Verse structure: 4 words, 18 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֖ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֖ה, 4 letters) and the longest is "and·he·spoke" (וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר, 5 letters). 4 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 389x in Numbers); "saying" (root אמר, 246x in Numbers); "and·he·spoke" (root דבר, 149x in Numbers). Full calculation: וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר [and·he·spoke] (222) + יְהֹוָ֖ה [Hashem] (26) + אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה [to·Moses] (376) + לֵּאמֹֽר [saying] (271) = 895.
"Speak to Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, that he take up the fire-pans out of the burning, and scatter the fire yonder; for they have become holy;
verse value 4576
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 59 letters. Verse gematria: 4576 is divisible by 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "for" (כִּ֖י, 2 letters) and the longest is "to·Eleazar" (אֶל־אֶלְעָזָ֜ר, 7 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Numbers. Unique to this verse in Numbers (hapax): "the·burning" (הַשְּׂרֵפָ֔ה), "and·the·fire" (וְאֶת־הָאֵ֖שׁ), "scatter·abroad" (זְרֵה־הָ֑לְאָה). 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "son·of·Aaron" (root בן, 499x in Numbers); "say" (root אמר, 246x in Numbers); "to·Eleazar" (root אל, 85x in Numbers). First appearance of the root שרפה ("the·burning") in Numbers. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'scatter·abroad', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 2 words. Full calculation: אֱמֹ֨ר [say] (241) + אֶל־אֶלְעָזָ֜ר [to·Eleazar] (339) + בֶּן־אַהֲרֹ֣ן [son·of·Aaron] (308) + הַכֹּהֵ֗ן [the·priest] (80) + וְיָרֵ֤ם [and·he·shall·remove] (256) + אֶת־הַמַּחְתֹּת֙ [the·fire·pans] (1254) + מִבֵּ֣ין [from·among] (102) + הַשְּׂרֵפָ֔ה [the·burning] (590) + וְאֶת־הָאֵ֖שׁ [and·the·fire] (713) + זְרֵה־הָ֑לְאָה [scatter·abroad] (253) + כִּ֖י [for] (30) + קָדֵֽשׁוּ [they·have·become·sacred] (410) = 4576.
Onkelos
"Say to Eleazar son of Aaron the priest that he shall remove the fire-pans from among the burned ones, and cast the fire far away — for they have become holy.
Rashi
ואת האש AND THE FIRE — that is in the censers (not, as might be assumed, that of the burning materials — the שרפה just mentioned). זרה הלאה SCATTER YONDER on the ground from off the censers. כי קדשו FOR THEY — the censers — ARE HALLOWED, and are therefore forbidden for any profane use, since they have made them into “vessels of service” (כלי שרת) (by using them for offering incense).
Ramban
SPEAK UNTO ELEAZAR THE SON OF AARON THE PRIEST, THAT HE TAKE UP THE CENSERS OUT OF THE BURNING, AND SCATTER THOU THE FIRE YONDER; FOR THEY ARE BECOME HOLY. “The censers [have become holy]. And it is prohibited to have any benefit from them, since they had already made them ‘vessels of service.’” This is Rashi’s language. But I do not know the reason for this prohibition, since it was “strange incense” [which was not part of the daily commandment] that they offered, and if a non-priest makes a vessel of service in order to bring an offering in it outside [the prescribed place in the Tabernacle or Sanctuary], that vessel does not become sanctified! However, it is possible to say that since they did so at the command of Moses, the vessels did become holy, because they dedicated them to G-d, thinking that He would answer them through the [Heavenly] fire and that these censers would remain forever in the Tent of Meeting as [sacred] vessels of service. The correct interpretation, [however,], appears to me to be that Scripture is saying, Because they were offered before the Eternal, therefore they are hallowed, and they shall be for a sign unto the children of Israel, meaning: “I [the Eternal], have sanctified them [so that they may not be used], from the moment that they were offered before Me, in order that they shall be a sign unto the children of Israel.”
Ibn Ezra
"Scatter away" — away from the altar. "For they have become holy" — for since they were offered up before Hashem, they are now sacred.
Sforno
ואת האש זרה הלאה, not on the place where the remains of burned offerings were stacked on the altar. The reason was that it was incense that should never have been allowed into the precincts of the Tabernacle. כי קדשו, for only the pans had become holy so that they could not be treated with disrespect.
