Numbers 17:2

Num 17:2 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.

Ver. 2. Take of every one of them a rod.] Or, Staff; the ensign of their honour, {Num 21:18} and of their civil authority; {Psa 110:2 Jer 48:16-17} a suificient witness against them, that the priesthood belonged not to them. Uzziah smarted for invading it. George, prince of Anhalt, was a singular example, qui primus et unus ex omni Principum Germanorum numero, subditos suos ipse et viva voce et scriptis editis de via salutis erudiret, who was the first, and the only German prince, that both by preaching and writing taught his subjects. {a}

{a} Melch. Adam.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Num 17:2. Take of every one — Not of every person, but of every tribe. A rod — A twig, or branch, from one and the same almond-tree, as some infer from Num 17:8. Or, according to others, the ordinary rods which the princes of the tribes carried in their hands, as tokens of their dignity and authority, Num 21:18. And indeed the miracle would appear the greater, if neither Aaron’s rod, nor any of the rest, was of the almond-tree. But the miracle was sufficiently great either way to demonstrate the extraordinary interposition of Providence. Every man’s name — Every prince’s: for they being the firstborn, 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, the prince represented all his tribe: so that this was a full decision of the question. And this place seems to confirm the opinion, that not only Korah and the Levites, but also those of other tribes, contended with Moses and Aaron about the priesthood, as that which belonged to all the congregation, they being all holy.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verse 2. And take of every one of them a rod] מטה matteh, the staff or sceptre, 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.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

XVII.

(2) 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 amongst the twelve. Others suppose that one rod only was taken for the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh. The latter supposition is more accordant with the terms here employed than the former, and is supported by Deu_27:12-13, where Joseph stands for the two tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, and Levi is included amongst 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 (Eze_37:16).

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2. rods] staves. They were the official staves of the princes, symbols of their tribal authority, not fresh rods cut from trees, which might conceivably have blossomed in the ordinary course of nature.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Speak unto the children of Israel,.... The principal men among them of the several tribes:

and take of everyone of them; not of every individual of the people of Israel, but of their princes, as afterwards explained:

a rod, according to the house of their fathers; or "father", of whom their house or tribe was called, as Reuben, Simeon, &c. this rod was either a common walking staff, as some think, or rather the ensign of their princely office and dignity, peculiar to each tribe; though some think it was now freshly cut off from an almond tree, and that all the rods were of one and the same tree; but supposing they were all of the almond kind, as Josephus (d) thinks, yet being dry rods, and of long use, served to make the miracle appear the greater:

of all their princes, according to the house of their fathers, twelve rods; this explains who they were to be taken of, the princes of the several tribes, whose names are given, Num 1:5; and the number of them twelve, according to the number of the twelve tribes:

write thou every man's name upon his rod; the name of each prince, or head of a tribe, either by cutting it into the rod, or fastening a writing to it, after the manner of those times; as, for instance, the name of Elizur for the tribe of Reuben; by which it was to be made and was made to appear, that to none of these tribes belonged the priesthood, but to the tribe of Levi, and to none of that tribe but the family of Aaron; whereby it should seem that some of all the tribes made pretensions to it, as being all holy, and especially the chief firstborn of every tribe, as such their princes were.

(d) Antiqu. l. 4. c. 4. sect. 2.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Compare Eze 37:16 ff.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Speak. The cause of the different families of the Levites now being fully decided, that one of the other tribes might pretend to the honour of the priesthood, God orders Moses to propose another miracle to them, of a less terrible nature than the preceding one. --- Man, or prince of the tribe. (Haydock) --- The name of Aaron was written upon his staff, which was taken from an almond tree; those of the princes of the other tribes appeared upon their respective rods, and represented their different families, ver. 3. (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Speak unto the children of Israel, that I may fully and finally satisfy all their scruples, and take away all pretence and cause of murmuring.

Of every one of them; not of every person, but of every tribe, as it follows.

A rod; either an ordinary walking staff; or rather, that staff or rod which the princes carried in their hand as tokens of their dignity and authority, as may be gathered from Num 21:18, compared with Psa 110:2; Jer 48:16,17.

