Exodus · OT
Aaron
Brother of Moses and Israel's first high priest, founder of the Aaronic priesthood.
Aaron was Moses' older brother, three years his senior, and Israel's first high priest. When Moses protested his lack of eloquence at the burning bush, God appointed Aaron as his spokesman. The two brothers stood together before Pharaoh through the plagues, and Aaron's staff became a sign of the Lord's power.
At Sinai he was consecrated high priest and clothed in the breastplate of judgment, the ephod, and the turban inscribed 'Holy to the Lord.' His most painful failure came when, in Moses' absence on the mountain, he yielded to the people's pressure and made the golden calf — yet God spared him in answer to Moses' intercession.
Later his priestly authority was vindicated when his staff alone budded among the staffs of the twelve tribes (Numbers 17). He died on Mount Hor at one hundred twenty-three, and the priesthood passed to his son Eleazar. The book of Hebrews uses the Aaronic priesthood as the foil against which Christ's superior, eternal priesthood is unfolded.
Key moments
Spoke for Moses before Pharaoh
His staff turned into a serpent and swallowed the magicians'.
Consecrated as first high priest
Leviticus 8-9 — the inauguration of Israel's worship.
Made the golden calf
Exodus 32 — a catastrophic failure of leadership.
His staff budded
Numbers 17 — divine confirmation of his priestly line.
Died on Mount Hor
Stripped of his garments, which passed to Eleazar.
Key verses
"And the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is there not Aaron thy brother the Levite? I know that he can speak well. And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee: and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart."
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"And bring thou near unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons."
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"And he received it at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, and made it a molten calf: and they said, These are thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt."
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"And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses went into the tent of the testimony; and, behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and put forth buds, and produced blossoms, and bare ripe almonds."
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"And no man taketh the honor unto himself, but when he is called of God, even as was Aaron."
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Frequently asked
How did Aaron escape judgment for the golden calf?
Deuteronomy 9:20 reveals that the Lord was angry enough with Aaron to destroy him, and Moses interceded for him as well as for the people. He was spared by grace, not by innocence.
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