Numbers 17:5
in Numbers 17The staff belonging to the man I choose will sprout, and I will rid Myself of the constant grumbling of the Israelites against you.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And it shall come to pass, that the rod of the man whom I shall choose shall bud: and I will make to cease from me the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against you.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Numbers 17
Commentary
8 notes on this verseThe man’s rod, whom I shall choose, shall blossom - It was necessary that something farther should be done to quiet the minds of the people, and for ever to settle the dispute, in what tribe the priesthood should be fixed. God therefore took the method described in the text, and it had the desired effect; the Aaronical priesthood was never after disputed.
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.
This site's exposition
The staff belonging to the man I choose will sprout
Choose is the word Moses used at 16:5 and 16:7, and the staff now makes the choice visible. Adam Clarke observes that the sign had its effect, as the priesthood of Aaron's house was never disputed again. Life from dead wood settles the matter.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
If any thing will convince them, they shall be convinced; and, if this will not convince them, nothing will." This was to be to them, as Christ said the sign of the prophet Jonas (that is, his own resurrection) should be to the men of that generation, the highest proof of his mission that should be given them.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
And it shall come to pass, that the man's rod whom I shall choose,....
It was requisite that they should be told of it, that it might appear not to be casual, but according to the counsel and will of God. The preparing of the rods accordingly.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A 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.
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3141: “Women's Rights—a Parable” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
BY the help of God the Holy Spirit, I want to use this incident which forms a kind of episode in the rehearsal of the history of Israel's 40 years' wanderings in the wilderness, for a twofold purpose. First, let me indicate its general teach-ingand, secondly, let me take it as a ground of appeal to certain special classes. I. First, I will try to indicate ITS GENERAL TEACHING. I would ask your attention and exhibit for your imitation, the faith which these five young women, the daughters of Zelophehad, possessed with regard to the promised inheritance. You must remember that the children of Israel were still in the wilderness. They had not seen the promised land, but God had made a Covenant with them that they should possess it. He had declared that He would bring them into a land which flowed with milk and honey and there plant them. And that that land should belong to them and to their descendants by a Covenant of salt forever. Now, these women believed in this heritage. They were not like Esau, who thought so little of the inheritance which was his birthright that he sold it to his brother Jacob for a mess of pottage—they believed it to be really worth having. They regarded it, though they had never beheld it, as being something exceedingly substantial and so, thinking about it, they were afraid lest they should be left out when the land was divided. And though they had never seen it, yet, being persuaded that it was somewhere and that the children of Israel would have it in due time, their anxiety was they, having no brothers, would be forgotten in the distribution and so would lose their rights. They were anxious about an inheritance which they had never seen with their eyes and, therein, I hold them up to the imitation of this present assembly. There is an inheritance that is far better than the land of Canaan.
The words behind it
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהָיָ֗ה | vehayah | and it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| הָאִ֛ישׁ | haish | the man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | whom | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אֶבְחַר־ | ʾevchar- | I will choose | H977 → | 171 times |
| בּ֖וֹ | bo | <in> <the> him | ||
| מַטֵּ֣הוּ | matehu | rod his | H4294 → | 252 times |
| יִפְרָ֑ח | yifrach | it will bud | H6524 → | |
| וַהֲשִׁכֹּתִ֣י | vahashikoti | and I will put an end to | H7918 → | |
| מֵֽעָלַ֗י | mealai | from on <the> me | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| תְּלֻנּוֹת֙ | telunot | [the] grumblings of | H8519 → | 8 times |
| בְּנֵ֣י | benei | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֛ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| הֵ֥ם | hem | they | H1992 → | 553 times |
| מַלִּינִ֖ם | malinim | [are] grumbling | H3885 → | 84 times |
| עֲלֵיכֶֽם׃ | ʾaleikhem | on you | H5921 → | 5755 times |
וְהָיָ֗הand it will be
vehayahH1961 →3559 times
הָאִ֛ישׁthe man
haishH376 →1663 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhom
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
אֶבְחַר־I will choose
ʾevchar-H977 →171 times
בּ֖וֹ<in> <the> him
bo
מַטֵּ֣הוּrod his
matehuH4294 →252 times
יִפְרָ֑חit will bud
yifrachH6524 →
וַהֲשִׁכֹּתִ֣יand I will put an end to
vahashikotiH7918 →
מֵֽעָלַ֗יfrom on <the> me
mealaiH5921 →5755 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
תְּלֻנּוֹת֙[the] grumblings of
telunotH8519 →8 times
בְּנֵ֣י[the] people of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
אֲשֶׁ֛רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
הֵ֥םthey
hemH1992 →553 times
מַלִּינִ֖ם[are] grumbling
malinimH3885 →84 times
עֲלֵיכֶֽם׃on you
ʾaleikhemH5921 →5755 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
Numbers 17:8The next day Moses entered the Tent of the Testimony and saw that Aaron’s staff, representing the house of Levi, had sprouted, put forth buds, blossomed, and produced almonds.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 17:24
Then all the trees of the field will know that I am the LORD. I bring the tall tree down and make the low tree tall. I dry up the green tree and make…
- John 15:1–6
“I am the true vine, and My Father is the keeper of the vineyard.
- Psalms 132:17–18
There I will make a horn grow for David; I have prepared a lamp for My anointed one.
- Ezekiel 17:24
Through
Numbers 16:5Then he said to Korah and all his followers, “Tomorrow morning the LORD will reveal who belongs to Him and who is holy, and He will bring that person near to Himself. The one…
it leads to
- Numbers 16:3
They came together against Moses and Aaron and told them, “You have taken too much upon yourselves! For everyone in the entire congregation is holy, and the LORD is in their midst. Why then…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 65:4
Blessed is the one You choose and bring near to dwell in Your courts! We are filled with the goodness of Your house, the holiness of Your temple.
- Leviticus 10:3
Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the LORD meant when He said: ‘To those who come near Me I will show My holiness, and in the sight of all the people I…
- 2 Timothy 2:19
Nevertheless, God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord must turn away from iniquity.”
- Numbers 16:3
Through
Ezekiel 16:41Then they will burn down your houses and execute judgment against you in the sight of many women. I will put an end to your prostitution, and you will never again pay your lovers.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 23:48
So I will put an end to indecency in the land, and all the women will be admonished not to imitate your behavior.
- Ezekiel 23:48
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
On this verse
About Numbers
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3141: “Women's Rights—a Parable” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); 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) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.