Numbers 20:24
in Numbers 20“Aaron will be gathered to his people; he will not enter the land that I have given the Israelites, because both of you rebelled against My command at the waters of Meribah.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Aaron shall be gathered unto his people; for he shall not enter into the land which I have given unto the children of Israel, because ye rebelled against my word at the waters of Meribah.
KJV
Aaron shall be gathered unto his people: for he shall not enter into the land which I have given unto the children of Israel, because ye rebelled against my word at the water of Meribah.
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This verse in Numbers 20
Commentary
5 notes on this verseHe is not cut off from his people, as the expression usually is concerning those that die by the hand of divine justice, but he is gathered to his people, as one that died in the arms of divine grace. There is much of type and significancy in them.
This site's exposition
And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron in mount Hor
on Numbers 20:23-26
The ground for Aaron's death outside the land is named as the water of Meribah, so the sentence of verse 12 is read back over both brothers. Aaron is stripped of his garments and Eleazar is clothed in them while Aaron is alive to watch it, which Adam Clarke reads as the ordinary form of transferring an office, by investing the successor in the robes. Hebrews 7:23-24 takes up this very thing, that the Levitical priests were many because death stopped them, and that the priesthood of Christ passes to no one. Gathered unto his people is the phrase used of Abraham at Genesis 25:8 and of Isaac at Genesis 35:29.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
God would not have Moses and Aaron to carry the people into Canaan, for this reason also, to signify the insufficiency of the Mosaical law and Aaronical priesthood to make them perfectly happy, and the necessity of a better, and to keep the Israelites from resting in them, so as to be taken off from their expectation of Christ.
Aaron shall be gathered unto his people,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
But although the time of his death was hastened by the divine displeasure as a punishment for his sins, the manner of his death was arranged in tenderness of love, and to do him honor at the close of his earthly service. His ascent of the mount was to afford him a last look of the camp and a distant prospect of the promised land.
The words behind it
20 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| יֵאָסֵ֤ף | yeasef | he will be gathered | H622 → | 200 times |
| אַהֲרֹן֙ | ʾaharon | Aaron | H175 → | 347 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| עַמָּ֔יו | ʾamav | people<s> his | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| לֹ֤א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יָבֹא֙ | yavo' | he will go | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | into | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הָאָ֔רֶץ | haaretz | the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| נָתַ֖תִּי | natati | I have given | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לִבְנֵ֣י | livnei | to [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| עַ֛ל | ʾal | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | that | H834 → | 5497 times |
| מְרִיתֶ֥ם | meritem | you rebelled against | H4784 → | 45 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| פִּ֖י | pi | mouth my | H6310 → | 498 times |
| לְמֵ֥י | lemei | to [the] waters of | H4325 → | 581 times |
| מְרִיבָֽה׃ | merivah | Meribah | H4809 → | 11 times |
יֵאָסֵ֤ףhe will be gathered
yeasefH622 →200 times
אַהֲרֹן֙Aaron
ʾaharonH175 →347 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
עַמָּ֔יוpeople<s> his
ʾamavH5971 →1873 times
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
לֹ֤אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יָבֹא֙he will go
yavo'H935 →2568 times
אֶל־into
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הָאָ֔רֶץthe land
haaretzH776 →2504 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
נָתַ֖תִּיI have given
natatiH5414 →2011 times
לִבְנֵ֣יto [the] people of
livneiH1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֑לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
עַ֛לon
ʾalH5921 →5755 times
אֲשֶׁר־that
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
מְרִיתֶ֥םyou rebelled against
meritemH4784 →45 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
פִּ֖יmouth my
piH6310 →498 times
לְמֵ֥יto [the] waters of
lemeiH4325 →581 times
מְרִיבָֽה׃Meribah
merivahH4809 →11 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Genesis 25:8And at a ripe old age he breathed his last and died, old and contented, and was gathered to his people.
it leads to
- Genesis 49:33
When Jacob had finished instructing his sons, he pulled his feet into the bed and breathed his last, and he was gathered to his people.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 35:28–29
And Isaac lived 180 years.
- Genesis 15:15
You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a ripe old age.
- 1 Chronicles 29:28
He died at a ripe old age, full of years, riches, and honor, and his son Solomon reigned in his place.
- Job 5:26
You will come to the grave in full vigor, like a sheaf of grain gathered in season.
- Genesis 49:33
Through
Deuteronomy 32:50And there on the mountain that you climb, you will die and be gathered to your people, just as your brother Aaron died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people.
it leads to
- Numbers 33:38
At the LORD’s command, Aaron the priest climbed Mount Hor and died there on the first day of the fifth month, in the fortieth year after the Israelites had come out of the land…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 25:17
Ishmael lived a total of 137 years. Then he breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Numbers 33:38
Through
2 Chronicles 34:28‘Now I will indeed gather you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace. Your eyes will not see all the calamity that I will bring on this place…
it leads to
- Isaiah 39:8
But Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the LORD that you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “At least there will be peace and security in my lifetime.”
- Isaiah 39:8
Where this verse is studied
About Numbers

Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
