Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 10222

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10222. 'A shekel is twenty obols' means all the components of good. This is clear from the meaning of 'twenty' likewise as all, and as remnants of good, and also what is holy. For its meaning as all and consequently what is complete, see 9641; remnants of good, 2280; and what is holy, 4759, 7842, 7903. For when 'twenty' has regard to the Lord it means His Proprium, which is Holiness itself, 4176. From all this it is evident why a shekel should consist of twenty gerahs or obols and why it was called the shekel of holiness, as it is in the present verse and elsewhere, such as Lev 27:3; Num 3:47,50; 7:13,19,25,31,37,43,49,55,61,67,73; 18:16. The fact that a shekel was a weight both of silver and of gold, see Gen 24:22; Exod 38:24; Ezek 4:10; 45:12.


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