(Exodus 4:27-28) Aaron Is Sent To Meet Moses. Series

(Exodus 4:27-28) Aaron is sent to meet Moses.

According to the Abrahamic religions, Aaron was a prophet, high priest, and the elder brother of Moses. Knowledge of Aaron, along with his brother Moses, comes exclusively from religious texts, such as the Bible and Quran. Aaron has a vital role as a priest in the Bible, particularly in the Hebrew Bible. When he is first introduced in Exodus 4:14, he is identified as the brother of Moses and as a Levite, one of the groups of priests. Hence, from the beginning, Aaron is seen as a priest, the traditional founder and head of the Israelite priesthood, who, with his brother Moses, led the Israelites out of Egypt.

Born: 1396 BC, Egypt

Died: 1273 BC, Moseroth

Children: Eleazar, Abihu, Nadab, Ithamar

Siblings: Moses, Miriam

Parents: Amram, Jochebed

Grandchild: Phinehas

Aaron flourished in the 14th century BCE. As it is now found in the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible are built up from several sources of traditions. In the Talmud and Midrash (Jewish commentating and interpretive writings), he is seen as the leading personality at the side of Moses. He has appeared in different roles in the Christian tradition.

Life

Aaron is described in the Book of Exodus of the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) as a son of Amram and Jochebed of the tribe of Levi, three years older than his brother Moses. He acted together with his brother in the desperate situation of the Israelites in Egypt and took an active part in the Exodus, their liberation from bondage there. Although Moses was the actual leader, Aaron acted as his "mouth." The two brothers went to the pharaoh together, and it was Aaron who told him to let the people of Israel go, using his magic rod to show the might of YHWH (God). When the pharaoh finally decided to release the people, YHWH gave the necessary ordinance of the Passover, the annual ritual remembrance of the Exodus, to Aaron and Moses. However, Moses alone went up on Mount Sinai, and he alone was allowed to come near to YHWH. Moses later was ordered to "bring near" Aaron and his sons, and they were anointed and consecrated to be priests "by a perpetual statute." Aaron's sons were to take over the priestly garments after him. Aaron is not represented as wholly blameless. It was he who, when Moses was delayed on Mount Sinai, made the golden calf that the people idolatrously worshiped.

Adoration of the Golden Calf

Once a year, on Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), Aaron was allowed to come into the Holy of Holies, the most sacred part of the tabernacle, or sanctuary, in which the Hebrew tribes worshiped, bringing his offering. Together with his sister, Miriam, Aaron spoke against Moses because he had married a foreigner (a woman from Kush, the southern portion of Nubia); but, as in the episode of the golden calf, the narrative tells how Aaron was merely reproved, though Miriam was punished, for the offense. In the rebellion of Korah the Levite, however, Aaron stood firmly at the side of Moses. According to Numbers 20, Aaron died on the top of Mount Hor at the age of 123; in Deuteronomy 10, which represents another tradition, he is said to have died in Moserah and was buried there.

Aaron is a central figure in the traditions of the Exodus, though his role varies in importance. In the beginning, he seems to be coequal with Moses, but after the march out of Egypt, he is only a shadow at Moses' side. Moses is the leading figure in the tradition, but it is also clear that he is pictured as delegating his authority in all priestly and cultic matters to Aaron and "his sons."

Aaron and the biblical critics

Scholars have long been aware that the figure of Aaron, as it is now found in the Pentateuch, is built up from several sources or layers of traditions. According to Julius Wellhausen, a German biblical scholar, and his followers, the Yahwist source was the oldest one, followed in order by the Elohist, the Deuteronomist, and the Priestly Code. Scholars have attributed the passages about Aaron to one or the other of these sources. Although their results differ, they agree in ascribing about 90 percent of the material about Aaron to the Priestly source. According to Wellhausen, Aaron was not mentioned in the Yahwist narrative, but later redactors may have inserted him.

Other scholars, such as Sigmund Mowinckel, believe that the narrative about the golden calf, which presents Aaron in an unfavorable light, was part of the ancient tradition in the Yahwist work, the only passage in it that mentions him. According to these scholars, this narrative initially came from the northern kingdom of Israel and described Aaron as the ancestor of the priests in northern Israel; later, it was rewritten in a way defamatory to Aaron. However, there are also features in the narrative that may indicate that a later source (or traditionist), the Elohist, tried to excuse Aaron and to put the primary responsibility on the people. The Elohist narrator was credited with making Aaron the brother and helper of Moses. The latter stood at the side of Moses in the conflict with the pharaoh and assisted him as a leader in battles and the cult. It may also be the Elohist who provides the unfavorable story about Aaron's objection to Moses' wife.