one cubit also a half, namely, for the signification of our frailty, by which, positioned in this life, we are not yet able to perfectly love God or comprehend the love that God has towards us: more, as the Apostle witnesses (1 Cor. 13), we know in part and prophesy in part, thus indeed we also love in part. Therefore the ark has one cubit and also a half, because the Lord with singular piety loves us to be associated with himself and the Father, and he equally embraces our capacity for love, whatever it can be in this life, with his pious kindness until we deserve to enter his vision, where we may love him with all our heart, all our soul, and all our strength. The height of the ark was also most fittingly one and a half cubits, namely, for the indication of the singular hope, by which either the Lord himself, while in the flesh with us, awaited the outcome of his future resurrection and subsequent glory, or he always admonishes us to rejoice in the rewards of future goods amid the adversities of the world.

Therefore the ark has a full cubit in height, because our Lord and Savior most fully knew, even while still conversing in corruptible flesh, how much glory was preserved in the future either for himself or for his members, which are us. It also has a half cubit of height, because he willingly took on, in his body, our humble devotion, who indeed piously love the future homeland: but not yet perfectly, can we grasp what its happiness is; yet as much as we grasp, we have this only from him. And you shall overlay it with pure gold, etc. The Ark is overlaid with pure gold inside and out, because the human nature assumed by the Son of God was full of the virtue of the Holy Spirit within and openly demonstrated the works of the Holy Spirit to people outwardly. Indeed, this Ark is rightly commanded to be surrounded by a golden crown above, because appearing in the flesh and coming to redeem the human race, the Son of God awaited the definite time and hour when He would overcome the death He had taken on for us along with the author of death, and would ascend victoriously to the Father in heaven. About this crown the Apostle says: "But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor" (Hebrews 2). Of this in the Apocalypse, John says, "And I saw, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer" (Revelation 6). Certainly, the white horse is the Church, and the rider who sat on it is the Lord, who had a bow, because He was coming to battle against the powers of the air. And a crown of victory was given to Him, who by dying overthrew the kingdom of death.

And four golden rings, etc. The four golden rings are the four books of the Gospels, which rightly are golden because of the brightness of the wisdom by which they shine; rightly compared to rings, because the wisdom of God itself which they proclaim is eternal. Neither beginning in time, nor ceasing to be, the eternal divinity which Christ the man has received. Wherefore, at the nearing hour of His passion, He prays to the Father, saying: And now, glorify Me, You Father, with Yourself with the glory which I had before the world was made with You (John XVII). The ark has four corners, because the sacrament of the Lord's incarnation is celebrated throughout all the regions of the world, in which the holy Church is expanded, without ceasing. And at the same four corners, the four rings are placed; because the Gospel of Christ is preached in all the ends of the world to the hearts of the faithful who are to be saved. Now there are two rings on one side, and two on the other: either because two evangelists adhered to the discipleship of the Savior preaching in the flesh and performing miracles; and the other two came to faith after His resurrection and ascension to heaven: or because in the figure of the four animals, two who are designated by man and ox carried the signs of His sufferings and death;

but the other two who are figuratively represented by the lion and the eagle, demonstrated the signs of the victory by which He destroyed death. Indeed, the Lord as a man, having become mortal by incarnation, appeared. The ox indeed was offered for us on the altar of the cross. The same became a lion by strongly subduing death and an eagle by ascending to heaven. And so there are two rings on one side, and two on the other, because certainly two evangelists, by their figure, mark the assumption of human frailty in the Lord; and the other two signify the victory by which He triumphed over the same assumed frailty and death. For the left side of the ark had, as it were, two rings, since two evangelists figured the incarnation and passion of the Lord. Similarly, there were two rings on the right side, which also figuratively express the resurrection and ascension of Him, which belong to the glory of future life.

You shall also make poles of acacia wood, etc. The poles by which the Ark is carried are the holy teachers who, by preaching the Lord, bring Him into the hearts of their listeners. These poles are commanded to always remain in the rings because it is necessary that whoever preaches the heavenly mysteries never detaches their mind from the memory of sacred Scripture, and never withholds their hands from the observance of divine commandments. It is fittingly followed by: You shall put the testimony into the Ark, etc. Because we must only speak and believe about the incarnation of the Son of God what the Lord Himself has deigned to reveal to us through the authors of sacred Scripture. But if you wish to know what is that testimony which the Lord commanded Moses to put in the Ark, listen to the Apostle: Beyond the veil was the second tabernacle, called the Holy of Holies, having a golden censer and the Ark of the Covenant, overlaid all around with gold; in which was a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron’s rod that had budded, and the tablets of the covenant (Heb. IX). Thus, the golden urn with the manna in the Ark signifies a holy soul in Christ, containing within itself all the fullness of divinity. Aaron’s rod that had budded signifies the invincible power of His priesthood; of which the prophet says: The scepter of Your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness (Ps. XLV). Which, after seeming to be cut off for a time through death, was found to have flourished more vividly with the dawn of resurrection, and is known to remain perpetually unsullied and immortal. For Christ, rising from the dead, dies no more; death no longer has dominion over Him (Rom. VI). The tablets of the covenant in the Ark designate all in Christ both the knowledge of the divine secrets of the Father and the power of His judgments.

