Numbers 17
New English Translation
The Budding of Aaron’s Staff
17 [a] The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “Speak to the Israelites, and receive from them a staff from each tribe,[b] one from every tribal leader,[c] twelve staffs; you must write each man’s name on his staff. 3 You must write Aaron’s name on the staff of Levi; for one staff is for the head of every tribe.[d] 4 You must place them[e] in the tent of meeting before the ark of the covenant[f] where I meet with you. 5 And the staff of the man whom I choose will blossom; so I will rid myself of the complaints of the Israelites, which they murmur against you.”
6 So Moses spoke to the Israelites, and each of their leaders gave him a staff, one for each leader,[g] according to their tribes[h]—twelve staffs; the staff of Aaron was among their staffs. 7 Then Moses placed the staffs before the Lord in the tent of the testimony.[i]
8 On the next day Moses went into the tent of the testimony—and[j] the staff of Aaron for the house of Levi had sprouted, and brought forth buds, and produced blossoms, and yielded almonds![k] 9 So Moses brought out all the staffs from before the Lord to all the Israelites. They looked at them,[l] and each man took his staff.
The Memorial
10 The Lord said to Moses, “Bring Aaron’s staff back before the testimony to be preserved for a sign to the rebels, so that you may bring their murmurings to an end[m] before me, that they will not die.”[n] 11 So Moses did as the Lord commanded him—this is what he did.
12 The Israelites said to Moses, “We are bound to die![o] We perish, we all perish! 13 (17:28)[p] Anyone who even comes close to the tabernacle of the Lord will die! Are we all to die?”[q]
Footnotes
- Numbers 17:1 sn Num 17:1 in the English Bible is 17:16 in the Hebrew text (BHS). See also the note on 16:36.
- Numbers 17:2 tn Heb “receive from them a rod, a rod from the house of a father.”
- Numbers 17:2 tn Heb “from every leader of them according to their fathers’ house.”
- Numbers 17:3 tn Heb “one rod for the head of their fathers’ house.”
- Numbers 17:4 tn The verb is the Hiphil perfect of נוּחַ (nuakh, “to rest”), and so “to set at rest, lay, place, put.” The form with the vav (ו) consecutive continues the instruction of the previous verse.
- Numbers 17:4 tn The Hebrew text simply reads “the covenant” or “the testimony.”
- Numbers 17:6 tn Heb “a rod for one leader, a rod for one leader.”
- Numbers 17:6 tn Heb “the house of their fathers.”
- Numbers 17:7 tn The name of the tent now attests to the centrality of the ark of the covenant. Instead of the “tent of meeting” (מוֹעֵד, moʿed) we now find the “the tent of the testimony” (הָעֵדֻת, haʿedut).
- Numbers 17:8 tn Here too the deictic particle (“and behold”) is added to draw attention to the sight in a vivid way.
- Numbers 17:8 sn There is no clear answer why the tribe of Levi had used an almond staff. The almond tree is one of the first to bud in the spring, and its white blossoms are a beautiful sign that winter is over. Its name became a name for “watcher”; Jeremiah plays on this name for God’s watching over his people (1:11-12).
- Numbers 17:9 tn The words “at them” are not in the Hebrew text, but they have been added in the translation for clarity.
- Numbers 17:10 tn The verb means “to finish; to complete” and here “to bring to an end.” It is the imperfect following the imperative, and so introduces a purpose clause (as a final imperfect).
- Numbers 17:10 tn This is another final imperfect in a purpose clause.
- Numbers 17:12 tn The use of הֵן (hen) and the perfect tense in the nuance of a prophetic perfect expresses their conviction that they were bound to die—it was certain (see GKC 312-13 §106.n).
- Numbers 17:13 sn Num 17:13 in the English Bible is 17:28 in the Hebrew text (BHS). See also the note on 16:36.
- Numbers 17:13 tn The verse stresses the completeness of their death: “will we be consumed by dying” (הַאִם תַּמְנוּ לִגְוֹעַ, haʾim tamnu ligvoaʿ).
Numbers 17
Easy-to-Read Version
God Proves Aaron Is the High Priest
17 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Speak to the Israelites. Get twelve wooden walking sticks from them. Get one from the leader of each of the twelve tribes. Write the name of each man on his walking stick. 3 On the stick from Levi, write Aaron’s name. There must be one stick for the head of each of the twelve tribes. 4 Put these walking sticks in the Meeting Tent in front of the Box of the Agreement. This is the place where I meet with you. 5 I will choose one man to be the true priest. You will know which man I choose because his walking stick will begin to grow new leaves. In this way I will stop the people from always complaining against you and me.”
6 So Moses spoke to the Israelites. Each of the leaders gave him a walking stick. There were twelve walking sticks. There was one stick from each leader of each tribe. One of the walking sticks belonged to Aaron. 7 Moses put the walking sticks before the Lord in the Tent of the Agreement.
8 The next day Moses entered the Tent. He saw that Aaron’s walking stick, the stick from the family of Levi, was the one that had grown new leaves. That walking stick had even grown branches and made almonds. 9 So Moses brought out all the sticks from the Lord’s place. He showed the walking sticks to the Israelites. They all looked at the sticks, and each man took his own stick back.
10 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Put Aaron’s walking stick back in front of the Box that holds the Agreement.[a] This will be a warning for these people who are always turning against me. This will stop their complaining against me so that I will not destroy them.” 11 So Moses did what the Lord commanded him.
12 The Israelites said to Moses, “We know that we will die! We are lost! We will all be destroyed! 13 Anyone who even comes near the Lord’s holy place will die. Is it true that we will all die?”
Footnotes
- Numbers 17:10 Box that holds the Agreement Literally, “Testimony.” See “Agreement” in the Word List.
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