1298、“他们就拿砖当石头”表示他们用虚假代替真理。这从刚才所说的“砖”的含义，以及“石头”的含义清楚可知：“砖”是指虚假；从广义上说，“石头”是指真理，如前所述（643节）。“石头”之所以表示真理，是因为上古之人用石头来标记边界，并立石头来证明情况就是如此，也就是说，这是真的。这一点从雅各立为柱子的石头（创世记28:22；35:14），拉班和雅各之间所立的石柱（创世记31:46，47，52），以及流便人、迦得人和玛拿西半支派的人在约旦河边作为证坛所筑的祭坛（约书亚记22:10，28，34）清楚看出来。因此，在圣言中，“石头”表示真理，甚至不仅祭坛上的石头，就连亚伦以弗得肩上和决断胸牌上的宝石都表示爱的神圣真理。
至于祭坛，当祭祀敬拜开始在祭坛上进行时，祭坛一般表示对主的代表性敬拜；但“石头”本身代表这敬拜的神圣真理。这就是为何经上吩咐要用没有凿过的整块石头来建祭坛，并且在石头上不可动任何铁器（申命记27:5-7；约书亚记8:31）。原因在于，凿过的石头和动过铁器的石头表示人造物，因而表示敬拜中的捏造物。也就是说，它们表示源于自我或人自己的心思意念之物，这是亵渎敬拜，如出埃及记（20:25）明确指出的。由于同样的原因，在神殿的石头上也不可动铁器（列王纪上6:7）。
镶嵌在亚伦以弗得肩上和决断胸牌上的宝石同样表示神圣真理，这在前面已经说明（114节）。这一点也清楚可见于以赛亚书：
看哪，我必将你的石头安置在彩石上，以蓝宝石立定你的根基；又用红宝石作你的太阳（窗户），以宝石造你的城门，以可爱的石头造你四围的边界。你的众子都要受耶和华的教导，你的儿子必大享平安。（以赛亚书54:11-13）
此处提到的“石头”表示神圣真理，这就是为何经上说“你的众子都要受耶和华的教导”。这也是为何启示录（21:19-20）上说圣城耶路撒冷城墙的根基是用各样宝石修饰的，还按名提到这些宝石。“圣耶路撒冷”表示主在天上和地上的国，这国的根基就是神圣真理。写有律法的诫命或十诫的石版同样表示神圣真理；这就是为何它们用石头制成，或以石头为底座（对此，参看出埃及记24:12，31:18，34:1；申命记5:22；10:1），因为十诫本身就是信之真理。
由于在古代，石头表示真理，后来当开始在柱子、祭坛上和圣殿中敬拜时，柱子、祭坛和圣殿同样表示神圣真理，所以主也被称为“石头或磐石”。摩西五经：
因雅各的大能，以色列的牧者、石头是从那里而出的。（创世记49:24）
以赛亚书：
主耶和华如此说，看哪，我在锡安放一块石头作为根基，是试验过的房角石，是稳固根基，宝贵的石头。（以赛亚书28:16）
诗篇：
建筑者所弃的石头，已成了房角的头块石头。（诗篇118:22）
砸碎尼布甲尼撒雕像的从岩石上切下来的石头（但以理书2:34-35，45）所表相同。
“石头”表示真理，这一点也清楚可见于以赛亚书：
雅各的罪孽得赦免，这就是除掉他的罪的整个果效；就是他叫所有祭坛的石头变得如粉碎的灰石。（以赛亚书27:9）
“祭坛的石头”表示被驱散的敬拜中的真理。同一先知书：
平整百姓的路；修平修平大道；捡去石头。（以赛亚书62:10）
“路”和“石头”表示真理。耶利米书：
你这行毁灭的山哪，我与你反对。我必将你从岩石滚下去，使你成为烧毁的山。他们必不从你那里取石头作房角石，也不取石头作根基。（耶利米书51:25-26）
这论及巴别；“烧毁的山”是指自我之爱。“必不从它那里取石头”表示真理不会来自那里。
New Century Edition
Cooper(2008,2013)
[NCE]1298. The fact that they had brick in place of stone means that they had falsity instead of truth is established by the symbolism of brick (given just above) as falsity. It is also established by the symbolism of stone in a broad sense as truth (given earlier, in 643).
