8398. 'And all the assembly of the children of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin' means arriving at another state of temptation. This is clear from the meaning of 'coming' as a point in the further stage that is meant in 8397 by 'travelling on'; from the meaning of 'the assembly of the children of Israel' as those who belong to the spiritual Church, dealt with in 7843; from the meaning of 'the wilderness' as a state when temptations have to be undergone, dealt with in 8098; and from the meaning of 'Sin' as the essential nature of the state since names hold within them the entire nature of the state of whatever thing they refer to, as has been shown in various places above. As temptation is meant by the grumbling over the lack of bread and flesh, and as the comfort received after that is meant by the manna and selav, the meaning of 'Sin' is clear, namely good that is the product of truth. In the contrary sense therefore 'Sin', a city in Egypt from which the wilderness of Sin took its name, means evil that is a product of falsity. In Ezekiel,

I will pour out My wrath onto Sin, the strength of Egypt, and I will cut off the multitude of No; and I will send fire on Egypt. Sin will suffer great pain, and No will be breached, and Noph by enemies daily. The young men of Aven and Pi Beseth will fall by the sword, and those [cities] will go away into captivity. And in Tehaphnehes the day will be darkened, when I break the yokes of Egypt there. Ezekiel 30:15-18.

[2] The subject here is those in possession of known facts, who use them to hatch falsities that give rise to evils. 'Egypt' here is factual knowledge, 'Sin' is evil that arises from falsity, and 'No' is falsity that gives rise to evil. Anyone may recognize, solely from the consideration that it is the Divine Word, that a deeper meaning lies here than that visible in the letter. Without the deeper meaning within it, it would contain scarcely any intelligible meaning, never mind a meaning with a holy content. From this it is plainly evident that the names appearing in it are descriptive of real things, and that these provide a general meaning that befits the Word which comes from Jehovah. Anyone who accepts that the Word is Divine cannot possibly deny this, so long as he is willing to think rationally or to draw conclusions with an understanding that has been somewhat enlightened.

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)