The Bible

 

Leviticus 14

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1 And the Lord said to Moses,

2 This is the law of the leper on the day when he is made clean: he is to be taken to the priest;

3 And the priest is to go outside the tent-circle; and if, after looking, the priest sees that the mark of the disease has gone from him,

4 Then the priest is to give orders to take, for him who is to be made clean, two living clean birds and some cedar wood and red thread and hyssop.

5 And the priest will give orders for one of the birds to be put to death in a vessel made of earth, over flowing water.

6 And he will take the living bird and the wood and the red thread and the hyssop and put them in the blood of the bird which was put to death over flowing water.

7 And shaking it seven times over the man who is to be made clean, he will say that he is clean and will let the living bird go free into the open country.

8 And he who is to be made clean will have his clothing washed and his hair cut and have a bath, and he will be clean. And after that he will come back to the tent-circle; but he is to keep outside his tent for seven days.

9 And on the seventh day he is to have all the hair cut off his head and his chin and over his eyes--all his hair is to be cut off--and he will have his clothing washed and his body bathed in water and he will be clean.

10 And on the eighth day let him take two male lambs, without any marks on them, and one female lamb of the first year, without a mark, and three tenth parts of an ephah of the best meal, mixed with oil, and one log of oil.

11 And the priest who is making him clean will put the man who is being made clean, together with these things, before the door of the Tent of meeting.

12 And the priest is to take one of the male lambs and give it as an offering for wrongdoing, and the log of oil, waving them for a wave offering before the Lord;

13 And he is to put the male lamb to death in the place where they put to death the sin-offering and the burned offering, in the holy place; for as the sin-offering is the property of the priest, so is the offering for wrongdoing: it is most holy.

14 And let the priest take some of the blood of the offering for wrongdoing and put it on the point of the right ear of him who is to be made clean, and on the thumb of his right hand and on the great toe of his right foot;

15 And take some of the oil and put it in the hollow of his left hand;

16 And let the priest put his right finger in the oil which is in his left hand, shaking it out with his finger seven times before the Lord;

17 And of the rest of the oil which is in his hand, the priest will put some on the point of the right ear of the man who is to be made clean, and on the thumb of his right hand and on the great toe of his right foot, over the blood of the offering for wrongdoing;

18 And the rest of the oil in the priest's hand he will put on the head of him who is to be made clean; and so the priest will make him free from sin before the Lord.

19 And the priest will give the sin-offering, and take away the sin of him who is to be made clean from his unclean condition; and after that he will put the burned offering to death.

20 And the priest is to have the burned offering and the meal offering burned on the altar; and the priest will take away his sin and he will be clean.

21 And if he is poor and not able to get so much, then he may take one male lamb as an offering for wrongdoing, to be waved to take away his sin, and one tenth part of an ephah of the best meal mixed with oil for a meal offering, and a log of oil;

22 And two doves or two young pigeons, such as he is able to get; and one will be for a sin-offering and the other for a burned offering.

23 And on the eighth day he will take them to the priest, to the door of the Tent of meeting before the Lord, so that he may be made clean.

24 And the priest will take the lamb of the offering for wrongdoing and the oil, waving them for a wave offering before the Lord;

25 And he will put to death the lamb of the offering for wrongdoing and the priest will take some of the blood of the offering for wrongdoing and put it on the point of the right ear of him who is to be made clean, and on the thumb of his right hand and on the great toe of his right foot;

26 And the priest will put out some of the oil in the hollow of his left hand,

27 Shaking out drops of oil with his right finger before the Lord seven times:

28 And the priest will put some of the oil which is in his hand on the point of the ear of the man who is to be made clean and on the thumb of his right hand and on the great toe of his right foot, on the place where the blood of the offering for wrongdoing was put;

29 And the rest of the oil which is in the priest's hand he will put on the head of him who is to be made clean, to take away his sin before the Lord.

30 And he will make an offering of one of the doves or the young pigeons, such as he is able to get;

31 And of these, he will give one for a sin-offering and one for a burned offering, with the meal offering; and the priest will take away the sin of him who is to be made clean before the Lord.

32 This is the law for the man who has the disease of the leper on him, and who is not able to get that which is necessary for making himself clean.

33 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron,

34 When you have come into the land of Canaan which I will give you for your heritage, if I put the leper's disease on a house in the land of your heritage,

35 Then let the owner of the house come and say to the priest, It seems to me that there is a sort of leper's disease in the house.

36 And the priest will give orders for everything to be taken out of the house, before he goes in to see the disease, so that the things in the house may not become unclean; and then the priest is to go in to see the house;

37 And if he sees that the walls of the house are marked with hollows of green and red, and if it seems to go deeper than the face of the wall;

38 Then the priest will go out of the door of the house, and keep the house shut up for seven days:

39 And the priest is to come again on the seventh day and have a look and see if the marks on the walls of the house are increased in size;

40 Then the priest will give orders to them to take out the stones in which the disease is seen, and put them out into an unclean place outside the town:

41 And he will have the house rubbed all over inside, and the paste which is rubbed off will be put out into an unclean place outside the town:

42 And they will take other stones and put them in place of those stones, and he will take other paste and put it on the walls of the house.

43 And if the disease comes out again in the house after he has taken out the stones and after the walls have been rubbed and the new paste put on,

44 Then the priest will come and see it; and if the disease in the house is increased in size, it is the leper's disease working out in the house: it is unclean.

45 And the house will have to be pulled down, the stones of it and the wood and the paste; and everything is to be taken out to an unclean place outside the town.

46 And, in addition, anyone who goes into the house at any time, while it is shut up, will be unclean till evening.

47 And anyone who has been sleeping in the house will have to have his clothing washed; and anyone who takes food in that house will have to have his clothing washed.

48 And if the priest comes in, and sees that the disease is not increased after the new paste has been put on the house, then the priest will say that the house is clean, because the disease is gone.

49 And in order to make the house clean, let him take two birds and cedar-wood and red thread and hyssop;

50 And put one of the birds to death in a vessel of earth over flowing water;

51 And take the cedar-wood and the hyssop and the red thread and the living bird and put them in the blood of the dead bird and in the flowing water, shaking it over the house seven times.

52 And he will make the house clean with the blood of the bird and the flowing water and with the living bird and with the cedar-wood and the hyssop and the red thread.

53 But he will let the living bird go out of the town into the open country; so he will take away sin from the house and it will be clean.

54 This is the law for all signs of the leper's disease and for skin diseases;

55 And for signs of disease in clothing, or in a house;

56 And for a growth or a bad place or a bright mark on the skin;

57 To make clear when it is unclean and when it is clean: this is the law about the disease of the leper.

   

Commentary

 

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)

From Swedenborg's Works

 

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.

Footnotes:

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.