The reason stones symbolized truth was that the earliest people used stones to mark borders and that they raised stones up as testimony that a thing was so, or true. This can be seen from the stone that Jacob set as a pillar in Genesis 28:22 and 35:14; from the pillar of stones between Laban and Jacob in Genesis 31:46-47, 52; and from the altar that the children of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh built beside the Jordan as testimony in Joshua 22:10, 28, 34. So in the Word stones symbolize truth. This symbolism is so consistent that not only the altar stones but also the precious stones on the shoulders of Aaron's ephod and on the breastplate of judgment{*1} symbolize the holy truth that comes of love.
[2] In regard to the altar: When sacrificial worship on altars began, an altar symbolized worship that represented the Lord in a general way. The actual stones, though, symbolized the sacred truths of that worship. This was the reason for requiring an altar to be built of whole stones rather than carved ones and for forbidding any iron implement to be wielded on them (Deuteronomy 27:5-6, 7; Joshua 8:31). Carved stones, and stones on which an iron tool had been wielded, symbolized elements of worship that were human-made and therefore nongenuine — that is, the products of human selfhood, the fabrications of people's thoughts and of their hearts.{*2} To invent such elements was to profane worship, as Exodus 20:25 explicitly says. It was for the same reason that no piece of iron was wielded on the stones of the Temple (1 Kings 6:7).
[3] The fact that the precious stones on the shoulders of Aaron's ephod and on the breastplate of judgment likewise symbolized sacred truth was shown earlier, in 114. It can also be seen in Isaiah:
Here, now, I will lay your stones on garnet and found [you] on sapphires, and I will use carnelian for your suns [windows],{*3} and make your gates of gem stones, and your whole border of desirable stones. And all your children will be taught by Jehovah, and great will be the peace of your children. (Isaiah 54:11-12, 13)
The stones named here stand for sacred truth, which is why it says, "all your children will be taught by Jehovah." So in John it also says that the foundations of the city wall in Jerusalem the Holy were "adorned with every precious stone," which it then lists (Revelation 21:19-20). Jerusalem the Holy stands for the Lord's kingdom in the heavens and on earth, and its foundations are sacred truths. The tablets of stone on which the commandments of the Law (the ten "words") were written likewise symbolize holy truths, which is why they were made of stone, or had a stone base, as described in Exodus 24:12; 31:18; 34:1; Deuteronomy 5:22; 10:1. The commandments themselves are absolutely core religious truths, after all.
[4] In ancient times, then, stones symbolized truth, and later, when worship on pillars and altars and in the temple began, the pillars, altars, and temple symbolized sacred truth. That is why the Lord too is called a stone. In Moses:
Mighty Jacob, from whom comes the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel. (Genesis 49:24)
In Isaiah:
The Lord Jehovih has said, "I am laying as a foundation in Zion a stone, a well-tested stone, a corner [stone], a precious one, for a firm foundation." (Isaiah 28:16)
In David:
A stone that the builders spurned has become the head of the corner. (Psalms 118:22)
Something similar is meant by the stone cut out of rock that crushed Nebuchadnezzar's statue, in Daniel 2:34-35, 45.
[5] The symbolism of stones as truth can also be seen in Isaiah:
By this Jacob's wickedness will be atoned for, and this will be the whole fruit [of atonement]: that they will remove their sin when they have made all the altar stones like scattered stones of chalk. (Isaiah 27:9)
The altar stones stand for truths expressed in worship that have been done away with. In the same author:
Level a way for the people! Pave a path; pave it! De-stone it of its stones! (Isaiah 62:10)
The pathway and stone stand for truth. In Jeremiah:
I am against you, destroying mountain. I will roll you down from the rocks and make you a mountain aflame, and they will not take a cornerstone or a foundation stone from you. (Jeremiah 51:25-26)
This is about Babylon. The mountain aflame is self-love. The statement that no stone would be taken from there is the fact that no truth would come from there.
