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Exodus 31

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1 And the Lord said to Moses,

2 I have made selection of Bezalel, the son of Uri, by name, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah:

3 And I have given him the spirit of God and made him wise and full of knowledge and expert in every sort of handwork,

4 To do all sorts of delicate work in gold and silver and brass;

5 In cutting stones for framing, and to do every form of woodwork.

6 And I have made selection of Oholiab with him, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and in the hearts of all who are wise I have put the knowledge to make whatever I have given you orders to have made;

7 The Tent of meeting, and the ark of the law, and the cover which is on it, and all the things for the Tent,

8 And the table with its vessels, and the holy light-support with all its vessels, and the altar for the burning of spices,

9 And the altar of burned offerings with all its vessels, and the washing-vessel with its base,

10 And the robes of needlework, the holy robes for Aaron and for his sons, for their use when acting as priests,

11 And the holy oil, and the perfume of sweet spices for the holy place; they will do whatever I have given you orders to have done.

12 And the Lord said to Moses,

13 Say to the children of Israel that they are to keep my Sabbaths; for the Sabbath day is a sign between me and you through all your generations; so that you may see that I am the Lord who makes you holy.

14 So you are to keep the Sabbath as a holy day; and anyone not honouring it will certainly be put to death: whoever does any work on that day will be cut off from his people.

15 Six days may work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of complete rest, holy to the Lord; whoever does any work on the Sabbath day is to be put to death.

16 And the children of Israel are to keep the Sabbath holy, from generation to generation, by an eternal agreement.

17 It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever; because in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he took his rest and had pleasure in it.

18 And when his talk with Moses on Mount Sinai was ended, he gave him the two stones of the law, two stones on which was the writing made by the finger of God.

   

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Aaron

The Third Plague of Egypt, by William de Brailes, illustrates the flies, or gnats, rising from the dust.

This page from Walters manuscript W.106 depicts a scene from Exodus, in which God rained plagues upon Egypt. After plagues of blood and frogs, Pharaoh hardened his heart again and would not let the Israelites leave Egypt. God told Moses to tell Aaron to stretch forth his rod and strike the dust of the earth that it may become gnats throughout the land of Egypt. Here, Moses, horned (a sign of his encounter with divinity), carries the rod, while Aaron, wearing the miter of a priest, stands behind him. The gnats arise en masse out of the dust from which they were made and attack Pharaoh, seated and crowned, and his retinue.

Aaron was the brother of Moses. He symbolizes two things, at different stages of the story.

During the first part of the exodus, when he was Moses' spokesperson, Moses represents the Word as it truly is, as it is understood in heaven, while Aaron represents the Word in its external sense, as it is understood by people in the world. This is why Aaron talks for Moses, and the Lord says of him "he shall be as a mouth for you, and you shall be to him as God." (Exodus 4:16)

Later, after the Tabernacle was built and he was inaugurated as high priest (see Leviticus 8,9), Aaron represents the Lord as to the Divine Good, and Moses represents the Lord as to the Divine Truth.

In Exodus 28:1, Aaron signifies the conjunction of Divine Good with Divine Truth in the Divine Human of the Lord. (Arcana Coelestia 9806, 9936)

In Exodus 32:1, Aaron represents the external of the Word, of the church, and of worship, separate from the internal. (Arcana Coelestia 10397)

In Exodus 4:14, before he was initiated into the priesthood, Aaron represents the doctrine of good and truth. (Arcana Coelestia 6998)