901、“就是那月的二十七日”表示神圣之物。这从刚才的说明清楚可知，因为它是一个复合数，是三的立方，也就是说，三乘三得九，九再乘三就得出二十七。因此，这个数字的主要因子是三。这就是上古之人计算数字的方式，他们只是用它们来表示真实事物。“三”和“七”具有相同的含义，这一点从刚才的阐述清楚可知。之所以如此，还有一个隐藏的原因是，主在第三天复活。主的复活本身包含了一切神圣和所有人的复活。这就是为何在犹太教会，这个数字具有代表性，又为何在圣言中，它是一个神圣的数字。在天上也一样，那里不会想到任何数字；他们不会想到三和七，而是对复活和主的降临有一个总体的神圣观念。
“三”和“七”表示神圣之物，这一点从以下圣言经文明显看出来。摩西五经：
摸了死尸的，就必七天不洁净。那人到第三天要洁净自己，第七天就洁净了。他若在第三天不洁净自己，第七天就不洁净了。凡人摸了被剑刺死的，或是死尸，或是人的骨头，或是坟墓，就要七天不洁净。第三天和第七天，洁净的人要洒水在不洁净的人身上；第七天他要洁净那人，那人（不洁之人）要洗衣服，用水洗澡，到晚上就洁净了。（民数记19:11-12，16，19）
这些事物都是代表，也就是说，外在事物表示内在事物，这是显而易见的，如：一个人若摸了死尸、被刺死的、人的骨头，或坟墓，必不洁净。这一切事物在内义上都表示人自己的事物，这些事物都是死的、亵渎的。用水洗澡，到了晚上就洁净的要求也是代表；第三天和第七天同样是代表；它们表示神圣之物，因为在这些日子，他将被洁净，从而干净了。
论到那些与米甸人打仗回来的人，同样的用法出现了，他们被告知：
你们要在营外驻扎七日，凡杀了一个灵魂的，和凡摸了被杀之人的，第三日、第七日，都要洁净自己。（民数记31:19）
如果这只是一个仪式，第三日和第七日不是神圣或洁净的代表和象征，那么它将是个死物，就像没有一个原因的东西，像没有一个目的的一个原因，或一个与其原因分离，其原因与其目的分离的事物，因而决不是神性。“第三日”代表并象征神圣之物，这一点从主降临西乃山很清楚地看出来。对此，经上如此吩咐：
耶和华对摩西说，你往百姓那里去，叫他们今天明天分别为圣，又叫他们洗衣服，到第三天要预备好了，因为第三天耶和华要在众百姓眼前降临在西乃山上。（出埃及记19:10-11，14-15）
出于同样的原因，约书亚在第三天过约旦河：
约书亚吩咐，你们要走遍营中间，吩咐百姓说，当预备食物，因为三日之内，你们要过这约旦河，进去得这陆地为业。（约书亚记1:11；3:2）
“过这约旦河”代表以色列人或重生之人被引入主的国；领他们进去的约书亚代表主；这事发生在“第三天”。由于第三天是神圣的，和第七天一样，所以经上规定，第三年应是十一奉献年，在这一年，百姓要通过仁爱的行为显示自己的神圣（申命记26:12-15）；“十一”代表余剩，这些余剩因唯独属于主，故是神圣的。约拿在鱼腹中三日三夜（约拿书1:17），明显代表主的埋葬和第三日复活（马太福音12:40）。
“三”表示神圣之物，这一点明显可见于先知书，如何西阿书：
过两天耶和华必使我们苏醒，第三天祂必使我们兴起，我们就在祂面前得以存活。（何西阿书6:2）
此处“第三天”也表示主的降临和祂的复活。撒迦利亚书：
全地其中两分必被剪除而死，三分之一仍必存留。我要使这三分之一经火，熬炼他们，如熬炼银子，试炼他们，如试炼金子。（撒迦利亚书13:8-9）
此处“三分之一”或三表示神圣之物。三分之一和三涉及同样的事物，三分之一的三分之一也是如此，如在本节经文，因为三是二十七的立方根。
New Century Edition
Cooper(2008,2013)
[NCE]901. The symbolism of the twenty-seventh day as holiness is established by this: The number is the product of three multiplied by itself twice; three times three is nine, and nine times three is twenty-seven, so that three is dominant in the number. This is how the earliest people calculated their numbers, and they understood them purely as standing for some quality.
