8483. '[And] Moses was incensed with them' means that [therefore] they were averse to God's truth. This is clear from the meaning of 'being incensed' or being angry - when said of Moses, who represents God's truth - as aversion to it, dealt with in 5034, 5798. The appearance is that the Lord is averse or turns away, but in reality it is man who turns away, 5798. The Word many times attributes to Jehovah anger and wrath, even fury, against people, when in fact Jehovah radiates pure love and pure mercy, and no anger whatever, towards a person. That way of speaking about Him in the Word is due to appearances; for when people are opposed to the Divine and as a result shut off from themselves the flow of love and mercy, they plunge themselves into the misery of punishment and into hell. This seems like lack of pity and like vengeance on the part of the Divine because of the evil they have done; but in fact there is nothing of the sort present in the Divine, only in evil itself. But see what has been shown already about these matters in 1857, 2447, 6071, 6832, 6991, 6997, 7533, 7632, 7643, 7679, 7710, 7877, 7926, 8197, 8214, 8223, 8226-8228, 8282. From all this it is evident that 'Moses was incensed with them' means that they were averse to God's truth.

10017. 'And the priesthood shall be theirs' means the stages, following one after another, of the Lord's work of salvation. This is clear from the meaning of 'the priesthood' or 'the priestly office' as that which is representative of the Lord's whole work of salvation, dealt with in 9809. The reason why the stages following one after another is meant is that the priesthood of Aaron's sons is the subject here, and his sons represent the things which emanate and so follow in order one after another, 9807. The situation in all this is that the priesthood which Aaron represents consists in the work of saving those who are in the Lord's celestial kingdom, this kingdom being the proper meaning in the Word of 'a kingdom of priests'. But the priesthood which Aaron's sons represent consists in the work of saving those who are in the Lord's spiritual kingdom emanating directly from His celestial kingdom. From this it is evident that 'the priesthood' is used in the present instance to mean the stages, following one after another, of the Lord's work of salvation. But the priesthood which the Levites represent consists in the Lord's work of salvation at a further stage.

[2] There are three realities which follow one another in order. These are the celestial, which is the good of love to the Lord; the spiritual, which is the good of charity towards the neighbour; and the natural springing from these, which is the good of faith. Since these three are realities which follow one another in order there are also three heavens, and in them the types of good follow in that order. The work of saving those with whom celestial good exists is represented by Aaron's priesthood; but the work of saving those with whom spiritual good exists is represented by the priesthood of Aaron's sons, and the work of saving those with whom the natural good springing from these exists is represented by the priesthood of the Levites. And since the things following one another in order emanate from the good of love to the Lord, which is represented by Aaron and his priesthood, it is said of the Levites that they were given to Aaron. For things which emanate belong to that from which they emanate; such emanations or stages following one after another owe their very existence to that source, as accords with what has been stated a little above in 10011. The fact that the Levites were given to Aaron and his sons to perform priestly duties under them, see Numbers 3:1-end.