Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Numbers 17:6

And Moses spoke 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.

6. the staff of Aaron was in the midst of their staves ] We are perhaps to think of the thirteen staves as stuck into the ground and standing erect, Aaron’s staff being the middle one.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

The whole number of rods was twelve exclusive of Aarons, as the Vulgate expressly states.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

i.e. Was laid up with the rest, being either one of the twelve, as the Hebrews affirm, or the thirteenth, as others think.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

6. the rod of Aaron was among theirrodseither one of the twelve, or, as many suppose, athirteenth in the midst (Heb 9:4).The rods were of dry sticks or wands, probably old, as transmittedfrom one head of the family to a succeeding.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

And Moses spake unto the children of Israel,…. What the Lord had bid him say unto them concerning the rods, which they hearkened unto and observed:

and everyone of their princes gave him a rod apiece, for each prince one; every prince of the several tribes, and so a rod for every tribe, as well as for each prince:

according to their father’s houses, [even] twelve rods; there being twelve tribes named after their fathers, or the patriarchs, the twelve sons of Jacob; and Joseph having two tribes which sprung from him, called after his two sons Ephraim and Manasseh, there were twelve rods besides that of Aaron; and so the Vulgate Latin version renders the words with the next clause,

“and there were twelve rods besides the rod of Aaron;”

in all thirteen; though the Jews say there were but twelve with it, allowing but one rod for Joseph, under whom were comprehended Ephraim and Manasseh, and reckoning the tribe of Levi one of the twelve so Aben Ezra observes, that the rod of Levi was among the twelve and Joseph had but one rod:

and the rod of Aaron [was] among their rods: in the middle of them, and was so placed, as Jarchi thinks, that it might not be said, because it was put on the side of the Shechinah or divine Majesty, therefore it budded; but being in the middle of them there could be no difference in that respect.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

Verses 6-9:

Moses relayed God’s instructions to the people, and they complied. The twelve rods were laid up overnight in the Tabernacle. On the following morning, Moses brought them forth for all to see. The rod with Aaron’s name inscribed on it had put on leaves, buds, blossoms, and mature fruit.

“Almond,” shaked, “the waker,” so called because it was the first of the trees to waken from Winter’s sleep. Its snow-white blossoms are the first to announce the arrival of Spring.

This was a genuine miracle. As Aaron’s rod could not blossom and bear fruit by nature, so there was no more power inherent in Aaron than in any of the other “princes” in Israel. But God’s power gave life and fruitfulness to Aaron’s rod, demonstrating the working of God’s grace to enable His child to live a fruitful life.

The text implies that careful inspection was made of each rod. This confirmed the miracle and God’s choice. Then, each man’s rod was returned to him.

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

All the Chieftains Give Rods Including Aaron ( Num 17:6 ).

Num 17:6

‘And Moses spoke to the children of Israel, and all their princes gave him rods, for each prince one, according to their fathers’ houses, even twelve rods, and the rod of Aaron was among their rods.’

So Moses did as Yahweh commanded and requested rods from each of the chieftains of the twelve tribes. These rods may well have been their symbols of authority. Thus twelve rods were gathered and Aaron’s rod was placed among them.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

The Miraculous Budding of Aaron’s Rod

v. 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. All this was thus done in the view of all the princes to preclude all possibility of fraud and to make the test fair in every respect.

v. 7. And Moses laid up the rods before the Lord in the Tabernacle of Witness, this name of the Sanctuary being singularly appropriate here, for God intended to bear witness to His servant.

v. 8. And it came to pass that on the morrow Moses went into the Tabernacle of Witness; for he, as God’s representative, had charge of the test; and, behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds. In one night, therefore, had been brought about what ordinarily takes weeks and months, for the buds developed into shoots, brought forth blossoms, and developed into the mature fruit.

v. 9. And Moses brought out all the rods from before the Lord unto all the children of Israel, for they were to be convinced by personal inspection ; and they looked, and took every man his rod. Here was an overwhelming proof of God’s direct interposition, and the Lord, in the most unmistakable manner, designated Aaron as His servant in the office of the high priest. The priesthood of Aaron was to remain in power until the coming of the true and eternal High Priest, Jesus Christ.

v. 10. And the Lord said unto Moses, Bring- Aaron’s rod again before the testimony, to be kept for a token against the rebels, against the children of rebellion, against any persons that were filled with dissatisfied notions and with false ambitions over against the chosen priest of the Lord; and thou shall quite take away their murmurings from Me that they die not. Even in this instance the Lord had the welfare of His people in mind, in guarding against their own foolishness.

v. 11. And Moses did so; as the Lord commanded him, so did he. The rod of Aaron with which the Lord had performed a miracle was kept in the Ark of the Covenant, Heb 9:4.

v. 12. And the children of Israel spake unto Moses, saying, Behold, we die, we perish, we all perish. This new miracle had filled them with such awe that they were filled with the terror of death.

v. 13. Whosoever cometh anything (in any way) near unto the Tabernacle of the Lord shall die, as the result of Korah’s rebellion had plainly shown; shall we be consumed with dying? In their present state of mind they felt that there was no grace and mercy with the Lord any more. This excessive fear of death, although not a fruit of faith, still served to keep the people in submission to the will of the Lord. The rod of Aaron which budded is a type of the eternal priesthood of Christ, who is able to save those that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them, Heb 7:24-25.

Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann

The rod was an apt signification of the head of a family, for the word signifies tribes as well as rod. It is used so: Num 34:13 .

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

a rod apiece, for each prince one: Heb. a rod for one prince, a rod for one prince, Num 17:2

Reciprocal: Eze 37:20 – in thine

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Num 17:6. The rod of Aaron was among their rods Was laid up with the rest, being either one of the twelve, as the Hebrews affirm, or the thirteenth, as others think.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

17:6 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 {c} of Aaron [was] among their rods.

(c) Though Joseph’s tribe was divided into two in the distribution of the land, yet here it is but one and Levi makes a tribe.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes