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Numbers 17:2

in Numbers 17

“Speak to the Israelites and take from them twelve staffs, one from the leader of each tribe. Write each man’s name on his staff,

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

Speak unto the children of Israel, and take of them rods, one for each fathers’ house, of all their princes according to their fathers’ houses, twelve rods: write thou every man’s name upon his rod.

KJV

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.

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This verse in Numbers 17

Commentary

8 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

And take of every one of them a rod - מטה matteh, the staff or scepter, which the prince or chief of each tribe bore, and which was the sign of office or royalty among almost all the people of the earth.

This site's exposition

And the LORD said to Moses

on Numbers 17:1-3

Korah had argued at 16:3 that everyone in the entire congregation is holy. The answer set up here holds no argument: twelve staffs, each man's name on his own, and one night.

This site's exposition

take from them twelve staffs

The word for staff, matteh, also means tribe, and Adam Clarke explains it as the rod each prince carried as his sign of office. John Wesley notes that the princes, as heads of their tribes, had the strongest claim to the priesthood if any tribe could share it.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers1 voice

A commentator

John Chrysostom

DISCOURSES AGAINST JUDAIZING CHRISTIANS 6.1-2 · Written before 407.

proposed

We can also learn from other sources how awesome was the dignity of the priesthood. Indeed, there was a day when some wicked and evil men revolted against Aaron, quarreled with him over his position in the community and tried to drive him from his leadership. Moses, the mildest of men, wanted to persuade them by the facts themselves that he had not brought Aaron to the leadership because he was a brother, relative or member of his family but that it was in obedience to God's decree that he had entrusted the priesthood to him. So he ordered each tribe to bring a staff, and Aaron was instructed to do the same.When each tribe had brought a staff, Moses took all of them and put them inside the meeting tent. Once he had put them there, he gave orders that they await the decision of God which would come to them through those staves. Then all the other staves kept their same appearance, but a single one—Aaron's—blossomed and put forth leaves and fruit. So the Lord of nature used leaves instead of letters to teach them that he had again elected Aaron.

The Reformation1 voice

A commentator

John Calvin

1509–1564

Commentaries (1554)

Speak unto the children of Israel. They are mistaken who suppose that to the twelve rods there was another added for the tribe of Levi; for, since there was no question here as to the possession of the land, there was no occasion at all for the division of the tribe of Joseph into two parts.

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

Every man's name - Every prince's: for they being the first-born, and the chief of their tribes might above all others pretend to the priesthood, if it was communicable to any of their tribes, and besides each prince represented all his tribe: so that this was a full decision of the question.
Speak unto the children of Israel,....

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

These rods were to be laid in the tabernacle close to the ark (compare Nu 17:10 and Heb 9:4), where a divine token was promised that would for all time terminate the dispute.

The words behind it

24 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • דַּבֵּ֣ר׀speak

    daberH1696 →1141 times

  • אֶל־to

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • בְּנֵ֣י[the] people of

    beneiH1121 →4930 times

  • יִשְׂרָאֵ֗לIsrael

    yisraelH3478 →2507 times

  • וְקַ֣חand take

    vekachH3947 →966 times

  • מֵֽאִתָּ֡םfrom with them

    meitamH854 →929 times

  • מַטֶּ֣הa rod

    matehH4294 →252 times

  • מַטֶּה֩a rod

    matehH4294 →252 times

  • לְבֵ֨יתfor [the] house of

    leveitH1004 →2046 times

  • אָ֜בan ancestor

    ʾavH1 →1212 times

  • מֵאֵ֤תfrom with

    meetH854 →929 times

  • כָּל־all

    kol-H3605 →5413 times

  • נְשִֽׂיאֵהֶם֙leaders their

    nesiehemH5387 →134 times

  • לְבֵ֣יתto [the] house of

    leveitH1004 →2046 times

  • אֲבֹתָ֔םancestors their

    ʾavotamH1 →1212 times

  • שְׁנֵ֥יםtwo [plus]

    sheneimH8147 →768 times

  • עָשָׂ֖רten

    ʾasarH6240 →338 times

  • מַטּ֑וֹתrods

    matotH4294 →252 times

  • אִ֣ישׁeach

    ʾishH376 →1663 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • שְׁמ֔וֹname his

