Know the Text⌕

Reading as Seek: to learn Scripture and its teachings. Same facts, warmer framing.

Person

Aaron

An imagined portrait of Aaron in the style of a tinted engraving
An imagined, stylized portrait. No one knows what Aaron looked like. AI-generated
ManAIR-un

In Exodus to Numbers, Moses's brother and spokesman and Israel's first high priest; he also makes the golden calf.

See Exodus 4:14, Exodus 4:16, Exodus 28:1, Exodus 32:4.

A staff in bloom marks Aaron in the reading view: his staff that budded, blossomed and bore almonds (Numbers 17:8).

A realistic AI imagining of Aaron

The same AI portrait re-imagined as a photograph. It is no more accurate than the stylized version: no one knows what Aaron looked like.

Mentioned in 331 verses across 16 books, first in Leviticus 1:5. The verses below are the ones linked to this person (the Theographic dataset, with our sourced corrections).

In these stories

In the Bible

All 77 verses in Leviticus, in Bible order. Text from the Berean Standard Bible; verse numbers follow the KJV.

Leviticus

  • Leviticus 1:5

    And he shall slaughter the young bull before the LORD, and Aaron’s sons the priests are to present the blood and sprinkle it on all sides of the altar at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.

  • Leviticus 1:7

    The sons of Aaron the priest shall put a fire on the altar and arrange wood on the fire.

  • Leviticus 1:8

    Then Aaron’s sons the priests are to arrange the pieces, including the head and the fat, atop the burning wood on the altar.

  • Leviticus 1:11

    He shall slaughter it on the north side of the altar before the LORD, and Aaron’s sons the priests are to sprinkle its blood against the altar on all sides.

  • Leviticus 2:2

    and bring it to Aaron’s sons the priests. The priest shall take a handful of the flour and oil, together with all the frankincense, and burn this as a memorial portion on the altar, an offering made by fire, a pleasing aroma to the LORD.

  • Leviticus 2:3

    The remainder of the grain offering shall belong to Aaron and his sons; it is a most holy part of the offerings made by fire to the LORD.

  • Leviticus 2:10

    But the remainder of the grain offering shall belong to Aaron and his sons; it is a most holy part of the offerings made by fire to the LORD.

  • Leviticus 3:2

    He is to lay his hand on the head of the offering and slaughter it at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. Then Aaron’s sons the priests shall sprinkle the blood on all sides of the altar.

  • Leviticus 3:5

    Then Aaron’s sons are to burn it on the altar atop the burnt offering that is on the burning wood, as an offering made by fire, a pleasing aroma to the LORD.

  • Leviticus 3:8

    He is to lay his hand on the head of his offering and slaughter it in front of the Tent of Meeting. Then Aaron’s sons shall sprinkle its blood on all sides of the altar.

  • Leviticus 3:13

    He must lay his hand on its head and slaughter it in front of the Tent of Meeting. Then Aaron’s sons shall sprinkle its blood on all sides of the altar.

  • Leviticus 6:9

    “Command Aaron and his sons that this is the law of the burnt offering: The burnt offering is to remain on the hearth of the altar all night, until morning, and the fire must be kept burning on the altar.

  • Leviticus 6:14

    Now this is the law of the grain offering: Aaron’s sons shall present it before the LORD in front of the altar.

  • Leviticus 6:16

    Aaron and his sons are to eat the remainder. It must be eaten without leaven in a holy place; they are to eat it in the courtyard of the Tent of Meeting.

  • Leviticus 6:18

    Any male among the sons of Aaron may eat it. This is a permanent portion from the offerings made by fire to the LORD for the generations to come. Anything that touches them will become holy.”

  • Leviticus 6:20

    “This is the offering that Aaron and his sons must present to the LORD on the day he is anointed: a tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a regular grain offering, half of it in the morning and half in the evening.

  • Leviticus 6:25

    “Tell Aaron and his sons that this is the law of the sin offering: In the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered, the sin offering shall be slaughtered before the LORD; it is most holy.

  • Leviticus 7:10

    and every grain offering, whether dry or mixed with oil, belongs equally to all the sons of Aaron.

  • Leviticus 7:31

    The priest is to burn the fat on the altar, but the breast belongs to Aaron and his sons.

  • Leviticus 7:33

    The son of Aaron who presents the blood and fat of the peace offering shall have the right thigh as a portion.

  • Leviticus 7:34

    I have taken from the sons of Israel the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the contribution of their peace offerings, and I have given them to Aaron the priest and his sons as a permanent portion from the sons of Israel.’”

