Numbers 20:28
in Numbers 20After Moses had removed Aaron’s garments and put them on his son Eleazar, Aaron died there on top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Moses stripped Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son; and Aaron died there on the top of the mount: and Moses and Eleazar came down from the mount.
KJV
And Moses stripped Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son; and Aaron died there in the top of the mount: and Moses and Eleazar came down from the mount.
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This verse in Numbers 20
Commentary
6 notes on this verseAnd Aaron died there - Hence, as Dr. Lightfoot has justly observed, we have an “indisputable proof that the earthly Canaan was not the utmost felicity at which God’s promises to the Israelites aimed since the best men among them were excluded from it.” The remark of some of the fathers here is worthy of attention: “Neither Moses the representative of the law, nor Miriam the representative of the prophets, nor Aaron the representative of the priesthood and its sacrificial rites, could bring the Israelites into possession of the promised land.
This site's exposition
So Moses did as the LORD had commanded
on Numbers 20:27-29
They climb in the sight of the whole congregation, so the nation watches the priesthood change hands. Two men come down where three went up. The thirty days of mourning match those for Moses at Deuteronomy 34:8.
This site's exposition
Aaron died there on top of the mountain
Adam Clarke passes on Lightfoot's remark that the exclusion of Israel's best men from Canaan pointed past the earthly land. He adds the fathers' reading, in which Moses stands for the law, Miriam for the prophets and Aaron for the priesthood. Joshua led Israel in after all three had died.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
We shall see little reason to be proud of our cloaths, our ornaments, or marks of honour, if we consider how soon death will strip us of all our glory, and take the crown off from our head! Aaron died there - He died in Mosera, Deut. x, 6. Mosera was the general name of the place where that station was, and mount Hor a particular place in it.
And Moses stripped Aaron of his garments,....
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
21 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּפְשֵׁט֩ | vaiyafshet | and he stripped off | H6584 → | |
| מֹשֶׁ֨ה | mosheh | Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
| אֶֽת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אַהֲרֹ֜ן | ʾaharon | Aaron | H175 → | 347 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בְּגָדָ֗יו | begadav | garments his | H899 → | 217 times |
| וַיַּלְבֵּ֤שׁ | vaiyalbesh | and he clothed | H3847 → | |
| אֹתָם֙ | ʾotam | with them | H854 → | 929 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֶלְעָזָ֣ר | ʾelazar | Eleazar | H499 → | 72 times |
| בְּנ֔וֹ | beno | son his | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| וַיָּ֧מָת | vaiyamot | and he died | H4191 → | 839 times |
| אַהֲרֹ֛ן | ʾaharon | Aaron | H175 → | 347 times |
| שָׁ֖ם | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| בְּרֹ֣אשׁ | berosh | at [the] top of | H7218 → | 599 times |
| הָהָ֑ר | hahar | the mountain | H2022 → | 546 times |
| וַיֵּ֧רֶד | vaiyered | and he went down | H3381 → | 381 times |
| מֹשֶׁ֛ה | mosheh | Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
| וְאֶלְעָזָ֖ר | veelazar | and Eleazar | H499 → | 72 times |
| מִן־ | min- | from | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הָהָֽר׃ | hahar | the mountain | H2022 → | 546 times |
וַיַּפְשֵׁט֩and he stripped off
vaiyafshetH6584 →
מֹשֶׁ֨הMoses
moshehH4872 →765 times
אֶֽת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אַהֲרֹ֜ןAaron
ʾaharonH175 →347 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
בְּגָדָ֗יוgarments his
begadavH899 →217 times
וַיַּלְבֵּ֤שׁand he clothed
vaiyalbeshH3847 →
אֹתָם֙with them
ʾotamH854 →929 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אֶלְעָזָ֣רEleazar
ʾelazarH499 →72 times
בְּנ֔וֹson his
benoH1121 →4930 times
וַיָּ֧מָתand he died
vaiyamotH4191 →839 times
אַהֲרֹ֛ןAaron
ʾaharonH175 →347 times
שָׁ֖םthere
shamH8033 →834 times
בְּרֹ֣אשׁat [the] top of
beroshH7218 →599 times
הָהָ֑רthe mountain
haharH2022 →546 times
וַיֵּ֧רֶדand he went down
vaiyeredH3381 →381 times
מֹשֶׁ֛הMoses
moshehH4872 →765 times
וְאֶלְעָזָ֖רand Eleazar
veelazarH499 →72 times
מִן־from
min-H4480 →1188 times
הָהָֽר׃the mountain
haharH2022 →546 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
Deuteronomy 10:6The Israelites traveled from Beeroth Bene-jaakan to Moserah, where Aaron died and was buried, and Eleazar his son succeeded him as priest.
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…
- Numbers 20:23–28
And at Mount Hor, near the border of the land of Edom, the LORD said to Moses and Aaron,
- Numbers 33:30–33
They set out from Hashmonah and camped at Moseroth.
- Numbers 33:38
Through
2 Peter 1:15And I will make every effort to ensure that after my departure, you will be able to recall these things at all times.
it leads to
- Psalms 71:18
Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, until I proclaim Your power to the next generation, Your might to all who are to come.
- Deuteronomy 31:19–29
Now therefore, write down for yourselves this song and teach it to the Israelites; have them recite it, so that it may be a witness for Me against them.
- 2 Peter 1:12
Therefore I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are established in the truth you now have.
- Joshua 24:24–29
So the people said to Joshua, “We will serve the LORD our God and obey His voice.”
- Psalms 71:18
Through
Numbers 20:26Remove Aaron’s priestly garments and put them on his son Eleazar. Aaron will be gathered to his people and will die there.”
it leads to
- Numbers 20:24
“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.
- Numbers 20:24
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies11
On this verse
About Numbers
Who and where
3 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonExodus and Wilderness PeriodMosesIsrael's deliverer from Egyptian slavery, covenant mediator, and lawgiver.
- PersonExodus eraAaronBrother of Moses and Israel's first high priest; his rod budded, his garments were for glory and beauty, and his line carried the…
- PersonWildernessEleazarAaron's third son who succeeded him as high priest on Mount Hor, founding the line that runs to Phinehas and Zadok.
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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament.