Aaron

For other uses of the word Aaron, see Aaron (disambiguation).

The Adoration of the Golden Calf by Nicolas Poussin

Aaron (אַהֲרֹן, Standard Hebrew (w/o vowels) AHRvN, Tiberian Hebrew (Ahărōn), was, according to biblical accounts, one of two brothers who play a unique part in the history of the Hebrew people. He was the elder son (and second child) of Amram and Jochebed of the tribe of Levi. Moses, the other son, was three years younger, and Miriam, their sister, was several years older. Aaron was the great-grandson of Levi and represented the priestly functions of his tribe, becoming the first High Priest. While Moses was receiving his education at the Egyptian court and during his exile among the Midianites, Aaron and his sister remained with their kinsmen in the eastern border-land of Egypt. Here he gained a name for eloquent and persuasive speech; so that when the time came for the demand upon the Pharaoh to release Israel from captivity, Aaron became his brother’s nabi , or spokesman, to his own people and, after their unwillingness to hear, to the Pharaoh himself.

Meaning of name

The meaning of the name is doubtful. Possible meanings are:

1. Pregnancy - In Hebrew - הריון. In Ancient Egyptian herr is to conceive and hrara is conception.

2. From the mountain - In Hebrew הר - 'HAR', which may refer to place of his death.

See also (Hebrew): "To the Meaning of the name Aaron"

His function

Aaron’s function included the duties of speaker and implied personal dealings with the court on behalf of Moses, who was always the central moving figure. The part played by Aaron in the events that preceded the Exodus was, therefore, ministerial, and not directive. He, along with Moses, performed “signs” before his people which impressed them with a belief in the reality of the divine mission of the brothers. At the command of Moses he stretched out his rod in order to bring on the first three plagues. In the infliction of the remaining plagues he appears to have acted merely as the attendant of Moses, whose outstretched rod drew the divine wrath upon the Pharaoh and his subjects. The potency of Aaron’s rod had already been demonstrated by its victory over the rods of the Egyptian magicians, which it swallowed after all the rods alike had been turned into serpents. During the journey in the wilderness Aaron is not always prominent or active; and he sometimes appears guilty of rebellious or treasonable conduct. At the battle with Amalek he is chosen with Hur to support the hand of Moses that held the “rod of God”. When the revelation was given to Moses at Sinai, he headed the elders of Israel who accompanied Moses on the way to the summit. Joshua, however, was admitted with his leader to the very presence of the Lord, while Aaron and Hur remained below to look after the people. It was during the prolonged absence of Moses that Aaron yielded to the clamors of the people, and made a golden calf as a visible image of the divinity who had delivered them from Egypt. (It should be noted that in the account given of the same events, in the Qur'an, Aaron is not the idol-maker and upon Moses' return begged his pardon as he had felt mortally threatened by the Israelites .) At the intercession of Moses, Aaron was saved from the plague which smote the people (Deuteronomy 9:20; Exodus 32:35), although it was to Aaron’s tribe of Levi that the work of punitive vengeance was committed

Becomes priest of Israel

File:Aaron high priest.jpg

18th Century Dutch oak statue portraying the high priest

At the time when the tribe of Levi was set apart for the priestly service, Aaron was anointed and consecrated to the priesthood, arrayed in the robes of his office, and instructed in its manifold duties (Exodus 28 and 29). On the very day of his consecration his sons, Nadab and Abihu, were consumed by fire from the Lord for having offered incense in an unlawful manner (Leviticus 10).

