Numbers 17:3

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

Numbers 17:3 in Other Translations

3 And thou shalt write Aaron's name upon the rod of Levi: for one rod shall be for the head of the house of their fathers.

3 and write Aaron's name on the staff of Levi. For there shall be one staff for the head of each fathers' house.

3 Inscribe Aaron’s name on the staff of the tribe of Levi, for there must be one staff for the leader of each ancestral tribe.

3 Start with Aaron; write Aaron's name on the staff of Levi and then proceed with the rest, a staff for the leader of each ancestral tribe.

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

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 twelve staffs from them, one from the leader of each of their ancestral tribes. Write the name of each man on his staff.

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

4 Place them in the tent of meeting in front of the ark of the covenant law, where I meet with you.

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

Cross References

• 1. S Numbers 1:3