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Person · Tribe of Levi

Ithamar

Priest living at the time of Egypt and Wilderness

Ithamar was the fourth and youngest son of Aaron, who served as a priest alongside his brothers Nadab, Abihu, and Eleazar.

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Ithamar was the fourth and youngest son of Aaron, the first high priest of Israel (Exo.6.23). He served as a priest alongside his brothers Nadab, Abihu, and Eleazar (Num.3.2). After the deaths of Nadab and Abihu for offering unauthorized fire before the Lord (Lev.10.1-2), Ithamar and Eleazar were warned not to mourn for them openly (Lev.10.6).

Ithamar assisted his father Aaron and his brother Eleazar in their priestly duties (Exo.28.1; Num.3.4). He was responsible for overseeing the Gershonites and Merarites, two of the Levite clans, in their tabernacle duties (Num.4.28,33). During the dedication of the tabernacle, Ithamar assisted Moses in receiving the offerings from the tribal leaders (Num.7.8).

Ithamar's descendants continued to serve as priests (1Ch.24.1-6). They were divided into divisions for their appointed duties, just as Aaron's other descendants were. One of Ithamar's notable descendants was Eli, who served as high priest and judge in Israel (1Sa.14.3; 1Ki.2.27).

In Ezr.8.2, a descendant of Ithamar named Daniel is mentioned among the priests who returned to Jerusalem from the Babylonian exile. This highlights the continuity of Ithamar's lineage in the priesthood.

Family

Father
Aaron
Mother
Elisheba
Children
Unnamed#1

Bible dictionary

Ithamar Easton Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897)

Palm isle, the fourth and youngest son of Aaron (1 Chr. 6:3). He was consecrated to the priesthood along with his brothers (Ex. 6:23); and after the death of Nadab and Abihu, he and Eleazar alone discharged the functions of that office (Lev. 10:6, 12; Num. 3:4). He and his family occupied the position of common priest till the high priesthood passed into his family in the person of Eli (1 Kings 2:27), the reasons for which are not recorded. (See ZADOK.)

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Ithamar Smith Smith’s Bible Dictionary (1863)

(land of palms), the youngest son of Aaron. (Exodus 6:23) (B.C. 1491.) After the death of Nadab and Abihu, (Leviticus 10:1) Eleazar and Ithamar were appointed to succeed to their places in the priestly office. (Exodus 28:1,40,43; Numbers 3:3,4; 1 Chronicles 24:2) In the distribution of services belonging to the tabernacle, and its transport on the march of the Israelites, the Gershonites and the Merarites were placed under the superintendence of Ithamar. (Exodus 38:21; Numbers 4:21-33) The high priesthood passed into the family of Ithamar in the person of Eli, but for what reason we are not informed.

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Ithamar Hitchcock Hitchcock’s Bible Names Dictionary (1869)

island of the palm-tree

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Ithamar Hastings Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible (1898)

ITH'AMAR (land of palms), a son of Aaron. Ex 6:23. After the violent death of Nadab and Abihu for their act of desecration. Lev 10:1-2, he and Eleazar were alone left for the priestly office. Lev 10:6, Eze 10:12. Eli was the only high priest of the line of Ithamar, 1 Chr 24:6, and, in fact, his house does not seem to have exercised as much influence as that of Eleazar. 1 Chr 24:4.

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Ithamar Schaff Schaff’s Dictionary of the Bible

ITH'AMAR (land of palms), a son of Aaron. Ex 6:23. After the violent death of Nadab and Abihu for their act of desecration. Lev 10:1-2, he and Eleazar were alone left for the priestly office. Lev 10:6, Eze 10:12. Eli was the only high priest of the line of Ithamar, 1 Chr 24:6, and, in fact, his house does not seem to have exercised as much influence as that of Eleazar. 1 Chr 24:4.

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Easton (1897), Smith (1863), Hitchcock (1869), Hastings (1898) and Schaff are in the public domain. Parsed text: neuu-org/bible-dictionary-dataset (CC BY 4.0). Headwords and whitespace normalised for this site.

Where Ithamar appears

20 verses in 5 books · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H0385

Exodus3
Leviticus3
Numbers6
1 Chronicles7
Ezra1

Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.