Numbers 17:6

Num 17:6. The rod of Aaron was among their rods — Was laid up with the rest, being either one of the twelve, as the Hebrews affirm, or the thirteenth, as others think.

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

Though Joseph’s tribe was divided into two in the distribution of the land, yet here it is but one and Levi maketh a tribe.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

the rod of Aaron was among their rods--either one of the twelve, or, as many suppose, a thirteenth in the midst (Heb 9:4). The rods were of dry sticks or wands, probably old, as transmitted from one head of the family to a succeeding.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

6. the staff of Aaron was in the midst of their staves] We are perhaps to think of the thirteen staves as stuck into the ground and standing erect, Aaron’s staff being the middle one.

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.

And Moses spake unto the children of Israel,.... What the Lord had bid him say unto them concerning the rods, which they hearkened unto and observed:

and everyone of their princes gave him a rod apiece, for each prince one; every prince of the several tribes, and so a rod for every tribe, as well as for each prince:

according to their father's houses, even twelve rods; there being twelve tribes named after their fathers, or the patriarchs, the twelve sons of Jacob; and Joseph having two tribes which sprung from him, called after his two sons Ephraim and Manasseh, there were twelve rods besides that of Aaron; and so the Vulgate Latin version renders the words with the next clause,"and there were twelve rods besides the rod of Aaron;''in all thirteen; though the Jews say there were but twelve with it, allowing but one rod for Joseph, under whom were comprehended Ephraim and Manasseh, and reckoning the tribe of Levi one of the twelve so Aben Ezra observes, that the rod of Levi was among the twelve and Joseph had but one rod:

and the rod of Aaron was among their rods: in the middle of them, and was so placed, as Jarchi thinks, that it might not be said, because it was put on the side of the Shechinah or divine Majesty, therefore it budded; but being in the middle of them there could be no difference in that respect.

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

The whole number of rods was twelve exclusive of Aaron’s, as the Vulgate expressly states.

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

Besides, &c. Hebrew and the other versions, "the rod of Aaron was in the midst of their rods." Whence some infer, that there were only 12 rods. But Origen, (hom. 9,) and most others, allow 13, as the tribe of Joseph was divided into those of Ephraim and Manasses; (Calmet) each of whom had a proper representative or prince. See chap. ii. 18, 20; x. 22; xiii. 9, 12. The tribe of Levi is generally placed by itself. If there were only 12 rods, whether would the name of Elisama, or that of Gamaliel, designate the tribe of Joseph? Who was properly the prince of that udivided tribe? (Haydock)

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).

i.e. Was laid up with the rest, being either one of the twelve, as the Hebrews affirm, or the thirteenth, as others think.

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

And the rod of Aaron was among the rods. As there was no prince from whom this rod could have come, and as there were twelve rods without it, this must mean that Moses did not keep Aaron"s rod separate (which might have caused suspicion), but let it be seen amongst the others.

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

Among their rods - Was laid up with the rest, being either one of the twelve, as the Hebrew affirm, or the thirteenth, as others think.

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

The Miraculous Budding of Aaron’s Rod

v. 6. And Moses spake unto the children of Israel, and every one of their princes gave him a rod apiece, for each prince one, according to their fathers’ houses, even twelve rods; and the rod of Aaron was among their rods. All this was thus done in the view of all the princes to preclude all possibility of fraud and to make the test fair in every respect.

v. 7. And Moses laid up the rods before the Lord in the Tabernacle of Witness, this name of the Sanctuary being singularly appropriate here, for God intended to bear witness to His servant.

v. 8. And it came to pass that on the morrow Moses went into the Tabernacle of Witness; for he, as God’s representative, had charge of the test; and, behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds. In one night, therefore, had been brought about what ordinarily takes weeks and months, for the buds developed into shoots, brought forth blossoms, and developed into the mature fruit.

v. 9. And Moses brought out all the rods from before the Lord unto all the children of Israel, for they were to be convinced by personal inspection ; and they looked, and took every man his rod. Here was an overwhelming proof of God’s direct interposition, and the Lord, in the most unmistakable manner, designated Aaron as His servant in the office of the high priest. The priesthood of Aaron was to remain in power until the coming of the true and eternal High Priest, Jesus Christ.

v. 10. And the Lord said unto Moses, Bring- Aaron’s rod again before the testimony, to be kept for a token against the rebels, against the children of rebellion, against any persons that were filled with dissatisfied notions and with false ambitions over against the chosen priest of the Lord; and thou shall quite take away their murmurings from Me that they die not. Even in this instance the Lord had the welfare of His people in mind, in guarding against their own foolishness.

