|| Bible Question: It
sounds as if Moses was the first born son according to Exodus 2:1-2,
but then in Exodus 6:20 it lists Aaron and then Moses as brothers.
Aaron is listed first so he would be the oldest. Where was Aaron
when Moses was put in the basket by his mother? Did Moses and Aaron
have the same parents? The Bible also mentions Miriam as Aaron's
sister (Exodus 15:20) but why not Moses as well? Could you explain
the family relationship of these three?
Bible Answer: The
three passages you refer to are presented below.
a man from the house of Levi went and married a daughter
of Levi. And the woman conceived and bore a son; and when
she saw that he was beautiful, she hid him for three months.
(NASB) Exodus 2:1-2
Amram married his father’s sister Jochebed, and she bore
him Aaron and Moses; and the length of Amram’s life was
one hundred and thirty-seven years. (NASB) Exodus 6:20
Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took the timbrel
in her hand, and all the women went out after her with timbrels
and with dancing. (NASB) Ex. 15:20
we want to notice that the Bible does not provide any details about
Aaron in the account of Moses in the basket (Exodus 2). Scripture
never tries to give us all of the details because it is more interested
in sending us a message. In both of the passages above, we are told
that Moses, Aaron, and Miriam are the children of one father. His
name was Amram. He was a Levite.
are two other passages in the Old Testament that clearly tell us
these three are brothers and a sister. The first passage is found
in Numbers 26 and the second one is found in 1 Chronicles.
the name of Amram’s wife was Jochebed, the daughter
of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt; and she bore to Amram:
Aaron and Moses and their sister Miriam. (NASB) Numbers 26:59
And the children of Amram were Aaron, Moses, and Miriam . .
. (NASB) 1 Chronicles 6:3
first passage says that their father was named Amram and their mother
was Jochebed. From Exodus 2:1 we discovered that Amram was a Levite
and from Numbers 26 we discover that Jochebed was a Levite too! Together
Amram and Jochebed had two sons named Aaron and Moses and one daughter
named Miriam. The second passage confirms the statement of the first
and Aaron. From
both of those passages, we discover that Aaron was the older brother,
since he was listed first in each geneaology. It was customary in
the Old Testament to list the first born son first. This is great
news. God is more concerned about the heart of a person than about
their lineage. I wonder how Moses felt when God told him that he
was going to let his older brother speak for him, and how Aaron felt
when Moses became the leader of Israel.
answer to that first question may be found in this verse,
the man Moses was very humble, more than any man who was
on the face of the earth. (NASB)
was a very humble man. I believe that Moses did not react negatively
to his brother's speaking for God before Moses. What a wonderful
example to us. God calls us to serve Him and not worry about the
other person. Praise the Lord.