In Exodus, chapter 6:27-7:13, Yahweh spoke to Moses, but Moses again complained that he was a poor speaker and asked why would Pharaoh listen to him, since he had uncircumcised lips? Once again, we have the divination of Moses, since Yahweh said that Moses was like Elohim to Pharaoh while Aaron would be his prophet. Yahweh knew that Pharaoh would harden his heart, so he was going to send multiple signs and wonders to Egypt. The mighty hand of Yahweh would help the Israelites leave Egypt. The Egyptians would eventually come to recognize Yahweh. Thus, Moses and Aaron agreed to do what Yahweh had asked them to do. This text says that Moses was 80 years old and Aaron was 83 years old when they took on this mission to speak to Pharaoh. Certainly, they were not young men at the time that they accepted this mission. However, Yahweh told them exactly what to say and do. Moses, the 80-year-old reluctant leader, returned to the Pharaoh with his 83-year-old brother, Aaron. This time they asked Pharaoh to free the Israelites. The Pharaoh demanded that Moses perform a miracle. Aaron then threw down his staff that turned into a snake, since Aaron had the primary role in this priestly tradition. He performed the first wonder, miracle, or trick by changing his staff into a snake when he threw it on the ground. Pharaoh then got his own magicians. They all could make snakes out of sticks also. Apparently, serpent magic was common in Egypt. However, Aaron’s snake swallowed up the snakes of the other Egyptian magicians. Nevertheless, Pharaoh was not convinced to let the Israelites go. Have you ever had a hard time convincing someone to do something?
Month: July 2023
The immediate family of Aaron and Moses
Amram, the son of Kohath and the grandson of Levi, married Jochebed, his father’s sister and thus his aunt, the daughter of Levi. Amram lived 137 years. He had two important sons Aaron and Moses, as well as a daughter named Miriam. The most interesting character was Jochebed, the daughter of Levi and sister of Kohath. She married Amram, her nephew, the son of her brother. Jochebed was an odd character, since she was the mother of Moses and Aaron, as well as the daughter of Levi, which means that very little time passed between Joseph and Moses. However, the earlier passage in chapter 1 seemed to indicate a long lag time, because no one remembered Joseph. Surely Jochebed would have remembered her uncle Joseph. In the earlier passage about the birth of Moses in chapter 2, her name never came up, just the descriptive “mother of the child.” The same is true of Moses’ sister Miriam, who is also nameless in this earlier passage. Many rabbis have tried to interpret Jochebed as a distant cousin of Kohath, rather than his sister, but the text speaks of her as a sister of Kohath and therefore the aunt of Amram. Not too many people marry their aunt so that Moses and Aaron’s mom was also their great aunt. Jochebed’s son Aaron married Elisheba, whose name only appears here in this biblical text. She was the daughter of Amminadab, whose name appears 13 times in the Hebrew Bible. Her father was more important than her. Elisheba was also the sister of Nahshon, whose name appears 10 times in the Hebrew Bible, since her brother Nahshon will have a more important role to play in Exodus as the brother-in-law of Aaron. He seemed more important than Aaron’s wife, who was only listed here. Aaron and Elisheba had four sons. Nadab was a name that appears only 1 time in the Hebrew Bible, while his brother Abihu appears 12 times in the Hebrew Bible. Both will meet a very violent death in the desert journey and die childless. The other two sons seem more important. Eleazar appears 72 times in the Hebrew Bible, and Ithamar has a name that appears 21 times in the Hebrew Bible. Only Eleazar is mentioned as marrying the daughter of Putiel, a name that only appears here. They had a son called Phinehas, a name that appears 25 times in the Hebrew Bible, so that he is important. For some reason the high priest will pass through Ithamar, the fourth son. There is no mention of Moses, his wife, or their children. We get from Levi, the violent brother of Joseph, to Moses and Aaron in three generations, so that Levi was the grandfather of Moses and Aaron on their mother’s side and the great-grandfather on their father’s side. Moses’ mother Jochebed was older than his father, since she was the daughter of Levi and sister of his father’s father. These marriages always seem to be with close relatives, but this one was very odd. There was no mention of Moses’ sister in any of these genealogies either. What do you know about your aunts and uncles?
The genealogy of Moses and Aaron
In this genealogy of the two brothers, Moses, and Aaron, in Exodus, chapter 6:14-26, the names of Reuben and Simeon and their children are the same as in Genesis chapter 46, but the other sons of Jacob are omitted except for Levi, who had a more explicit genealogy. Levi was the third son of Jacob, while Reuben and Simeon were the two oldest sons. The three sons of Levi, who lived to be 137 years old, were first Gershon, a name that appears 17 times in the Hebrew Bible, second, Kohath, a name that appears 33 times in the Hebrew Bible, who lived to be 133 years old, and finally, Merari, a name that appears 39 times in the Hebrew Bible. These were the same as mentioned in Genesis, chapter 46. Gershon had two sons, one named Libni, a name that appears only 5 times in the Hebrew Bible, and the other Shimei, a name that appears 44 times in the Hebrew Bible. Kohath, the second son of Levi, had four sons named Amram, a name that appears 14 times in the Hebrew Bible, Izhar, a name that appears 9 times in the Hebrew Bible, Hebron, a name that appears 71 times in the Hebrew Bible because there was a city in Israel with that name, and Uzziel, a name that appears 16 times in the Hebrew Bible. There was no mention of Hebron’s family at all. Amram was the father of Moses and Aaron. Izhar’s clan was named the Izeharites. Hebron’s family became known as the Hebronites. Uzziel’s descendants were called the Uzzielites. There was a more detailed list of Kohath’s family of four sons. Izhar had three sons, one named Korah, a name that appears 37 times in the Hebrew Bible, Nepheg, a name that appears only 4 times in the Hebrew Bible, and Zichri, a name that appears 12 times in the Hebrew Bible. Although a common biblical name, this Korah will have a fight with his cousin Moses in the desert. His family is called the Korahites. Korah also had three sons named Assir, a name that appears 5 times in the Hebrew Bible, Elkanah, a name that appears 21 times in the Hebrew Bible, and Abiasaph, a name that appears only 1 time in the Hebrew Bible here. These three sons of Korah did not have any major biblical roles. Uzziel had three sons, Mishael, a name that appears 7 times in the Hebrew Bible, Elzaphan, a name that appears 6 times in the Hebrew Bible, and Sithri, a name that appears only 1 time in the Hebrew Bible. Merari had two sons named Mahli, a name that appears 12 times in the Hebrew Bible, and Mushi, a name that appears 8 times in the Hebrew Bible. Mahli’s family becomes known as the Mahlites. Mushi’s sons were called Mushites. There was no indication of how long any of these people lived, other than Levi and Kohath, which made them more important. Kohath was the most significant because there were more details about his family. Most of these people do not seem to play any important biblical roles. This genealogy does not have a long-time span. It encompasses Levi and his sons, and their grandchildren. These were the three heads of the ancestral houses of the Levites by their families, Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. What do you know about your family history?
Moses meets with Yahweh again
In Exodus, chapter 5:22-6:13, Moses was once again the reluctant leader. He turned to Yahweh, calling him Adonai. “Why was he sent? Why were the Israelite people still in trouble? Things only got worse since he showed up. Yahweh responded, just you wait and see what is going to happen. He was going to use his mighty hand to take them out of this land of Egypt. Now we have the priestly version of Moses’ call, where Elohim is called the almighty one, El-Shaddai, בְּאֵ֣ל (Beel) שַׁדָּ֑י (Sadday). This is like chapter 3. Yahweh did not make himself known to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Elohim had many names, “God most high,” “God of seeing,” “everlasting God,” “God of Bethel,” and “God of Israel.” Yahweh had heard their complaints, since he had made a covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan. Yahweh was going to free them from Egyptian slavery. He was going to be their Elohim, Yahweh, not El Shaddai. He proclaimed that he was Yahweh. In this passage, the Israelites do not listen to Moses, because of the terrible conditions in Egypt. Yahweh told Moses to go back to the Pharaoh to demand the release of the Israelites. Moses then asked Yahweh, if the Israelites would not listen to him, why would Pharaoh then listen to Moses? This is a good question that really was never answered. Yahweh then spoke to both Aaron and Moses. He told them what they were to say to the Pharaoh. Have you ever made things worse?
The first encounter with Pharaoh and more work
In Exodus, chapter 5:1-18, Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh to ask him to let the Israelites go into the wilderness because Yahweh, the Elohim of Israel, wanted them to celebrate a festival. Pharaoh responded that he did not know anything about Yahweh. He was not going to let the Israelites go. Moses and Aaron wanted a three-day festival to adore Yahweh in the wilderness because they said that the Elohim of the Hebrews had spoken to them. They warned Pharaoh that trouble lie ahead for him if he did not let them go. Pharaoh replied that the Israelites were a large group. He just wanted them to work, not take days off. This was not too bad for a first meeting. Moses and Aaron went to the Pharaoh and asked him to let the Israelites go into the desert for a religious festival, like a strike or a religious celebration. However, the Pharaoh refused to let them stop working. That very day, Pharaoh gave orders to his taskmasters and supervisors. Make those Israelites get their own straw to make bricks, but do not lower their quota, since the Israelites are lazy. That is why they want to go and offer sacrifice to their Elohim. Give them heavier work. The slave owners always think that their slaves are lazy. This complaint about lazy workers working for slave wages continues until today. They would have to gather the straw to make the bricks, but they still had the same standard as if they were given straw. Apparently, getting this straw for the bricks was a big deal. The supervisors were beaten because they were not getting the same amount of work out of the Israelites. Then the Israelite supervisors came to Pharaoh and complained, since there must have been some Israelite supervisors. Pharaoh responded that they were lazy. He wanted them to keep up the same quotas without the straw. These same Israelite supervisors went to Moses and Aaron to complain that they were in a bad position with Pharaoh and his officials. They might get killed, so that they told Moses and Aaron, “May Yahweh look upon you and judge! You have brought us into bad odor with Pharaoh and his officials. You have put a sword in their hand to kill us.” They were upset. Moses and Aaron had not helped them at all, but only made things worse. This was not going well for Moses and Aaron. Have you ever had a tough boss?
Aaron
Who is Aaron? Aaron was the traditional founder and head of the Israelite priesthood, who, with his brother Moses, led the Israelites out of Egypt. Aaron was a central figure in the traditions about the Exodus, although his role varies in importance. At the beginning, he seemed to be coequal with Moses, but after the march out of Egypt, he was only a shadow at Moses’ side. Moses was obviously the leading figure in this tradition, but he is pictured as delegating his authority in all priestly and cultic matters to Aaron and his sons. Scholars have attributed the passages about Aaron to the Priestly source that has 90% of the material about Aaron. The main bulk of the traditions about Aaron and the frequent addition of “and Aaron” after the mention of Moses are found in the Priestly source. They were written at a time when the priests had a more dominant position in Judah, after the Babylonian exile, than they had before the exile. Aaron was not mentioned at all in the Yahwist narrative, but he may have been inserted by later redactors. The Elohist narrator was credited with making Aaron the brother and helper of Moses, who stood at the side of Moses in the conflict with the Pharaoh and assisted him as a leader in battles and in the worship cult. It may also be the Elohist tradition that provided the unfavorable story about Aaron’s objection to Moses’ wife. Aaron was not mentioned in the Deuteronomist work by the original author but his name may have been added by a redactor. There have been new attempts, however, to see the contrasting figures of Moses and Aaron in a new light. It has been suggested that the traditions about Moses represent a southern Judaean tradition, while the old traditions about Aaron originated in the northern kingdom. It has also been indicated that the traditions about Moses are primarily concerned with a prophet, while those about Aaron were connected to the priesthood. Moses represented the royal ideology while Aaron stood for the priesthood alone. The standing struggle between the king and the leading priests is reflected both in the laws and in the narratives of the prophetic and historical books. Aaron continued to live as a symbol in Jewish religion and traditions, when the position of the priests was strengthened after the exile. Also, in the Qumran sect, a Jewish community that flourished in the era contemporary with the birth of Christianity, Aaron was a symbol for a strong priesthood in the Dead Sea Scrolls. This Jewish sect had a dual Messiah, since Aaron was the priestly Messiah, with the sons of Aaron in the highest position. In Jewish exegesis little is said about Aaron, though he is mentioned as a man who created peace among men. Some people feel that Moses was rejected as the cultic high priest because of his original unwillingness when he was called by God. It was also hard for some traditionists to accept that Aaron was described as older than Moses. The first Christian communities admitted that Aaron, and the sons of Aaron, constituted symbols of the highest priesthood. But in the Letter to the Hebrews, Christ was described as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek, set against “the order of Aaron.” What do you know about Aaron?
The role of Aaron
In Exodus, chapter 4:27-31, Yahweh told Aaron to go into the wilderness to meet Moses, the first mention of Aaron. Aaron is described in the Book of Exodus as a son of Amram and Jochebed of the tribe of Levi, three years older than his brother Moses. Although Moses and Aaron had separated for years, Yahweh appeared to Aaron to tell him to go out to meet Moses. They met at the mountain of God, which would be Mount Horeb. Moses told him all that had happened to him. Although Moses was the actual leader, Aaron would act as his “mouth.” They both then when to Egypt where they assembled all the elders of the Israelites. The “elders” were some kind of semi-religious-political group who seemed to oversee the Israelites. Aaron then spoke what Moses had told him to say. Then they performed the signs in the sight of the people. The Israelite people believed and worshipped Yahweh, without saying how they worshipped him. Step one of the plans seemed to be working. The Israelites were united behind Moses and Aaron. They had assembled the Israelites and performed signs so that they would believe in Yahweh’s promise. Would miraculous signs persuade you?
Return of Moses to Egypt
In Exodus, chapter 4:18-26, Moses went to his father-in-law Jethro, and told him he was going back to Egypt. Jethro told Moses to go in peace. Notice that he is called Jethro. Yahweh had told Moses to go back to Egypt because he was no longer a wanted man. It is not clear how many years that Moses was in Midian. Anyway, he took his Midian wife and children and left for Egypt with the staff of Elohim in his hand. Yahweh told Moses to go to Pharaoh and do his tricks to show his power. However, he warned Moses that he was going to harden Pharaoh’s heart, so that he would not let the Israelite people go. Israel was Yahweh’s first-born son, so Yahweh was going to kill Pharaoh’s first-born son. This was tough language. It seems that Yahweh knew the outcome, but still wanted Moses to still try to change Pharaoh’s mind. There was a complicated passage, no matter what language you are reading it in. Apparently, on his way to Egypt, one night Yahweh tried to kill Moses. Some have interpreted this like Jacob and his wrestling with God in Genesis, chapter 32. To stop the murder from taking place, the wife of Moses, Zipporah, took a flint and cut off her son’s foreskin and put it on Moses’ feet, a euphemism for genitals. Yahweh then let Moses alone. Obviously, Moses was not aware of the strict understanding of circumcision, but his wife acted quickly. In fact, there was no mention of the circumcision of Moses himself. Circumcision was known in the Middle East, sometimes as a preparation for marriage. However, for the Israelites it had a specific religious meaning, as it was projected back to the time of Abraham, even if the emphasis among the Jewish people did not come to the forefront until the time of the Babylonian exile. What do you know about circumcision?
Moses’ first miracles
In Exodus, chapter 4:1-17, Moses performed his first miracles or tricks with the help of Yahweh. Moses still had his doubts, since he was not sure that anyone would listen to him. Yahweh told Moses to take the staff in his hand and throw it on the ground. Thus, Moses threw the staff on the ground and it became a snake and he backed off from it. Then Yahweh told him to touch the snake on its tail. Then the snake became a stick again. Try this trick if they do not believe you! This should convince them that Yahweh, the Elohim of their fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had appeared to him. Then Yahweh told Moses to put his hand inside his cloak. He did that and when he took it out, his hand was leprous. When he put his hand back into his cloak and took it out, it was restored like the rest of his body. Yahweh said if they still did not believe you after these two miracles or signs, הָאֹ֥ת (haot), a word that appears 79 times in the Hebrew Bible, then try one more sign. Take some water from the Nile and pour it on the ground and it will become blood. Now Moses will become the master magician with his magic wand, his staff. Moses has at least three magic tricks as he became a master illusionist. This should convince the sons of Israel, the Hebrews in Egypt. However, Moses also complained to Yahweh, calling him “My Lord!” that he was not eloquent or a good speaker. He was a slow speaker. However, Yahweh replied that he gave speech to humans and he would be the mouth of Moses and teach him what to say. Still Moses pleaded with his Lord to send someone else. Then Yahweh got angry. Yahweh decided that Aaron, the Levite brother of Moses, could speak fluently. There was no mention of a brother of Moses before this, since there was so little about the childhood of Moses. It is not clear where he came from. So here is the arrangement. Yahweh would be in both their mouths and teach Moses what to do. Aaron would speak for Moses to the people. He would be the mouth of Moses and Moses would be like Elohim for him. Thus, it is not unusual to think of Moses as Elohim, since he also brought his staff to perform the miraculous signs. Have you ever had a spokesperson for you?
The instructions about the mission of Moses
In Exodus, chapter 3:16-22, Elohim told Moses to assemble the elders of Israel, וְזִקְנֵ֨י (weziqne) יִשְׂרָאֵ֜ל (Yisrael). I am not sure how Moses will get together with all the elders of Israel, since they have been scattered in Egypt. Moses was to tell them what Elohim had told him to say. Elohim then repeated Moses’ mission as at the beginning of chapter 3, the Elohim of his fathers, the Elohim of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, had appeared to him. Elohim had told Moses, that Elohim was listening and saw what was happening in Egypt to them. He was going to bring them out of their misery in Egypt, to lead them into a land flowing with milk and honey, to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and Jebusites. Moses was to go to the king of Egypt with a simple request to go into the wilderness for three days to sacrifice to Yahweh Elohim of the Hebrews, יְהוָ֞ה (Yahweh) אֱלֹהֵ֤י (Elohe) הָֽעִבְרִיִּים֙ (Haibriyim). Yahweh seemed to be the Elohim of the Hebrews, not the Israelites. He knew ahead of time that Pharaoh would say no, but that he was going to show him with his mighty hand, בְּיָ֥ד (beyad) חֲזָקָֽה׃ (hazaqah). Eventually, the Pharaoh would let them go after Elohim had shown them his mighty wonders, נִפְלְאֹתַ֔י (nipleotay), a word that appears over 71 times in the Hebrew Bible. Meanwhile Moses was still in the Sinai area, near Midian. Elohim said that the sons of Israel would not go away empty-handed. In fact, they were to plunder the Egyptians. Not only are they going to leave, but they were going to take things like jewelry, silver, gold, and clothing from the Egyptians. It sounds like Elohim was asking them to steal stuff from the Egyptians. Have you ever stolen anything?
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 