Aaron [Aâr'on] means a mountain of strength or enlightened. The son of Amran and of Jochebed his wife, and of the family of Kohath, who was the second son of Levi, who was the third son of Jacob. Miriam was Aaron’s elder sister and Moses was his junior brother by some three years. Aaron married Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab and sister of Naashon, and by her had four sons—Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar (Exod. 6:16-23).
 

The Man Who Was an Excellent Speaker

It is somewhat fitting that Aaron should not only begin the list of men under the letter A—one of the longest lists of all—but also of all the men listed alphabetically in the Bible.
The first glimpse we have of him is that of an eloquent speaker, and because of this fact he was chosen by God to be the prophet and spokesman of his brother, Moses, in his encounters with Pharaoh. A great orator has been defined as a good man well-skilled in speaking, and of such capacities was Aaron. When Moses protested against appearing before Pharaoh, pleading that he was not eloquent, but slow of speech and of a slow tongue (Exod. 3:10; 4:11, 12) did he refer to a defect of speech he suffered from? “Not eloquent” means, not a man of words and “slow of speech, and of a slow tongue” means heavy of speech and heavy of tongue.

There are those authorities who suggest that Moses had a stammer or lisp, a physical impediment of speech necessitating a spokesman of Aaron’s ability. It would seem as if God’s promise that He would be with his mouth and was able to help him overcome any disability as a speaker, bears out the thought of an actual defect of speech. This we do know, Aaron must have spoken with great power when he addressed Pharaoh on the signs and plagues of Exodus four through eleven.

Aaron plays an important part in the inauguration and development of priestly functions, all of which are prescribed in Leviticus. Among the mature males of Israel, there were three classes:
From the tribes of Israel came the warriors.
From the tribe of Levi came the workers.
From the family of Aaron came the worshipers.

Aaron became the first high priest of Israel, and in Aaron and his sons we have a fitting type of Christ and His Church. The ministry of Aaron in connection with the Tabernacle with all of its services is referred to by the writer of the Hebrews as a figure of the true ministry of the High Priest who is Jesus.

Yet in spite of his high and holy calling, Aaron suffered from the murmurings of the people (Exod. 16:2; Num. 14:2). He was persuaded by the people to make a golden calf and was reproved by Moses for his action (Exod. 32). Aaron’s penitence, however, was complete, and his service faithful. Perhaps Aaron could be placed at the head of all Old Testament penitents, for his own sins as well as for the sins of others. While Aaron was Jesus Christ in type and by imputation, he yet remains Aaron all the time, Aaron of the molten image and of many untold transgressions besides. With Moses, Aaron was excluded from the Promised Land (Num. 20:12). He died at the age of 123 years on Mount Hor, in the land of Edom, and was buried there (Num. 20).