Numbers 17:6

6 And Moses spake to the sons of Israel; and all the princes gave to him rods, by all their lineages; and the rods were twelve, without the rod of Aaron. (And Moses spoke to the Israelites; and each leader from each tribe gave him a staff; and so there were twelve staffs, and Aaron's staff was among them.)

Numbers 17:6 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 17:6

And Moses spake unto the children of Israel
What the Lord had bid him say unto them concerning the rods, which they hearkened unto and observed:

and everyone of their princes gave him a rod apiece, for each prince
one;
every prince of the several tribes, and so a rod for every tribe, as well as for each prince:

according to their father's houses, [even] twelve rods;
there being twelve tribes named after their fathers, or the patriarchs, the twelve sons of Jacob; and Joseph having two tribes which sprung from him, called after his two sons Ephraim and Manasseh, there were twelve rods besides that of Aaron; and so the Vulgate Latin version renders the words with the next clause,

``and there were twelve rods besides the rod of Aaron;''

in all thirteen; though the Jews say there were but twelve with it, allowing but one rod for Joseph, under whom were comprehended Ephraim and Manasseh, and reckoning the tribe of Levi one of the twelve so Aben Ezra observes, that the rod of Levi was among the twelve and Joseph had but one rod:

and the rod of Aaron [was] among their rods:
in the middle of them, and was so placed, as Jarchi thinks, that it might not be said, because it was put on the side of the Shechinah or divine Majesty, therefore it budded; but being in the middle of them there could be no difference in that respect.

Numbers 17:6 In-Context

4 And thou shalt put those rods in the tabernacle of [the] bond of peace, before the witnessing, where I shall speak with thee; (And thou shalt put those staffs in the Tabernacle of the Covenant, before the Ark of the Witnessing, that is, the Box containing the tablets of the Law, where I speak with thee;)

5 the rod of him shall burgeon, whom I shall choose of them to the office of priesthood; and I shall thereby refrain, or quench, from me the complainings, or grouchings, of the sons of Israel, by which they grouch against you. (and the staff of him shall sprout, whom I shall choose out of them for the office, or for the duties, of the priesthood; and I shall thereby quench the complaints, or the grumblings, of the Israelites, by which they grumble against you.)

6 And Moses spake to the sons of Israel; and all the princes gave to him rods, by all their lineages; and the rods were twelve, without the rod of Aaron. (And Moses spoke to the Israelites; and each leader from each tribe gave him a staff; and so there were twelve staffs, and Aaron's staff was among them.)

7 And when Moses had put those rods before the Lord, in the tabernacle of witnessing, (And when Moses had put those staffs before the Lord, in the Tabernacle of the Witnessing,)

8 he went again in the day following, and found that the rod of Aaron, in the house of Levi, had burgeoned; and when [the] knops were great, the blossoms had broken out, which were alarged in (the) leaves, and were formed into almonds. (he went back on the following day, and found that Aaron's staff, for the house of Levi, had sprouted; and first the buds grew great, and then the blossoms broke out, and enlarged themselves amid the leaves, and then they were formed into almonds.)