Numbers 17:4
in Numbers 17Place the staffs in the Tent of Meeting in front of the Testimony, where I meet with you.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And thou shalt lay them up in the tent of meeting before the testimony, where I meet with you.
KJV
And thou shalt lay them up in the tabernacle of the congregation before the testimony, where I will meet with you.
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This verse in Numbers 17
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
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.
This site's exposition
Place the staffs in the Tent of Meeting
on Numbers 17:4-5
The staffs lie before the Testimony, and the sign is announced before it happens, so the outcome cannot be read back into the promise. God names the constant grumbling of the Israelites against you as grumbling He will rid Himself of. Moses had read it the same way at 16:11.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Before the testimony - That is, before the ark of the testimony, close by the ark. I will meet with you - And manifest my mind to you, for the ending of this dispute.
And thou shalt lay them up in the tabernacle of the congregation,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Before the testimony - See Num 17:10 note.
The words behind it
9 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהִנַּחְתָּ֖ם | vehinachtam | and you will deposit them | H5117 → | 142 times |
| בְּאֹ֣הֶל | beohel | in [the] tent of | H168 → | 345 times |
| מוֹעֵ֑ד | moed | meeting | H4150 → | 223 times |
| לִפְנֵי֙ | lifnei | <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| הָֽעֵד֔וּת | haedut | the testimony | H5715 → | 59 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֛ר | ʾasher | where | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אִוָּעֵ֥ד | ʾivaed | I meet | H3259 → | 29 times |
| לָכֶ֖ם | lakhem | <to> <the> you | ||
| שָֽׁמָּה׃ | shamah | there <towards> | H8033 → | 834 times |
וְהִנַּחְתָּ֖םand you will deposit them
vehinachtamH5117 →142 times
בְּאֹ֣הֶלin [the] tent of
beohelH168 →345 times
מוֹעֵ֑דmeeting
moedH4150 →223 times
לִפְנֵי֙<to> before
lifneiH6440 →2123 times
הָֽעֵד֔וּתthe testimony
haedutH5715 →59 times
אֲשֶׁ֛רwhere
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
אִוָּעֵ֥דI meet
ʾivaedH3259 →29 times
לָכֶ֖ם<to> <the> you
lakhem
שָֽׁמָּה׃there <towards>
shamahH8033 →834 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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
Exodus 30:36Grind some of it into fine powder and place it in front of the Testimony in the Tent of Meeting, where I will meet with you. It shall be most holy to you.
it leads to
- Exodus 25:22
And I will meet with you there above the mercy seat, between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the Testimony; I will speak with you about all that I command you…
- Leviticus 16:2
And the LORD said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron not to enter freely into the Most Holy Place behind the veil in front of the mercy seat on the ark, or else he…
- Exodus 25:22
Through
Exodus 30:6Place the altar in front of the veil that is before the ark of the Testimony—before the mercy seat that is over the Testimony—where I will meet with you.
it leads to
- Exodus 25:21–22
Set the mercy seat atop the ark, and put the Testimony that I will give you into the ark.
- Exodus 40:26
Moses placed the gold altar in the Tent of Meeting, in front of the veil,
- 1 Chronicles 28:11
Then David gave his son Solomon the plans for the portico of the temple, its buildings, storehouses, upper rooms, inner rooms, and the room for the mercy seat.
- Exodus 25:21–22
Through
Numbers 17:7Then Moses placed the staffs before the LORD in the Tent of the Testimony.
it leads to
- Exodus 38:21
This is the inventory for the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the Testimony, as recorded at Moses’ command by the Levites under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.
- Acts 7:44
Our fathers had the tabernacle of the Testimony with them in the wilderness. It was constructed exactly as God had directed Moses, according to the pattern he had seen.
- Numbers 18:2
But bring with you also your brothers from the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, that they may join you and assist you and your sons before the Tent of the Testimony.
- Exodus 38:21
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Numbers

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; 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.
