Mount Hor

Numbers 20:22-29

 ²² Now the children of Israel, the whole congregation, journeyed from Kadesh and came to Mount Hor. ²³ And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in Mount Hor by the border of the land of Edom, saying: ²⁴ “Aaron shall be gathered to his people, for he shall not enter the land which I have given to the children of Israel, because you rebelled against My word at the water of Meribah. ²⁵ Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and bring them up to Mount Hor; ²⁶ and strip Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son; for Aaron shall be gathered to his people and die there.” ²⁷ So Moses did just as the Lord commanded, and they went up to Mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation. ²⁸ Moses stripped Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son; and Aaron died there on the top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain. ²⁹ Now when all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, all the house of Israel mourned for Aaron thirty days.

The Bible Knowledge Commentary – Numbers 20:22-29

4. the death of aaron (20:22–29)

20:22–29. Departing from Kadesh, Israel arrived at Mount Hor, probably Jebel Harun, a short distance northwest of Petra. This implies, no doubt, that though Moses had abandoned any plans to take the easier route along the king’s highway he now determined to go north up the Arabah fault to the southeast corner of the Dead Sea, thus bypassing Edom to the east.

After they climbed Mount Hor.… Aaron died on the mountain. His priestly garmentsand office were transferred to his son Eleazar. The death was necessary as Aaron had been precluded from entering Canaan because of the incident at Meribah (vv. 12, 24). Nevertheless the whole community … mourned for him for 30 days. Later they mourned Moses’ death in Moab for 30 days (Deut. 34:5, 8).

Numbers 21:4-6

⁴ Then they journeyed from Mount Hor by the Way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the soul of the people became very discouraged on the way. ⁵ And the people spoke against God and against Moses: “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this worthless bread.” ⁶ So the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died.

The Bible Knowledge Commentary – Numbers 21:4-6

21:4–5. Once again Moses could see the impossibility of penetrating Canaan from the south. Apparently he even gave up his plan to go north through the Arabah and, led by the Lord, undertook a circuitous route around the eastern frontier of Edom. This would explain why he led Israel from … Hor along the route to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aqabah). The people must have been frustrated by this change so they began to complain not only about that but also about the desert, lack of water, and food (i.e., manna).

21:6 In anger the Lord sent poisonous snakes among them and many of the people … died.

Numbers 33:27-41

³⁷ They moved from Kadesh and camped at Mount Hor, on the boundary of the land of Edom.

³⁸ Then Aaron the priest went up to Mount Hor at the command of the Lord, and died there in the fortieth year after the children of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, on the first day of the fifth month. ³⁹ Aaron was one hundred and twenty-three years old when he died on Mount Hor.

⁴⁰ Now the king of Arad, the Canaanite, who dwelt in the South in the land of Canaan, heard of the coming of the children of Israel.

⁴¹ So they departed from Mount Hor and camped at Zalmonah.

The Bible Knowledge Commentary – Numbers 33:27-41

33:33–39. Jotbathah may be Tabeh, seven miles south of Elath on the western shore of the Gulf of Aqabah. Abronah is unknown but Ezion Geber is the famous port on the Gulf of Aqabah (cf. 1 Kings 9:26). From Ezion Geber Israel moved on to Kadesh, in the Desert of Zin (Num. 33:36). This is Kadesh Barnea (modern ‘Ain Qedeis; cf. Deut. 1:2) as opposed to many other places named Kadesh. The nearly 100-mile distance from Ezion Geber northwest to Kadesh must have taken several days. At Kadesh Moses’ sister Miriam died, just before Israel entered the Promised Land (cf. comments on 20:1). At or in the vicinity of Kadesh, Israel spent about 38 years between the revolt against Moses (Num. 14:26–35) and the movement on to Mount Hor (33:37; cf. 20:22). There at Mount Hor Aaron … died at the age of 123 on the first day of the fifth month of the 40th year after the Exodus (33:38–39). Since Moses died that same year at 120, he was three years younger than Aaron (Deut. 1:3; 34:5–7).

