Numbers 17:4

4 You must then put them in the tent of assembly {before} the testimony where I meet with you.

Numbers 17:4 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 17:4

And thou shalt lay them up in the tabernacle of the
congregation
In the most holy place:

before the testimony;
that is, the ark in which the testimony or the law was; here they were laid as in the presence of God, who was in a miraculous way to decide the controversy by them, and put an end to it; for upon the ark was the mercy seat, over which were the cherubim, the seat of the divine Majesty, and where none could come at them, and where no fraud could be supposed to be committed:

where I will meet with you;
not with the people in person, who might not go at any time into the most holy place; nor with Aaron, who only might go into it on the day of atonement; but with Moses, the chief ruler and representative of the whole body of the people, and who might go in there at any time, to consult with God about matters of moment and difficulty, and where the Lord had said he would meet him, ( Exodus 25:22 ) ; and now would, in a miraculous way, clearly show him, and the people of Israel by him, who was the priest he had chosen of all the tribes.

Numbers 17:4 In-Context

2 "Speak to the {Israelites}, and take from among them twelve staffs, {a staff from each family} from among all their leaders according to their families' households. Write the name of each man on his staff,
3 and the name of Aaron on the staff of Levi, because one staff [is] for the head of [each of] {their families}.
4 You must then put them in the tent of assembly {before} the testimony where I meet with you.
5 And it will happen, the man whom I will choose, his staff will blossom, and so I will rid from upon myself the grumblings of the {Israelites}, who [are] grumbling against you."
6 Moses spoke to the {Israelites}, and all their leaders gave him a staff for each leader, one from {each of their families}, twelve staffs, and the staff of Aaron [was] in the midst of their tribes.

Footnotes 2

Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.