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Exode 5

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1 Moïse et Aaron se rendirent ensuite auprès de Pharaon, et lui dirent: Ainsi parle l'Eternel, le Dieu d'Israël: Laisse aller mon peuple, pour qu'il célèbre au désert une fête en mon honneur.

2 Pharaon répondit: Qui est l'Eternel, pour que j'obéisse à sa voix, en laissant aller Israël? Je ne connais point l'Eternel, et je ne laisserai point aller Israël.

3 Ils dirent: Le Dieu des Hébreux nous est apparu. Permets-nous de faire trois journées de marche dans le désert, pour offrir des sacrifices à l'Eternel, afin qu'il ne nous frappe pas de la peste ou de l'épée.

4 Et le roi d'Egypte leur dit: Moïse et Aaron, pourquoi détournez-vous le peuple de son ouvrage? Allez à vos travaux.

5 Pharaon dit: Voici, ce peuple est maintenant nombreux dans le pays, et vous lui feriez interrompre ses travaux!

6 Et ce jour même, Pharaon donna cet ordre aux inspecteurs du peuple et aux commissaires:

7 Vous ne donnerez plus comme auparavant de la paille au peuple pour faire des briques; qu'ils aillent eux-mêmes se ramasser de la paille.

8 Vous leur imposerez néanmoins la quantité de briques qu'ils faisaient auparavant, vous n'en retrancherez rien; car ce sont des paresseux; voilà pourquoi ils crient, en disant: Allons offrir des sacrifices à notre Dieu!

9 Que l'on charge de travail ces gens, qu'ils s'en occupent, et ils ne prendront plus garde à des paroles de mensonge.

10 Les inspecteurs du peuple et les commissaires vinrent dire au peuple: Ainsi parle Pharaon: Je ne vous donne plus de paille;

11 allez vous-mêmes vous procurer de la paille où vous en trouverez, car l'on ne retranche rien de votre travail.

12 Le peuple se répandit dans tout le pays d'Egypte, pour ramasser du chaume au lieu de paille.

13 Les inspecteurs les pressaient, en disant: Achevez votre tâche, jour par jour, comme quand il y avait de la paille.

14 On battit même les commissaires des enfants d'Israël, établis sur eux par les inspecteurs de Pharaon: Pourquoi, disait-on, n'avez-vous pas achevé hier et aujourd'hui, comme auparavant, la quantité de briques qui vous avait été fixée?

15 Les commissaires des enfants d'Israël allèrent se plaindre à Pharaon, et lui dirent: Pourquoi traites-tu ainsi tes serviteurs?

16 On ne donne point de paille à tes serviteurs, et l'on nous dit: Faites des briques! Et voici, tes serviteurs sont battus, comme si ton peuple était coupable.

17 Pharaon répondit: Vous êtes des paresseux, des paresseux! Voilà pourquoi vous dites: Allons offrir des sacrifices à l'Eternel!

18 Maintenant, allez travailler; on ne vous donnera point de paille, et vous livrerez la même quantité de briques.

19 Les commissaires des enfants d'Israël virent qu'on les rendait malheureux, en disant: Vous ne retrancherez rien de vos briques; chaque jour la tâche du jour.

20 En sortant de chez Pharaon, ils rencontrèrent Moïse et Aaron qui les attendaient.

21 Ils leur dirent: Que l'Eternel vous regarde, et qu'il juge! Vous nous avez rendus odieux à Pharaon et à ses serviteurs, vous avez mis une épée dans leurs mains pour nous faire périr.

22 Moïse retourna vers l'Eternel, et dit: Seigneur, pourquoi as-tu fait du mal à ce peuple? pourquoi m'as-tu envoyé?

23 Depuis que je suis allé vers Pharaon pour parler en ton nom, il fait du mal à ce peuple, et tu n'as point délivré ton peuple.

   

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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)

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Arcana Coelestia # 9806

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9806. 'And you, cause Aaron your brother to come near to you' means the joining of Divine Truth to Divine Good within the Lord's Divine Human. This is clear from the representation of Moses, the one here who was to cause Aaron to come near him, as the Lord in respect of Divine Truth, dealt with in 6752, 6771, 7014, 9372; from the meaning of 'drawing near' as a joining to and presence with, dealt with in 9378; from the representation of 'Aaron' as the Lord in respect of Divine Good, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'brother' as good, dealt with in 3303, 3803, 3815, 4121, 4191, 5686, 5692, 6756. From all this it is evident that the words telling Moses that he should cause Aaron his brother to come near to him mean the joining of Divine Truth to Divine Good within the Lord, the reason why within His Divine Human is meant being that this was where that joining together had to take place. For the Lord had first to make His Human Divine Truth, then afterwards Divine Good, see the places referred to in 9199, 9315. The reason why Aaron was chosen to serve in the priestly office was that he was Moses' brother, and in this way the brotherly relationship of Divine Truth and Divine Good in heaven was at the same time represented. For as stated above, Moses represented Divine Truth and Aaron Divine Good.