  • Leviticus 7:35

    This is the portion of the offerings made by fire to the LORD for Aaron and his sons since the day they were presented to serve the LORD as priests.

  • Leviticus 8:2

    “Take Aaron and his sons, their garments, the anointing oil, the bull of the sin offering, the two rams, and the basket of unleavened bread,

  • Leviticus 8:6

    Then Moses presented Aaron and his sons and washed them with water.

  • Leviticus 8:12

    He also poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head and anointed him to consecrate him.

  • Leviticus 8:13

    Then Moses presented Aaron’s sons, put tunics on them, wrapped sashes around them, and tied headbands on them, just as the LORD had commanded him.

  • Leviticus 8:14

    Moses then brought the bull near for the sin offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head.

  • Leviticus 8:18

    Then Moses presented the ram for the burnt offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head.

  • Leviticus 8:22

    After that, Moses presented the other ram, the ram of ordination, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head.

  • Leviticus 8:23

    Moses slaughtered the ram and took some of its blood and put it on Aaron’s right earlobe, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.

  • Leviticus 8:24

    Moses also presented Aaron’s sons and put some of the blood on their right earlobes, on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet. Then he sprinkled the blood on all sides of the altar.

  • Leviticus 8:27

    He put all these in the hands of Aaron and his sons and waved them before the LORD as a wave offering.

  • Leviticus 8:30

    Next, Moses took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood that was on the altar and sprinkled them on Aaron and his garments, and on his sons and their garments. So he consecrated Aaron and his garments, as well as Aaron’s sons and their garments.

  • Leviticus 8:31

    And Moses said to Aaron and his sons, “Boil the meat at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and eat it there with the bread that is in the basket of ordination offerings, as I commanded, saying, ‘Aaron and his sons are to eat it.’

  • Leviticus 8:36

    So Aaron and his sons did everything the LORD had commanded through Moses.

  • Leviticus 9:1

    On the eighth day Moses summoned Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel.

  • Leviticus 9:2

    He said to Aaron, “Take for yourself a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering, both without blemish, and present them before the LORD.

  • Leviticus 9:7

    Then Moses said to Aaron, “Approach the altar and sacrifice your sin offering and your burnt offering to make atonement for yourself and for the people. And sacrifice the people’s offering to make atonement for them, as the LORD has commanded.”

  • Leviticus 9:8

    So Aaron approached the altar and slaughtered the calf as a sin offering for himself.

  • Leviticus 9:9

    The sons of Aaron brought the blood to him, and he dipped his finger in the blood and applied it to the horns of the altar. And he poured out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar.

  • Leviticus 9:12

    Then Aaron slaughtered the burnt offering. His sons brought him the blood, and he sprinkled it on all sides of the altar.

  • Leviticus 9:18

    Then he slaughtered the ox and the ram as the people’s peace offering. His sons brought him the blood, and he sprinkled it on all sides of the altar.

  • Leviticus 9:21

    but he waved the breasts and the right thigh as a wave offering before the LORD, as Moses had commanded.

  • Leviticus 9:22

    Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them. And having made the sin offering, the burnt offering, and the peace offering, he stepped down.

  • Leviticus 9:23

    Moses and Aaron then entered the Tent of Meeting. When they came out, they blessed the people, and the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people.

  • Leviticus 10:1

    Now Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire in them and added incense, and offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, contrary to His command.

  • Leviticus 10:3

    Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the LORD meant when He said: ‘To those who come near Me I will show My holiness, and in the sight of all the people I will reveal My glory.’” But Aaron remained silent.

  • Leviticus 10:4

    Moses summoned Mishael and Elzaphan, sons of Aaron’s uncle Uzziel, and said to them, “Come here; carry the bodies of your cousins outside the camp, away from the front of the sanctuary.”

  • Leviticus 10:6

    Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “Do not let your hair become disheveled and do not tear your garments, or else you will die, and the LORD will be angry with the whole congregation. But your brothers, the whole house of Israel, may mourn on account of the fire that the LORD has ignited.

  • Leviticus 10:8

    Then the LORD said to Aaron,

  • Leviticus 10:12

    And Moses said to Aaron and his remaining sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, “Take the grain offering that remains from the offerings made by fire to the LORD and eat it without leaven beside the altar, because it is most holy.

  • Leviticus 10:16

    Later, Moses searched carefully for the goat of the sin offering, and behold, it had been burned up. He was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s remaining sons, and asked,

  • Leviticus 10:19

    But Aaron replied to Moses, “Behold, this very day they presented their sin offering and their burnt offering before the LORD. Since these things have happened to me, if I had eaten the sin offering today, would it have been acceptable in the sight of the LORD?”

