1. And the Lord spoke unto Moses. Howsoever stubborn the Israelites might be, yet their hardness of heart being now subdued, and their pride broken down, they ought to have acknowledged the authority of the priesthood, and to have perpetually held it in pious reverence.

2. Speak unto the children of Israel. They are mistaken who suppose that to the twelve rods there was another added for the tribe of Levi; for, since there was no question here as to the possession of the land, there was no occasion at all for the division of the tribe of Joseph into two parts.

4. And thou shalt lay them up in the tabernacle. The place itself had not a little to do with the effectual decision of the matter; because it was clearly manifested that God was the author of the miracle, and consequently that the priesthood proceeded from Him.

5. And it shall come to pass, that the man’s rod. Aaron, indeed, had been previously chosen; but the expression here refers to his manifestation; because God is said again to choose those, whom He has chosen by His secret counsel, when He brings them forth into the sight of men with their peculiar…

8. And it came to pass, that on the morrow. It is not without cause that, the time is notified, for by no skill could it be brought about that a rod should blossom in the lapse of a single night.

10. And the Lord said unto Moses. What God had prescribed concerning the censers, He now commands as to the rod, i.e., that it should be preserved as a monument for future ages; because men are forgetful and slow to consider His works, and not only so, but because they bury their memory as if of…

12. And the children of Israel spoke unto Moses. It was indeed somewhat better to be alarmed by admiration of God’s power than as if they had despised it in brutal stupidity; but there is a medium between torpor or obstinacy, and consternation.