The fact that three symbolizes the same thing as seven can be seen from remarks in the previous section. The secret reason is that the Lord rose again on the third day. The Lord's resurrection in itself involves everything that is sacred and entails the resurrection of all people. That is why the Jewish religion came to use this number in a representative way and why it is a holy number in the Word. The situation resembles that in heaven, where there are no numbers; a generalized and reverent idea of the Lord's resurrection and of his arrival in the world replaces the numbers three and seven there.
[2] The symbolism of three and seven as holiness is established by the following passages in the Word. In Moses:
Those touching a dead body will be unclean seven days. They shall atone for themselves in this matter on the third day, and on the seventh day they will be clean. And if they have not atoned for themselves on the third day, then on the seventh day they will not be clean. Those who touch one stabbed by a sword, or a dead body, or a human bone, or a grave will be unclean seven days. A clean person shall spatter [water] on the unclean person on the third day and on the seventh day, and the clean one will expiate the unclean on the seventh day. The unclean shall wash their clothes and rinse with water and will be clean in the evening. (Numbers 19:11-12, 16, 19)
It is quite clear that these things are representative, in other words, that the outward circumstances symbolize something internal. This is true, for instance, of the uncleanliness ascribed to one who had touched a dead body, a victim of stabbing, a human bone, or a grave. All these things on an inner level symbolize a person's own propensities, which are dead and profane. The same is also true of the fact that they were to wash with water and would then be clean in the evening. So the third and seventh days were representative too, symbolizing holiness, since on those days the person would achieve atonement and would therefore be clean.
[3] The same applies to those who returned from battle against the Midianites, of whom it says,
Camp outside the camp seven days, every one of you who has killed a soul and every one who has touched a victim of stabbing. You shall atone for yourselves on the third day and on the seventh day. (Numbers 31:19)
Had this been mere ritual, neither the third day nor the seventh would have represented or symbolized holiness and atonement. They would have been something dead, like a result without means and a means without a purpose, or to put it another way, like a result separated from a means separated from its purpose.{*1} So it would not have been the least bit divine.
The coming of the Lord to Mount Sinai clearly indicates that the third day represented and therefore symbolized something holy. These are the commandments concerning that event:
Jehovah said to Moses, "Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, [telling them] to wash their clothes and be ready for the third day, because on the third day, Jehovah will come down, in the eyes of all the people, onto Mount Sinai." (Exodus 19:10-11, 15-16)
[4] Joshua's passage across the Jordan on the third day suggests the same thing. It is described this way:
Joshua commanded, "Pass through the middle of the camp and command the people, saying, ‘Get provisions ready for yourselves, because in three days you are crossing this Jordan, to come in to inherit the land.'" (Joshua 1:11; 3:2)
The crossing of the Jordan represented the entrance of the children of Israel — regenerate people, that is — into the Lord's kingdom. Joshua, who led them in, represented the Lord himself, and it occurred on the third day.
Since the third day like the seventh was holy, the third year was set up as a "year of tithes," and the people then behaved in a godly way by doing charitable work (Deuteronomy 26:12 and following verses). Tithes represented the remnant in us, which is holy because it is the Lord's alone.
Jonah's three days and three nights in the fish's belly (Jonah 1:17) obviously represented the Lord's burial and resurrection on the third day (Matthew 12:40).
[5] The symbolism of three as this kind of sanctity can also be seen in the prophets, as in Hosea:
Jehovah will bring us to life after two days; on the third day he will revive us, so that we may live before him. (Hosea 6:2)
Here too the third day plainly stands for the Lord's Coming and his resurrection. In Zechariah:
It will come about in all the earth that two parts in it will be cut off, will die, and a third will be left in it. And I will lead the third part through fire, and smelt them as silver is smelted, and test them as gold is tested. (Zechariah 13:8,
[9])
The third part, or the number three, here again stands for holiness. One third involves the same thing as three, as does a third of a third, which comes up in the current verse, since three is a third of a third of twenty-seven.
Footnotes:
{*1} In mentioning "purpose" here (Latin finis), Swedenborg apparently has in mind the Scholastic idea of the "final cause," the reason for which something is done or made. If something is done to no end, he is suggesting, it is purposeless and therefore dead. See Shallo 1923, 184, 193. [RS]
Potts(1905-1910) 901
901. That the "seven and twentieth day" signifies what is holy, is evident from what has just been said, since it is composed of three multiplied by itself twice. Three multiplied by itself is nine, and nine multiplied again by three is twenty-seven. In "twenty-seven" therefore three is the ruling number. Thus did the most ancient people compute their numbers, and understood by them nothing but actual things [res]. That "three" has the same signification as "seven" is evident from what has been just said. There is a hidden reason why the Lord rose on the third day. The Lord's resurrection itself involves all holiness, and the resurrection of all, and therefore in the Jewish Church this number became representative, and in the Word is holy; just as it is in heaven, where no numbers are thought of, but instead of "three" and "seven" they have a general holy idea of the resurrection and of the coming of the Lord. [2] That "three" and "seven" signify what is holy, is evident from the following passages in the Word. In Moses:
He that toucheth the dead shall be unclean seven days; the same shall expiate himself therefrom on the third day, and on the seventh day he shall be clean; but if he expiate not himself on the third day, on the seventh day he shall not be clean. He that toucheth one slain with a sword, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days; the clean shall sprinkle upon the unclean on the third day, and on the seventh day; and on the seventh day he shall expiate him, and he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and shall be clean at even (Num. 19:11-12, 16, 19). That these things are representative, or that the outward things signify internal ones, is very evident, as that one would be unclean who had touched a dead body, one slain, a bone of a man, a grave. All these things signify in the internal sense things proper to man, which are dead and profane. So also the washing in water and being clean at even were representative, and also the third day and the seventh day, which signify what is holy because on those days he was to be purified and would thus be clean. [3] In like manner concerning those who returned from battle against the Midianites:
Encamp ye without the camp seven days; whosoever hath slain a soul, and whosoever hath touched one slain, ye shall expiate yourselves on the third day and on the seventh day (Num. 31:19).If this were but a ritual, and the third day and the seventh were not representative and significative of holiness, or of expiation, it would be a dead thing, like that which is without a cause, and like a cause without an end, or like a thing separated from its cause, and this cause from its end, and thus in no way Divine. That the "third day" was representative, and thus significative, of what is holy, is very evident from the coming of the Lord upon Mount Sinai, for which it was thus commanded:
And Jehovah said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments, and be ready against the third day; for on the third day Jehovah will come down in the sight of all the people upon Mount Sinai (Exod. 19:10-11, 14-15). [4] For a similar reason Joshua crossed the Jordan on the third day:
Joshua commanded, Pass through the midst of the camp, and command the people, saying, Prepare you victuals, for within three days ye are to pass over this Jordan, to go in to inherit the land (Josh. 1:11; 3:2). The crossing of the Jordan represented the introduction of the sons of Israel, that is, of those who are regenerate, into the kingdom of the Lord; Joshua, who led them in, represented the Lord; and this was done on the third day. Because the third day was holy, as was the seventh, it was ordained that the year of tithes should be the third year, and that then the people should show themselves holy by works of charity (Deut. 26:12-15); the "tithes" represented remains, which because they are of the Lord alone, are holy. That Jonah was three days and three nights in the bowels of the fish (Jonah 1:17) manifestly represented the burial and resurrection of the Lord on the third day (Matt. 12:40). [5] That "three" signifies that holy thing is evident also in the Prophets, as in Hosea:
After two days will Jehovah revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live before Him (Hos. 6:2),where also the "third day" plainly denotes the coming of the Lord and His resurrection. In Zechariah:
It shall come to pass that in all the land two parts therein shall be cut off and expire, but the third shall be left therein, and I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried (Zech. 13:8-9), where the "third part" like "three" denotes what is holy. The same is involved by the third part as by three, and also by the third part of the third part, as in the present passage, for three is the third of the third of twenty-seven.
Elliott(1983-1999) 901
901. 'The twenty-seventh day' means that which is holy. This is clear from what has been said above, for it is the composite number that is obtained when three is cubed - that is, three multiplied by three making nine, and nine multiplied by three again making twenty-seven. The predominant factor in this number therefore is three. This was how the most ancient people calculated numbers and by means of them meant nothing else than real things. That 'three' has the same meaning as seven becomes clear from what has been stated already just above. A hidden reason why it does so is that the Lord rose on the third day. The Lord's resurrection itself comprehends all that is holy, and the resurrection of all men. This was why in the Jewish Church this number became representative, and why in the Word it is a holy number. It is similar in heaven where no numbers are envisaged. Instead of three and seven they have a general holy idea of the resurrection and of the Coming of the Lord.
