a table before Jehovah, Lev. xxiv. 5, 6. That the princes of Israel were twelve, Num. i. 44. That those twelve princes brought to the dedication of the altar twelve chargers of silver, twelve silver bowls, twelve spoons of gold, twelve bullocks, twelve rams, twelve lambs, and twelve kids, Num. vii. 84, 87. That twelve thousand of the children of Israel, a thousand from each tribe, were sent out to war against the Midianites, Num. xxxi. 4 to 7. That twelve men were sent out to search the land of Canaan, Deut. i. 22 to 24. That twelve men took twelve stones out of the midst of Jordan, and laid them down at the place where they lodged, as a memorial that the waters of Jordan were cut off: and that twelve stones were also placed in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests stood, who bare the ark of the covenant, Josh. iv. 1 to 9, 20. That the molten sea, which Solomon made, stood upon twelve oxen, 1 Kings vii. 25. That Elijah took twelve stones, and built an altar in the name of Jehovah, 1 Kings xviii. 31, 32. That twelve thousand of each of the tribes of Israel were sealed, Apoc. vii. 5 to 8. And that the foundations of the wall of the city New Jerusalem were garnished with twelve kinds of precious stones, Apoc. xxi. 19, 20. A Rule for discovering the Signification of every other Number. From the explanation of the preceding numbers may be discovered the signification of all others not distinctly specified; as for example, the signification of 83, the age of Aaron, when he and Moses spake unto Pharaoh, and demanded the release of the children of Israel, Ex. vii. 7. This number being compounded of 80 and 3, we first look for the signification of 80, and find that it denotes the same as 40, viz., temptations; also the same as 8 and 10, viz., a new state, arising from the insinuation or gradual introduction of remains into the human mind. We next proceed to the number 3, and find that it denotes fulness, more particularly in respect to truth, and consequently to the doctrine of divine truth in the church. Then combining these various significations, it is discovered that 83, the age of Aaron, involves the state or quality of the doctrine of the church at that time represented by him; which state or quality was, that it taught the necessity of resisting or shunning evils as sins, and thus of undergoing temptations, in order that man may be introduced into a new state of spiritual life, and that the affections of good and truth which he has received from the Lord, may be brought into full operation and effect.--See A. C. 7284, 7285. Again, we read in Dan. xii. 11, that "from the time the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be 1290 days." Now, in order to ascertain the signification of 1290 days in this passage, we have only, first, to observe the general nature of the subject treated of, which is evidently the perverted state of the church: secondly, to mark the spiritual signification attached to each of the component numbers, but taken in an opposite sense, which may be known by referring to their proper places in this work; and, thirdly, to combine the distinct significations into one general sense. Thus the number 1290 consists of 1000, 200, and 90, added together; and each of these again is the product of factors less than twelve. We find, then, that 1000 denotes what is full and complete; 200, conjunction, being predicated particularly of evils; and 90, a full state of falsities; which significations united produce the idea intended to be conveyed concerning the perverted and desolate state of the church in the latter times, when the daily sacrifice would be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate would be set up; in other words, when the true worship of the Lord would perish, and evils and falsities would abound. So again, if we would discover the true signification of the number 1335, in the verse immediately following that above cited, we must proceed in a similar way to reduce it to its component numbers, and unite their distinct significations into one sense; still observing the general tenor and spirit of the passage, as the rule to govern us in deciding whether the particular numbers are to be taken in a good sense, or in an opposite sense. Now 1335 consists of 1000, 300, 30, and 5, added together; and the number 1000, as before, signifies what is full and complete; 300, the holy principle of remains; 30, some degree of combat against evils, also fulness of remains, a principle of holiness from the Lord, and the beginning of a new state; and 5, as much as is sufficient for spiritual use. Collating these distinct significations together, the result is, that the number 1335 points out that blessed state and period, when, after the destruction and desolation of the former church, a New Church shall be established by the Lord, in which righteousness, holiness and purity of life shall distinguish its members, according to their several degrees of regeneration. It is therefore written in the verse alluded to, "Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days." Dan. xii. 12. In like manner the signification of the following numbers, with every other contained in the Word, may in some degree be ascertained by reducing them to the simple, primitive, or radical numbers, from which they arise either by multiplication or addition, or by both together, viz.: 745-Jer. lii. 30. 