Mount Hor
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Mount Hor stood 'by the coast of the land of Edom' and was the place where Aaron, Israel's first high priest, died. Because Moses and Aaron had rebelled against God's word at the water of Meribah, Aaron would not enter the promised land. At God's command Moses brought Aaron and his son Eleazar up the mountain in the sight of all the congregation, stripped Aaron of his priestly garments, and put them upon Eleazar. Aaron died there in the top of the mount at the age of a hundred and twenty and three, and all the house of Israel mourned for him thirty days. The scene is one of the Bible's clearest pictures of the priesthood passing faithfully from one generation to the next, even when a leader's own journey ended in the wilderness.
Details
- Region
- Transjordan
- Modern Location
- Traditionally Jebel Harun near Petra, Jordan. Some scholars prefer a site nearer Kadesh, such as Jebel Madurah.
Journey Paths
Key Passages
The Death of Aaron
Numbers 20:22-29
Aaron's garments pass to Eleazar on the mountaintop, and Israel mourns its first high priest for thirty days.
22nd the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, journeyed from Kadesh, and came unto mount Hor.
Aaron Dies in the Fortieth Year
Numbers 33:38-39
The journey record dates Aaron's death to the fortieth year after the Exodus, on the first day of the fifth month.
38nd Aaron the priest went up into mount Hor at the commandment of the LORD, and died there, in the fortieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the first day of the fifth month.
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Did You Know?
Aaron died on Mount Hor at the age of 123, in the fortieth year after the Exodus.
Israel mourned Aaron for thirty days, the same length of mourning later given to Moses.
A small shrine traditionally marking Aaron's tomb still stands on Jebel Harun above Petra.