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Numbers 17

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God Commands the Test of the Rods 1–7

1
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2
Speak unto the children of Israel, and take of every one of them a rod according to the house of their fathers, of all their princes according to the house of their fathers twelve rods: write thou every man's name upon his rod. ​
3
And thou shalt write Aaron's name upon the rod of Levi: for one rod shall be for the head of the house of their fathers. ​
4
And thou shalt lay them up in the tabernacle of the congregation before the testimony, where I will meet with you. ​
5
And it shall come to pass, that the man's rod, whom I shall choose, shall blossom: and I will make to cease from me the murmurings of the children of Israel, whereby they murmur against you. ​
6
And Moses spake unto the children of Israel, and every one of their princes gave him a rod apiece, for each prince one, according to their fathers' houses, even twelve rods: and the rod of Aaron was among their rods.
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And Moses laid up the rods before the LORD in the tabernacle of witness.

Aaron's Rod Budds and Blossoms 8–9

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And it came to pass, that on the morrow Moses went into the tabernacle of witness; and, behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds. ​
9
And Moses brought out all the rods from before the LORD unto all the children of Israel: and they looked, and took every man his rod.

The Rod Preserved as a Warning 10–11

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And the LORD said unto Moses, Bring Aaron's rod again before the testimony, to be kept for a token against the rebels; and thou shalt quite take away their murmurings from me, that they die not. ​
11
And Moses did so: as the LORD commanded him, so did he.

The People's Fearful Reaction 12–13

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And the children of Israel spake unto Moses, saying, Behold, we die, we perish, we all perish. ​
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Whosoever cometh any thing near unto the tabernacle of the LORD shall die: shall we be consumed with dying? ​

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for Numbers 17

Verse 2

a rod according to the house of their fathers — Matteh means both a rod and a tribe, and the verse uses it for twelve tribal rods, as in Num 1:4, 'a man of every tribe'. Moses writes each man's name upon his rod. The test follows the rising of Korah's company against the priesthood (ch. 16) and settles whom the LORD has chosen (v.5).

Verse 3

Aaron's name upon the rod of Levi — The rod of Levi carries Aaron's name, 'for one rod shall be for the head of the house of their fathers'. Aaron had already been set over the priest's office (Num 3:10), and Korah, a Levite, had asked for it (16:10). Here the other tribes' rods are set beside Levi's, and the LORD decides between them.

Verse 4

before the testimony — Edut, 'testimony', is the name for the tablets that lay in the ark (Ex 25:16). The rods are laid up where the LORD says 'I will meet with you', the promise of Ex 25:22, 'there I will meet with thee'. The sign is laid up in the place where the LORD meets with Moses.

Verse 5

shall blossom — Parach, to bud or bloom, the verb of v.8. 'Choose' is bachar, the verb of 16:7, 'the man whom the LORD doth choose, he shall be holy'. 'Murmur' is lun, as in 16:41. The LORD says the sign will 'make to cease' the murmurings, and v.10 speaks of taking them 'quite' away.

Verse 8

yielded almonds — The one rod passes through every stage in a night: it 'was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds'. Shaqed, almond, is found elsewhere in Gen 43:11, where Jacob sends almonds as a gift, in Jer 1:11, 'a rod of an almond tree', and in Eccl 12:5. It is the rod 'for the house of Levi'.

Verse 10

a token against the rebels — 'Token' is ot, a sign, the word used of the censers in 16:38. 'Rebels' is literally 'sons of rebellion'. 'To be kept' is mishmereth, a charge, the word of the manna kept 'for your generations' (Ex 16:33). Heb 9:4 lists 'Aaron's rod that budded' with the golden pot of manna and 'the tables of the covenant'.

Verse 12

we die, we perish — 'Perish' is abad, the verb of 16:33, where Korah's company 'perished from among the congregation'. The people speak after the plague of 16:49. The LORD's answer comes in Num 18:22–23: Israel is not to 'come nigh the tabernacle of the congregation, lest they bear sin, and die', and the Levites do the service.

Verse 13

shall we be consumed with dying? — 'Consumed' is tamam, to be finished, the verb of 14:35, 'in this wilderness they shall be consumed'. 'Cometh near' is qarev, the word of the law that 'the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death' (3:10). The next chapter assigns the nearness to the priests and Levites (18:3–4).