For on the tablets of the covenant, there was inscribed the faith of the eternal divinity, which created and governed the world; the commandments by which God must be served; and the discernment of judgment, by which He rightly condemns those who hate Him and rewards with mercy those who love Him. Therefore, this is the testimony which the Lord gave Moses to be placed in the Ark, and it signifies to us the truth of Christ’s body, soul, and word: showing that this very flesh, after the suffering of death, is glorified by resurrection and exalted with the dignity of the eternal king and priest, teaching that He alone is aware of the Father’s secrets, and as truly being one majesty with the Father, is the judge of all ages.

Chapter 1.5

Description of the Mercy Seat and Cherubim. You shall make a mercy seat, etc. It is often asked what the mercy seat is, with which the ark is to be covered. But since he commands it to be made of gold and of the same length and width as he ordered the ark to be made; it is undoubtedly clear that he wanted a golden plate to be made, large enough to cover the ark. This mercy seat, namely, is none other than the Lord Savior himself, but more specifically signifies the depths of his mercy: concerning which the Apostle says: "Whom God has set forth as a propitiation through faith in his blood" (Rom. III). For it is also placed above, because mercy exalts above judgment. Hence the Psalmist also says, "The Lord is good to all, and his compassion is over all his works" (Psalm 145). Also the two golden Cherubim, etc. That Cherubim is the name of angelic powers, the prophet Ezekiel clearly declares, who also, according to the example by which they are ordered to be made here, indicates that they appeared with wings, saying: And the sound of the wings of the Cherubim was heard even to the outer court, like the voice of the Almighty when He speaks (Ezek. X). And indeed in the singular it is called Cherub, but in the plural Cherubim, and it is a name of the masculine gender, but the Greek usage has placed Cherubin in the neutral gender, changing the letter m to n. However, our interpreter, following the Hebrew idiom, has placed it in the masculine gender. You shall make two cherubim of gold and hammered work, not two golden cherubim and hammered work, which I believe to be corrupted in its translation by the negligence of the scribes, so that instead of Cherubim it would be written Cherubin after the manner of the ancients. Cherubim, or Cherubin, is interpreted as a multitude of knowledge, or understanding of knowledge: which name indeed more rightly suits the angelic powers, insofar as they, perfectly alienated from any impulse of impure thought, adhere to the vision of their Creator.

Therefore, Moses is commanded to make wings either in the figure of the Cherubim or in the very form in which the prophet testifies to have seen them, which the license of painters is also accustomed to imitate, so that angels are signified to have their seat on high and to be able to move everywhere with light flight, nor to have any delay, but indeed to be present immediately wherever they wish. This same thing is also unquestionably promised to be granted to us, clothed with a spiritual body after the resurrection. Therefore, the Cherubim spread their wings and cover the mercy seat: because the angels offer all the power of their nature, by which they deserved to dwell in the heights and to penetrate all the places of that heavenly homeland with a light and joyful journey, in the service of their Creator, and as if looking upon the mercy seat, they overshadow, that is, they honor by covering: because they attribute all the state of perpetual happiness which they have to the grace of Him from whom they received that they can wish for nothing evil. But there are two to signify the society of angelic peace; because there can be no charity with less than two. Thus, they are also commanded to look at each other and have their faces towards the mercy seat, because undoubtedly in the glorification of the divine vision they harmonize with each other.

Likewise, by the two cherubim, the two Testaments can be figured, of which one proclaims the future incarnation of the Lord, the other proclaims it as having occurred. And they look at each other, because in the testimony of the truth which they preach, they do not differ from one another in any way. They turn their faces towards the mercy seat; for they highly commend the mercy of the Lord, in which is the only hope for the world. And for this reason, they are on either side of the oracle, because both the times preceding the Lord’s incarnation and those following it are filled with the preaching of spiritual knowledge. Also, the name "knowledge of the multitude," or "multiplied knowledge" fits them, because sacred Scripture is full of spiritual and divine knowledge, and this very knowledge, since the Scripture began to be written, continuously increases and multiplies. Hence the angel said to Daniel: "Many shall pass through, and knowledge shall be increased" (Dan. XII). For the Lord himself testifies that Moses received greater knowledge than the patriarchs, saying to him: "I am the Lord who appeared to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name Adonai I did not make myself known to them" (Exod. III). Therefore, the knowledge of divine cognition has been multiplied since time began when the Lord revealed something about Himself to Moses which He had not disclosed to the patriarchs.

Let us see whether David, who meditated on the law of the Lord day and night, understood anything more about the Lord than Moses, who wrote the law, did. He says, "How I love Your law, O Lord; it is my meditation all day long" (Psal. 118). And immediately he adds: "I have more understanding than all my teachers. Hence, elsewhere he boasts in the Lord, saying: "The hidden things of Your wisdom You have made known to me" (Psal. 51). Similarly, the Lord Himself declares that the apostles know greater things than the prophets, saying to them: "Many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it; and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it" (Matt. 13:17). But after His resurrection and ascension, He promised them even greater grace of knowledge, saying: "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now; but when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth" (John 16:12-13). To whom He also promises that He will reveal even greater things in the future than can be known in this life, saying: "He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him, and reveal myself to him" (John 14:21). Therefore, the Cherubim are rightly called multiplied knowledge, because in both Testaments, the knowledge of the truth has been increasingly made known to the faithful over time. The Cherubim are rightly said to overshadow the mercy seat with glory;

