Eleazar - The High Priest Who Succeeded Aaron
The son who received the garments, the office, and the covenant
Eleazar (Hebrew: אֶלְעָזָר, Elazar, “God has helped”) was the third son of Aaron and nephew of Moses, who became the High Priest of Israel after his father’s death. While his older brothers Nadab and Abihu were consumed by fire for offering unauthorized incense (1-2), Eleazar survived and inherited the full weight of the Aaronic priesthood. His tenure as High Priest spanned the final wilderness years and the conquest of Canaan under Joshua.
Family and Early Priestly Role
Eleazar was the son of Aaron and Elisheba, grandson of Amram and Jochebed, making him a first cousin of Moses. He and his brother Ithamar were ordained along with Aaron at the formal consecration of the priesthood (Exod 28, Lev 8).
After the death of Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar became the surviving priestly sons. Eleazar, as the elder of the two, held the primary priestly responsibilities. His specific charge over the tabernacle’s inner workings was defined early:
“The chief responsibility of Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest, is to care for the oil for the light, the fragrant incense, the regular grain offering and the anointing oil — the responsibility for the entire tabernacle and everything in it, including its holy furnishings and articles.” (16)
The Transfer of the High Priesthood (Numbers 20)
The pivotal moment of Eleazar’s life came at Mount Hor. YHWH told Moses and Aaron that because of the incident at Meribah (12), Aaron would not enter the Promised Land.
The transfer was enacted publicly and with full ritual weight:
- Moses, Aaron, and Eleazar ascended Mount Hor before the whole congregation
- Moses stripped Aaron of his garments — the High Priestly vestments (the ephod, breastpiece, robe, tunic, turban)
- Moses put the garments on Eleazar
- Aaron died there on the mountain top (25-28)
The stripping and reclothing was a formal priestly ordination in public view. The High Priestly garments — which represented the entire people of Israel before YHWH (the twelve stones on the breastpiece bearing the names of the twelve tribes) — transferred from father to son on the mountain where Aaron died.
All Israel mourned Aaron for thirty days (29).
Eleazar’s Role in the Wilderness
Levitical Administration
Eleazar oversaw the census of the Levites and their tabernacle assignments (32). He was “the leader of the leaders of the Levites, with oversight of those caring for the sanctuary.” He supervised the Kohathites, Gershonites, and Merarites in their distinct carrying duties.
The Midianite War
After the Baal Peor incident, YHWH commanded war against Midian. Eleazar’s son Phinehas accompanied the Israelite army carrying the sacred articles and silver trumpets (6). After the battle, Eleazar provided instructions to the warriors on purification and the distribution of the plunder — the gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, and lead captured from Midian (21-24).
The Second Census
Eleazar conducted the second census of Israel in the plains of Moab with Moses, which counted the new generation that would enter Canaan (1-4).
Joshua’s Commissioning
When Moses commissioned Joshua as his successor, Eleazar the priest was the authority before whom Joshua stood. YHWH’s command: Joshua was to stand before Eleazar, who would inquire of YHWH for him by the decision of the Urim. “At his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he and all the Israelites with him” (21). The High Priest mediated between the leader of Israel and YHWH’s will — the Urim and Thummim in the breastpiece was the oracle of national decision.
Theological Significance
Continuity of the Covenant
The transfer of the High Priestly garments from Aaron to Eleazar on Mount Hor was not merely succession of office — it was continuity of covenant. The Aaronic priesthood was established as an “everlasting priesthood throughout their generations” (15). Aaron’s death did not end the covenant; it transferred it. Eleazar embodied YHWH’s faithfulness to the priestly institution He had established.
Survival as Calling
The context of Eleazar’s rise is the death of his brothers for unauthorized worship. He and Ithamar survived because they followed the precise requirements of priestly service. His survival was not passive — it was covenantal faithfulness demonstrated in contrast to Nadab and Abihu’s transgression and validated by continued service.
Priest and Commander
The relationship between Eleazar (priest) and Joshua (military commander) established a pattern for Israelite governance: the military leader did not act autonomously but sought the priestly oracle. The Urim mediated YHWH’s will to the entire community through the High Priest.
Cross-References
Family: Aaron (father) - Elisheba (mother) - Phinehas (son) - Ithamar (brother) - Moses (uncle)
Key Events: Tabernacle administration (Num 3-4) - Aaron’s garments transferred at Hor (Num 20:25-28) - Midianite war purification (Num 31) - Second census (Num 26) - Joshua’s commissioning (Num 27)
Theological Themes: Priestly succession, covenant continuity, Urim and Thummim, priestly holiness
Eleazar received the garments of his father on a mountain — the same kind of mountain where Moses received the Torah, where Elijah fled, where the Transfiguration occurred. The High Priestly transfer was itself a revelation: the covenant passes through faithful sons who survive by obedience while their brothers fall by presumption.
“Moses stripped Aaron of his garments and put them on his son Eleazar. And Aaron died there on top of the mountain.” (28)