Footnotes:
{*1} The ephod was a sacred vestment originally designed for the high priest and made "of gold, of blue, purple, and crimson yarns, and of fine twisted linen" (Exodus 28:5-6; New Revised Standard Version) held together by two shoulderpieces and a woven band that fastened around the torso. The garment was embellished with two shoham stones on which the names of the tribes of Israel were engraved. (Of these shoham stones nothing further is known; they have traditionally been identified as onyx.) The breastplate, hanging from gold rings on the shoulders of the ephod and covering the priest's chest, contained twelve embedded stones representing the twelve tribes. See Exodus 28:4-30; 39:1-21, and compare 114, 9822-9909. [RS, KK]
{*2} "Fabrications of people's thoughts and of their hearts" echoes Genesis 6:5 and 8:21. For Swedenborg's discussion of the phrase, see 586a. [LHC]
{*3} This bracketed interpolation is Swedenborg's. The Hebrew word (שִׁמְשֹׁת [šimšōṯ]) literally means "suns" but refers to windows in this context. [LHC]
Potts(1905-1910) 1298
1298. And they had brick for stone. That this signifies that they had falsity for truth, is evident from the signification of "brick," just now shown to be falsity; and from the signification of "stone," which in a wide sense is truth, concerning which above (n. 643). Stones have signified truth for the reason that the boundaries of the most ancient people were marked off by stones, and that they set up stones as witnesses that the case was so and so, or that it was true; as is evident from the stone that Jacob set up for a pillar (Gen. 28:22; 35:14), and from the pillar of stones between Laban and Jacob (Gen. 31:46, 47, 52), and from the altar built by the sons of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh, near the Jordan, as a witness (Josh. 22:10, 28, 34). Therefore in the Word truths are signified by "stones;" insomuch that not only by the stones of the altar, but also by the precious stones upon the shoulders of Aaron's ephod and upon the breastplate of judgment, there were signified holy truths which are of love. [2] As regards the altar, when the worship of sacrifices upon altars began, the altar signified the representative worship of the Lord in general; but the stones themselves represented the holy truths of that worship; and therefore it was commanded that the altar should be built of whole stones, not hewn, and it was forbidden that any iron should be moved upon them (Deut. 27:5-7; Josh. 8:31); for the reason that hewn stones, and stones on which iron has been used, signified what is artificial, and thus what is fictitious in worship; that is, what is of man's own or of the figment of his thought and heart. This was to profane worship, as is plainly said in Exodus 20:25. For the same reason iron was not used upon the stones of the temple (1 Kings 6:7). [3] That the precious stones upon the shoulders of Aaron's ephod, and in the breastplate of judgment, signified holy truths, has been shown before (n. 114). The same is evident in Isaiah:
Behold I will make thy stones to lie in carbuncle, and I will lay thy foundation in sapphires, and will put rubies for thy suns (windows), and thy gates in gem stones, and all thy border in stones of desire; and all thy sons shall be taught of Jehovah, and great shall be the peace of thy sons (Isa. 54:11-13). The stones here named denote holy truths, and therefore it is said, "all thy sons shall be taught of Jehovah." Hence it is said in John that the foundations of the wall of the city, the holy Jerusalem, were adorned with every precious stone, and the stones are named (Rev. 21:19-20). The "holy Jerusalem" denotes the kingdom of the Lord in heaven and on earth, the foundations of which are holy truths. In like manner the tables of stone, on which the commands of the Law, or the Ten Words, were written, signified holy truths; and therefore they were of stone, or their foundation [fundus] was stone, concerning which see Exodus 24:12, 31:18, 34:1; Deut. 5:22, 10:1, for the commands themselves are nothing else than truths of faith. [4] As then in ancient times truths were signified by stones, and afterwards, when worship began upon pillars and altars, and In a temple, holy truths were signified by the pillars, altars, and temple, therefore the Lord also was called "a Stone;" as in Moses:
The Mighty One of Jacob, from thence is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel (Gen. 49:24). In Isaiah:
Thus saith the Lord Jehovih, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a Stone, a tried Stone of the corner, of price, of a sure foundation (Isa. 28:16). In David:
The Stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner (Ps. 118:22). The like is signified in Daniel by "the stone cut out of the rock," which brake in pieces the statue of Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. 2:34-35, 45). [5] That "stones" signify truths, is evident also in Isaiah:
By this shall the iniquity of Jacob be expiated, and this shall be all the fruit, to take away his sin; when he shall put all the stones of the altar as chalk stones that are scattered (Isa. 27:9);
"the stones of the altar" denote truths in worship, which are dispersed. Again:
Make ye level the way of the people; flatten out, flatten ye out the path; gather out the stones (Isa. 62:10);
"Way" and "stone" denote truths. In Jeremiah:
I am against thee, O destroying mountain; I will roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee into a mountain of burning; and they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone of foundation (Jer. 51:25-26). This is said of Babel; "a mountain of burning," is the love of self. That "a stone should not be taken from it," means that there is no truth.