because as the testament grows over time, and knowledge multiplies, they preach to us the propitiation of our Lord the Savior; and, always with their voices as with outstretched wings for flight, they do not cease to honor it. For indeed, the words of those in conversation, like flying through the air from the mouth of the speakers, reach the hearts of the hearers, so the Cherubim with outstretched wings and as if prepared for flight can rightly be designated. From there I will command and speak to you, namely above the mercy seat, etc. Above the mercy seat the Lord speaks to Moses all things that He commands to the children of Israel through him; because through the grace of God's propitiation it has happened that He deigned to appear to humans after the fault of transgression and to show them the way of truth after error. He speaks from between the Cherubim; because through the angelic vision, and not in His own substance, God appeared and spoke to Moses, as the apostle attests: "For the law was put in place because of transgressions until the seed to whom the promise was made should come, ordained through angels in the hand of a mediator" (Galatians III). Again, the Lord speaks from between the Cherubim, because through the words of each testament, in harmony, He educates us to the faith of truth. Or certainly He speaks from between the Cherubim, because through His Only Begotten, who appeared in the flesh between the two Testaments, God the Father deigned to reveal His will to the human race. In this sense it can also be understood what Habakkuk says: "In the midst of two animals you shall make yourself known" (Habakkuk III). However, the ark can also figuratively be understood as the holy Church, which is built from incorruptible wood, that is, holy souls, and stretched out in the faith of the holy Gospel through the four corners of the world, expecting the crown of eternal life from God.

It holds in itself the tablets of the Testament in continuous meditation on God's law, and also a golden urn with manna in faith of the Lord's incarnation, and also the rod of Aaron; which had budded, in participation of the kingdom and priesthood of the Lord, as the apostle Peter says: "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood" (I Peter II). It has a mercy seat above, so that all the good things it possesses, it remembers to have received by the gift of divine grace. It also has the Cherubim of glory on the mercy seat, either as angelic supports, with which it is always helped by God in His mercy, or the Testaments, by which it is taught how to live and how to rightly seek the help of living rightly from divine propitiation. Thus the Cherubim are placed above the mercy seat, as the city of Christ, that is, the holy Church, is said to be established upon the mountain, that is, upon Christ Himself: not that the city can be higher than Him, but that it progresses supported by His aid. The ark has Cherubim above the mercy seat: because either angelic ministries or divine words help the Church more truly, the more it is established on the foundation of supreme truth.

Chapter 1.6

Description of the Table. Make a table of setim wood, etc. The table made of setim wood represents the sacred Scripture, composed of the strong words and deeds of the holy Fathers, which, while showing us what the joys of eternal blessedness are and how to attain them, indeed offers us the food of salvation and life. It has length, when it indicates the perseverance of our initiated religion; breadth, when it indicates the breadth of charity; height, when it insinuates the hope of eternal reward. And well the length is of two cubits because our actual conversation consists mainly in two virtues, namely mercy and innocence: as the Apostle James says: Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this, to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world (James 1). For in commanding us to visit orphans and widows in their tribulation, it shows that we ought mercifully to act towards all who are in need: in admonishing us to keep ourselves unstained from this world, it signifies in what respects we ought to live chastely ourselves. The Lord Himself declared that these two cubits of good action belong to the table of His words, when He said: Let your loins be girded and your lamps burning (Luke 12). By having our loins girded, we remain immune from the contagion of this world. By having our lamps burning, we shine brightly before the Lord by our works of mercy. The following:

And you like men who wait for their lord when he returns from the wedding, pertains to the height of the table, that is, to the hope of future reward. That the table has one cubit in breadth figuratively denotes the unity of that same love, which the whole series of the Old and New Testaments recommends to us: for there is one charity, that is, the simple and pure devotion of the mind, by which we are commanded to love God, our neighbors, and even our enemies, although we must rightly love God first and our enemies last by a great distance and distinction of that same love. The love we owe to our neighbors also varies according to their merits, as we know from Scripture that while patriarch Jacob loved all his sons, he loved Joseph more than the rest due to his singular merit of innocence. Hence beautifully in the Song of Songs the Church says to Christ: He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love (Songs 2). Further, the height of a cubit and a half equally insinuates the unity of our heavenly hope, by which we await our Lord, when He returns from heaven, to reward the servants whom He finds watching with girded loins, and lamps burning with good works. For although there are many mansions in the Father's house due to the diversity of merits (John 14), the kingdom of heaven is one, in which all the elect are received.

The remaining half-cubit indicates the beginning of the contemplative life, which some saints, even while still in the flesh, have deserved to enjoy: for they have not only been permitted to hope for heavenly rewards, but also to taste them by vision in part, such as Isaiah and Micah, and the other prophets, who saw the Lord sitting on the throne of His glory, surrounded by the host of angels (Isaiah 6): such as Peter, James, and John, who saw the Lord glorified between Moses and Elijah on the holy mountain (Matthew 17): such as the teacher of the Gentiles, who, before he dissolved the debt of the flesh, was caught up into paradise and the third heaven, and heard secret words which man may not utter (2 Corinthians 12). So also for us, in these and suchlike servants of Christ, the table of the tabernacle, that is, the divine Scripture, by which the Holy Church is ceaselessly refreshed, joins the common hope of one cubit to a half-cubit in height, because it shows them the joys of heavenly happiness in anticipation before it gives them in full: this anticipation, because it appears swiftly and transiently to the minds of the saints, is rightly figured by a half-cubit and not by a complete cubit.

