Aaron was Moses’s brother, and spoke for him at times while they were still captive in Egypt. He was later named the first and chief priest for the people of Israel. But his story is not all good: When Moses was gone to the top of Mt. Sinai and the people got afraid, Aaron produced a golden calf for them to worship.
Swedenborg says Aaron represents different things depending on context. For the most part, in his priestly role, he represents the Lord‘s desire for goodness, the desire to lavish blessings on us and for us to be loving to one another. This is intertwined with his brother’s role; Swedenborg says Moses represents divine truth, or the forms through which the Lord’s love is expressed. So Moses led the people, as we are led by ideas and principles regarding what is right. And Aaron blessed and inspired them, as we draw joy from doing the things we know to be right.
In earlier passages, before Aaron was named priest, Swedenborg says he represents teachings that are drawn from divine truth, or the outward expression of divine truth — which is certainly in accord with his role as a “spokesman” for Moses.
And Swedenborg says that in the story of the golden calf, Aaron represents external worship that is separated from internal worship, or worship from the hands and mouth but not from the heart. This also makes sense: Even if we intend and desire to be good, we will fail and likely do harm if we have no idea of how to be good and what “goodness” means. Without the directives of Moses to lead him, Aaron’s desire to make the people happy led him astray.
Passages from Swedenborg
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 9806
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. Ps. 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. Ps. 118:2, 3.
In the same author,
O house of Israel, bless Jehovah! O house of Aaron, bless Jehovah! Ps. 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. Ps. 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* of his garments. Ps. 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. Exod. 32:4, 5, 25.
And elsewhere in the same author,
Jehovah was greatly moved with anger against Aaron and would have destroyed him;** but I prayed for Aaron also at that time. Deut. 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.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 6998
6998. ‘And He said, Is there not Aaron your brother, the Levite?’ means teachings that present what is good and true. This is clear from the representation of ‘Aaron’ as the Lord’s Divine Goodness or His Priesthood; but here, before his introduction into the priesthood, he represents teachings that present what is good and true. This is also the reason why it says that he will be for Moses ‘as a mouth’, and Moses will be for him ‘as a god’; for ‘Moses’ represents the Lord’s Divine Truth as it goes forth directly from the Lord, and therefore ‘Aaron’ represents Divine Truth that goes forth from the Lord in an indirect way. And this truth consists in teachings that present what is good and true. The kind of truth that ‘Moses’ represents here is truth that a person is unable to hear or discern, 6982; but the kind of truth that ‘Aaron’ represents is truth he can hear and discern. This is why Aaron is called ‘a mouth’ and Moses is called ‘his god’. It also explains why Aaron is referred to as ‘the Levite’, for Levite’ means the Church’s teachings presenting what is good and true, teachings which are of use and service to the priesthood.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 10397
10397. ‘And the people gathered together to Aaron’ means that they directed themselves to the outward features of the Word, the Church, and worship, detached from what was inward. This is clear from the meaning of ‘gathering themselves together’ as directing themselves; and from the representation of ‘Aaron’ here as the outward aspect of the Word, the Church, and worship, detached from the inward. The reason why Aaron has this representation here is that in the absence of Moses he was the head of that nation, and Moses, who was absent, represents the Word, from which the Church and worship are derived, in both its inward and its outward senses, see in the places referred to in 9372. The fact that Aaron has such a representation here is also evident from every single thing that is mentioned in what follows regarding Aaron, namely that it was he who made the calf, proclaimed the feast, and caused the people to become undisciplined, all of which is in exact accord with the outward aspect of the Word, the Church, and worship, when detached from the inward. Anyone who separates the inward aspect of the Word, the Church, and worship from the outward separates from it that which is Divine and holy. For the inward aspect of these is their spirit, whereas the outward is the body belonging to that spirit; and the body without the spirit is dead. To worship what is dead therefore is to worship an idol, in this instance to worship a golden calf, proclaim a feast to it, and so cause the people to become undisciplined, from all of which it becomes clear what ‘Aaron’ means in the present chapter. What the inward aspect of the Word, the Church, and worship is, and what their outward aspect is, has been shown in what has gone before.