According to the house of their fathers, i.e. according to each family proceeding from the patriarch or father of that tribe.

Every man’s name, i.e. 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 and acted for all his tribe; so that this was a full decision of the whole question. And this plate seems to confirm what was before observed, that not only Korah and the Levites, but also those of other tribes, contested with Moses and Aaron about the priesthood, as that which belonged to all the congregation, they being all holy, as they said, Num 16:3.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

2. A rod — Each chief prince of the twelve tribes bore a staff or sceptre as the sign of office. Such rods were often hereditary, and of great antiquity. That such dry staves should blossom and bear fruit again is so improbable that the Greeks were accustomed to swear by their sceptres. Thus Achilles:

“But hearken, I will swear a solemn oath,

By this sceptre, which shall never bud,

Nor boughs bring forth, as once.”

Write… every man’s name — To identify beyond dispute the rod of Aaron after the trial. The illiteracy of Moses and his generation as alleged by some modern writers is here abundantly confuted. Since there were twelve rods, including Levi’s, it is evident that the tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim are here counted as one tribe — that of Joseph.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Take of every one of them a rod. Literally, "take of them a rod, a rod," i.e., a rod apiece, in the way immediately particularized hFm (Septuagint, rabdon ,) is used for the staff of Judah (Gen_38:18) and for the rod of Moses. (Exo_4:2) It is also used in the sense of "tribe". (Num_1:4, Num_1:16) Each tribe was but a branch, or rod, out of the stock of Israel, and, therefore, was most naturally represented by the rod cut from the tree. "The words used for scepter in Gen_49:10, and in Psa_45:7, and for rod in Isa_11:1, and elsewhere are different, but the same imagery underlies the use of all of them. Of all their princes... twelve rods. These princes must be those named in chapter 2 and 7. Since among these are to be found the tribe princes of Ephraim and Manasseh, standing upon a perfect equality with the rest, it is evident that the twelve rods were exclusive of that of Aaron. The joining together of Ephraim and Manasseh in Deu_27:12 was a very different thing, because it could not raise any question as between the two.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Of every one - Not of every person, but of every tribe. A rod - That staff, or rod, which the princes carried in their hands as tokens of their dignity and authority. 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. And this place seems to confirm, that not only Korah and the Levites, but also those of other tribes contested with Moses and Aaron about the priesthood, as that which belonged to all the congregation they being all holy.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

ואת האש AND THE FIRE — that is in the censers (not, as might be assumed, that of the burning materials — the שרפה just mentioned).

זרה הלאה SCATTER YONDER on the ground from off the censers.

כי קדשו FOR THEY — the censers — ARE HALLOWED, and are therefore forbidden for any profane use, since they have made them into “vessels of service” (כלי שרת) (by using them for offering incense).

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

SPEAK UNTO ELEAZAR THE SON OF AARON THE PRIEST, THAT HE TAKE UP THE CENSERS OUT OF THE BURNING, AND SCATTER THOU THE FIRE YONDER; FOR THEY ARE BECOME HOLY. “The censers [have become holy]. And it is prohibited to have any benefit from them, since they had already made them ‘vessels of service.’” This is Rashi’s language. But I do not know the reason for this prohibition, since it was “strange incense” [which was not part of the daily commandment] that they offered, and if a non-priest makes a vessel of service in order to bring an offering in it outside [the prescribed place in the Tabernacle or Sanctuary], that vessel does not become sanctified! However, it is possible to say that since they did so at the command of Moses, the vessels did become holy, because they dedicated them to G-d, thinking that He would answer them through the [Heavenly] fire and that these censers would remain forever in the Tent of Meeting as [sacred] vessels of service. The correct interpretation, [however,], appears to me to be that Scripture is saying, Because they were offered before the Eternal, therefore they are hallowed, and they shall be for a sign unto the children of Israel, meaning: “I [the Eternal], have sanctified them [so that they may not be used], from the moment that they were offered before Me, in order that they shall be a sign unto the children of Israel.”

Ramban (Nachmanides) on the Tanakh — English translation: “Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.