ESSENTIAL BIBLE DICTIONARY - Saint Mary's Press

AAARON (air´uhn): The first high priestof the old Law and a member of thetribe of Levi, Aaron was born into slaveryin Egypt. With his sister, Miriam, Aaronsupported their brother, Moses, duringthe Exodus. Aaron spoke for Moses (Ex4:13–16), demanding Pharaoh free theIsraelite slaves. Aaron witnessed the firstPassover (Ex 12:27), the plagues andwonders (Ex 5—10), the escape acrossthe sea, and forty years in the desert (Ex12—15).Aaron’s story took a negative turnwhen he lost faith, fell into peer pressure,and led the people back to idolatryby worshipping a golden calf (Ex 32).Aaron and the people repented, andLeviticus 8—9 tells how he and his sonswere ordained for priesthood.The priests and historians who werethe final editors of the Pentateuch livedcenturies after Aaron. Most likely theywere captives in the Babylonian Captivity,who, once freed, worked to unifyand rebuild the people of Israel. (SeeEzra.) Their stories of Aaron helped reclaimthe religious identity and the centralityof the priestly role within the Israelitepeople.From Aaron’s story, we learn aboutthe importance of God’s Covenant, thedevastations of sin and idolatry, the painof betrayal, the need for forgiveness, andthe strength of reconciliation and faith.See also Exodus; Levi, Levite; Miriam;Moses; Priest.ABBA (ah´buh): A personal title usedby Jesus to identify his—and our—intimaterelationship with God. Abbameans “my Father” or “our Father” inAramaic. Even though the New Testamentwas written in Greek, this Aramaicword is specifically used in Mk 14:36,Rom 8:15, and Gal 4:6. This usage indicatesthat the early Christians recalledthat Jesus regularly addressed God asAbba. When Jesus taught his disciples topray the Our Father, he invited them tounderstand that their relationship withthe God of Creation was that of a preciouschild and loving parent (Mt 6:9).Like the Father in the parable of theprodigal son, God longs for us to knowthe love and protection of home, whichalso becomes an image of the Church(Lk 15:11–32).ABEDNEGO (uh-bed´ni-goh): Afriend of the folk hero Daniel who,along with Shadrach and Meshach, refusedto worship the golden idols ofKing Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Becauseof their faith, these three werespared death in the fiery furnace inBabylon (Dan 3). See also BabylonianCaptivity; Meshach; Shadrach.ABEL: See Cain and Abel.AARONABIMELECH (uh-bim´uh-lek): A titleused to designate the kings of Syria andPalestine (Gen 20:2, 26:26), as well as apersonal name (Judg 8—9; 1 Chr 18:16).9