[What a ‘visual’ God is YHWH, Who teaches clearly with words and action. The beauty of these narratives recounting the exodus and wilderness wandering is that there are so many concrete images deeply embedded in every teaching moment for the liberated former slaves who have yet to learn, step by step, many new lessons from their Liberator, their new Master, their God, Who says what He means and means what He says, no ifs, buts, maybes!
We who read these narratives could so easily visualize incidents such as the parting of the Red Sea, Mount Sinai amidst smoke, thunder and lightning, the Tabernacle, the organization of the camp and the marching of the sons of Israel . . . and now, the budding of the staff of Aaron. Such images evoke the incident connected with each and hopefully, the lessons learned as well; in fact they are so much easier to understand than abstract doctrinal teachings with big words such as “justification”, “sanctification”, “glorification”.
Illustrators of these stories should have no difficulty getting the point across, wouldn’t you think? This chapter is simple enough to understand; still, commentary and Soncino translation from Pentateuch and Haftarahs, ed. J.H.Hertz included as usual.
S6K preferred translation: EF/Everett Fox, The Five Books of Moses.—Admin1.]
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Numbers/Bamidbar 17
1-5. The brazen censers of the 250 men are to be collected and hammered into plates for the Altar of burnt-offering.
1 YHVH spoke to Moshe, saying:
2 Speak to El’azar son of Aharon the priest,
that he may set-aside the pans from the burned-remains,
and the fire-coals, scatter yonder, for they have become-holy;
and scatter thou the fire yonder. Scatter the burning coals in the censers far away from the Altar.
for they are become holy. The censers had previously been private property, but they had, through the fact that incense had been offered in them, acquired sacredness, and must nevermore be used for a secular purpose.
3 (as for) the pans of those-who-sinned, (at the cost of) their lives,
make of them beaten plates, overlaid for the slaughter-site,
for they were brought-near before the presence of YHVH,
and have become-holy. Let them be a sign for the Children of Israel!
at the cost of their lives. Or, ‘against their own souls’ (RV Text).
covering of the altar. For an additional bronze covering of the Altar of burnt-offering; Exod. XXVII,2.
a sign. A perpetual reminder of the fate that befell the rebels who handled the censers out of which these ‘beaten plates’ were made.
4 So El’azar the priest took the bronze pans that the burned-men had brought near, and he beat them as overlay for the slaughter-site,
5 a reminder for the Children of Israel,
in order that no outside man might come-near who is not of the seed of Aharon to turn smoking-incense into smoke before the presence of YHVH,
and so that he not become like Korah and like his community,
as YHVH spoke through the hand of Moshe to him.
of the seed of Aaron. A priest, and not a Levite.
unto him. Better, regarding him; Aaron.
6-15. The disaffection had spread so far that many of the people resented the death of Korah and his followers, and held Moses responsible for it. This further shows that the complete suppression of the rebellion was a question of T be or not to be for Israel. the people are visited by an outbreak of plague.
6 But all the Children of Israel grumbled on the morrow against Moshe and against Aharon, saying:
(It is) you (who) caused-the-death of YHVH’S people!
7 Now it was, when the community assembled against Moshe and against Aharon,
that they turned toward the Tent of Appointment,
and here: the cloud had covered it,
and the Glory of YHVH could be seen!
the cloud covered it. As a symbol of protection to God’s loyal servants against the threatening mob.
8 Then Moshe and Aharon came to the front of the Tent of Appointment.
to the front of the tent. In response to this Divine manifestation, and to receive the Divine charge for further action.
9 And YHVH spoke to Moshe, saying:
10 Move-aside from the midst of this community,
that I may finish them off in an instant!
They flung themselves upon their faces.
fell upon their faces. In prayer and entreaty to God to spare the rebellious people; XVI,22.
11 Moshe said to Aharon:
Take (your) pan and place upon it fire from the slaughter-site, putting smoking-incense (there);
go quickly to the community and effect-appeasement for them,
for the fury is (still) going-out from the presence of YHVH,
the plague has begun!
thy fire-pan. lit. ‘the fire-pan’; i.e. the censer which belongs to the High Priest and which he used on the Day of Atonement (Lev. XVI12) when ministering in the Sanctuary.
make atonement for them. As we see from Lev. XVI,12,13, the use of incense played an important part in the Atonement ritual.
wrath gone out from the LORD. Wrath is spoken of as a Divine messenger that is to execute God’s punishment upon the guilty. It goes forth to kill, and slays as it proceeds.
