Mount Hor

Biblical Text

Mount Hor is a mountain where the people of Israel stopped as they journeyed through the wilderness after the Exodus. It appears mainly in the Book of Numbers.

• The death of Aaron: In Numbers 20:22-29 the people leave Kadesh and arrive at Mount Hor, on the border of the land of Edom. God declares that Aaron will not enter the Promised Land because he rebelled against His command at the waters of Meribah. On the mountain Moses strips Aaron of his garments and puts them on Aaron's son Eleazar, and Aaron dies on the summit. The whole congregation mourns for thirty days. Numbers 33:38-39 dates this event to the first day of the fifth month in the fortieth year after the Exodus and gives Aaron's age as 123. Deuteronomy 32:50, in foretelling the death of Moses, also refers to Aaron's death on Mount Hor.
• Starting point of the bronze serpent episode: According to Numbers 21:4, the people set out from Mount Hor to go around the land of Edom, become discouraged, and complain. There follow the plague of fiery serpents and the episode of the bronze serpent (Numbers 21:8-9).
• Mount Hor on the northern boundary: Numbers 34:7-8 draws the northern boundary of the Promised Land: "from the great sea ye shall point out for you mount Hor" (Numbers 34:7). This mountain is generally regarded as distinct from the one on the border of Edom.

Background and Location

In Hebrew the name is Hor ha-Har. Some scholars regard Hor as an archaic form of har, the word for "mountain." The narrative is set against the background of Edom's refusal to let Israel pass through its territory, which forced the people to go around the land of Edom (Numbers 20:14-21).

The location of Mount Hor on the border of Edom has not been established. Tradition has long identified it with Jebel Harun ("Mountain of Aaron") near Petra in Jordan. The first-century Jewish historian Josephus is also understood to have associated Aaron's death with the vicinity of Petra. On the summit of this mountain stands an Islamic shrine said to be Aaron's tomb. However, the mountain lies deep within the land of Edom rather than on its border. On this basis some scholars propose other candidates, such as Jebel Madurah, northeast of Kadesh. The Mount Hor on the northern boundary is thought to be a peak in the Lebanon range, but its location is unknown.

Significance in Scripture as a Whole

Mount Hor is the setting for one of the scenes in which the leaders of the Exodus generation die one after another. Miriam dies at Kadesh (Numbers 20:1), Aaron on Mount Hor, and Moses on Mount Nebo, bringing the era of the forty years in the wilderness to a close. The transfer of the high priest's garments to Eleazar shows that the priestly office continues even when a priest dies.

The New Testament Epistle to the Hebrews contrasts this with Jesus Christ. Hebrews 7:23-24 states that the former priests were many because death prevented them from continuing in office, whereas Jesus, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. The passage concerning Christ as the great High Priest (Hebrews 4:14-16) is read along the same lines. The bronze serpent episode that followed the departure from Mount Hor is taken up in John 3:14-15 in the saying that the Son of Man must be lifted up.

Interpretation and Issues

• Relationship to Mosera: Deuteronomy 10:6 records that Aaron died at "Mosera." Conservative interpreters harmonize the two accounts by taking Mosera as the name of the region in which Mount Hor lay. Historical-critical scholars sometimes explain the difference as reflecting distinct traditions.
• Extrabiblical accounts: Later Jewish tradition (midrash) is known to contain stories that embellish the scene—for example, that Aaron lay down in a cave on the mountain and died, or that the people refused to believe Aaron had died and suspected Moses. Such material does not appear in the text of Numbers.