Aaron was the brother of Moses and Miriam and the Israelites’ first high priest. According to the Book of Exodus, Aaron first functioned as Moses’ assistant. Aaron is best known for his role in the exodus and for being the first of the Levitical, or Aaronic, priesthood. He was born to a family of Levites during Israel’s enslavement in Egypt and was Moses’ older brother, three years his senior (Exodus 7:7). We are first introduced to Aaron in Exodus 4 when God tells Moses that He will send Aaron, Moses’ brother, with him to free the Israelites from Pharaoh. Because Moses complained that he could not speak well, God appointed Aaron as Moses’ “prophet”.
The left window pane depicts Moses under a symbol of the triune God and the tablets of the Law received by Moses are below his image.
The right pane depicts Aaron and the Loaves of Proposition, also known as the “Bread of the Presence” or “Showbread”. The “loaves of proposition” were twelve loaves of bread, representing the twelve tribes of Israel, placed on a table of pure gold in the Tabernacle. They were a “continual” offering signifying God’s presence and covenant with the people.
God commanded that Aaron and his descendants (the priests) were responsible for preparing, setting out, and changing these loaves. Every Sabbath, Aaron and his sons were to replace the old, “stale” loaves with fresh, hot ones. The old loaves, having been in the presence of Yahweh for a week, were considered “most holy”. They belonged exclusively to Aaron and his sons, who were required to eat them within a “holy place” (the courtyard of the Tabernacle).