Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Numbers 20:28
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.
Verse 28. And 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 was reserved for Joshua, who was in name and conduct the lively type of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” He alone can bring those who believe in his name into that rest which remains for the people of God.
There are some observations made by Dr. Lightfoot on this and some of the preceding chapters which should be more generally known.
“The place where the people murmured upon the return of the spies was Kadesh-Barnea, Nu 13:26; Nu 32:8; De 1:19. This place was called Rithmah before, (Nu 33:18, compared with Nu 12:16, and Nu 13:26), and was so called probably from the juniper trees that grew there; but is now named Kadesh, because the Lord was there sanctified upon the people, as Nu 20:13; and Barnea, or the wandering son, because here was the decree made of their long wandering in the wilderness. They continued a good space at Kadesh before they removed; for so said Moses, Ye abode in Kadesh many days; or as the Hebrew, According to the days that ye had made abode, namely, at Sinai, Nu 20:6. And so they spent one whole year there, for so they had done at Sinai. And whereas God commands them at their murmuring to turn back to the Red Sea, (De 1:40), his meaning was, that at their next march, whensoever it was, they should not go forward unto Canaan, but back again towards the Red Sea, whence they came; (but see on De 1:1). And they did so, for they wandered by many stations and marches from Kadesh-Barnea till they came to Kadesh-Barnea again, seven or eight and thirty years after they had first left it. These marches, mentioned in Nu 33:1-49, were these: From Kadesh or Rithmah to Rimmon Parez, to Libnah, to Rissah, to Kehelathah, to Mount Shapher, to Haradah, to Makheloth, to Tahath, to Tarah, to Mithcah, to Hashmonah, to Moseroth, to Benejaaken, to Horhagidgad, to Jotbathah, to Ebronah, to Ezion-Gaber, to Kadesh again, in the fortieth year. And though it was only eleven days‘ journey from Horeb, by the way of Mount Seir to Kadesh-Barnea, (De 1:2), they made it above thrice eleven years‘ journey!” Had they trusted in God, and obeyed him, their enemies long ere this would have been discomfited, and themselves quietly established in possession of the promised inheritance. But they grieved the Spirit of God, and did not believe his promise; and it would have been inconsistent with the whole economy of grace to have introduced unbelievers into that rest which was a type of the kingdom of God.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Aaron died there, to wit, in Mount Hor.
Object. He died in Mosera, Deu 10:6.
Answ. Mosera was the general name of the place where that station was, and Mount Hor is a particular place in it, where he died, and was buried also, Deu 10:6.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
28. Aaron died there in the top ofthe mount(See on De 10:6). Atomb has been erected upon or close by the spot where he was buried.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And Moses stripped Aaron of his garments,…. His priestly garments, which, very probably, were put on at the foot of the mountain, on purpose for the transaction of this affair, since they were not in common worn, but only when in service; the same hands that clothed Aaron with them at first, stripped him of them, and both were done at the command of God; as the stripping of those garments was a divesting Aaron of his office, so it was a figure of the disannulling of his priesthood, when the Messiah should come, a priest after another order:
and put them upon Eleazar his son; which was an investing him with the office of high priest in his father’s room; and which, as it must give Aaron pleasure and satisfaction to see his son put into his office before he died, so it signified the continuance of it in succession in his posterity, and was a confirmation of it; and it must be pleasing to Moses and the people of Israel to observe the care and faithfulness of God in providing for the succession of the priesthood:
and Aaron died there in the top of the mount; quietly, comfortably, and contentedly, without the least murmuring or repining: this was on the first day of the fifth month, as appears from Nu 33:38, that is, of the month Ab, as the Targum of Jonathan here says; and in this the Jewish writers k agree in general, which month answers to part of July and part of August; and in this same place where he died he was buried, as is evident from De 10:6, wherefore no credit is to be given to the Arabs, who show a stone not far from Mount Sinai, about two feet high from the ground, on which are seen some unknown characters, which, they say, were engraven by Jeremiah the prophet, in honour of Moses and Aaron, who were buried there l:
and Moses and Eleazar came down from the mount; after Aaron was dead and buried.
