Charles Ellicott Commentary Numbers 17
Charles Ellicott Commentary
Numbers 17
Charles Ellicott Commentary
Numbers 17
"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." — Numbers 17:2 (ASV)
And take of every one of them ... — Better, And take of them a rod for each father’s house.
Twelve rods.— Some suppose that Aaron’s rod was not included among the twelve. Others suppose that one rod only was taken for the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh. The latter supposition is more in accordance with the terms used here than the former, and is supported by Deuteronomy 27:12-13, where Joseph stands for the two tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, and Levi is included among the twelve tribes.
Write thou every man’s name upon his rod.— This was in accordance with an Egyptian custom. (See Wilkinson’s Ancient Egyptians, III. 388.) The prophet Ezekiel received a similar injunction (Ezekiel 37:16).
"And thou shalt write Aaron`s name upon the rod of Levi; for there shall be one rod for each head of their fathers` houses." — Numbers 17:3 (ASV)
And thou shalt write Aaron’s name upon the rod of Levi. —Aaron was descended from the second son of Levi. He was not, therefore, the natural head of his father’s house, but the divinely-appointed one, and for this reason it would not have been sufficient for the intended purpose to have inscribed the name of Levi upon the rod. Aaron was appointed the head of both the priests and the Levites, the two classes into which the tribe of Levi was divided.
"And thou shalt lay them up in the tent of meeting before the testimony, where I meet with you." — Numbers 17:4 (ASV)
Where I will meet with you.—Rather, where I meet with you.
"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." — Numbers 17:5 (ASV)
The man’s rod, whom I shall choose, shall blossom. — Or, it will sprout forth or put forth — that is, leaves or blossoms. Achilles, when enraged against Agamemnon, is made to swear a solemn oath by his scepter which, having once left its stock on the mountains, will never again grow. King Latinus is represented by Virgil as confirming his covenant with Aeneas by a similar oath.
"And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses went into the tent of the testimony; and, behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and put forth buds, and produced blossoms, and bare ripe almonds." — Numbers 17:8 (ASV)
Behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded ... — As the budding of Aaron’s rod was the divinely appointed proof of the establishment of the priesthood in his person and in his posterity, so our Lord proved Himself to be the true High Priest over the House of God by coming forth as a rod [or shoot] out of the stem of Jesse (Isaiah 11:1), and as a root out of a dry ground (Isaiah 53:2). The miraculous shooting forth of Aaron’s dry rod may be regarded as a type of the mode of the Spirit’s operation in the Church, and more especially in the work of the ministry; Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts (Zechariah 4:6).
And yielded almonds.— Better, and brought almonds to maturity, or yielded ripe almonds. The word shaked (almond-tree) is a cognate form of the verb shakad — to keep watch. The name is supposed to have been given to the almond-tree because it blossoms at a time when vegetation is lying in the sleep of winter. (also, The Land and the Book, p. 319.)
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