Rebellion of Korah

From the time of the sojourn at Mount Sinai, where he became the anointed priest of Israel, Aaron ceased to be the minister of Moses, his place being taken by Joshua. He is mentioned in association with Miriam in a jealous complaint against the exclusive claims of Moses as the Lord’s prophet. The presumption of the murmurers was rebuked, and Miriam was smitten with tzara'as. Aaron entreated Moses to intercede for her, at the same time confessing the sin and folly that prompted the uprising. Aaron himself was not struck with the plague on account of sacerdotal immunity; and Miriam, after seven days’ quarantine, was healed and restored to favor. It is noteworthy that the prophet Micah mentions Moses, Aaron, and Miriam as the leaders of Israel after the Exodus (a judgment wholly in accord with the tenor of the narratives). In the present instance it is made clear by the express words of the oracle that Moses was unique among men as the one with whom the Lord spoke face to face. The failure to recognize or concede this prerogative of their brother was the sin of Miriam and Aaron. The validity of the exclusive priesthood of the family of Aaron was attested after the ill-fated rebellion of Korah, who was a first cousin of Aaron. When the earth had opened and swallowed up the leaders of the insurgents, Eleazar, the son of Aaron, was commissioned to take charge of the censers of the dead priests. And when the plague had broken out among the people who had sympathized with the rebels, Aaron, at the command of Moses, took his censer and stood between the living and the dead till the plague was stayed. Another memorable transaction followed. Each of the tribal princes of Israel took a rod and wrote his name upon it, and the twelve rods were laid up over night in the tent of meeting. On the morrow Aaron’s rod was found to have budded and blossomed and borne ripe almonds. The miracle proved merely the prerogative of the tribe of Levi; but now a formal distinction was made in perpetuity between the family of Aaron and the other Levites. While all the Levites (and only Levites) were to be devoted to sacred services, the special charge of the sanctuary and the altar was committed to the Aaronites alone The scene of this enactment is unknown, nor is the time mentioned.

Typical signification in apocryphal and rabbinical literature

The older prophets and prophetical writers beheld in their priests the representatives of a religious form inferior to the prophetic truth; men without the spirit of God and lacking the will-power requisite to resist the multitude in its idolatrous proclivities. Thus Aaron, the typical priest, ranks far below Moses: he is but his mouthpiece, and the executor of the will of God revealed through Moses, although it is pointed out that it is said fifteen times in the Pentateuch that “the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron.” Under the influence of the priesthood which shaped the destinies of the nation under Persian rule, a different ideal of the priest was formed, as is learned from Malachi 2:4-7; and the prevailing tendency was to place Aaron on a footing equal with Moses. “At times Aaron, and at other times Moses, is mentioned first in Scripture—this is to show that they were of equal rank,” says Mekilta בא, 1; and Ecclesiasticus expressly infers this when introducing in his record of renowned men the glowing description of Aaron’s ministration.

Moses and Aaron compared

According to Tanhuma, Aaron’s activity as a prophet began earlier than that of Moses. The writer of the Testaments of the Patriarchs, however, hesitates to rank Moses the faithful, “him that speaks with God as with a father,” as equal with Aaron. The rabbis are still more emphatic in their praise of Aaron’s virtues. Thus Hillel, who in Herod’s time saw before him mainly a degenerate class of priests, selfish and quarrelsome, held Aaron of old up as a mirror, saying: “Be of the disciples of Aaron, loving peace and pursuing peace; love your fellow creatures and draw them nigh unto the Law!” This is further illustrated by the tradition preserved in Abot de-Rabbi Natan 12, Sanhedrin 6b, and elsewhere, according to which Aaron was an ideal priest of the people, far more beloved for his kindly ways than was Moses. While Moses was stern and uncompromising, brooking no wrong, Aaron went about as peacemaker, reconciling man and wife when he saw them estranged, or a man with his neighbor when they quarreled, and winning evil-doers back into the right way by his friendly intercourse. The mourning of the people at Aaron’s death was greater, therefore, than at that of Moses; for whereas, when Aaron died the whole house of Israel wept, including the women. Moses was bewailed by “the sons of Israel” only (Deuteronomy 34:8). Even in the making of the Golden Calf the rabbis find extenuating circumstances for Aaron. His fortitude and silent submission to the will of God on the loss of his two sons are referred to as an excellent example to men how to glorify God in the midst of great affliction. Especially significant are the words represented as being spoken by God after the princes of the Twelve Tribes had brought their dedication offerings into the newly reared Tabernacle: “Say to thy brother Aaron: Greater than the gifts of the princes is thy gift; for thou art called upon to kindle the light, and, while the sacrifices shall last only as long as the Temple lasts, thy light of the Law shall last forever.”

Genetics

Main article: Y-chromosomal Aaron

Recently, the tradition that Kohanim are actually descended from a single patriarch Aaron was found to be apparently consistent with genetic testing. Since all direct male lineage shares a common Y chromosome, testing was done across sectors of the Jewish population to see if there was any commonality between their Y chromosomes. Many of the results were found to cluster rather closely around a particular DNA signature, which the researchers named the Cohen modal haplotype, implying that many of the Kohanim do share a distinctive common ancestry. This information was also used (perhaps prematurely) to support the claim of the Lemba (a sub-Saharan tribe) that they were in fact, a tribe of Jews.