Elliott(1983-1999) 1298
1298. 'They had brick for stone' means that they had falsity in place of truth. This is clear from the meaning of 'brick' as falsity, dealt with just above, and also from the meaning of 'stone' in the broad sense as truth, dealt with already in 643. The reason 'stones' meant truth was that the most ancient people used to mark out boundaries by means of stones and raise up stones to testify that something was so, that is, was the truth. This is clear from the stone which Jacob set up as a pillar, Gen 28:22; 35:14; from the pillar of stones placed between Laban and Jacob, Gen 31:46, 47, 52; and from the altar which the children of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh erected beside the Jordan as an altar of witness, Josh 22:10, 28, 34. Consequently 'stones' in the Word means truths, so much so that not only the stones of the altar but also the precious stones in the shoulder-pieces of Aaron's ephod and in the breastplate of judgement meant the holy truths of love.
[2] Regarding the altar, when sacrificial worship on altars was introduced, an altar in that case meant representative worship of the Lord in general. 'The stones' themselves however meant the holy truths belonging to that worship. This was why it was commanded that the altar had to be built of whole and not of hewn stones, and why it was forbidden to use any iron tool on them, Deut 27:5-7; Josh 8:31. The reason was that hewn stones, and those on which an iron tool had been used, meant artificialities and thus fabrications in worship. That is to say, they meant things that derive from the proprium, or from the inventions of man's own thought and heart, which was to profane worship, as is clearly stated in Exod 20:25. For the same reason no tool of iron was used on the stones of the Temple, 1 Kings 6:7.
[3] That the precious stones set in the shoulder-pieces of Aaron's ephod and in the breastplate of judgement in a similar way meant holy truths has been shown already in 114. This is clear also in Isaiah,
Behold, I will set your stones in carbuncle and lay your foundations in sapphires; and I will make your suns (windows) of ruby, and your gates into precious stones, and all your border into pleasant stones And all your sons will be taught by Jehovah, and great will be the peace of your sons. Isa. 54:11-13
The stones mentioned here stand for holy truths, and this is why it is said that 'all your sons will be taught by Jehovah'. It is also the reason why it is said in John that the foundations of the wall of the city, holy Jerusalem, were adorned with every kind of precious stone, which are each mentioned by name, Rev. 21:19, 20. 'The holy Jerusalem' stands for the Lord's kingdom in heaven and on earth, the foundations of which kingdom are holy truths. Holy truths were similarly meant by the tables of stone on which the commandments of the Law, or Ten Commandments, were written. This was why they were made of stone or had a stone base, concerning which see Exod. 24:12; 31:18; 34:1; Deut. 5:22; 10:1; for the commandments themselves are nothing else than truths of faith.
[4] Now because stones in ancient times meant truths, and because later on when worship on pillars, on altars, and in the Temple began, pillars, altars, and the Temple meant holy truths, the Lord also is therefore called 'a Stone': In Moses,
The Mighty One of Jacob - from there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel. Gen. 49:24.
In Isaiah,
The Lord Jehovih said, I am laying in Zion for a foundation a Stone, a tested Corner-Stone, precious, of sure foundation. Isa. 28:16.
In David,
The Stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner Ps. 118:22.
The same is meant in Daniel 2:34, 35, 45, by the stone cut out of the rock which smashed Nebuchadnezzar's statue to pieces.
[5] That 'stones' means truths is clear in Isaiah,
By this the iniquity of Jacob will be expiated, and this will be the full fruit to remove his sin, when He makes all the stones of the altar like chalk-stones scattered about. Isa. 27:9.
'The stones of the altar' stands for truths in worship that have been dissipated. In the same prophet,
Make level the way of the people; level out, level out the highway; gather out the stones. Isa. 62:10.
'The way' and 'the stones' stand for truths. In Jeremiah,
I am against you, O destroying mountain. I will roll you down from the rocks and I will make you into a mountain of burning. And they will not take from you a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations. Jer. 51:25, 26.
This refers to Babel. 'A mountain of burning' is self-love. 'Taking no stone from it' means that there is no truth from this source.