And you shall overlay it with purest gold. The table of the tabernacle is overlaid with gold because the holy Scripture shines with the clarity of heavenly wisdom, and the prophets who composed it were illustrious in life and speech. And you shall make for it a rim of gold round about. A golden rim is made around the table because the teaching of the sacred word is delivered to us by the most pure mouths of faithful preachers. Nor did the speech of those who handed down the divine mysteries to us ever consent to be tainted by the language of human chatter; rather, they took care to severely rebuke and scorn not only harmful but also idle words of men. Or indeed, a golden rim is made around the table because the holy Scripture, in all parts of its speech, when rightly understood, sounds forth to us the clarity of heavenly wisdom. To this rim, a crown is added; because the tongue of the preachers promises eternal life to its listeners. And fittingly, the crown is commanded to be four fingers high; because the height of the eternal crown is shown to us through the four books of the holy Gospel, or because by the keeping of evangelical faith and action, we are to attain the crown of life. Fittingly, the books are represented by fingers, because the tablets of the law are said to have been written by the finger of God: and in the Gospel, the Lord, moderating the severity of the law, wrote with his finger on the ground, saying of the adulteress whom the Pharisees and scribes accused, "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her" (John VIII).

The finger of God, however, is understood as the Spirit of God. Hence that which Luke reports the Lord as saying, "But if I with the finger of God cast out devils" (Luke XI). Matthew explained more clearly, "But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God" (Matthew). Therefore, the golden crown four fingers high is placed over the golden rim of the table; because the purest words of the holy preachers expect the hope of heavenly happiness, which is contained, described by the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the four books of the holy Gospel. And not only do the preachers themselves receive the reward of their labor in the heavens, but they also promise the same crown of life, with the assured authority of evangelical truth, to all who obey them. Rightly, however, this same crown is commanded to be made intricately; because the reward of the eternal kingdom is not given indiscriminately to all, but a distinction is divinely distributed to each according to their merit by the judgment. For the golden crown of the Lord's table would be pure and not intricate if the brightness of the future reward for the righteous were revealed equally to all: like this worldly sun, whose splendor God makes to rise indiscriminately on the good and the bad. But as one star differs from another in brightness, so also will be the resurrection of the dead. The crown of the Lord's table is decorated with various distinct carvings, appropriately arranged.

For eternal life in the future is promised to all the righteous, but in it, the glory of each one is manifold according to the diversity of merits. The fact that one crown is first described and then added: And upon that other gold crown, a small golden crown. The reward of those can rightly be understood, who by a voluntary choice of life transcend the general commandments of Holy Scripture, and therefore expect a special reward of voluntary offering above other faithful ones. For a gold crown four fingers high is placed on the edge of the gold table, when through the Gospel, to those who keep the commandments of the divine law, eternal life is promised: the Lord saying to the rich man: If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness. Honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself (Matt. 19). But another small golden crown is placed upon the same crown, when it is immediately added: If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, and come, follow me (Ibid.). To this crown pertains that new song, which virgins alone are said to have sung before the Lamb, who were redeemed from among men, firstfruits to God and the Lamb. To this, as well, pertains that they follow the Lamb wherever He goes (Rev. 14). Or certainly a gold crown is placed on the edge of the table of the Lord, when in the words of Holy Scripture we say, the souls leaving the flesh are to be received for eternal rewards in heaven. And another small golden crown is added upon that, when it is repeated in the same Scripture, that for them a more sublime glory at the end of the world is preserved in the reception also of immortal bodies.

You will also prepare four golden rings, etc. These, as we have explained above about the ark, should also be understood here. For the four golden rings are the books of the four Gospels; through whose faith it came to pass that all holy Scripture would be read and understood throughout the entire world. However, the table has four feet; because the whole series of divine discourses is distinguished by a fourfold reasoning. In all holy books, indeed, it is necessary to observe what is intimated there as eternal, what deeds are narrated, what future things are foretold, what actions are either instructed or advised to be done. Likewise, the table of the tabernacle has four feet; because the word of the heavenly oracle is customarily accepted in a historical, allegorical, tropological, that is, moral, or certainly anagogical method. For history is when some matter, how it was done or said according to the letter, is related in plain speech: how the people of Israel, saved from Egypt, are narrated to have made a tabernacle for the Lord in the desert. Allegory is when the sacraments of Christ and the Church are signified by words or mystical things: by words, notably, as Isaiah says: "A rod will come out from the root of Jesse, and a flower will ascend from his root" (Isa. 11). Which is plainly to say: The Virgin Mary will be born from the lineage of David, and Christ will arise from her lineage.