  • Leviticus 11:1

    The LORD spoke again to Moses and Aaron, telling them,

  • Leviticus 13:1

    Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron,

  • Leviticus 13:2

    “When someone has a swelling or rash or bright spot on his skin that could become an infectious skin disease, he must be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons who is a priest.

  • Leviticus 14:33

    Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron,

  • Leviticus 15:1

    And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron,

  • Leviticus 16:1

    Now the LORD spoke to Moses after the death of two of Aaron’s sons when they approached the presence of the LORD.

  • Leviticus 16:2

    And the LORD said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron not to enter freely into the Most Holy Place behind the veil in front of the mercy seat on the ark, or else he will die, because I appear in the cloud above the mercy seat.

  • Leviticus 16:3

    This is how Aaron is to enter the Holy Place: with a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.

  • Leviticus 16:6

    Aaron is to present the bull for his sin offering and make atonement for himself and his household.

  • Leviticus 16:8

    After Aaron casts lots for the two goats, one for the LORD and the other for the scapegoat,

  • Leviticus 16:9

    he shall present the goat chosen by lot for the LORD and sacrifice it as a sin offering.

  • Leviticus 16:11

    When Aaron presents the bull for his sin offering and makes atonement for himself and his household, he is to slaughter the bull for his own sin offering.

  • Leviticus 16:21

    Then he is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the iniquities and rebellious acts of the Israelites in regard to all their sins. He is to put them on the goat’s head and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man appointed for the task.

  • Leviticus 16:23

    Then Aaron is to enter the Tent of Meeting, take off the linen garments he put on before entering the Most Holy Place, and leave them there.

  • Leviticus 17:2

    “Speak to Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites and tell them this is what the LORD has commanded:

  • Leviticus 21:1

    Then the LORD said to Moses, “Speak to Aaron’s sons, the priests, and tell them that a priest is not to defile himself for a dead person among his people,

  • Leviticus 21:17

    “Say to Aaron, ‘For the generations to come, none of your descendants who has a physical defect may approach to offer the food of his God.

  • Leviticus 21:21

    No descendant of Aaron the priest who has a defect shall approach to present the offerings made by fire to the LORD. Since he has a defect, he is not to come near to offer the food of his God.

  • Leviticus 21:24

    Moses told this to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites.

  • Leviticus 22:2

    “Tell Aaron and his sons to treat with respect the sacred offerings that the Israelites have consecrated to Me, so that they do not profane My holy name. I am the LORD.

  • Leviticus 22:4

    If a descendant of Aaron has a skin disease or a discharge, he may not eat the sacred offerings until he is clean. Whoever touches anything defiled by a corpse or by a man who has an emission of semen,

  • Leviticus 22:18

    “Speak to Aaron and his sons and all the Israelites and tell them, ‘Any man of the house of Israel or any foreign resident who presents a gift for a burnt offering to the LORD, whether to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering,

  • Leviticus 24:3

    Outside the veil of the Testimony in the Tent of Meeting, Aaron is to tend the lamps continually before the LORD from evening until morning. This is to be a permanent statute for the generations to come.

  • Leviticus 24:9

    It belongs to Aaron and his sons, who are to eat it in a holy place; for it is to him a most holy part of the offerings made by fire to the LORD—his portion forever.”

Events

Events the dataset lists Aaron as taking part in. Dates follow its Ussher–Jones reckoning (one of several traditional counts), not established history.

  1. c. 1491 BC
    Exodus from EgyptExodus 6:7–13:17 · at Egypt
  2. c. 1491 BC

Dictionary

From Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897), as attached to this record by Theographic. The entry is for the name and can describe more than one person who bore it. Easton wrote in 1897, and some of his views are now debated.

Read Easton’s entry

The eldest son of Amram and Jochebed, a daughter of Levi (Ex. 6:20). Some explain the name as meaning mountaineer, others mountain of strength, illuminator. He was born in Egypt three years before his brother Moses, and a number of years after his sister Miriam (2:1, 4; 7:7). He married Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab of the house of Judah (6:23; 1 Chr. 2:10), by whom he had four sons, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. When the time for the deliverance of Isarael out of Egypt drew nigh, he was sent by God (Ex. 4:14, 27-30) to meet his long-absent brother, that he might co-operate with him in all that they were required to do in bringing about the Exodus. He was to be the “mouth” or “prophet” of Moses, i.e., was to speak for him, because he was a man of a ready utterance (7:1, 2, 9, 10, 19). He was faithful to his trust, and stood by Moses in all his interviews with Pharaoh.

