Aaron's Staff Buds

17 [a] The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (A)“Speak to the people of Israel, and get from them staffs, one for each fathers' house, from all their chiefs according to their fathers' houses, twelve staffs. Write each man's name on his staff, and write Aaron's name on the staff of Levi. For there shall be one staff for the head of each fathers' house. Then you shall deposit them in the tent of meeting before the testimony, (B)where I meet with you. And the staff of the man (C)whom I choose shall sprout. Thus I will make to cease from me (D)the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against you.” Moses spoke to the people of Israel. And all their chiefs gave him staffs, one for each chief, according to their fathers' houses, twelve staffs. And the staff of Aaron was among their staffs. And Moses deposited the staffs before the Lord in (E)the tent of the testimony.

On the next day Moses went into the tent of the testimony, and behold, the staff of Aaron for the house of Levi had sprouted and put forth buds and produced blossoms, and it bore ripe almonds. Then Moses brought out all the staffs from before the Lord to all the people of Israel. And they looked, and each man took his staff. 10 And the Lord said to Moses, “Put back (F)the staff of Aaron before the testimony, to be kept (G)as a sign for the rebels, (H)that you may make an end of their grumblings against me, lest they die.” 11 Thus did Moses; as the Lord commanded him, so he did.

12 And the people of Israel said to Moses, “Behold, we perish, we are undone, we are all undone. 13 (I)Everyone who comes near, who comes near to the tabernacle of the Lord, shall die. Are we all to perish?”

Footnotes

  1. Numbers 17:1 Ch 17:16 in Hebrew

17 And Hashem spoke unto Moshe, saying,

(17:17) Speak unto the Bnei Yisroel, and take of every one of them a rod according to the Bais Av, of all their Nasiim according to the Bais of their Avot twelve rods; write thou every man’s shem upon his matteh (rod, staff).

(17:18) And thou shalt write shem Aharon upon the rod of Levi; for one rod shall be for the Rosh of the Bais of their Avot.

(17:19) And thou shalt lay them up in the Ohel Mo’ed before HaEdut, where I will meet with you there.

(17:20) And it shall come to pass, that the man’s rod, whom I shall choose, shall sprout; and I will rid Myself of the murmurings of the Bnei Yisroel, whereby they murmur against you.

(17:21) And Moshe spoke unto the Bnei Yisroel, and every one of their Nasiim gave him a rod apiece, for each nasi one, according to their Bais Avot, even twelve rods; and the rod of Aharon was among their rods.

(17:22) And Moshe laid up the rods before Hashem in the Ohel HaEdut.

(17:23) And it came to pass, that the next day Moshe entered into the Ohel HaEdut; and, hinei, the rod of Aharon for the Bais Levi was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds.

(17:24) And Moshe brought out all the rods from before Hashem unto Kol Bnei Yisroel; and they looked, and took every man his rod.

10 (17:25) And Hashem said unto Moshe, Bring Aharon’s rod again before HaEdut, to be kept for an ot (sign) against the rebels; and thou shalt quite put an end to their murmurings against Me, that they die not.

11 (17:26) And Moshe did so; as Hashem commanded him, so did he.

12 (17:27) And the Bnei Yisroel spoke unto Moshe, saying, See, we die, we perish, we will all perish.

13 (17:28) Whoever even encroaches upon the Mishkan Hashem shall die. Shall we be consumed with dying?