Numbers 17:3

3 And thou shalt write Aaron’s name upon the rod of Levi, for each head of family of their fathers shall have one rod.

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 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying,

2 Speak unto the sons of Israel and take of each of them a rod according to the houses of their fathers, of all their princes, twelve rods according to the houses of their fathers, and write thou each man’s name upon his rod.

3 And thou shalt write Aaron’s name upon the rod of Levi, for each head of family of their fathers shall have one rod.

4 And thou shalt lay them up in the tabernacle of the testimony, before the testimony, where I will testify of myself unto you.

5 And it shall come to pass regarding the man whom I shall choose that his rod shall blossom; and I will resolve the complaints of the sons of Israel, with which they murmur against you.