Numbers 17:3

3 Write Aaron's name on the staff for Levi because there must be one staff for the head of each tribe.

Numbers 17:3 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 17:3

And thou shalt write Aaron's name upon the rod of Levi
Or upon the rod that was for the tribe of Levi; the name of "Aaron" was to be written, not the word "Levi", or a "Levite", as Josephus ^F5; for that would not have decided the controversy about the priesthood, which chiefly lay between the Levites and the family of Aaron, who were of the same tribe:

for one rod [shall be] for the head of the house of their fathers;
one rod for the head or prince of every tribe, every prince representing his own tribe he was the head of, and the rod the prince; and though the tribe of Levi was divided into two families, the family of the priests, and the family of the Levites; yet, as Jarchi observes, they were but one tribe, and so one rod for them, as for the other tribes.

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FOOTNOTES:

F5 Antiqu. l. 4. c. 4. sect. 2.

Numbers 17:3 In-Context

1 The LORD said to Moses,

2 "Speak to the Israelites, and get 12 staffs from them, one from the leader of each of their tribes. Write each man's name on his staff.

3 Write Aaron's name on the staff for Levi because there must be one staff for the head of each tribe.

4 Put them in the tent of meeting where I meet with you, in front of the words of my promise.

5 The staff from the man I choose will begin to grow. In this way I will silence the frequent complaints the Israelites make against you and Aaron."