According to the documentary hypothesis

The Biblical representation of his character, negative and shadowy compared with Moses's, may be viewed in several ways. A clue to the seemingly contradictory delineations of Aaron (other than the obvious explanation that he is a complex character) is found in the framework of documentary analysis (see also Hexateuch), which is accepted by some but not all scholars. According to those who accept the documentary hypothesis, the following portions of text belong to (1) E, (2) J, (3) D, and (4) P sources, respectively, with the fifth item being from Ezekiel.

1. Aaron as fallible. These passages do not represent Aaron as a sacrosanct priest. He comes to meet Moses, supports him in war, and jurisprudence. He yields to the people and makes the calf and, with Miriam, criticises Moses for marrying a Cushite woman. Miriam is subsequently punished. He is present at the sacrificial covenant meal between Israel and the Kenites. In this aspect, Joshua, instead of Aaron, serves in the Tent.
2. Aaron as Moses's prophet. This representation concerns the covenant meal on Sinai (Exodus 24:1, 2, 9-11) and the vague charge that Aaron "let the people loose" (Exodus 32:25). Aaron seems to be an afterthought in the plague narrative. In both this and the last view, Moses is the viceregent of God and Aaron is Moses' prophet.
3. Aaron as idolatrous. In Deuteronomy 9, Aaron is partly responsible for the building of the Golden Calf. The story says that Yahweh is so angry toward Aaron that he was about to destroy him. It appears that it is only Moses's intercessory prayer and his destruction of the Golden Calf which saves Aaron. The account of his death in Deuteromy 10:6 is different from that in Numbers 20:22. According to Deuteronomy it occurred at Moserah, seven stations from Mount Hor (Numbers 33:30), in the early months of the wandering because of the sign of the Golden Calf. The only other passage in reference to Aaron in Deuteronomy merely states that he is the brother of Moses (Deuteronomy 32:50).
4. Aaron as subordinate. The first three, simpler, plagues Aaron brings on at Moses' command; thereafter Moses himself is the actor. In the narratives it is Moses in each case who vindicates him. Aaron dies at Mount Hor in the fortieth year of the Exodus (Numbers 20:22, 33:38), because of rebellion at Meribah (cf. Deuteronomy as above).
5. Aaron as non-priestly. In Leviticus 17-26, Aaron appears only in redactional passages connecting the Law of Holiness with its present context. In Ezekiel 40-48 Zadok, not Aaron, is the eponym of the priestly line (44:15, etc.).

Descendants

The sons of Aaron were Eleazar, Ithamar, Nadab and Abihu.

Aaron in Christianity

Aaron is considered a type of Christ, the high priest of the new dispensation. Aaron has a feast day of July 1 in the Roman Catholic calendar of saints. In the Greek Orthodox Church his feast is September 1, and he is also commemorated daily in the Greek Mass. His feast in the Maronite Church is September 4 with Moses.

Aaron in Islam

Main article: Islamic view of Aaron

Aaron is believed to be a Prophet in Islam and is known as Harun, which is the Arabic name for Aaron. His role also found an analogue in the person of Ali, to whom the Prophet Mohammad said: Will you not be pleased that you will be to me like Aaron to Moses? But there will be no prophet after me.

A significant difference in the Quran is the fact that Aaron was not involved with the creation of the Golden Calf, but did not prevent it as he feared for his life at the hands of the idol-makers.

Resources

• McCurdy, J. F. and Kaufmann Kohler. "Aaron". Jewish Encyclopedia. Funk and Wagnalls, 1901-1906; which cites
  • Numbers Rabbah 9
  • Leviticus Rabbah 10
  • Midrash Peṭirat Aharon in Jellinek’s Bet ha-Midrash, 1:91-95
  • Yalḳuṭ Numbers 764
  • Baring-Gould, Legends of Old Testament Characters
  • Chronicles of Jerahmeel, ed. M. Gaster, pp. cx1:130-133
  • B. Beer, in Wertheimer’s Jahrb., 1855
  • Hamburger, Der Geist der Haggada, pp. 1-8
    • the same, Realencyklopädie für Bibel und Talmud, s. v.
  • Holweck, F. G. A Biographical Dictionary of the Saint. St. Louis, MO: B. Herder Book Co. 1924.
•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
• This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

See also

• Harun
• Kohen
• Y-chromosomal Aaron
• Documentary Hypothesis - theories on the alternate meaning of Aaron's presence in the Torah.