THEOSISJerome of Stridon
The thirty-fourth encampment, many interpret as light, which wouldn’t be incorrect if the term "Or" were spelled with an aleph. Others perceive it as skin, suitable if it contained an ain; some suggest it means well, which could be permissible with the particle "get." However, as it is rendered with "ge," it is preferable to translate it as mountain, thus reading, "Aaron the priest ascended to the mountain of the mountain," meaning to the summit of the mountain. This indicates that the high priest did not die merely on any mountain, but specifically on the mountain of the mountain, a place fitting for his dignity. He passed away in the year designated for the new nation to enter the promised land, at the border of Edom.
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While he bequeathed the priesthood to his son Eleazar to fulfill the law most perfectly, the pinnacle he reached was not beyond the waters of the Jordan, but at the extreme edge of earthly existence. The people grieved for him for thirty days. Aaron received mourning, yet Christ was not mourned. There is a descent into hell according to the law, whereas the gospel speaks of ascension to heaven. The Canaanites learned of Israel’s arrival, and at the site of the spies, where the people once provoked the Lord, they engaged in battle, capturing some of Israel. They fought again in that same location; as a result of the vow, the victor triumphed and the defeated fell, and the name of that place was designated "Orma," meaning anathema. It is not difficult for me, and necessary for the readers to recognize that the human experience in this life is ever-changing. One person perishes in the valley, another in the fields, and still another on the mountain, not just on any mountain, but on the mountain of the mountain, or a towering peak. When we, deprived of God’s assistance, are assaulted by the enemy and taken as captives, we should not lose hope for salvation but rather prepare ourselves once more for the battle. It may be that where we have previously faced defeat, we will emerge victorious, triumphing in the very place we were once captured.