Eleazar
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Eleazar (/ɛliˈeɪzər/; Hebrew: אֶלְעָזָר, Modern: ʾElʿazar, Tiberian: ʾElʿāzār, "El has helped") or Elazar was a priest in the Hebrew Bible, the second High Priest, succeeding his father Aaron after he died.[1] He was a nephew of Moses.
Biblical narrative
Eleazar played a number of roles during the course of
As the Israelites moved through the wilderness during the Exodus journey, Eleazar was responsible for carrying the oil for the
On Mount Hor he was clothed with the sacred vestments, which Moses took from his father Aaron and put upon him as successor to his father in the high priest's office,[6] before Aaron's death.[7] Eleazar held the office of high priest for more than twenty years. He took part with Moses in numbering the people, and assisted at the inauguration of Joshua.
He assisted in the distribution of the land after the conquest.[8] When he died, he "was buried at Gibeah, which had been allotted to his son Phinehas in the hill country of Ephraim".[9] The Hill of Phinehas[10] related in the Bible is associated with the location of the village of Awarta in the Samarian section of the current day West Bank.
The high-priesthood remained in the family of Eleazar until the time of Eli, into whose family it passed. Eli was a descendant of Ithamar, Eleazar's brother.[11] The high priesthood was restored to the family of Eleazar in the person of Zadok after Abiathar was cast out by Solomon.[12]
According to Palestinian Jewish oral tradition, Eleazar was buried in Awarta.[13][14][15]
Commemorations
Eleazar is commemorated as a saint in the
Other biblical figures named Eleazar
Five other men named Eleazar are briefly mentioned in the Hebrew Bible:
- Eleazar, son of Abinadab, who was entrusted as a keeper of the Ark of the Covenant
- King David's warriors
- Babylonian Exile.
- Eleazar, called Avaran who slays a battle elephant in I Maccabees.
- Eleazar, the Hebrew scribe whose martyrdom under Antiochus IV Epiphanes was recounted in II Maccabees.
In the Gospel of Matthew, another Eleazar, the son of Eliud, is listed in the genealogy of Jesus as the great-grandfather of Joseph, husband of Mary.
Patrilineal ancestry
| Patrilineal descent |
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References
- ^ Numbers 20:26–28
- ^ Numbers 16:36–40
- ^ Numbers 19
- ^ Numbers 4:16
- ^ Numbers 16:36–40
- ^ Numbers 20:25–28
- ^ Numbers 20:28
- ^ Joshua 14:1
- ^ Joshua 24:33
- ^ Joshua 24:33 Archived 2018-11-19 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ Josephus
- ^ Prophesied in I Sm 2:30–6; fulfilled in I Kg 2:26–7
- OCLC 11048154.
- OCLC 15417732.
In Awarta (corrected from a copyist error where the Hebrew letter 'resh' was confounded for a 'dalet') there are seventy elders [buried] in one cave near the village, and in the highest place of the village, at the top of the mountain, is [the burial site of] Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, may peace be upon him.
- OCLC 745203905.
There are three local cult centers in the area of Awarta. The westernmost of them is Tel er-Rās, also called en-Nabi 'Uzair. According to Muslim tradition, this is the grave of Ezra the Scribe. According to Jewish tradition, which also holds sacred the burial site at the top of the hill, the place is called Giv'at Phinehas (the hill of Phinehas) and it is where the High Priest Eleazar ben Aaron was buried (Joshua 24:33)
External links
- Lives of the saints - Righteous Eleazar, Macedonian Orthodox Church website
- Eleazar the Patriarch, Roman Catholic Churchwebsite