12 Aharon took (it), as Moshe had spoken,and he ran to the midst of the assembly:
and here, the plague had begun among the people!
So he put the smoking-incense (in it), and effected-appeasement for the people:
13 now he stood between the dead and the living,
and the plague was held-back.
between the dead and the living. Aaron hastens and takes up a position in front of Wrath. All behind have died: those in front have not been touched; they are living. Thus it is that Aaron stands between the living and the dead, and stays the plague.
14 Now those that died in the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred,
aside from those that died in the matter of Korah.
15 Aharon returned to Moshe, to the entrance of the Tent of Appointment,
since the plague was held-back.
16-28. VINDICATION OF AARON
Moses deposits 12 wands for each of the 12 tribes, and an additional rod inscribed with the name of Aaron as head of the tribe of Levi. Ibn Ezra suggests that as the two tribes of the children of Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh) were reckoned together (Deut. VII,12), the total number of the rods did not exceed 12. Next morning, Aaron’s rod had budded and brought forth fruit, confirming the Divine choice of Levi. Henceforth, Aaron’s right to the priesthood is unchallenged.
16 Now YHVH spoke to Moshe, saying:
17 Speak to the Children of Israel,
take from them a staff, a staff (each) per Fathers’ House from all their leaders, for their Father’s House:
twelve staffs,
each-man-his name you are to write upon the staffs.
rods. Ordinarily carried by the princes as the symbol of tribal authority.
father’s house. Tribe.
princes. Those named in Chapters II and VII.
18 And the name of Aharon you are to write upon the staff of Levi,
indeed, one staff for (each) head of their Fathers’ House.
Aaron’s name. To indicate that God had appointed Aaron to be the prince of his tribe.
19 You are to put them in the Tent of Appointment, before the Testimony,
where I appoint-meeting with you.
before the testimony. i.e. in front of the Ark that contained the two Tables of the Testimony.
20 Now it shall be:
the man whom I choose, his staff will sprout;
thus will I still from upon me the grumblings of the Children of Israel that they set-grumbling against you (both).
I shall choose. For the special duties and privileges of the priesthood.
21 Moshe spoke to the Children of Israel,
and they gave him, all the leaders, a staff per (each) one leader,
a staff per (each) one leader,
for their Fathers’ House, twelve staffs, with the staff of Aharon in the midst of their staffs.
22 Moshe laid out the staffs before the presence of YHVH,
in the Tent of the Testimony.
23 Now it was on the morrow:
when Moshe entered the Tent of the Testimony,
here: it had sprouted, the staff of Aharon, of the House of Levi!
It had put-forth a sprouting-flower, it had blossomed a blossom, it had ripened almonds!
Image from safeguardingtheeternal.wordpress.com
to all the Children of Israel;
they saw (them), and each-man took his staff.
and they looked. Here was indeed Divine confirmation of the High Priesthood of Aaron.
25 YHVH said to Moshe:Return the staff of Aharon before the Testimony to be safeguarded as a sign for the rebellious-folk,
that their grumblings may be finished from me,
so that they do not die!
token. A warning to future generations.
according to all that YHVH commanded him, so he did.
27 But the Children of Israel said to Moshe, saying:
Here, we expire, we perish, all of us perish!
behold, we perish. This and v. 28 form a transition to the next chapter, in which the Levites guard the Tent, lest any layman should perish by approaching it.
we are undone. A despairing outburst on the part of defeated and disheartened men. Korah, Dathan and Abiram and their company had perished, and furthermore a plague had swept away several thousands of people. It looked as if the end had come to all!
28 Anyone who comes-near, comes-near (at all) to the Dwelling of YHVH will die;
will there be an end to our expiring?
shall we wholly perish? Better, shall we ever have finished dying?; ‘have we not yet done expiring?” (Benisch). It was in response to this agonizing cry that Aaron and the Levites were bidden in XVIII to guard the Sanctuary against the approach of any ‘stranger’.