Aaron
(a teacher, or lofty), the son of Amram and Jochebed, and the older brother of Moses and Miriam. (Numbers 26:59; 33:39) (B.C. 1573.) He was a Levite, and is first mentioned in (Exodus 4:14) He was appointed by Jehovah to be the interpreter, (Exodus 4:16) of his brother Moses, who was “slow of speech;” and accordingly he was not only the organ of communication with the Israelites and with Pharaoh, (Exodus 4:30; 7:2) but also the actual instrument of working most of the miracles of the Exodus.
(Exodus 7:19) etc. On the way to Mount Sinai, during the battle with Amalek, Aaron with Hur stayed up the weary hands of Moses when they were lifted up for the victory of Israel. (Exodus 17:9) He is mentioned as dependent upon his brother and deriving all his authority from him.
Left, on Moses’ departure into Sinai, to guide the people, Aaron is tried for a moment on his own responsibility, and he fails from a weak inability to withstand the demand of the people for visible “gods to go before them,” by making an image of Jehovah, in the well-known form of Egyptian idolatry (Apis or Mnevis). He repented of his sin, and Moses gained forgiveness for him. (9:20) Aaron was not consecrated by Moses to the new office of the high priesthood.
(Exodus 29:9) From this time the history of Aaron is almost entirely that of the priesthood, and its chief feature is the great rebellion of Korah and the Levites. Leaning, as he seems to have done, wholly on Moses, it is not strange that he should have shared his sin at Meribah and its punishment. See Moses. (Numbers 20:10-12) Aaron’s death seems to have followed very speedily. It took place on Mount Hor, after the transference of his robes and office to Eleazar.
(Numbers 20:28) This mount is still called the “Mountain of Aaron.” See Hor. The wife of Aaron was Elisheba, (Exodus 6:23) and the two sons who survived him, Eleazar and Ithamar.
The high priesthood descended to the former, and to his descendants until the time of Eli, who, although of the house of Ithamar, received the high priesthood and transmitted it to his children; with them it continued till the accession of Solomon, who took it from Abiathar and restored it to Zadok (of the house of Eleazar). See Abiathar.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia on Aaron
Aaron ar'-un, sometimes pronounced ar'on ('aharon--Septuagint Aaron, meaning uncertain: Gesenius suggests "mountaineer"; Furst, "enlightened"; others give "rich," "fluent." Cheyne mentions Redslob's "ingenious conjecture" of ha-'aron--"the ark"--with its mythical, priestly significance, Encyclopedia Biblica under the word): ⇒See a list of verses on AARON in the Bible. 1. Family: Probably eldest son of Amram (Ex 6:20), and according to the uniform genealogical lists (Ex 6:16-20; 1Ch 6:1-3), the fourth from Levi. This however is not certainly fixed, since there are frequent omissions from the Hebrew lists of names which are not prominent in the line of descent. For the corresponding period from Levi to Aaron the Judah list has six names (Ru 4:18-20; 1Ch 2:1-55). Levi and his family were zealous, even to violence (Ge 34:25; Ex 32:26), for the national honor and religion, and Aaron no doubt inherited his full portion of this spirit. His mother's name was Jochebed, who was also of the Levitical family (Ex 6:20). Miriam, his sister, was several years older, since she was set to watch the n…
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible on Aaron
In the narratives of the Exodus, Aaron is, after Moses, the most prominent figure. Often appearing as the colleague or representative of the great leader and lawgiver, he is in particular the priest, and the head of the Israelitish priesthood. We must, however, distin- guish between our difTerent authorities in the Pent., for in the priestly narrative Aaron not tinnaturally occupies a far more important place than in the earlier account of JE. In JE, Aaron is first introduced as Moses' brother, and with the title of the Levite, in Ex 4" J, where J', sending Moses on his mission to the Israelites, appoints him, on account of his fluency in speech, to be the spokesman of Moses to tne peoplis (vv. '*""). Aaron meets his brother in the mount of God ; together they return to Egypt and assemble the elders of the Israelites, before whom Aaron, instructed by Moses, delivers God's message and performs the appointed sims. The people believe ; but when Moses and Aaron re- quest Pharaoh to grant the people temporary leave of absence, the king refuses to listen to them (Ex 4-6'). In the account o…
Fausset's Bible Dictionary on Aaron
(according to Jerome means "mountain of strength"), the oldest son of Amram and Jochebed, of the tribe of Levi; brother of Moses and Miriam (Num 26:59; Exo 6:20) 1574 B.C. Jochebed, mother of Moses and Aaron, bore them three centuries after the death of Levi (Exo 2:1); "daughter of Levi, whom her mother bore to Levi," means "a daughter of a Levite whom her mother bore to a Levite." The point of Num 26:59 is, Moses and Aaron were Levites both on the father's side and mother's side, Hebrew of Hebrew. He was three years older than Moses (Exo 7:7): born, doubtless, before Pharaoh's edict for the destruction of the Hebrew male infants (Exo 1:22). Miriam was the oldest of the three, as appears from her being old enough, when Moses was only three months old and Aaron three years, to offer to go and call a Hebrew nurse for Pharaoh's daughter, to tend his infant brother. The first mention of Aaron is in Exo 4:14; where, in answer to Moses' objection that he did not have the eloquence needed for such a mission as that to Pharaoh, Jehovah answers: "Is not Aaron, the Levite, thy brother? I know…
References
- Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
- Easton, M.G. (1893) Easton's Bible Dictionary. 3rd edn. Thomas Nelson. [Public Domain]
- Nave, O.J. (1897) Nave's Topical Bible. Topical Bible Publishing Co.. [Public Domain]
- Hastings, J. (ed.) (1909) A Dictionary of the Bible. Edinburgh: T&T Clark. [Public Domain]
- Smith, W. (ed.) (1884) Smith's Bible Dictionary. London: John Murray. [Public Domain]
- Fausset, A.R. (1878) Fausset's Bible Dictionary. [Public Domain]A Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopaedia