AARON, ar'un, a prominent but subordi nate figure of the Exodus period in Jewish history, whose importance increases with the distance of the recorder from the early epochs, and with the remodeling of the early histories by the priesthood to support their later pre tensions and their theocratic ideal of Judaism. In the earliest or Elohistic (q.v.) portions of the Hexateuch, he is brother of Miriam (Ex. xv, 20) ; but it is Joshua who is Moses' min ister for religious rites and who keeps guard over the tent of meeting (Ex. xxiii, 11), the young men of Israel offer sacrifice, and Moses alone is the high-priest. Aaron, however, seems to be regarded as ancestor of one set of priests, those at the Hill of Phinehas, and perhaps of those at Bethel. In a later portion it is he who yields to the demand for an idol, and fashions the golden calf — an evident genealogy of Baal-worship, accredited to the ancestor of rival priests. In the Yahvistic portions he is Moses' older brother, but is brought upon the stage only to be ignored: Pharaoh sends for him and Moses to take away the plagues (Ex. vii), but he has no independent power and is merely Moses' agent in performing miracles, bringing on plagues, etc. The supererogatory nature of his func tions makes it probable that his role is intro duced by the priestly redactor, under whose hands he becomes a mighty leader little inferior to Moses: he sometimes receives laws directly from Yahwe (Num. xviii) ; he with Moses
numbers the people; the Israelites rebel against him as well as Moses, though, when he criti cises Moses, curiously his inciter Miriam is punished, not himself (Num. xii) ; he and Moses jointly disobey Yahwe's command at Mcribah; and he is punished by having his life close before entering Canaan. This magnify ing connects itself clearly with the post-exile books, where he is the ancestor of all legiti mate priests, consecrated high-priest by Moses, and alone permitted to enter the Holy of Holies yearly: he represents the tribe of Levi, and even within it his descendants alone are right ful priests, and interlopers (see KORAN) are stricken dead by Yawhe. The pre-exilic prophets know nothing of this claim: Ezekiel traces the origin of the Jerusalem priesthood only to Zadok (q.v.). He belongs to the tribe of Joseph and its struggle to secure admission to the Jerusalem priesthood. Consult Meyer, Ed.,