k Seder Olam Rabba, c. 10. p. 29. Shalshalet Hakabala, fol. 7. 2. Schulchan Aruch, par. 1. c. 580. sect. 2. l Journal from Cairo to Mount Sinai, p. 40. Ed. 2.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(28) And Aaron died there in the top of the mount.The date of Aarons death, as we learn from Num. 33:38, was the first day of the fifth month, in the fortieth year after the exodus, and his age a hundred and twenty-three years (Num. 33:39), which accords with the statement contained in Exo. 7:7, that Moses was fourscore years old, and Aaron fourscore and three years old, when they spake unto Pharaoh. The difference in the circumstances of the death of the two brothers is remarkable. Both Moses and Aaron were excluded from the land of promise by reason of transgression. Both died upon the top of a mountain. But whilst Moses died in solitary grandeur, and the place of his burial was unknown, Aaron ascended the mount in the sight of all the people, and died in the presence of Moses and Eleazar. The death of Aaron was an indication of the imperfection of the Levitical priesthood. They truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death; but this man because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood (Heb. 7:23-24).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
28. Aaron died there in the top of the mount The chapel of Aaron’s tomb stands on the traditional spot. The chief interest of Mount Hor will always consist in the prospect from its summit the last view of Aaron. Says Stanley, “We saw all the main points on which his eye must have rested. He looked over the valley of the Arabah, countersected by its hundred water-courses, and beyond over the white mountains of the wilderness they had so long traversed; at the northern edge of it there must have been visible the heights through which the Israelites had vainly attempted to force their way into the Promised Land. This was the western view. Close around him on the east were the rugged mountains of Edom, and far along the horizon the wide downs of Mount Seir, through which the passage had been denied by the wild tribes of Esau, who hunted over their long slopes. A dreary moment and a dreary scene. Such it must have seemed to the aged priest.”
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Num 20:28. And Aaron died there And there he was also buried; Deu 10:6 for it was the ancient custom to bury persons of eminence in high places. See Jos 24:30; Jos 24:33. Jdg 2:9. This event fell out in the fortieth year after they came from Egypt, on the first day of the fifth month, which answers to our July, when Aaron was one hundred and twenty-three years old. See ch. Num 33:38-39. In his death we see the insufficiency of the Levitical priesthood, and the necessity of an High Priest who should live for ever to intercede for the Israel of God.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
top of the mount. Compare Gen 8:4; Gen 22:2. Ex. 19. Mat 5:1. Eze 40:2. Rev 21:10. Deu 34:1-5. Mat 17:1-3.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
died
The death of Aaron marks the end of the wanderings. Henceforth Israel marches or halts, but does not wander.
(See Scofield “Num 15:1”).
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
Moses: Num 20:26, Num 33:38-49, Exo 29:29, Exo 29:30
put them: Num 27:16-23, Deu 31:7, Deu 31:8, Deu 34:9, 1Ch 22:11, 1Ch 22:12, 1Ch 22:17, 1Ch 28:5-9, Act 20:25-29, 2Pe 1:15
died there: Num 33:38, Num 33:39, Deu 10:6, Deu 32:49, Deu 32:50, Deu 34:5, Heb 7:24, Heb 7:25
Reciprocal: Num 20:1 – Then
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Num 20:28. And Moses stripped Aaron And death will strip us. Naked we came into the world; naked we must go out. We shall see little reason to be proud of our clothes, 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, Deu 10:6. Mosera was the general name of the place where that station was, and mount Hor a particular place in it. Presently after he was stripped of his priestly garments, he lay down and died. A good man would desire, if it were the will of God, not to outlive his usefulness. Why should we covet to continue any longer in this world, than while we may do God and our generation some service?