[2] Everything throughout creation, both in heaven and in the world, has connection with good and with truth, to the end that it may be something. For good is the inner being (Esse) of truth, and truth is the outward manifestation (Existere) of good. Good without truth therefore cannot manifest itself, and truth without good has no real being. From this it is evident that they must be joined together. In the Word the two joined together are represented by a married couple or by two brothers, by a married couple when the heavenly marriage - the marriage of good and truth - and the succeeding generations which spring from that marriage, are the subject, and by two brothers when two kinds of ministry, namely those of judgement and worship, are the subject. Those who served as ministers of judgement were called judges, and at a later time kings, whereas those who served as ministers of worship were called priests. And since all judgement is arrived at through truth and all worship springs from good, truth founded on good is meant in the Word by 'judges', in the abstract sense, in which no actual person is envisaged; but truth from which good results is meant by 'kings', and good itself by 'priests'. So it is that in the Word the Lord is called Judge, also Prophet, as well as King, in places where the subject has reference to truth, but Priest where it has reference to good. He is in like manner called Christ, Anointed, or Messiah in places where the subject has reference to truth, but Jesus or Saviour where it has reference to good.

[3] It was on account of this brotherly relationship of the truth which belongs to judgement and the good which belongs to worship that Aaron, brother of Moses, was chosen to serve in the priestly office. The fact that 'Aaron' and 'his house' because of this mean good is clear in David,

O Israel, trust in Jehovah! He is their help and their shield. O house of Aaron, trust in Jehovah! He is their help and their shield. Jehovah has remembered us, He blesses [us]. He will bless the house of Israel, He will bless the house of Aaron. Psalms 115:9-10, 12.

In the same author,

Let Israel now say that His mercy [endures] to eternity; let the house of Aaron now say that His mercy [endures] to eternity. Psalms 118:2-3.

In the same author,

O house of Israel, bless Jehovah! O house of Aaron, bless Jehovah! Psalms 135:19.

'The house of Israel' stands for those with whom truths exist, 'the house of Aaron' for those with whom forms of good are present; for in the Word wherever truth is the subject so too is good, on account of the heavenly marriage, 9263, 9314. For the meaning of 'the house of Israel' as those with whom truths exist, see 5414, 5879, 5951, 7956, 8234.

In the same author,

Jehovah sent Moses His servant, Aaron whom He chose. Psalms 105:26.

Moses is called a servant because 'servant' is used in regard to truths, 3409, whereas one chosen or elected has regard to good, 3755 (end).

[4] In the same author,

Behold, how good and pleasant it is for brothers to dwell also together! It is like the good oil upon the head running down onto the beard, the beard of Aaron, which runs down over the collar 1 of his garments. Psalms 133:1-3.

Anyone who does not know what 'brother' means, nor what 'oil', 'the head', 'the beard', and 'garments' mean, nor also what 'Aaron' represents, can have no understanding of why such things have been compared to brothers who dwell together. For what similarity is there between oil running from Aaron's head down onto his beard, then onto his garments, and the unanimity of brothers? But the similarity in the comparison is evident from the internal sense, in which the flow of good into truths is the subject and is described by their brotherliness. For 'the oil' means good, 'Aaron's head' the inmost level of good, 'the beard' the very outermost level of it, 'garments' truths, and 'running down' a flowing in. From this it is plain that those words mean the flow, from inner to outer levels, of good into truths, and a joining together there. Without the internal sense how can anyone see that those words hold these heavenly matters within them? For the meaning of 'oil' as the good of love, see 886, 4582, 4638, 9780, and for that of 'the head' as what is inmost, 5328, 6436, 7859, 9656. The fact that 'the beard' means what is the very outermost is evident in Isaiah 7:20; 15:2; Jeremiah 48:37; and Ezekiel 5:1. For the meaning of 'garments' as truths, 2576, 4545, 4763, 5319, 5954, 6914, 6917, 9093, 9212, 9216; and for the representation of 'Aaron' as celestial good, see above.

[5] Seeing that Aaron was chosen to serve in the priestly office, thus to administer the most sacred things, people can understand what the situation was with representations in the Jewish Church. No attention was paid to the person who represented, only to the thing represented by that person. Thus something holy, indeed most holy, could be represented by persons who were inwardly unclean, indeed idolatrous, provided that outwardly they had an air of holiness when engaged in worship. The fact that Aaron was one such person becomes clear from the following details in Moses,

Aaron took the gold from the hands of the children of Israel, and fashioned it with a chisel, and made out of it a molded calf. And Aaron built an altar in front of it, and Aaron made a proclamation and said, Tomorrow there will be a feast to Jehovah. Exodus 32:4-5, 25.

And elsewhere in the same author,

Jehovah was greatly moved with anger against Aaron and would have destroyed him; 2 but I prayed for Aaron also at that time. Deuteronomy 9:20.

As regards the representatives of the Church among the Israelite and Jewish nation, that no attention was paid to the persons, only to the actual things represented, see the places referred to in 9229.

Poznámky pod čarou:

1. literally, the mouth

2. literally, to destroy him

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.