When the ransomed tribes fought their first battle with Amalek in Rephidim, Moses stood on a hill overlooking the scene of the conflict with the rod of God in his outstretched hand. On this occasion he was attended by Aaron and Hur, his sister’s husband, who held up his wearied hands till Joshua and the chosen warriors of Israel gained the victory (17:8-13).

Afterwards, when encamped before Sinai, and when Moses at the command of God ascended the mount to receive the tables of the law, Aaron and his two sons, Nadab and Abihu, along with seventy of the elders of Israel, were permitted to accompany him part of the way, and to behold afar off the manifestation of the glory of Israel’s God (Ex. 19:24; 24:9-11). While Moses remained on the mountain with God, Aaron returned unto the people; and yielding through fear, or ignorance, or instability of character, to their clamour, made unto them a golden calf, and set it up as an object of worship (Ex. 32:4; Ps. 106:19). On the return of Moses to the camp, Aaron was sternly rebuked by him for the part he had acted in this matter; but he interceded for him before God, who forgave his sin (Deut. 9:20).

On the mount, Moses received instructions regarding the system of worship which was to be set up among the people; and in accordance therewith Aaron and his sons were consecrated to the priest’s office ([Lev. 8](/lev#Lev.8); [9](/lev#Lev.9)). Aaron, as high priest, held henceforth the prominent place appertaining to that office.

When Israel had reached Hazeroth, in “the wilderness of Paran,” Aaron joined with his sister Miriam in murmuring against Moses, “because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married,” probably after the death of Zipporah. But the Lord vindicated his servant Moses, and punished Miriam with leprosy ([Num. 12](/num#Num.12)). Aaron acknowledged his own and his sister’s guilt, and at the intercession of Moses they were forgiven.

Twenty years after this, when the children of Israel were encamped in the wilderness of Paran, Korah, Dathan, and Abiram conspired against Aaron and his sons; but a fearful judgment from God fell upon them, and they were destroyed, and the next day thousands of the people also perished by a fierce pestilence, the ravages of which were only stayed by the interposition of Aaron ([Num. 16](/num#Num.16)). That there might be further evidence of the divine appointment of Aaron to the priestly office, the chiefs of the tribes were each required to bring to Moses a rod bearing on it the name of his tribe. And these, along with the rod of Aaron for the tribe of Levi, were laid up overnight in the tabernacle, and in the morning it was found that while the other rods remained unchanged, that of Aaron “for the house of Levi” budded, blossomed, and yielded almonds (Num. 17:1-10). This rod was afterwards preserved in the tabernacle (Heb. 9:4) as a memorial of the divine attestation of his appointment to the priesthood.

Aaron was implicated in the sin of his brother at Meribah (Num. 20:8-13), and on that account was not permitted to enter the Promised Land. When the tribes arrived at Mount Hor, “in the edge of the land of Edom,” at the command of God Moses led Aaron and his son Eleazar to the top of that mountain, in the sight of all the people. There he stripped Aaron of his priestly vestments, and put them upon Eleazar; and there Aaron died on the top of the mount, being 123 years old (Num. 20:23-29. Comp. Deut. 10:6; 32:50), and was “gathered unto his people.” The people, “even all the house of Israel,” mourned for him thirty days. Of Aaron’s sons two survived him, Eleazar, whose family held the high-priesthood till the time of Eli; and Ithamar, in whose family, beginning with Eli, the high-priesthood was held till the time of Solomon. Aaron’s other two sons had been struck dead (Lev. 10:1, 2) for the daring impiety of offering “strange fire” on the alter of incense.

The Arabs still show with veneration the traditionary site of Aaron’s grave on one of the two summits of Mount Hor, which is marked by a Mohammedan chapel. His name is mentioned in the Koran, and there are found in the writings of the rabbins many fabulous stories regarding him.

He was the first anointed priest. His descendants, “the house of Aaron,” constituted the priesthood in general. In the time of David they were very numerous (1 Chr. 12:27). The other branches of the tribe of Levi held subordinate positions in connection with the sacred office. Aaron was a type of Christ in his official character as the high priest. His priesthood was a “shadow of heavenly things,” and was intended to lead the people of Israel to look forward to the time when “another priest” would arise “after the order of Melchizedek” (Heb. 6:20).

Report a problem

Found something wrong, unsourced or unfair? Tell us; every report is read. Please don’t include personal information.

↑