Or HaChaim
אמר אל אלעזר, "say to Eleazar, etc." The reason Moses instructed Eleazar to collect these censers rather than Aaron was that he did not think the High Priest should perform such a menial task. It is also possible that seeing that these people had died in order to prove that Aaron was the High Priest, i.e. that Aaron had been a cause of their death, G'd did not want that the act of giving some status to these censers should be performed by Aaron. וירם את המחתות, and he shall lift up the censers, etc. In view of the fact that this was a totally new commandment why did the Torah write the conjunctive letter ו at the beginning of the word וירם? Perhaps the Torah considered this use of the censers as part of the demise of Korach and associates. G'd wanted the people to see that the Priesthood of Aaron had been His doing and that He would reinforce this decision by reminding the people of it throughout the generations when they would observe that the censers of the people who had challenged Aaron's status were being used by Aaron when he performed the sacrificial service on the altar.
Chizkuni
אמור אל אלעזר, “say to Elazar, etc.;” G-d did not want that Aaron the High Priest become ritually impure, as he was involved actively in offering sacrifices, that is why He asked Moses to give these instructions to his son Elazar.
Tur HaArokh
כי קדשו, “for they have become holy.” Rashi understands the word “holy” here in the negative sense, meaning that they are out of bounds to the people, that no one is allowed to derive private advantage of these remains as they have attained the same status as holy vessels in the Tabernacle. Nachmanides does not understand why these remains should have become forbidden for private use seeing that the incense offered by these two hundred and fifty men had never become sanctified, was not part of the sacrificial service. When something becomes sanctified for use outside consecrated grounds it is not holy in the true sense of the word. One may answer that when such items have become sanctified at the express command of Moses, they become truly holy as the 250 men had sanctified them for use in the service of heaven, believing that G’d would respond positively by means of heavenly fire consuming their offerings as it expressed their innermost desire to serve Him in the capacity of priests, their censers would all have become sanctified for all times. Personally, (Nachmanides speaking) I believe the Torah itself answers any of our doubts when it testifies that “these 250 men had used the censers to come closer to Hashem so that they had become holy, henceforth serving as a sign for the Children of Israel,” G’d says that He Himself had sanctified these censers.
even the fire-pans of these men who have sinned at the cost of their lives, and let them be made beaten plates for a covering of the altar—for they have become holy, because they were offered before Hashem—that they may be a sign to the children of Israel."
verse value 5971
Insights
Verse structure: 17 words, 87 letters. The shortest word is "them" (אֹתָ֜ם, 3 letters) and the longest is "for·they·offered·them" (כִּֽי־הִקְרִיבֻ֥ם, 8 letters). 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Numbers. Unique to this verse in Numbers (hapax): "of·those·who·have·sinned" (הַֽחַטָּאִ֨ים), "at·the·cost·of·their·lives" (בְּנַפְשֹׁתָ֗ם), "hammered-plates-of" (רִקֻּעֵ֤י). 17 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·the·people·of" (root בן, 499x in Numbers); "Israel" (root ישראל, 183x in Numbers); "and·let·them·be" (root היה, 180x in Numbers). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·they·became·sacred', dividing the verse into phrases of 13 and 4 words.
Onkelos
The fire-pans of these sinners who forfeited their lives — let them be made into hammered plates as a covering for the altar, for they brought them near before Hashem and they became holy; and they shall be a sign to the children of Israel."
Rashi
החטאים האלא בנפשתם THESE SINNERS AGAINST THEIR OWN SOULS — i.e. who became wilful transgressors against their own souls, because they rebelled against the Holy One, blessed be He. רקעי means beaten out (flattened). פחים are plates beaten out thin, tendus in O. F. צפוי למזבח FOR AN OVERLAYING FOR THE ALTAR — i.e. for the copper altar. ויהיו לאות AND THEY SHALL BE AS AN אות — The word לאות is the same as לזכרון, something to be mentioned (cf. Exodus 13:9) — that people will always say: These plates were from (once belonged to) those who raised dissension about the priesthood and were burnt.
Ibn Ezra
"The fire-pans of those who sinned" — meaning, the fire-pans themselves. "And let them make them" — the craftsmen. "Beaten plates" — like [the verse], "And they beat out the plates of gold" (Exod. 39:3). The meaning of "for they have become holy" is that they were brought before Hashem. "And they shall be a sign" — a memorial and a marker.
Sforno
כי הקריבום לפני ה' ויקדשו, they had become sanctified as vessels used for service for the Lord except if used of unauthorised service. This fact qualified these copper pans to be used as an overlay on the copper altar.
