Ithamar

Biblical Account

Ithamar was the fourth son born to Aaron and Elisheba. Elisheba was the daughter of Amminadab and the sister of Nahshon (Exodus 6:23). Ithamar was appointed to the priesthood together with his brothers Nadab, Abihu, and Eleazar (Exodus 28:1).

Exodus 38:21 records that Ithamar, at the command of Moses, reckoned the inventory of materials that the Levites used in building the tabernacle.

In Leviticus 10, Nadab and Abihu died after offering "strange fire" that the LORD had not commanded. After this event, Moses told Aaron, Eleazar, and Ithamar not to mourn and not to leave the door of the tabernacle of the congregation (Leviticus 10:6-7). In the same chapter, Moses was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar because they had burned the goat of the sin offering instead of eating it in the holy place. When Aaron explained the circumstances, Moses was content (Leviticus 10:16-20).

According to Numbers, Eleazar and Ithamar ministered in the priest's office in the sight of their father Aaron (Numbers 3:4). When the tabernacle was transported, Ithamar oversaw the work of the Gershonites and the Merarites (Numbers 4:28, 4:33, 7:8).

Significance in Scripture

Ithamar is remembered as the ancestor of one of the two branches of the later priestly family. When the priests were divided into courses, or orders of service, in the time of David, sixteen courses came from the descendants of Eleazar and eight from the descendants of Ithamar (1 Chronicles 24:1-6). The same passage identifies Ahimelech the son of Abiathar as a descendant of Ithamar (1 Chronicles 24:3). At the return from exile, Daniel, a descendant of Ithamar, came back with Ezra (Ezra 8:2).

The New Testament does not mention Ithamar directly.

Interpretation and Debate

The house of the priest Eli in 1 Samuel is commonly understood to belong to the line of Ithamar. The text of 1 Samuel, however, does not state this directly. This understanding comes from reading 1 Samuel together with Chronicles, which identifies Eli's descendants Abiathar and Ahimelech as descendants of Ithamar. The Jewish historian Josephus is also said to have given this account. Interpretations differ regarding Solomon's removal of Abiathar from the priesthood (1 Kings 2:27). Some regard it as the point at which the high priesthood became fixed in the house of Zadok, of the line of Eleazar, and connect this with the promise of an everlasting priesthood given to Phinehas (Numbers 25:13). Scripture does not explain how Eli's house came to occupy the center of the priesthood.

Commentators also differ on the meaning of Aaron's reply in Leviticus 10:16-20. Some take it to mean that eating holy food in the midst of grief would not have been fitting, while others read it as placing sincerity of heart above the letter of the law.

In the Korean Church

Ithamar is seldom the subject of a sermon in his own right. He is usually mentioned as one of the surviving sons in sermons or Bible studies on the incident of Nadab and Abihu in Leviticus 10. He is also presented alongside Eleazar in explanations of the structure of the priestly family and the service of the tabernacle.