Aaron dies on Mount Hor
Exodus & Wilderness · Draft · BSB
Content revision: aae451c87ce4b464 · No editorial review date recorded
Date: c. 1407 BC · Year 40, fifth month, day 1 · Aaron aged 123 (Numbers 33:38–39)
At Mount Hor, on the border of Edom, Moses takes Aaron and his son Eleazar up the mountain, removes Aaron’s priestly garments and puts them on Eleazar. Aaron dies there on the mountaintop, and all Israel mourns him for thirty days.
This happens during the journey around Edom described at the previous stop.
Primary Scripture
20:22 After they had set out from Kadesh, the whole congregation of Israel came to Mount Hor.
20:23 And at Mount Hor, near the border of the land of Edom, the LORD said to Moses and Aaron,
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.
20:25 Take Aaron and his son Eleazar and bring them up Mount Hor.
20:26 Remove Aaron’s priestly garments and put them on his son Eleazar. Aaron will be gathered to his people and will die there.”
20:27 So Moses did as the LORD had commanded, and they climbed Mount Hor in the sight of the whole congregation.
20:28 After 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.
20:29 When the whole congregation saw that Aaron had died, the entire house of Israel mourned for him thirty days.
Related Scripture
Deuteronomy 10:6 · recollection
Moses notes Aaron’s death and Eleazar’s succession.
Deuteronomy 32:50 · recollection
Moses will die as Aaron died on Mount Hor.
Location evidence
Mount Hor is traditionally Jebel Harun near Petra; OpenBible favors a site in the northern Negev. Deuteronomy 10:6 names Moserah as the place of Aaron’s death.
Event map marker: Proposed site; [longitude, latitude] = [35.056872, 30.832057]. This is a teaching marker, not an exact event venue.
Mount Hor: Proposed site. Coordinates [longitude, latitude]: [35.056872, 30.832057]. Classification source: editorial.
For the class
What does the handing over of Aaron’s garments say about the priesthood?
Interpretation and reuse
Narrative order is a reading arrangement, not a proven chronology. Dates retain their stated uncertainty. An identified locality does not establish the exact venue or prove an event. Region extents and routes are illustrative, not surveyed boundaries or ancient roads. Draft material has not completed editorial review.
Record source: editorial (content/authored/exodus-wilderness.json)
Place coordinates from OpenBible.info Bible Geocoding Data, CC BY 4.0.
Teaching stops, summaries and regional extents are original editorial content of this atlas.
Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain. https://berean.bible/licensing.htm