Numbers 20

14-16. Moses sent messengers . . . to the king of Edom--The encampment at Kadesh was on the confines of the Edomite territory, through which the Israelites would have had an easy passage across the Arabah by Wady-el-Ghuweir, so that they could have continued their course around Moab, and approached Palestine from the east [ROBERTS]. The Edomites, being the descendants of Esau and tracing their line of descent from Abraham as their common stock, were recognized by the Israelites as brethren, and a very brotherly message was sent to them.

17. we will go by the king's highway--probably Wady-el-Ghuweir [ROBERTS], through which ran one of the great lines of road, constructed for commercial caravans, as well as for the progress of armies. The engineering necessary for carrying them over marshes or mountains, and the care requisite for protecting them from the shifting sands, led to their being under the special care of the state. Hence the expression, "the king's highway," which is of great antiquity.

19. if I and my cattle drink of thy water, then I will pay for it--From the scarcity of water in the warm climates of the East, the practice of levying a tax for the use of the wells is universal; and the jealousy of the natives, in guarding the collected treasures of rain, is often so great that water cannot be procured for money.

21. Edom refused to give Israel passage through his border, &c.--A churlish refusal obliged them to take another route. see also 1 Samuel 14:47 , 2 Samuel 8:14 , which describe the retribution that was taken.)

22. the children of Israel . . . came unto mount Hor--now Gebel Haroun, the most striking and lofty elevation in the Seir range, called emphatically "the mount" ( Numbers 20:28 ). It is conspicuous by its double top.

24-28. Aaron shall be gathered unto his people--In accordance with his recent doom, he, attired in the high priest's costume, was commanded to ascend that mountain and die. But although the time of his death was hastened by the divine displeasure as a punishment for his sins, the manner of his death was arranged in tenderness of love, and to do him honor at the close of his earthly service. His ascent of the mount was to afford him a last look of the camp and a distant prospect of the promised land. The simple narrative of the solemn and impressive scene implies, though it does not describe, the pious resignation, settled faith, and inward peace of the aged pontiff.

26. strip Aaron of his garments--that is, his pontifical robes, in token of his resignation. (See Isaiah 22:20-25 ).
put them on his son--as the inauguration into his high office. Having been formerly anointed with the sacred oil, that ceremony was not repeated, or, as some think, it was done on his return to the camp.

28. Aaron died there in the top of the A tomb has been erected upon or close by the spot where he was buried.

29. When all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead--Moses and Eleazar were the sole witnesses of his departure ( Numbers 20:28 ). According to the established law, the new high priest could not have been present at the funeral of his father without contracting ceremonial defilement ( Leviticus 21:11 ). But that law was dispensed with in the extraordinary circumstances. The people learned the event not only from the recital of the two witnesses, but from their visible signs of grief and change; and this event betokened the imperfection of the Levitical priesthood ( Hebrews 7:12 ).
they mourned for Aaron thirty days--the usual period of public and solemn mourning.