832-Jer. lii. 29. 1365-Num. iii. 50. 1400-1 Kings x. 26. 1775-Ex. xxxviii. 25, 28. 2300-Dan. viii. 14. 2400-Ex. xxxviii. 29. 4500-Ezek. xlviii. 16, 30, 33, 34. 4600-Jer. lii. 30. 8580-Num. iv. 48. 16,750-Num. xxxi. 52. 22,000-Num. iii. 39. 22,273-Num. iii. 43. 25,000-Ezek. xlviii. 8, 9, 10, 13, 15, 20, 21. 50,070-1 Sam. vi. 19. 70,000-2 Sam. xxiv. 15. 120,000-Judges viii. 10. 180,000-1 Kings xii. 21. 337,500-Num. xxxi. 43. 601,730-Num. xxvi. 51. 603,550-Ex. xxxviii. 26. Num. i. 46. 1,000,000-Dan. vii. 10. 100,000,000-Dan. vii. 10. A KEY TO THE SPIRITUAL SIGNIFICATION OF WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.* A CHAPTER V. S mention is frequently made in the Word, not only of numbers, but also of weights and measures; and these latter as well as the former, have in all cases an internal or spiritual signification, without a knowledge of which it is impossible to form a just or adequate conception of the sanctity of the various subjects treated of where they occur; it is desirable that, to the preceding KEY to the Spiritual Signification of Numbers, should be added a smaller one to that of Weights and Measures, which being of a similar quality and construction, will, it is hoped, equally serve to introduce the student into the temple of wisdom, and on some occasions procure admission for him even when the larger Key has failed to insure it. Tables of Scripture Weights and Measures. I. Weights of the Balance. A shekel in weight, 137 grains, value in money 1s. 3d. A shekel of the sanctuary (supposed by some, but perhaps without sufficient reason, to be double the weight and value of a common shekel) 274 grains, value 2s. 6d. A gerah or obolus, the twentieth part of a shekel, value 11d. A maneh, 50 sacred shekels, 2 lb. 3 oz. 6 pwt. 10.286 gr., value in silver £3 28. 6d.; in gold £75. A talent, 3000 sacred shekels, 113 lb. 10 oz. 1 pwt. 10.286 gr., value in silver £187 108.; in gold £2250. A mule's burden, two hundred weight. II. Measures of Capacity of Things that are Dry. A cab, 2.8333 pints. A chomer, the tenth part of an ephah, 5.1 pints. A seah, one peck, one pint. * By Robert Hindmarsh. First published in Manchester, England, in 1820. An ephah or bath, the tenth part of a homer, three pecks, three pints. A homer, ten ephahs, near six bushels. A choenix, a quart. A caph, .625 pint. A log, .833 pint. III. Measures of Liquids. A cab, 3.333 pints. A hin, one gallon, two pints. A bath, the tenth part of a cor or homer, seven gallons and a half. A firkin, four gallons and a half. A coron chomer, seventy-five gallons, five pints. IV. Measures of Application. A hair's-breadth, the forty-eighth part of an inch. A finger, .912 inch. A hand's-breadth, 3.648 inches. A span, 10.944 inches. A foot, twelve inches. A cubit, one foot 9.888 inches. A holy cubit, three feet, or a yard. The king's cubit, a foot and nine inches. A reed, six cubits and a hand's-breadth, or ten feet 11.328 inches. A pace, five feet, and probably in some cases only a step, or two feet and a half. A mile, a thousand paces, one mile four hundred and three paces one foot. Note.-The quantities, supposed to be contained in the preceding weights and measures, are by no means accurately ascertained; some making them to be considerably more, and some less, than what are here stated. We have chiefly followed the calculation given in the Tables annexed to a small English Bible, printed at Edinburgh in the year 1748, by Adrain Watkins, printer to His Majesty. It is, however, of little consequence, whether they be correct in this particular or not; since the spiritual signification belonging to the different names both of the Jewish weights and measures, is not in the least affected by our ignorance of the exact quantities they represented, as compared with the weights and measures now in use.-Gold and silver by weight served in ancient times for money instead of stamped coin. In general it may be observed, that weights signify the states of a thing as to good, and measures the states of a thing as to truth: for gravity in the natural world corresponds to good in the spiritual * A few corrections in the above tables as | been made, generally on the authority of originally published by the author, have Dr. Arbuthnot.--EDITOR. |