However, by things, as the people saved from Egyptian servitude by the blood of the Lamb signifies the Church, which is freed from demonic domination by the passion of Christ. Tropology, that is, moral discourse, looks towards the correction and establishment of morals, either conveyed in plain or figurative terms. Plainly, as John admonishes, saying: "My little children, let us not love in word or tongue, but in deed and truth" (1 John 3). Figuratively, as Solomon says: "At all times let your garments be white, and let oil not fail on your head" (Eccl. 9). Which is plainly to say: At all times let your works be pure, and let charity not fail from your heart. Anagogy, which leads to higher things, is a discourse that discusses future rewards and that future life in heaven, either in mystical or plain terms. Plainly, as: "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" (Matt. 5). Mystically, as: "Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter the city by the gates" (Rev. 22). Which is openly to say: Blessed are those who cleanse their thoughts and actions, so that they may have the right to see the Lord Christ, who says: "I am the way and the truth and the life"; and through the teaching and examples of the preceding fathers, may enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Under the crown shall be golden rings, etc. Fittingly, there shall be rings under the crown, because we use the books of the Holy Gospel in this life, while we hope for the crown of life to come in heaven. Through these rings, indeed, rods are inserted to carry the table, because the holy teachers, in order to refresh the hearts of their listeners with the words of the sacred Scriptures, must themselves always keep their minds fixed on the evangelical readings, so that they direct all their understanding and interpretation to the intention of their teaching, and they carefully ensure that they teach nothing else to be done, hoped for, or loved in all the Scriptures than what is found in the four books of the Gospel. While they refer all the utterances of the Scriptures to the faith and love written in the Gospel, they are, as it were, carrying the entire Lord's table with its loaves and vessels on four rings.

Chapter 1.7

Description of the vessels of the table and the loaves of proposition. You shall prepare bowls and chalices, etc. Various vessels made for offering libations represent different distinctions of divine eloquence, corresponding to the diverse capacities of the listeners. For the same doctrine cannot be suitable for everyone: the wise must be taught one way, the foolish another; the rich in one manner, the poor in another; the healthy differently from the sick; the old from the young; men from women; singles from married persons; superiors from subordinates. Nevertheless, all these vessels pertain to the table of the tabernacle and to offering libations, because whatever a prudent teacher speaks, differing according to the diversity of the listeners, all is found within the rule of Holy Scripture and stirs the hearts of the listeners to offer vows of good works to the Lord. This fitting diversity of holy preaching was signified by the mouth of the Lord Himself when He said: "Who then is the faithful and wise steward, whom the Lord has set over His household, to give them their portion of grain in due season?" (Matthew 24). For the faithful and wise steward gives the measure of grain to his fellow servants in due season, when a discerning minister of the word not only observes the proper time for speaking but also diligently considers the nature and intelligence of the listeners, and adjusts the manner of his speech according to their differences.

And you shall place upon the table the bread of the Presence, etc. The bread of the Presence placed upon the table always represents spiritual teachers, who, meditating on the law of the Lord day and night, offer the nourishment of the heavenly word to all who enter the Church. These are rightly called the bread of the Presence because the word of salvation must always be openly available to all the faithful, and the comforting word should never be absent in the Church for devout listeners. The Lord, through the heralds of truth, presents this to the world such that it should always appear before Him and continually abound to the end of the world for those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Concerning this bread in Leviticus, it is more fully related how many and what kind of loaves are to be made, or how they should be placed, as the Lord says to Moses: "You shall take fine flour and bake twelve loaves from it, each loaf being two-tenths of an ephah. And you shall set them in two rows, six in a row, on the pure gold table before the Lord. And you shall put pure frankincense on each row, that it may go with the bread as a memorial portion, an offering made by fire to the Lord. Every Sabbath day Aaron shall set it in order before the Lord continually; it is an everlasting covenant on the behalf of the children of Israel.

And it shall be for Aaron and his sons, and they shall eat it in a holy place" (Leviticus 24). Where clearly, in the very number of the loaves twelve, the figure of the twelve apostles is prefigured, whom the Lord, appearing in the flesh, first chose, by whose ministry He would give the bread of life to all nations. Hence, to the hungry crowds in the desert, He says to the same disciples, namely to our apostles: "You give them something to eat. And after feeding five thousand men with five loaves, they themselves collected twelve baskets of fragments (Mark 6, Luke 9, John 6), because indeed it is the role of the apostles and apostolic men to grasp the mysteries of the Scriptures which the crowds cannot. Therefore, the twelve loaves on the tabernacle's table are the twelve apostles and all their followers in the Church. Since until the end of the world they do not cease to nourish God's people with the food of the word, the twelve loaves of the Presence never depart from the Lord's table. And fittingly, these loaves are ordered not to be made from any type of flour, but from fine flour: because it is necessary that those who minister the word of life to others must themselves first excel in the fruits of virtues, so that what they admonish by preaching they also commend by practicing, shaped by the example of Him who said of Himself:

“Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone” (John 12). Moreover, it is fitting that these loaves are commanded to be set in two rows, indicating the harmony of charity and fellowship, for the Lord is also reported to have sent the disciples out two by two to preach: figuratively suggesting that holy teachers never differ from one another either in the assertion of truth or in the effect of love. But that which is placed over the bread, the purest incense, signifies the power of prayer, because the same teachers commend their ministry of preaching and the devotion of their work to the Lord. For the Psalmist testifies that prayer is signified by incense, who says: "Let my prayer be directed as incense before you" (Psalm 140). And the purest incense is placed over the bread as a commemoration of the Lord's offering, when pure prayer is added to the holy actions and teachings of the saints. By these two things being rightly joined, the memory of the holy offering always appears in the sight of the highest judge. However, it is well commanded that the bread before the Lord be changed every Sabbath;

for the bread that was placed on the Lord's table for six days of work is changed for us on the Sabbath, when the teachers of the holy Church, having completed the time of their holy labor, are rewarded with eternal rest in the heavens, and they leave others after them to labor in the same work of preaching the word, under the same hope of reward. And so it happens that the Lord's table never remains without bread, but as soon as one bread is taken away, another is substituted in its place, while ministers of the word succeed each other in order, so that the Church is never lacking in those who, apostolically, show the faith of piety or purity of action, both in words and deeds. That most beautiful sentence remains always in the praise of the same holy Church: "In place of your fathers, your sons are born; you will make them princes over all the earth" (Psalm 45), as if it were said to the tabernacle of the Lord in other words: "In place of your old loaves, new ones are prepared for you, you will make them a refreshment for the spiritual hearts of the faithful throughout the whole world. Therefore, the loaves were changed for loaves, but the table always stood the same in the tabernacle because teachers of the word come and go, and, yielding to others, others succeed in their order.