Latin(1748-1756) 1298
1298. Quod 'fuit iis later pro lapide' significet quod falsum iis esset pro vero, constat a significatione 'lateris,' de qua mox supra, quod sit falsum; tum ex significatione 'lapidis' quod sit in lato sensu verum, de quo prius n. 643. Quod 'lapides' significaverint verum, causa fuit quod termini antiquissimorum designarentur per lapides et quod erigerent lapides in testes quod ita, seu quod verum, ut constat ex lapide quem posuit Jacobus in statuam, Gen. xxviii 22; xxxv 14, et ex statua lapidum inter Labanem et Jacobum, Gen. xxxi 46, 47, 52, et ex altari quod exstruxerunt filii Reubenis, Gadis et Menassis juxta Jordanem in testem, Jos. xxii 10, 28, 34. Inde in Verbo per 'lapides' significantur vera, usque adeo ut non solum per lapides altaris, sed etiam per lapides pretiosos super humeris ephodi Aharonis et super pectorali judicii, significata sint sancta vera quae sunt amoris: [2] quod altare attinet, cum cultus inceptus sacrificiorum super altaribus, tunc 'altare' significabat cultum repraesentativum Domini in communi; ipsi autem 'lapides' sancta vera illius cultus;Quare mandatum ut exstrueretur altare ex lapidibus integris, non caesis, et prohibitum ne ferrum moveretur super illis, Deut. xxvii 5-7; Jos. viii 31;
ex causa quod 'lapides caesi et super quos ferrum motum' significarent artificialia, et sic fictitia cultus, hoc est, quae ex proprio, seu ex figmento cogitationis et cordis hominis, quod erat profanare cultum, ut manifeste dicitur Exod. xx 25. Ex eadem causa nec fuit ferrum motum super lapides templi, 1 Reg. vi 7. [3] Quod lapides pretiosi super humeris ephodi Aharonis et in pectorali judicii similiter significaverint sancta vera, prius n. 114 ostensum est; quod etiam constat apud Esaiam, Ecce Ego accubare faciam in carbunculo, lapides tuos, et fundabo in sapphiris, et ponam pyropum soles tuos (fenestras), et portas tuas in lapides gemmae, et omnem finem tuum in lapides desiderii; et omnes filii tui docti Jehovae, et multa pax filiorum tuorum, liv (x)11, 12, 13;
lapides hic nominati pro sanctis veris, quare dicitur, quod 'omnes filii tui docti Jehovae': inde quoque apud Johannem dicitur, Quod fundamenta muri urbis sanctae Hierosolymae essent omni lapide pretioso exornata, quae nominantur, Apoc. xxi 19, 20;
'sancta Hierosolyma' pro regno Domini in caelis et in terris, cujus 'fundamenta' sunt sancta vera. Similiter per tabulas lapidum quibus inscripta fuerunt praecepta Legis seu decem verba, significata sunt sancta vera, quare ex lapide fuerunt, seu fundus illorum fuit lapis, de quibus, Exod. xxiv 12; xxxi 18; xxxiv 1; Deut.v 19 [A.V. 22]; x 1, ipsa enim praecepta non sunt nisi vera fidei. [4] Quia nunc per 'lapides' antiquitus significata sunt vera, et dein cum cultus inceptus super statuis, altaribus et in templo, per 'statuas, altaria, et templum' significata sunt sancta vera, ideo Dominus quoque dictus 'Lapis'; apud Mosen, Fortis Jacobi, inde Pastor, Lapis Israelis, Gen. xlix 24: apud Esaiam, Dixit Dominus Jehovih, Ego fundans in Zione Lapidem, Lapidem probationis anguli, pretii, fundamenti fundati, xxviii 16:
apud Davidem, Lapis quem reprobarunt architecti, factus est in caput angeli, Ps. cxviii 22:
similiter apud Danielem, Per lapidem e petra excisum, qui contrivit statuam Nebuchadnezzaris, ii 34, 35, 45. [5] Quod 'lapides' significent vera, etiam constat apud Esaiam, Per hoc expiabitur iniquitas Jacobi, et hic erit omnis fructus, removere peccatum suum; cum Posuerit opes lapides altaris sicut lapides calcis dispersos, xxvii 9;
'lapides altaris' pro veris in cultu quae dissipata: apud eundem, Complanate viam populi, sternite, sternite semitam, elapidate [e] lapide, lxii 10;
'via et lapis' pro veris: apud Jeremiam, Ego contra te, mons perdens,... devolvam te de petris et dabo te in montem combustionis; et non sument de te lapidem angulo, aut lapidem fundamentis, li 25, 26;
ubi de Babele; 'mons combustionis' est amor sui; quod 'non lapis inde' est quod non verum.
(x)