Numbers 20:22-29
New English Translation
Aaron’s Death
22 So the entire company of Israelites[a] traveled from Kadesh and came to Mount Hor.[b] 23 And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron at Mount Hor, by the border of the land of Edom. He said: 24 “Aaron will be gathered to his ancestors,[c] for he will not enter into the land I have given to the Israelites because both of you[d] rebelled against my word[e] at the waters of Meribah. 25 Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and bring them up on Mount Hor. 26 Remove Aaron’s priestly garments[f] and put them on Eleazar his son, and Aaron will be gathered to his ancestors[g] and will die there.”
27 So Moses did as the Lord commanded; and they went up Mount Hor in the sight[h] of the whole community. 28 And Moses removed Aaron’s garments and put them on his son Eleazar. So Aaron died there on the top of the mountain. And Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain. 29 When all the community saw that Aaron was dead, the whole house of Israel mourned for Aaron thirty days.
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- Numbers 20:22 tn Again the passage uses apposition: “the Israelites, the whole community.”
- Numbers 20:22 sn The traditional location for this is near Petra (Josephus, Ant. 4.4.7). There is serious doubt about this location since it is well inside Edomite territory, and since it is very inaccessible for the transfer of the office. Another view places it not too far from Kadesh Barnea, about 15 miles (25 km) northeast at Jebel Madurah, on the northwest edge of Edom and so a suitable point of departure for approaching Canaan from the south (see J. L. Mihelec, IDB 2:644; and J. de Vaulx, Les Nombres [SB], 231). Others suggest it was at the foot of Mount Hor and not actually up in the mountains (see Deut 10:6).
- Numbers 20:24 sn This is the standard poetic expression for death. The bones would be buried, often with the bones of relatives in the same tomb, giving rise to the expression.
- Numbers 20:24 tn The verb is in the second person plural form, and so it is Moses and Aaron who rebelled, and so now because of that Aaron first and then Moses would die without going into the land.
- Numbers 20:24 tn Heb “mouth.”
- Numbers 20:26 tn The word “priestly” is supplied in the translation for clarity.
- Numbers 20:26 tn Heb “will be gathered”; this is a truncated form of the usual expression “gathered to his ancestors,” found in v. 24. The phrase “to his ancestors” is supplied in the translation here.
- Numbers 20:27 tn Heb “eyes.”
Numbers 20:22-29
New Living Translation
The Death of Aaron
22 The whole community of Israel left Kadesh and arrived at Mount Hor. 23 There, on the border of the land of Edom, the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 24 “The time has come for Aaron to join his ancestors in death. He will not enter the land I am giving the people of Israel, because the two of you rebelled against my instructions concerning the water at Meribah. 25 Now take Aaron and his son Eleazar up Mount Hor. 26 There you will remove Aaron’s priestly garments and put them on Eleazar, his son. Aaron will die there and join his ancestors.”
27 So Moses did as the Lord commanded. The three of them went up Mount Hor together as the whole community watched. 28 At the summit, Moses removed the priestly garments from Aaron and put them on Eleazar, Aaron’s son. Then Aaron died there on top of the mountain, and Moses and Eleazar went back down. 29 When the people realized that Aaron had died, all Israel mourned for him thirty days.
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