“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.
Parallel translations
- WEB “Aaron shall be gathered to his people; for he shall not enter into the land which I have given to the children of Israel, because you rebelled against my word at the waters of Meribah.
- KJV Aaron shall be gathered unto his people: for he shall not enter into the land which I have given unto the children of Israel, because ye rebelled against my word at the water of Meribah.
- NKJV “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.
- NASB “Aaron will be gathered to his people; for he shall not enter the land which I have given to the sons of Israel, because you rebelled against My command at the waters of Meribah.
- NLT “The time has come for Aaron to join his ancestors in death. He will not enter the land I am giving the people of Israel, because the two of you rebelled against my instructions concerning the water at Meribah.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God declared Aaron would be gathered to his people and not enter the land, because he and Moses rebelled at Meribah. Aaron shares the consequence of the failure at the waters of strife.
Overview
'Gathered to his people' is a gentle term for death that hints at continued existence with the faithful departed. Aaron's exclusion underscores that the Meribah sin was shared and serious. The high priest's death outside the land shows that the Aaronic priesthood could not finally bring God's people into rest, anticipating the better priesthood of Christ (Hebrews 7).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Gen 25:8And at a ripe old age he breathed his last and died, old and contented, and was gathered to his people.
- Deut 32:50And there on the mountain that you climb, you will die and be gathered to your people, just as your brother Aaron died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people.
- 2 Chr 34:28‘Now I will indeed gather you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace. Your eyes will not see all the calamity that I will bring on this place and on its inhabitants.’” So they brought her answer back to the king.
- Num 27:13After you have seen it, you too will be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was;
- Num 31:2“Take vengeance on the Midianites for the Israelites. After that, you will be gathered to your people.”
- Gen 49:33When Jacob had finished instructing his sons, he pulled his feet into the bed and breathed his last, and he was gathered to his people.
- Judg 2:10After that whole generation had also been gathered to their fathers, another generation rose up who did not know the LORD or the works that He had done for Israel.
- Num 4:27All the service of the Gershonites—all their transport duties and other work—is to be done at the direction of Aaron and his sons; you are to assign to them all that they are responsible to carry.
- Gen 15:15You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a ripe old age.
- Gen 25:17Ishmael lived a total of 137 years. Then he breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people.
- Num 20:10–12Then Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly in front of the rock, and Moses said to them, “Listen now, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?”
- Gen 49:29Then Jacob instructed them, “I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite.
- Gen 35:29Then he breathed his last and died and was gathered to his people, old and full of years. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
In the wilderness Christ is the water from the rock, the bronze serpent lifted up that the dying might look and live (John 3:14), and the star and scepter that Balaam saw rising out of Jacob.
How Numbers 20:24 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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