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Family:
Aaron's parents were Amram and Jochebed. He had a
brother, Moses, and a sister, Miriam. When he was
grown he had a family of his own. His wife's name
was Elisheba and his sons were: Eleazar, Ithamar, Nadab
and Abihu. Nadab and Abihu were struck dead by God
when they offered strange fire in the role of priests.
Eleazar and Ithamar took their place as priests and did
a good job.
Job/Occupation: Aaron is known for his role as the
first high priest. In Old Testament times, the
high priest was the one that represented people before
God. We also know that before he was high priest.
Aaron was the spokesman for his brother, Moses.
God knew that Aaron could 'speak well' and Moses was
'slow of speech'. So Aaron spoke for Moses when
they represented God before Pharaoh. Aaron also
performed many miracles with Moses that we read about in
the book of Exodus.
Significant Events:
Aaron was 83 years old when he and Moses spoke for God
to Pharaoh. They told him that God wanted his
people, the Israelites, to be freed from Egypt so that
they could worship God in the desert. Pharaoh
would not listen and many plagues, showing God's power,
came upon his land until he finally let God's people go.
These are referred to as the 10 plagues and can be read
about in Exodus 7-12.
Once the Israelites
were free from Egypt, they wandered in the desert for 40
years. Aaron was their high priest during this time.
Although Aaron was a good man, he made some bad choices
that made God angry such as making a golden calf, an
idol, for the people to worship while Moses was on Mount
Sinai (Exodus 32:5). He also shared in Moses' sin
at Merbah when Moses struck a rock to get water for the
people instead of speaking to the rock as he had been
commanded by God.
Death of Aaron:
Aaron died on Mount Hor. His robes, which the high
priest wore, were taken and given to his son, Eleazar,
who became the next high priest. Moses, his
brother, and Eleazar, his son, were present at his death
and buried him. The entire Israelite community
mourned his death for 30 days. (Numbers 20: 22-29)
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Aaron in
Pharaoh's court - God turned his rod into a serpent.
When Pharaoh's magicians turned their rods into
serpents, Aaron's gobbled theirs up.
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Aaron was 123
years old when he died.
Aaron's
name means 'enlightener'.
Amram married his
father's sister, Jochebed |
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