Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Numbers 20:8
Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink.
8. Take the staff ] Moses here receives no directions as to what he is to do with the staff: perhaps some clauses which originally contained them have been lost. ‘The staff’ is spoken of as a definite well-known object. In E Moses is represented as using a staff given him by God (Exo 4:17; Exo 4:20); but in P the staff is always Aaron’s (Exo 7:9; Exo 7:12; Exo 7:19-20 &c.). In Num 20:11 (below), according to the Heb. text, Moses struck the rock with ‘ his rod’; but LXX. has ‘ the rod.’ is probably a late scribal error for .
the rock ] There is at Kadesh (the modern ‘Ain-el-ads) a ‘large single mass, or a small hill, of solid rock’ described by Trumbull ( Kadesh-Barnea, 272 4), who established the identity of the place.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Take the rod – That with which the miracles in Egypt had been performed (Exo 7:8 ff; Exo 7:19 ff; Exo 8:5 ff, etc.), and which had been used on a similar occasion at Rephidim (Exo 17:5 following). This rod, as the memorial of so many divine interpositions, was naturally laid up in the tabernacle, and is accordingly Num 20:9 described now as taken by Moses from before the Lord.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
The rod; that rod which was laid up before the Lord in the tabernacle, as appears from Num 20:9. But whether it was Aarons rod, which was undoubtedly laid up there, Num 17:10, or Mosess rod, by which he wrought so many miracles, it is not considerable; or whether it was not one and the same rod, which was commonly called Mosess rod, as here, Num 20:11, and elsewhere, and sometimes Aarons rod, as Exo 7:12, which may seem most probable. For it is likely, though not related elsewhere in Scripture, that wonder-working rod, called the rod of God, Exo 4:20, was laid up in some part of the tabernacle, though not in or near the ark, where Aarons blossoming rod for a particular reason was put. Speak ye unto the rock, which will sooner hear and obey my commands than these sottish and stubborn people.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
8. Take the rodwhich had beendeposited in the tabernacle (Nu17:10), the wonder-working rod by which so many miracles had beenperformed, sometimes called “the rod of God” (Ex4:20), sometimes Moses’ (Nu20:11) or Aaron’s rod (Ex 7:12).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Take thy rod,…. The rod of miracles, as the Targum of Jonathan; not the rod of Aaron, miraculous for its blossom and fruit, as some Jewish writers think; but the rod of Moses, with which he had done many wonders in Egypt, and at the Red sea, and in the wilderness, and particularly by smiting the rock at Horeb, when the Israelites wanted water, as they did now:
and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother; not only the heads of the people, but the body of them, as many as could be got together to see the miracle, and to receive the benefit of it:
and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; which was near, but a little way off, within sight, and might be pointed to: it was not the same rock that was smote before; that was in Horeb, this in the extremity of the land of Edom, as Aben Ezra observes; this was to be spoken to, and by a word speaking it would give out water; which was a trial of the faith of Moses and Aaron, as well as of the people, before whom, in a public manner, the rock was to be addressed, as if it was intelligent and all-sufficient:
and it shall give forth his water; not as though there was a fountain of water in it, but that water should flow from it, or God by it give water:
and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock; by speaking to it: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink; sufficient for them both.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
8. Take the rod. It is unquestionable that the faith of Moses had now begun to waver; but we gather from his prompt obedience that it had not altogether failed; for he wastes no time in discussion, but comes straight to the rock in order that he may perform God’s command. His faith, then, was only so smothered, that its hidden rigor at once directed him to his duty. Thus is it that the saints sometimes, whilst they totter like children, still advance toward their mark.
By the sight of “the rod,” God would recall both to Moses and the people so many miracles, which were well fitted to awaken confidence for the future; just as if He were uplifting the standard of His power. The command to speak to the rock is not unattended with a severe reproach, as if He had said, that in the lifeless elements there was more reason and intelligence than in men themselves. And assuredly it was a thing much to be ashamed of, that the rock, as if it could hear and was endued with sense, should obey God’s voice, whilst the people, to whom the Law had been given, remained in deafness and stupidity.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(8) Take the rod.It has been supposed by some, from the fact that the rod is represented as being taken from before the Lord (Num. 20:9), that the reference is to the rod of Aaron which was kept before the testimony (Num. 17:10). On the other hand, the natural presumption that the rod was the same as that with which some of the previous miracles in Egypt and those at the Red Sea and at Rephidim had been wrought is confirmed by the facts that the name of Aaron is not mentioned in this verse until after the mention of the rod, and that Moses is said, in Num. 20:11, to have smitten the rock with his rod.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
8. Take the rod The wonder-working staff with which the miracles in Egypt were wrought. There is no doubt that the fabled thyrsus of Bacchus, and the caduceus of Mercury, the instrument of his mythic marvels, are distorted traditions of this rod of Moses.
Speak ye unto the rock There is no command to strike. The only human action which is authorized is, that Moses take the rod, and, probably, stretch it out toward the rock, and that both the brothers speak to it. It is remarkable that the Hebrew for rock is sela, or cliff, and not tzur, as the rock at Rephidim is called. Exo 17:6. From this Stanley argues that Kadesh is ancient Petra, or Sela, the wonderful rock city, “the basin of which is known by the Arabs by no other name than the Valley of Moses.” Sinai and Pal., p. 95.
Before their eyes These words indicate some conspicuous rock, such as Dr. Robinson sought for but did not find at Ain-el-Weibeh, which he supposes to be Kadesh.
Thou shalt bring forth water As the agent, and not the efficient cause. Did not the fault of Moses, in part, consist in forgetting this distinction?
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Num 20:8. Take the rod The celebrated rod, wherewith Moses had wrought so many miracles in Egypt, and which, it is probable, had been laid up somewhere in the sanctuary; because it is said, Num 20:9 he took it from before the Lord: from which expression, Le Clerc and others understand it to have been Aaron’s rod; but it appears from the 11th verse that it was the rod of Moses.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Num 20:8 Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink.
Ver. 8. Take the rod. ] God puts off their rebellion, and satisfies their thirst by a miracle.
Speak unto the rock.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
the rod. Compare Num 17:5. Some think (from Num 20:9) the rod “from before the testimony”, as in Num 17:10; but Num 20:11 it is “his rod”.
assembly = congregation.
speak ye unto the rock. Not “smite” as in Num 20:11.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
speak ye unto the rock before their eyes
See Exo 17:5. (See Scofield “Exo 17:5”).
The rock (Christ) 1Co 10:4 once smitten, needs not to be smitten (crucified) again. Moses’ act exalted himself Num 20:10 and implied (in type) that the one sacrifice was ineffectual, thus denying the eternal efficacy of the blood; Heb 9:25; Heb 9:26; Heb 10:3; Heb 10:11; Heb 10:12. The abundant water (grace reaching the need of the people, despite the error of their leader) tells of refreshing and power through the Spirit.
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
the rod: Num 21:15, Num 21:18, Exo 4:2, Exo 4:17, Exo 7:20, Exo 14:16, Exo 17:5, Exo 17:9
speak: Gen 18:14, Jos 6:5, Jos 6:20, Psa 33:9, Mat 21:21, Mar 11:22-24, Luk 11:13, Joh 4:10-14, Joh 16:24, Act 1:14, Act 2:1-4, Rev 22:1, Rev 22:17
bring forth: Num 20:11, Neh 9:15, Psa 78:15, Psa 78:16, Psa 105:41, Psa 114:8, Isa 41:17, Isa 41:18, Isa 43:20, Isa 48:21
Reciprocal: Exo 4:20 – the rod of God Lev 8:3 – General Num 21:16 – Gather Num 27:14 – ye rebelled Deu 29:6 – neither have 1Ki 17:4 – I have commanded 2Ki 3:17 – that ye may Eze 37:4 – Prophesy Mat 8:8 – but
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Num 20:8-9. Take the rod That which was laid up before the Lord in the tabernacle; whether it was Aarons rod, which was laid up there, (Num 17:10,) or Mosess rod, by which he wrought so many miracles. For it is likely that wonder-working rod was laid up in some part of the tabernacle, though not in or near the ark, where Aarons blossoming rod was put. From before the Lord Out of the tabernacle.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
20:8 Take the {d} rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink.
(d) With which you did miracles in Egypt and divided the sea.