[2] That 'three' and 'seven' mean what is holy is clear from the following places in the Word: In Moses,
Anyone touching a dead body will be unclean for seven days. He shall purify himself on the third day, and on the seventh day he will be clean. And if he does not purify himself on the third day then he will not be clean on the seventh day. He who touches one pierced by the sword, or one dead, or a human bone, or a sepulchre will be unclean for seven days. The one who is clean shall sprinkle [with hyssop] over the unclean on the third day and on the seventh day; and on the seventh day he shall purify him, and he [the unclean] shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and will be clean in the evening. Num 19:11, 11, 16, 19.
Quite clearly these requirements are representative, that is, things of an external nature meaning those that are internal. Take for example the fact that anyone was unclean who had touched one who had died, or one pierced [by the sword], or a human bone, or a sepulchre. Each of these objects means in the internal sense things that are a person's own, which are dead and unholy. So too with the requirement that he had to bathe himself in water and would be clean in the evening. And the third day and the seventh day were in like manner representative. They mean that which is holy because these were the days when he was to be purified and so be cleansed.
[3] The same usage occurs in the reference to the men coming back from the battle with the Midianites, who were told,
Camp outside the camp for seven days Every one of you who has killed someonea and every one who has touched one slainb shall purify yourselves on the third day and on the seventh day. Num 31:19.
If this were just a ceremonial observance and the third and the seventh days were not representative and symbolical of that which is holy, that is, of purification, it would be something dead. It would be something without a cause and a cause without an end in view. That is, it would be like that which has been severed from its cause and its cause from its end in view; and so there would be nothing Divine about it at all. That the third day was representative of, and so symbolized, that which is holy, is quite clear from the Lord's coming down on Mount Sinai, concerning which event the following command was given, Jehovah said to Moses, Go to the people, and make them holy today and tomorrow, in order that they may wash their garments and be ready on the third day, for on the third day Jehovah will come down on Mount Sinai before the eyes of all the people. Exod 19:10, 11, 15, 16.
[4] The same usage occurs in Joshua's crossing the Jordan on the third day,
Joshua commanded, Pass through the middle of the camp, and command the people saying, Prepare provisions for yourselves, for within three days you will be crossing this Jordan to go and take possession of the land. 'The crossing of the Jordan' represented the introduction of the children of Israel, that is, of the regenerate, into the Lord's kingdom, 'Joshua', who led them in, representing the Lord Himself. And this took place 'on the third day'. Because the third day, like the seventh, was holy it was stipulated that the third year should be a year of taking tithesc and in that year people should be holy in their conduct by performing charitable works, Deut 26:12 and following verses. 'Tithes'c represented remnants, which are holy because they are the Lord's alone. Jonah's presence in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights, Jonah 1:17, clearly represented the Lord's burial and His resurrection on the third day, Matt 12:40.
[5] That 'three' means that which is holy is also clear in the Prophets, as in Hosea,
Jehovah will revive us after two days, on the third day He will raise us up that we may live before Him. Hosea 6:2.
Here too 'the third day' clearly stands for the Lord's Coming, and for His resurrection. In Zechariah,
It will happen in all the land that two parts in it will be cut off and breathe their last, and a third will be left in it. And I will lead the third part through fire, and I will refine them as one refines silver, and test them as one tests gold. Zech 13:8, 9.
Here 'a third part' or three stands for that which is holy. A third embodies the same as three, and so does the third of a third, as in the present verse, for three is the cube root of twenty-seven.
Latin(1748-1756) 901
901. Quod 'septimus et vigesimus dies' significet sanctum, inde constat, quia compositus est ex tribus in se his multiplicatis, tria in se multiplicata sunt novem, et haec novem iterum per tria multiplicata sunt viginti septem; quare in hoc numero regnant tria; ita antiquissimi supputabant suos numeros, et per illos nihil nisi quam res intelligebant quod 'tria' idem significent ac 'septem,' constare potest ab illis quae mox prius dicta sunt: causa arcana est quod Dominus resurrexerit die tertio; ipsa Domini resurrectio involvit omne sanctum, et omnium resurrectionem; quare in Ecclesia Judaica numerus hic repraesentativus factus est, inque Verbo est sanctus; similiter ac in caelo, ubi numeri nulli, sed loco tria et septem idea communis sancta resurrectionis ei adventus Domini: [2] quod 'tria et septem' sancta significent, constat sequentibus locis in Verbo; apud Mosen, Tangens mortuum... immundus septem diebus, hic expiabit se illo in die tertio et die septimo mundus erit: et si non expiaverit se in die tertio, et in die septimo non mundus erit.... Qui tangit confossum gladio,... aut mortuum, aut os hominis, aut sepulcrum, immundus erit septem dies;... sparget mundus super immundum die tertio, et in die septimo, et expiabit eum in die septimo et lavabit vestes suas et abluet se in aquis, et mundus erit in vespera, Num. xix 11, 12, 16, 19;quod haec repraesentativa sint, seu quod externa significent interna, manifeste constat; ut quod immundus esset qui tetigerit mortuum, confossum, os hominis, sepulcrum, quae omnia in sensu interna significant hominis propria, quae mortua et profana: tum quoque quod lavaret se in aquis et quod in vespera mundus; ita quoque dies tertius et dies septimus repraesentativi sunt, significantes sanctum, quia in illis expiaretur et sic mundus esset. [3] Similiter, qui redierunt a proelio contra Midianitas, de quibus, Vos castrametamini foris extra castra septem dies; omnis qui occidit animam et omnis qui tetigit confossum, expiabitis vos... in die tertio et in die septimo, Num. xxxi 19:
si hoc solum rituale foret et dies tertius et septimus non repraesentativus et significativus sancti seu expiationis, foret mortuum quid, sicut quod absque causa et causa absque fine, seu sicut separatum a causa et hae: a suo fine, ita nequaquam Divinum. Quod dies tertius repraesentativis fuerit et ita significativus sancti, constat manifeste ab adventu Domini super montem Sinai, de quo ita praeceptum, Dixit Jehovah ad Mosen, Abi ad populum, et sanctifica eos hodie et cras, ut lavent vestes suas, et sint parati ad diem tertium, quia in die tertio descendet Jehovah in oculis omnis populi super montem Sinai, Exod. xix 10, 11, 15, 16:
[4] similiter quod Joshua transiret Jordanem die tertio, de quo ita, Praecepit Joshua, Transite per medium castrorum et praecipite populo dicendo, Parate vobis viaticum, quia a tribus diebus vos transeuntes Jordanem hunc, ad veniendum hereditare terram, Jos. i 11; (x)iii 2;
'transitus Jordanis' repraesentabat introductionem filiorum Israelis, hoc est regeneratorum, in regnum Domini; 'Joshua qui introduxit' Ipsum Dominum, et hoc 'die tertio.' Quia dies tertius fuit sanctus sicut septimus, institutum, Quod annus decimarum esset annus tertius et tunc se sancte praeberent per opera charitatis, Deut. xxvi 12 seq;
'decimae' repraesentabant reliquias, quae quia solius Domini, sanctae sunt:
Quod Jonas fuerit in visceribus piscis tres dies et tres noctes, Jon. ii 1, manifeste repraesentabat sepulturam, et resurrectionem Domini tertio die, Matth. xii 40. [5] Quod 'tria' significent illud sanctum, constat etiam apud Prophetas, ut apud Hosheam, Jehovah vivificabit nos a duobus diebus, in die tertio suscitabit nos, ut vivamus coram Ipso, vi 2;
ubi 'dies tertius' quoque manifeste pro adventu Domini, et resurrectione: apud Zachariam, Fiet in omni terra,... duae partes in ea exscindentur, exspirabunt, et tertia relinquetur in ea: et ducam tertiam partem per ignem, et conflabo eos juxta conflare argentum, et probabo eos juxta probare aurum, xiii 8;
ubi 'tertia pars seu tria' pro sancto: simile involvit tertia pars ac tria, tum tertia pars tertiae partis, sicut hic, nam tria sunt tertia pars tertiae partis viginti septem.