Or HaChaim
החטאים האלה בנפשתם, "of these sinners who sinned at the cost of their souls." The reason the Torah repeats this may have been so that Aaron and Moses would not feel badly at having been involved in causing the deaths of these people. The Israelites should also not attribute the death of Korach and associates to any fault on the part of Moses or Aaron. The Torah therefore emphasises that not Moses and Aaron but solely these sinners themselves were to blame for what happened to them. In spite of all this, the Israelites did not understand G'd's intention and accused Moses and Aaron of being the cause of the death of these people (17,6). כי הקריבום לפני ה׳ ויקדשו, "because they were offered before the Lord and have become sanctified." G'd explains that if He ordered these censers to be turned into a cover for the altar this did not mean that He was pleased with the incense that had been offered in them; on the contrary, the incense was repugnant to Him. However, the fact that these censers had been used for a holy purpose made them holy themselves. The new dimension of all this is that these censers were considered holy before the wrong people offered incense in them as they had been constructed for a holy purpose. ויקדשו, "they have become sanctified;" when someone donates silver or golden trinkets for the Temple, these trinkets become sanctified. Consider the status of these censers if the associates of Korach had decided at the last moment not to go through with their challenge to offer incense in them. The censers would have remained holy although they had not been used for the purpose for which they had been designated. As to the argument of Nachmanides against Rashi that the status of these censers was similar to vessels a non-priest constructed in order to offer a sacrifice outside the precincts of the Temple [and which therefore are not holy, Ed.], the Torah writes: "they have been offered before the Lord and become sanctified" (i.e. inside the precincts of the Tabernacle). The situation is not comparable to the one described by Nachmanides then as these censers had been brought to a site which was sanctified.
Chizkuni
החטאים האלה בנפשותם, “these sinners who paid for their sins with their lives;” they brought their death upon themselves. Moses had warned them in 16,7, when he made clear that only one person of all of them would be chosen by G-d. In other words, all the others would die as a result of this test. All of them foolishly risked their lives, knowing that 249 of them would die. ועשו אותם, “so that they will make out of them, etc.” Moses, i.e. G-d refers to skilled artisans. This verse is abbreviated, as we find in similar verses such as Genesis 48,1 ויאמר אל יוסף, “he said to Joseph,” where the subject is missing, or verse 2 in the same chapter where the person giving this information to Yaakov has also not been named.
Rabbeinu Bahya
את מחתות החטאים האלה בנפשותם, “the fire-pans of these people who sinned at the cost of their lives.” The reason the Torah added the word “against their souls” was to reinforce the point that they forfeited the lives of their souls in the hereafter.
And Eleazar the priest took the brazen fire-pans, which they that were burnt had offered; and they beat them out for a covering of the altar,
verse value 4694
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 56 letters. The shortest word is "that" (אֲשֶׁ֥ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "the·fire·pans" (אֵ֚ת מַחְתּ֣וֹת, 7 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Numbers. Unique to this verse in Numbers (hapax): "they·had·offered" (הִקְרִ֖יבוּ), "and·they·hammered·them" (וַֽיְרַקְּע֖וּם). 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that" (root אשר, 223x in Numbers); "and·he·took" (root לקח, 72x in Numbers); "the·priest" (root כהן, 71x in Numbers). First appearance of the root נחשת ("the·copper") in Numbers. First appearance of the root שרף ("those·who·were·burned") in Numbers. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'those·who·were·burned', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 3 words. Full calculation: וַיִּקַּ֞ח [and·he·took] (124) + אֶלְעָזָ֣ר [Eleazar] (308) + הַכֹּהֵ֗ן [the·priest] (80) + אֵ֚ת מַחְתּ֣וֹת [the·fire·pans] (1255) + הַנְּחֹ֔שֶׁת [the·copper] (763) + אֲשֶׁ֥ר [that] (501) + הִקְרִ֖יבוּ [they·had·offered] (323) + הַשְּׂרֻפִ֑ים [those·who·were·burned] (635) + וַֽיְרַקְּע֖וּם [and·they·hammered·them] (432) + צִפּ֥וּי [as·plating] (186) + לַמִּזְבֵּֽחַ [for·the·altar] (87) = 4694.
Onkelos
And Eleazar the priest took the copper fire-pans that those who were burned had offered, and they hammered them into a covering for the altar —
Rashi
וירקעום AND THEY EXTENDED THEM — Etendre in O. F.
Ibn Ezra
"And they beat them out" — the ones who do the beating.
