What Does Numbers 20:26 Mean in the King James?
And strip Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son: and Aaron shall be gathered unto his people, and shall die there.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
Aaron’s garments become the visible bridge between the priest who dies and the son who follows him.
THE MEANING
The verse holds succession and death together: Aaron’s garments pass to Eleazar, while Aaron is gathered to his people and dies there. The sign of his office rests on his son as Aaron’s own life reaches its end.
THE ROOT
יֵאָסֵף
ye'asef
GROWS FROM
אסף
ʾ-s-p
gather, collect, bring in
The English keeps the action, but “unto his people” makes death sound like being gathered into a people rather than simply disappearing. The verse still says plainly that Aaron dies there; the root does not soften that ending or specify more than it says.
ALSO GROWS
ʾāsîp: ingathering, harvest
אָסִיף
The same root names the harvest’s gathering-in, giving the death phrase an image of being brought in.
ʾespāh: I will gather
אֶסְפָה
This form gathers people into a group; Aaron’s phrase uses the same action and names his people as those to whom he is gathered.
וְהִלְבַּשְׁתָּם
wehilbashtam
GROWS FROM
לבש
l-b-sh
clothe, wear
“put them upon” in this verse is wehilbashtam. The clothing root makes the handoff physical: garments taken from Aaron are put onto Eleazar. Its branches hold both the act of clothing and the state of being clothed, so the visible sign of the office moves from one body to another.
ALSO GROWS
lāvaš: wear, be clothed
לָבַשׁ
The same root describes the one who wears the garments, completing the transfer expressed in the verse.
levush: garment, attire
לְבוּשׁ
This noun names what is worn, linking Aaron’s removed garments to Eleazar’s new clothing.
אֶלְעָזָר
ʾElʿāzār
GROWS FROM
עזר
ʿ-z-r
help, aid
Eleazar’s name combines El, “God,” with azar, “help”: “God has helped.” The successor’s name carries help as part of its nature, an echo in the handoff without the verse explaining why he receives the garments.
ALSO GROWS
ʿāzar: help, aid
עָזַר
This verb is the help-bearing root within Eleazar’s name.
ʿēzer: help, aid
עֵזֶר
This noun makes the same root’s sense of help explicit, echoing the name of the one who receives the garments.
THE PATTERN
A role’s visible garments can pass to a successor while the former bearer reaches death.
And the holy garments of Aaron shall be his sons’ after him, to be anointed therein, and to be consecrated in them.He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan;And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death:THE THREAD
Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years; and was gathered to his people.Genesis uses the same root אסף (ʾ-s-p, gather) for Abraham being gathered to his people. The shared verb frames death with an image of belonging, while both verses still say plainly that the person dies.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us