Numbers 20:24-28

20:24 “Aaron will be gathered to his ancestors, ¹  for he will not enter into the land I have given to the Israelites because both of you ²  rebelled against my word ³  at the waters of Meribah. 20:25 Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and bring them up on Mount Hor. 20:26 Remove Aaron’s priestly garments ⁴  and put them on Eleazar his son, and Aaron will be gathered to his ancestors ⁵  and will die there.”

20:27 So Moses did as the Lord commanded; and they went up Mount Hor in the sight ⁶  of the whole community. 20:28 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.

Numbers 33:38

33:38 Aaron the priest ascended Mount Hor at the command ⁷  of the Lord, and he died there in the fortieth year after the Israelites had come out of the land of Egypt on the first day of the fifth month.

Deuteronomy 10:6

Conclusion of the Historical Resume

10:6 “During those days the Israelites traveled from Beeroth Bene-Yaaqan ⁸  to Moserah. ⁹  There Aaron died and was buried, and his son Eleazar became priest in his place.

Deuteronomy 32:50

32:50 You will die ¹⁰  on the mountain that you ascend and join your deceased ancestors, ¹¹  just as Aaron your brother died on Mount Hor ¹²  and joined his deceased ancestors,

¹ 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.

² 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.

³ tn Heb “mouth.”

⁴ tn The word “priestly” is supplied in the translation for clarity.

⁵ 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.

⁶ tn Heb “eyes.”

⁷ tn Heb “mouth.”

⁸ sn Beeroth Bene-Yaaqan. This Hebrew name could be translated “the wells of Bene-Yaaqan” or “the wells of the sons of Yaaqan,” a site whose location cannot be determined (cf. Num 33:31-32; 1 Chr 1:42).

⁹ sn Moserah. Since Aaron in other texts (Num 20:28; 33:38) is said to have died on Mount Hor, this must be the Arabah region in which Hor was located.

¹⁰ tn In the Hebrew text the forms translated “you will die…and join” are imperatives, but the actions in view cannot really be commanded. The imperative is used here in a rhetorical, emphatic manner to indicate the certainty of Moses’ death on the mountain. On the rhetorical use of the imperative see IBHS 572 §34.4c.

¹¹ tn Heb “be gathered to your people.” The same phrase occurs again later in this verse.

¹² sn Mount Hor. See note on the name “Moserah” in Deut 10:6.