In the Bible, Ithamar () was the fourth (and the youngest) son of

Aaron According to the Old Testament of the Bible, Aaron ( or ) was an Israelite prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of Moses. Information about Aaron comes exclusively from religious texts, such as the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament ...

the High Priest."Ithamar", ''

Encyclopaedia Biblica ''Encyclopaedia Biblica: A Critical Dictionary of the Literary, Political and Religion History, the Archeology, Geography and Natural History of the Bible'' (1899), edited by Thomas Kelly Cheyne and J. Sutherland Black, is a critical encycloped ...

'' Following the construction of the

Tabernacle According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle (), also known as the Tent of the Congregation (, also Tent of Meeting), was the portable earthly dwelling of God used by the Israelites from the Exodus until the conquest of Canaan. Moses was instru ...

, he was responsible for recording an

inventory Inventory (British English) or stock (American English) is a quantity of the goods and materials that a business holds for the ultimate goal of resale, production or utilisation. Inventory management is a discipline primarily about specifying ...

to ensure that the constructed Tabernacle and its contents conformed to the vision given by God to

Moses In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...

Mount Sinai Mount Sinai, also known as Jabal Musa (), is a mountain on the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. It is one of several locations claimed to be the Mount Sinai (Bible), biblical Mount Sinai, the place where, according to the sacred scriptures of the thre ...

Kohen

After the death of his two eldest brothers,

Nadab and Abihu In the biblical books of Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers, Nadab () and Avihu () were the two oldest sons of Aaron. According to Third reading—Leviticus 9:24–10:11, Leviticus 10, they offered a sacrifice with "foreign fire" before Yahweh, dis ...

, when God punished them for performing an unauthorized incense offering, Ithamar served as a

kohen Kohen (, ; , ، Arabic كاهن , Kahen) is the Hebrew word for "priest", used in reference to the Aaronic Priest#Judaism, priesthood, also called Aaronites or Aaronides. They are traditionally believed, and halakha, halakhically required, to ...

(priest) along with his elder brother,

Eleazar Eleazar (; ) or Elazar was a priest in the Hebrew Bible, the second High Priest, succeeding his father Aaron after he died. He was a nephew of Moses. Biblical narrative Eleazar played a number of roles during the course of the Exodus, from ...

. Ithamar and Eleazar are regarded as the direct male ancestors of all Kohanim. records an incident when

was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar for failing to eat a sin offering inside the Tabernacle following the regulations set out in the preceding chapters of Leviticus regarding the entitlement of the priests to a share of the offerings they made on behalf of the Israelite people. During the travels of the

Israelites Israelites were a Hebrew language, Hebrew-speaking ethnoreligious group, consisting of tribes that lived in Canaan during the Iron Age. Modern scholarship describes the Israelites as emerging from indigenous Canaanites, Canaanite populations ...

in the

Wilderness of Sin The wilderness of Sin or desert of Sin ( ''Mīḏbar Sīn'') is a geographic area mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as lying between Elim and Mount Sinai. ''Sin'' does not refer to the moral concept of "sin", but comes from the Hebrew word ''Sîn'', t ...

, Ithamar was responsible for the work of the sons of

Gershon According to the Torah, Gershon ( ''Gērǝšôn'') was the eldest of the sons of Levi, and the patriarchal founder of the Gershonites, one of the four main divisions among the Levites in biblical times. The Gershonites were charged with the care ...

and

Merari According to the Torah, Merari (Hebrew: , ''Mərārī'') was one of the sons of Levi, and the patriarchal founder of the Merarites, one of the four main divisions among the Levites in Biblical times. The Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') i ...

, the carriers of the Tabernacle fittings and structures, while Eleazar was responsible for the work of the sons of

Kohath According to the Torah, Kehath (, ''Qəhāṯ'') or Kohath was the second of the sons of Levi and the patriarchal founder of the Kehathites, one of the four main divisions of the Levites in biblical times. In some apocryphal texts, such as the '' ...

, who carried the cult objects (the ark, the

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

and the menorah). He was also in charge of the work of the

Levites Levites ( ; ) or Levi are Jewish males who claim patrilineal descent from the Tribe of Levi. The Tribe of Levi descended from Levi, the third son of Jacob and Leah. The surname ''Halevi'', which consists of the Hebrew definite article "" ''Ha-' ...

in general.

Samaritan accounts

According to

Samaritan Samaritans (; ; ; ), are an ethnoreligious group originating from the Hebrews and Israelites of the ancient Near East. They are indigenous to Samaria, a historical region of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah that ...

sources, a civil war broke out between the sons of Ithamar (

Eli Eli most commonly refers to: * Eli (name), a given name, nickname and surname * Eli (biblical figure) Eli or ELI may also refer to: Film * ''Eli'' (2015 film), a Tamil film * ''Eli'' (2019 film), an American horror film Music * ''Eli'' (Jan ...

) and the sons of

Phinehas According to the Hebrew Bible, Phinehas (also spelled Phineas, ; , ''Phinees'', ) was a priest during the Exodus. The grandson of Aaron and son of Eleazar, the High Priests (), he distinguished himself as a youth at Shittim with his zeal again ...

, which resulted in the division of those who followed Eli and those who followed High Priest Uzzi ben Bukki at Mount Gerizim Bethel (a third group followed neither). The line of the sons of Phineas died out in 1624 with the death of the 112th High Priest Shlomyah ben Pinhas, at which time the priesthood was transferred to the sons of Ithamar.

Burial site

The burial site of Ithamar is associated with the

Hill of Phinehas A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit, and is usually applied to peaks which are above elevation compared to the relative landmass, though not as prominent as mountains. Hills fall und ...

Joshua 24:33
recorded in the Bible and believed to be located in the village of

Awarta Awarta () is a Palestinian town located southeast of Nablus, in the northern West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of 7,054 inhabitants in 2017. Awarta's built-up area consists of and it ...

in the

West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

. Due to the uncertain security situation, the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

limit visits by

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

to one annual night close to 5

Shevat Shevat (, , ; from ) is the fifth month of the civil year starting in Tishre (or Tishri) and the eleventh month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar starting in Nisan. It is a month of 30 days. Shevat usually occurs in January– ...

on the

Hebrew calendar The Hebrew calendar (), also called the Jewish calendar, is a lunisolar calendar used today for Jewish religious observance and as an official calendar of Israel. It determines the dates of Jewish holidays and other rituals, such as '' yahrze ...

(around January or February).

References

{{Authority control Book of Exodus people Jewish priests Family of Aaron and Moses Eli (biblical figure)

Kohen

Samaritan accounts

Burial site

See also

References