However, the sacred Scripture remains unabolished by any ages, until in the end of the world, with the Lord appearing, we will neither need the Scriptures nor their interpreters anymore, fulfilling that most longed-for prophecy of the Lord, which says: "And no one will teach his neighbor, and no one his brother, saying: Know the Lord, because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them" (Jeremiah 31). According to Josephus (Antiquities, Book III, Chapter 13), the loaves were baked before the Sabbath, divided into pairs before the Sabbath, and on the Sabbath morning they were placed on the sacred table, facing one another, with two golden bowls full of incense placed over them, which remained until the next Sabbath. Then others were brought instead of those, and they were given to the priests. With the incense burned on the sacred fire, on which all holocausts were made, other incense was added over the other loaves, and it is written in the book of Kings that when David entered the tabernacle, he received the holy loaves from the priests, which happened on the Sabbath morning. He came to the tabernacle at that hour when the loaves of the previous week were taken from the Lord's table, so that the new loaves, which were baked the day before, might be placed there; and thus he took the holy loaves so that not even for a moment would the Lord's table be without bread.

Hence, it is worthwhile to consider more closely that the loaves were commanded to be changed every Sabbath: for they were changed so that each of them would be placed on the table on the Sabbath and again taken away on the Sabbath for the priests to eat; and indeed, they appeared on the table for six days of work, but they were set on the table on the Sabbath, the day of rest, and taken away again the next Sabbath. What else can we mystically understand from this order of placement, except that holy teachers, or rather, all the just, after their good works which shine in the Church, reach rest, and are incited to work good deeds by the hope of future rest and beatitude? Therefore, the loaves were placed on the Lord's table on the Sabbath with the intention of those who placed them that they might remain there through the six days of working; and after these days had passed, with the arrival of the next Sabbath, they were consumed for the refreshment of the high priest and his sons: because evidently, at the beginning of our devotion to God we are promised rest and eternal life, but on the condition that we ought to attain it through the labors and good works of temporal life. By what reasoning, then, this consumption of the loaves of proposition by the high priest and his sons pertains to the entrance into heavenly life will be more aptly explained in the exposition of the following verse.

The same loaves, moreover, were accepted by the sons of Israel, because those who are to undertake the rank of priesthood or doctrine should be chosen and appointed from the company of God's spiritual servants. As to the conclusion added, "They shall be for Aaron and his sons," this can be understood in two mystical ways. For Aaron ate with his sons the holy loaves taken from the table of the tabernacle when our high priest introduces the elect taken from this life into the increase of his body, which is in heaven, that is, into the great multitude of the elect. Or indeed, the holy loaves will be for Aaron and his sons, when each prelate, and those subject to them in the Lord, are nourished for eternal life by the examples of the preceding fathers.

Chapter 1.8

The Lampstand. You shall also make a lampstand of pure beaten gold. The lampstand of the tabernacle, like the table, signifies the universal Church of the present time. For this reason, they are before the veil, within which the ark of the covenant is placed; because it has not yet been deemed worthy to enter into the vision of its Redeemer in heaven. But it is a table; because to those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, it daily provides heavenly sustenance, lest they falter in temptations. It is a lampstand; because it shows the path of light to those who wander. It is both a table and a lampstand; because taught by the sacred scriptures it has learned both to satisfy the hungry soul with good things, and to provide the lamp of the word to those sitting in darkness and the shadow of death. Indeed, while it humbly subjects itself to this lamp, entailing the deeds that the word of God commands, restraining itself from its own pleasures, lifting itself up from visible joys to hope for the rewards and to love the promises, it becomes as it were the lampstand of it; because it places the sovereign heavenly command above all its own pleasures, humbling itself, and showing the clarity of the word of God to all by both preaching and doing.

His shaft, reeds, cups, etc. The shaft of the lampstand, He who is the Head of the Church, the Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, should be understood. Of whose body, which we are, as reeds proceeding from the shaft, the Apostle says: From whom the whole body, supplied and constructed through joints and ligaments, grows with the growth of God (Col. II): for indeed the Almighty God, our Redeemer, who in Himself has nothing to increase, still has growth daily through His members. The reeds proceeding from the shaft are therefore preachers, who, instituted by the Lord, have produced a sweet sound in the world, that is, a new song. The reeds are all the children of the Church, who willingly obey Him (the prophet saying: Sing to the Lord a new song, His praise from the ends of the earth [Psalm 31]), resounding praise to the Lord and saying: And He directed my steps, and He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn to our God (Psalm 30). Because cups are usually filled with wine, not unreasonably they are interpreted as the minds of those who hear, which are filled with the wine of knowledge at the voice of the preachers. And because the hearts of the faithful, intoxicated with the wine of inner love, tend toward God with tireless desire, correctly in the lampstand after the cups spheres are made; for a sphere can turn in every direction, since indeed the minds of the elect can be neither detained by the adversities of the world nor corrupted by its prosperities, but in everything that happens, they progress to God through holy desires. And well after the reeds, cups, and spheres, lilies are designated in the lampstand; because after the grace of preaching, after the intoxication of spiritual drink, after the unreturnable course of holy operation, that verdant country follows, which flourishes with eternal flowers for holy souls.

