Discovery BoxNumbers 17:7 
Context17:7 Then Moses placed the staffs before the Lord in the tent of the testimony. 1
Numbers 17:6
Context17:6 So Moses spoke to the Israelites, and each of their leaders gave him a staff, one for each leader, 2 according to their tribes 3 – twelve staffs; the staff of Aaron was among their staffs.
Numbers 17:9
Context17:9 So Moses brought out all the staffs from before the Lord to all the Israelites. They looked at them, 4 and each man took his staff.
Numbers 21:18
Context21:18 The well which the princes 5 dug,
which the leaders of the people opened
with their scepters and their staffs.”
And from the wilderness they traveled to Mattanah;
Numbers 17:2
Context17:2 “Speak to the Israelites, and receive from them a staff from each tribe, 6 one from every tribal leader, 7 twelve staffs; you must write each man’s name on his staff.
1 tn The name of the tent now attests to the centrality of the ark of the covenant. Instead of the “tent of meeting” (מוֹעֵד, mo’ed) we now find the “the tent of the testimony” (הָעֵדֻת, ha’edut).
2 tn Heb “a rod for one leader, a rod for one leader.”
3 tn Heb “the house of their fathers.”
4 tn The words “at them” are not in the Hebrew text, but they have been added in the translation for clarity.
5 sn The brief song is supposed to be an old workers’ song, and so the mention of leaders and princes is unusual. Some think they are given credit because they directed where the workers were to dig. The scepter and staff might have served some symbolic or divining custom.
6 tn Heb “receive from them a rod, a rod from the house of a father.”
7 tn Heb “from every leader of them according to their fathers’ house.”