33:40–41. While Israel was at Mount Hor the king of Arad heard of their plan to journey to Atharim (cf. 21:1) and so attacked them.

 

Numbers 34:7-9

⁷ ‘And this shall be your northern border: From the Great Sea you shall mark out your border line to Mount Hor; ⁸ from Mount Hor you shall mark out your border to the entrance of Hamath; then the direction of the border shall be toward Zedad; ⁹ the border shall proceed to Ziphron, and it shall end at Hazar Enan. This shall be your northern border.

The Bible Knowledge Commentary – Numbers 34:6-9

34:6–9. The western border was the Mediterranean (the Great Sea). The northernborder extended from the Mediterranean near Mount Hor (Ras Shakkah?), not the Mount Hor where Aaron died (33:38) but a northern peak about 10 miles north of the Phoenician city of Byblos. The border ran eastward to Lebo Hamath (cf. 13:21), about 50 miles north of Damascus, on to Zedad (northeast of Lebo Hamath about 30 miles) and Ziphron (10 miles farther east), and ended at Hazar Enan, 70 miles northeast of Damascus.

Deuteronomy 32:48-52

⁴⁸ Then the Lord spoke to Moses that very same day, saying: ⁴⁹ “Go up this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, across from Jericho; view the land of Canaan, which I give to the children of Israel as a possession; ⁵⁰ and die on the mountain which you ascend, and be gathered to your people, just as Aaron your brother died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people; ⁵¹ because you trespassed against Me among the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah Kadesh, in the Wilderness of Zin, because you did not hallow Me in the midst of the children of Israel. ⁵² Yet you shall see the land before you, though you shall not go there, into the land which I am giving to the children of Israel.”

The Bible Knowledge Commentary – Deuteronomy 32:48-52

     god’s command for moses to ascend mount nebo (32:48–52)

32:48–52. Mount Nebo was one of the more prominent peaks in the Abarim range in Moab; it overlooked the north end of the Dead Sea. It was here outside thePromised Land that Moses would die, though God graciously allowed him to see the land … from a distance (v. 52) before he died. The reason for this discipline is recorded in Numbers 20:1–13. God had commanded Moses to speak to a rock in order to bring forth water for the people who were grumbling against him and Aaron. Moses disobeyed the Lord by hitting the rock twice instead of speaking to it (Num. 20:11), and by arrogantly suggesting that he and Aaron, not the Lord, had brought forth the water. For this act of unbelief and failure to give God glory (to uphold His holiness) before the nation, Moses forfeited his right to lead the people into the Promised Land.

God in all His holiness is only your creator until you accept Him. After you accept Him, He becomes your God, your Father, your creator. He will cleanse you of your sins and accept you into the kingdom of His heaven and hear your prayers.

Love God with all your heart, all your mind, and all your soul. Also, love your neighbor as you love yourself.

God is testing us every day and has given us the right to make our own choices. Do you know which ones are the right choices in God’s mind?

Fear God, love God, honor God, and trust God with all your heart, mind and soul and you will receive and experience the joy of the promises of God’s blessings in His time. And always remember to ask the Father for His help and guidance in all things.

 Prayer:   Father, we are grateful for Your Son our risen Christ and Your Spirit. We praise You for the opportunity to glorify Your Son and live with Him forever. We also praise you for the opportunity to be able to choose Jesus as our Lord and Savior and to be elect children of Yours. We praise you for the laws You have set down to teach us, to keep our lives in harmony, to learn how to treat others and how to live within your boundaries. Please bless those who have read this article for they too are seeking Your righteous truth, love, wisdom and understanding.

 Father, I pray these brothers and sisters have or will come to realize that Your existence is a treasure of grace and love that You have for all Your elect children.

May God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit and Christianity be our guiding lights for eternity. Let it be Your will Lord not mine. Please come Lord Jesus.

I pray in Jesus sweet name and to His glory through the power of The Holy Spirit,

Amen.