Six reeds extend from the sides, etc. It is well known that the number six, in which the world was made, signifies the perfection of works. But since it is set forth in the description of the reeds in such a way that it is divided into two sets of three, it is better to speak of the number three. For three reeds extend from one side of the shaft, and three from the other; because there were teachers before the coming of the Lord in the flesh who would designate the faith of the holy Trinity with mystical voice, and preach as much as the unlearned could still grasp. Hence, the saying of the Psalmist: "By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth" (Psalm 33). Indeed by the name of the Lord, the Father; by the name of the Word, the Son; and by the Spirit itself by its own name, he calls it the breath of his mouth. He thereby designates that the power, will, and operation of this holy Trinity is one, since he asserts that both the heavens were made by the word of the Lord, and all their host by the spirit of his mouth. There are now teachers who openly preach the same faith of the Holy Trinity, so that all who belong to Christ ought to be consecrated by the same faith: as the Lord says to the apostles:

"Go therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28). Hence Paul, praying for the faithful and desiring that they be strengthened by the accepted faith in the Trinity, says: "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all" (2 Corinthians 13). Again, three reeds extend from one side of the candlestick, and three extend from the other: because both before and after the Lord’s incarnation, there were three ranks of those who served the Lord faithfully in the Church, namely the married, the continent, and the rulers: whose distinction the prophet Ezekiel mystically describes, when at the coming of the punishment he predicted that only three men, namely Noah, Daniel, and Job, would be delivered (Ezekiel 14). For indeed, in Noah, who directed the ark upon the waves, there are the leaders of the Church: in Daniel, who aimed to live chastely in the royal court, there are the continent or virgins: in Job, who, placed in married life, provided everyone a remarkable example of patience, the life of good married people is shown. Similarly, the Lord in the New Testament under a figure indicates the difference between them who in the bed, in the field, in the mill are to be found on the day of judgment (Matthew 24; Luke 17). Of these, He says that some are to be taken and some to be left.

For indeed, in the bed is symbolized the rest of the continent, in agriculture the industry of the preachers, in the turning of the mill, the labor of the married is expressed. And because in all these ranks some should be chosen, some indeed to be rejected, it rightly says of each one: Because one out of two shall be taken, and the other shall be left. And since among the chosen ones the merit of preaching is more exalted than those who merely apply themselves to continence and not also to the work of teaching, likewise the life of the continent is more exalted than that of the married: thus the supreme reeds, which arose from the shaft on both sides, denote those who dedicated themselves to the studies of doctrine among other virtues in both Testaments. Rightly lower reeds, equally emerging from each side of the shaft, symbolize the life of the continent devoted to God; rightly the lowest reeds, also originating from the same stem of the single candlestick, typify the life of good married people, faithfully serving the one and the same Lord in the time of both Testaments. Therefore, reeds emerge from the shaft at different places, yet all, each in its own place and order, being bent upwards, reach a single summit, so that they may preserve an equally positioned light above them; because, indeed, the chosen, though distinct in the degrees of their merits, are imbued with one faith of truth, destined to reach one light of eternal truth in heaven:

and the more one strived to cleave to Christ in this life, the closer they shall enjoy the vision of Him in that life, so that of certain people it may be said for the great merit of their virtue: These are they who follow the Lamb wherever He goes (Revelation 14). Of whom it was stated just before, as of the reeds near the candlestick: And they sang as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four living creatures and the elders (ibid.). Where it is shown that all the saints in the streets of that upper city sing a new song of joy to the Lord. But those are especially uplifted in the joy of song above others who, here, have transcended the general life of the faithful by the privilege of sacred virginity. Three goblets, as in the shape of a nut, etc. It is customary for a nut to be placed in the figure of the present Church, confirmed by Solomon, who speaks on behalf of faithful teachers: "I have descended," he says in the Song of Songs, "into the garden of nuts, to see the fruits of the valley" (Cant. VI). For just as a nut has a sweet fruit inside, but cannot show this outwardly unless the hardness of the shell is broken, so the present life of the just keeps the sweetness of spiritual grace in the innermost heart, so that how great it is from nearby cannot be fully seen until, after the removal of the body's domicile, their souls in celestial light may freely see each other, and how much each shines with the grace of the Holy Spirit, how each is loved by the other, may in no way remain hidden from anyone. And thus goblets are made in the candlestick in the manner of a nut, when any of the elect desiring to be filled with the wine of wisdom hasten to form themselves after the example of the preceding just, whom they know to be full of the great sweetness and love of invisible goods. But the fact that there were three goblets, spheroids, and lilies for each branch signifies the three differences of times in which the elect lived both before the Lord's incarnation and afterwards devoted to God.