    shemoH8034 →864 times

  • תִּכְתֹּ֖בyou will write

    tikhtoH3789 →224 times

  • עַל־on

    ʾal-H5921 →5755 times

  • מַטֵּֽהוּ׃rod his

    matehuH4294 →252 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

15 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Numbers 1:5–16These are the names of the men who are to assist you: From the tribe of Reuben, Elizur son of Shedeur;2 worksEzekiel 21:13Surely testing will come! And what if even the scepter, which the sword despises, does not continue?’ declares the Lord GOD.2 worksNumbers 2:3–30On the east side, toward the sunrise, the divisions of Judah are to camp under their standard:2 worksEzekiel 21:10it is sharpened for the slaughter, polished to flash like lightning! Should we rejoice in the scepter of My son? The sword despises every such stick.2 worksEzekiel 19:14Fire has gone out from its main branch and devoured its fruit; on it no strong branch remains fit for a ruler’s scepter.’ This is a lament and shall be used as a lament.”2 worksExodus 4:2And the LORD asked him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied.2 works
The other 9 cross-references, with their words ▾
Exodus 4:17But take this staff in your hand so you can perform signs with it.”2 worksMicah 7:14Shepherd with Your staff Your people, the flock of Your inheritance. They live alone in a woodland, surrounded by pastures. Let them graze in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old.2 worksPsalms 110:2The LORD extends Your mighty scepter from Zion: “Rule in the midst of Your enemies.”2 worksNumbers 10:14–27First, the divisions of the camp of Judah set out under their standard, with Nahshon son of Amminadab in command.2 worksPsalms 125:3For the scepter of the wicked will not rest upon the land allotted to the righteous, so that the righteous will not put forth their hands to injustice.2 worksGenesis 49:10The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes and the allegiance of the nations is his.2 worksEzekiel 37:16–20“And you, son of man, take a single stick and write on it: ‘Belonging to Judah and to the Israelites associated with him.’ Then take another stick and write on it: ‘Belonging to Joseph—the stick of Ephraim—and to all the house of Israel associated with him.’2 works1 Samuel 10:19But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your troubles and afflictions, and you have said to Him, ‘No, set a king over us.’ Now therefore present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes and clans.”2 worksExodus 24:4And Moses wrote down all the words of the LORD. Early the next morning he got up and built an altar at the base of the mountain, along with twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Ezekiel 21:10

    it is sharpened for the slaughter, polished to flash like lightning! Should we rejoice in the scepter of My son? The sword despises every such stick.

    it leads to

    • Psalms 110:5–6

      The Lord is at Your right hand; He will crush kings in the day of His wrath.

    • Ezekiel 20:47

      Say to the forest of the Negev: Hear the word of the LORD! This is what the Lord GOD says: I am about to ignite in you a fire, and it will devour all…

  • Through

    Ezekiel 19:14

    Fire has gone out from its main branch and devoured its fruit; on it no strong branch remains fit for a ruler’s scepter.’ This is a lament and shall be used as a lament.”

    it leads to

    • Isaiah 9:18–19

      For wickedness burns like a fire that consumes the thorns and briers and kindles the forest thickets which roll upward in billows of smoke.

    • Ezekiel 19:11

      It had strong branches, fit for a ruler’s scepter. It towered high above the thick branches, conspicuous for its height and for its dense foliage.

    • 2 Kings 24:20

      For because of the anger of the LORD, all this happened in Jerusalem and Judah, until He finally banished them from His presence. And Zedekiah also rebelled against the king of Babylon.

  • Through

    Ezekiel 21:13

    Surely testing will come! And what if even the scepter, which the sword despises, does not continue?’ declares the Lord GOD.

    it leads to

    • Ezekiel 21:25

      And you, O profane and wicked prince of Israel, the day has come for your final punishment.’

    • Ezekiel 21:10

      it is sharpened for the slaughter, polished to flash like lightning! Should we rejoice in the scepter of My son? The sword despises every such stick.

    • 2 Corinthians 8:2

      In the terrible ordeal they suffered, their abundant joy and deep poverty overflowed into rich generosity.

Where this verse is studied

About Numbers

The Brazen Serpent, Anthony van Dyck, 1618 to 1620. Public domain.
The Brazen Serpent, Anthony van Dyck, 1618 to 1620. Public domain.
Numbers: the study guide →Read Numbers 17 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Chrysostom, DISCOURSES AGAINST JUDAIZING CHRISTIANS 6.1-2; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Numbers 17 →