Whose Staff
Numbers 20:8
Excerpt
It could well have been Aaron’s since it was kept “before the Lord” (Num. 20:10), in which case it was not for striking but to remind Israel of their contentiousness (Num. 17:25). Or it could have been for striking since, according to the priestly texts, Aaron’s rod was so used during the plagues (Exod. 7:9, Exod. 7:20; Exod. 8:1, Exod. 8:13). However, it was more likely the rod of Moses, which had been employed in the performance of God’s miracles in the wilderness (Exod. 14:16; Exod. 17:9). And, more relevantly, it was used in a previous instance of drawing water from a rock (Exod. 17:1–7), in which it was identified as the one used to strike the Nile (e.g., Exod. 7:19–20). Note also “his (Moses’) rod” in Exod. 7:11. Ibn Ezraassumes that if this is so, then Moses’ rod was kept in the sanctuary, a most plausible conjecture since it (as well as Aaron’s) was called “the rod of God” (Exod. 4:20).
Milgrom, Jacob. Numbers. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1990. Print. The JPS Torah Commentary.
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