v. 11. And Moses did so; as the Lord commanded him, so did he. The rod of Aaron with which the Lord had performed a miracle was kept in the Ark of the Covenant, Heb 9:4.

v. 12. And the children of Israel spake unto Moses, saying, Behold, we die, we perish, we all perish. This new miracle had filled them with such awe that they were filled with the terror of death.

v. 13. Whosoever cometh anything (in any way) near unto the Tabernacle of the Lord shall die, as the result of Korah’s rebellion had plainly shown; shall we be consumed with dying? In their present state of mind they felt that there was no grace and mercy with the Lord any more. This excessive fear of death, although not a fruit of faith, still served to keep the people in submission to the will of the Lord. The rod of Aaron which budded is a type of the eternal priesthood of Christ, who is able to save those that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them, Heb 7:24-25.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

selected from each of the ancestral tribes

This can be stated in active form. AT: "whom Moses selected from each of the ancestor's tribes" (See: Active or Passive)

the tent of the covenant decrees

The phrase "the covenant decrees" refers to the box that held the tablets that the covenant decrees were written on. AT: "the tent of the covenant box" or "the tent that the covenant decrees are in" (See: Synecdoche)

translationWords

tent

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

YE HAVE KILLED THE PEOPLE OF THE ETERNAL.’ Onkelos rendered it: “You have caused the death of the people of the Eternal.” Thus he interprets the verse [to mean that] the people accused Moses and Aaron that because they advised Korach and his company to offer up strange incense to G-d of their own accord, those who offered it up were burnt, since G-d had not told Moses to offer up this incense, nor did he tell Israel to do so in the name of G-d; thus they of their own accord proposed this matter as a result of which the people died — when they could have [just as well] given another sign or miracle, through the rod, or [through] some other [harmless] test.And Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra said [that the verse means that the people said]: “What proof is this that the tribe of Levi has been chosen, and that Aaron was chosen to be the High Priest? It is possible that by your prayer or by some [secret] wisdom which you possess you burnt those that offered the incense.” [All this is the language of Ibn Ezra]. And so indeed it appears, that they did not yet believe [in the Divine selection of the tribe of Levi], for when He stated afterwards, Speak unto the children of Israel, and take of them rods, one for each fathers’ house; And it shall come to pass, that the man whom I shall choose, his rod shall bud, and I will make to cease from Me the murmurings etc., Verse 20. — this proves that the people did not [yet] believe, as a result of the fire, that the Levites were chosen [for service in the Sanctuary] and that the firstborn had been exchanged for them, but they thought that Moses and Aaron had caused the fire [of their own accord]. Or [it may be that the people thought] that the punishment came because they burnt the incense with strange fire which He had not commanded them, and [that Aaron was saved because] Aaron’s incense was the [daily] incense of the morning [commanded by G-d], as I have explained. [According to this interpretation] the complaint [of the people] was only about [those two hundred and fifty men who offered the incense and who were consumed by] the fire, Verse 35. but not about those men [Korach, Dathan, and Abiram] who were swallowed up by the earth, Verse 32. for G-d had said to Moses, Get you up from about the dwelling of Korach, Dathan, and Abiram, Verse 24. and this alluded to the opening of the mouth of the earth. Moses had told this to Israel in the name of G-d. Furthermore, Dathan and Abiram were guilty to a greater extent [in this incident than the two hundred and fifty others], since they mocked the messengers of G-d, and despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets. [Hence the people did not complain about the punishment meted out to Korach, Dathan, and Abiram, but only about the fire that consumed the two hundred and fifty men who offered up the incense.] The correct interpretation appears to me to be that the people now believed in the priesthood of Aaron [that he and his descendants were chosen by G-d to serve as priests], since a fire had already come forth from before the Eternal and consumed his offerings, but they wanted the firstborn to minister in the Tabernacle instead of the Levites, and they did not like the exchange [for the Levites] which they had done to them, but they wanted all the tribes [through their firstborn] to have a share in the Service of the House of G-d. Thus they complained: “You have killed them, for you advised them that they should offer up incense like priests, when they were only fit to do the service of the Levites, but not to act as priests who offer up the incense.” This is the meaning of the expression, and, behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded [thus showing that the people’s complaint was because of the appointment of the tribe of Levi to minister in the Tabernacle, and now it was confirmed that they were indeed chosen instead of the firstborn of all the tribes].

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.