For there were just ones before the law, there were under the law, there were in the times of the prophets. Similarly, after the Lord's ascension, the primitive Church was gathered from Israel, is now gathered from the gentiles, and is to be gathered at the end of the world from the remnants of Israel. Therefore the first branch on one side had three goblets, spheroids, and lilies because on the part of teachers before the Lord's incarnation there were three orders of those who, like goblets, thirsted for a draught of heavenly grace, ran most promptly into the way of the Lord, like spheroids, and joyfully expected the gift of a heavenly reward, like the whiteness and fragrance of lilies: that is, before the law, under the law, under the prophets. The second branch also had three goblets, spheroids, and lilies, because the continent of that time equally contained three orders of saints in the aforementioned distinction of times, desiring spiritual drink, running on the path of the Lord's commandments, and awaiting heavenly rewards. The third branch similarly had three goblets, spheroids, and lilies: because there were many married before the law, many under the law, many in the days of the prophets, who rejoiced to hear the word of the Lord, to run in his way, to expect the rewards of good works from him. Also on the other side of the shaft, the first branch, the second, and the third, had three goblets and spheroids, three lilies as well:

because in the New Testament, both in teachers, and in the continent, and in married people devoted to God, there were three orders of different times: that is, in the primitive Church from Israel, in our election from the gentiles, in the final gathering of the remnants of Israel, all of whom in their proper time desire to be intoxicated with the word of life, to hasten in the way of peace, to see the brightness of eternal light. On the lampstand itself there will be four cups, etc. We have said that the lampstand itself, that is, the middle stem of the lampstand from which the branches proceeded, represents the Lord Savior; from whose grace the righteous have received whatever good they possess. Therefore, in the Gospel, when He said to the disciples: I am the vine, you are the branches; He immediately added: As a branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in Me (John 15). It is as if He were saying in other words: I am the lampstand, and you are my branches: just as a branch cannot lift itself to support the lamp unless it remains fixed in the stem of the lampstand, neither can you bear the light of truth and faith within yourselves unless you abide in Me. Surely in this lampstand, there are four cups because in the four books of the holy Gospel, which are written about the Lord, we find the taste of new wine, that is, of heavenly doctrine, which not old wineskins, that is, minds still clinging to earthly desires, but only hearts renewed by the Spirit of grace can hold. In each cup, there are little spheres along with deformed lilies, because the same Lord, who has offered us the cup of spiritual wisdom, has also shown us the path of pious operation to be straightforward and unfaltering:

and that we may have it, He Himself will grant it, and so that we might not run in vain, He promised us the brightness of the heavenly homeland to which we should aim; and He has opened this access to us by His grace, or surely, because under two branches the cups, spheres, and lilies are commanded to be made in three places. We can mystically interpret these things in this way: because to the three stages of the faithful—namely, the married, the continent, and the virgins, about whom we have often spoken—He revealed the doctrine of truth, commanded the course of good work, and promised and granted the blessing of an everlasting and incorruptible inheritance. And it is fitting that the cups, globes, and lilies of the lampstand are ordered not to be above the stalks, but below them; because the hearts of the preachers, indeed of all the elect, are sustained by the gifts, commandments, and promises of the Lord, so that they might not fall into the depths, and are raised to love and seek the heavenly things. Hence, the holy Church, that is, the bride of Christ, glories in Him, saying: "His left hand is under my head, and His right hand will embrace me" (Cant. II). For the bridegroom's left hand is placed under the bride's head; because the Lord, separating the minds of the faithful from earthly pleasures and desires with temporal benefits, raises them to hope and desire for eternal goods.

And His right hand will embrace her, because the vision of His divine majesty revealed will glorify her without end. The cups, globes, and lilies are fittingly under the two stalks, because in both Testaments, although varying in ceremonies, the same devotion of serving the Lord is commanded, the same glory of the heavenly kingdom is preserved for the faithful. However, the fourth cup, globe, and lily, which were above all the stalks near the top of the lampstand itself, pertain specifically to the Lord the Savior; who not only grants the knowledge of virtues, the operation, and the reward to His elect, but also in Himself, the same man Christ showed the figure of the cup when He declared Himself full of the Holy Spirit. He showed the form of the globe when appearing in the world, without any obstacle of the surrounding things, He rejoiced like a giant to run His course (Psal. XVIII). He showed the appearance of the lily when rising from the dead and ascending to the heavens, He was glorified with the glory which He had with the Father before the world existed (John XVII). And rightly here, the cup, the globe, and the lily stood out higher than the stalks; because indeed the gifts which God the Father conferred on the Mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ, transcend every measure of human capacity. For to each one of us, grace has been given according to the measure of Christ's gift. In Christ Himself, as the Apostle says, dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Eph. IV). Furthermore, it follows:

And therefore both the spheres and the branches from it, etc. For all the work of the lampstand, that is both the central shaft, and the branches proceeding from it, with all their ornamentation, are made of gold; because the Lord Himself, particularly free from sin, and distinguished in all works of righteousness, appeared in the world; and His members, in this interim life, imitate the same innocence and righteousness as much as they are able; but in the future, they truly progress by adhering to Him. And aptly the same gold was ductile, for ductile gold is produced by striking; because our Redeemer, who was perfect God and man from conception and birth, endured the pains of suffering, and thus arrived at the glory of resurrection: and all who desire to live piously in Him suffer persecution (II Tim. III), because they also, like metal expanded by striking, advance through the insults of suffering into the grace of immortality. Hence also in the fourth psalm, which is inscribed, In the songs, which in the mystic branches of faith, the Church says to its Redeemer: You have enlarged me in tribulation. As if the ductile gold were to say to its maker: You have enlarged me by the smith's striking, and by striking have given me greater progress.