AARON

Aaron
Russian icon of Aaron from the 17th Century.
Prophet, High Priest
Venerated in	Judaism Christianity Islam
Feast	The Sunday before Nativity (Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the Old Testament) (Eastern Orthodox Church) Maronite Church: September 4

In the Hebrew Bible and the Quran, Aaron (Hebrew: אַהֲרֹן; /ˈærən/ or /ˈɛərən/) was the older brother of Moses (Exodus 6:16-20, 7:7; Qur'an 28:34) and a prophet of God.

Knowledge of Aaron along with his brother Moses comes exclusively from religious texts such as the Bible and Quran. The Hebrew Bible relates that, unlike Moses, who grew up in the Egyptian royal court, Aaron and his elder sister Miriam remained with their kinsmen in the eastern border-land of Egypt (Goshen). When Moses first confronted the Egyptian king about the Israelites, Aaron served as his brother's spokesman ("prophet") to Pharaoh. () Part of the Law (Torah) that Moses received from God at Sinai granted Aaron the priesthood for himself and his male descendants, and he became the first High Priest of the Israelites. Aaron died before the Israelites crossed the North Jordan river and he was buried on Mount Hor (Numbers 33:39; Deuteronomy 10:6 says he died and was buried at Moserah). Aaron is also mentioned in the New Testament of the Bible.

According to the Book of Exodus, Aaron first functioned as Moses' assistant. Because Moses complained that he could not speak well, God appointed Aaron as Moses' "prophet" (Exodus 4:10-17; 7:1). At the command of Moses, he let his rod turn into a snake (Exodus 7:9-12). Then he stretched out his rod in order to bring on the first three plagues (Exodus 7:19, 8:1,12). After that, Moses tended to act and speak for himself (Exodus 9:23, 10:13,22).