Numbers 17:4

4 Place the staffs in the Tent of Meeting in front of the Testimony, ^[a] 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 them twelve staffs, one from the leader of each tribe. Write each man’s name on his staff,

3 and write Aaron’s name on the staff of Levi, because there must be one staff for the head of each tribe.

4 Place the staffs in the Tent of Meeting in front of the Testimony, where I meet with you.

5 The staff belonging to the man I choose will sprout, and I will rid Myself of the constant grumbling of the Israelites against you.”

6 So Moses spoke to the Israelites, and each of their leaders gave him a staff—one for each of the leaders of their tribes, twelve staffs in all. And Aaron’s staff was among them.

Footnotes

• [a]. The Testimony refers to the stone tablets in the ark of the covenant inscribed with the Ten Commandments; also in verse 10.