Chizkuni
ויקח אלעזר, “Elazar took;” at first glance this does not appear the proper place for this verse. This verse should have begun with the words: זכרון לבני ישראל, “to be a memorial for the Children of Israel, etc.” Verse 4 was inserted here in order to provide a separation so that we would understand that from the beginning of this whole paragraph until the words: ויהיו לאות לבני ישראל, “so that will be a sign unto the Children of Israel,” Moses was told to speak to Elazar, whereas from verse 5 he was told to speak to Aaron, something which becomes clear at the end of that verse. Proof for this is provided by Sifri on chapter 18,8: וידבר ה' אל אהרן וגו', “the Lord spoke to Aaron, etc. צפוי למזבח, “a covering for the altar.” Until now the altar did not have a roof.
to be a memorial to the children of Israel, to the end that no common man, that is not of the seed of Aaron, draw near to burn incense before Hashem; that he fare not as Korah, and as his company; as Hashem spoke to him by the hand of Moses.
verse value 6895 — יְהֹוָ֑ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 25 words, 102 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֑ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "outsider" (זָ֗ר, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·not·become" (וְלֹֽא־יִהְיֶ֤ה, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 501: that, who. 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Numbers. Unique to this verse in Numbers (hapax): "outsider" (זָ֗ר), "of·the·offspring·of" (מִזֶּ֤רַע), "to·offer" (לְהַקְטִ֥יר). The root אשר appears 3 times in this verse. 22 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·the·Israelites" (root בן, 499x in Numbers); "Hashem" (root יהוה, 389x in Numbers); "that" (root אשר, 223x in Numbers). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Hashem', dividing the verse into phrases of 17 and 8 words.
Onkelos
a memorial for the children of Israel, so that no outsider who is not of the seed of Aaron shall draw near to offer fragrant incense before Hashem, and so that he not be like Korah and his assembly — as Hashem had spoken through Moses concerning him.
Rashi
ולא יהיה כקרח means in order that he be not as Korah. כאשר דבר ה' ביד משה לו AS THE LORD HAD SPOKEN BY THE AGENCY OF MOSES לו — The latter word is the same as עליו, “with regard to him”, i.e. “with regard to Aaron”: He had spoken to Moses that he and his sons should be priests; therefore a layman, who is not of the seed of Aaron, shall not approach etc. Similarly in every instance of the words לי or לו or להם which are connected with forms of the verb דבר, their meaning is the same as על, “concerning”. A Midrashic explanation is that לו, “with regard to him”, means: with regard to Korah (not to Aaron). But what, then, is meant by the expression “by the hand of Moses”; why does it not write “unto Moses”? It is used as an intimation to those who rebel against the institution of the priesthood: that they will become stricken with leprosy, just as Moses was stricken with it on his hand, as it is said, (Exodus 4:6) “and he took it (the hand) forth and, behold, it was leprous, white as snow”. And on account of this (that he insisted on offering incense in spite of the priests’ protest) Uzziah was stricken with leprosy (II Chronicles 26:19) (Midrash Tanchuma, Tzav 1 on צו; cf. also Sanhedrin 110a and Rashi on Isaiah 6:4).
Ramban
THAT HE BE NOT AS KORACH, AND AS HIS COMPANY, AS THE ETERNAL SPOKE BY THE HAND OF MOSES ‘LO.’ “The word lo [literally: ‘to him’] is like alav (‘about him’), that is, about Korach. And what is the meaning of by ‘the hand’ of Moses, and why is it not written ‘unto Moses’ [as is written elsewhere]? It is a hint to those who dispute the priesthood, that they will be stricken with leprosy, just as Moses was stricken [with it] on ‘his hand.’ It was for this reason that Uzziah [king of Judah] was stricken with leprosy [when he attempted to usurp the function of the priests and to offer incense]. And according to the plain meaning of Scripture, [the interpretation is as follows: if anybody disputes the priesthood and claims it for himself, his punishment] will not be that of being swallowed up and burnt, as happened to Korach and his company; instead, [his punishment] will be like that which Moses received on his hand when it was stricken with leprosy. And some scholars interpret [the verse to mean]: that no common man, that is not of the seed of Aaron, draw near to burn incense before the Eternal — as the Eternal spoke by the hand of Moses with regard to Aaron, that he and his sons should be priests, and not a layman.” This is Rashi’s language. The correct interpretation is that [the word lo (to him)] refers to Eleazar who is mentioned [at the beginning of the section], when Scripture said, Speak unto Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest etc., and the correct order [in meaning] of the verses [before us] is as follows: And Eleazar the priest took the copper censers wherewith they that were burnt had offered, and they beat them out for a covering of the altar — as the Eternal spoke to him by the hand of Moses — to be a memorial unto the children of Israel etc.
Ibn Ezra
"As Hashem had spoken through Moses, for him" — for Aaron. Some say that "for him" refers back to Korah, but this seems far-fetched to me.
Or HaChaim
למען אשר לא יקרב איש זר "in order that a non-priest should not approach, etc." Why did the Torah add the words "and so that he shall not become like Korach?" Sanhedrin 110 derives from these words that if someone helps a quarrel to continue he is guilty of transgressing a negative commandment. In addition to this interpretation in the Talmud the Torah may have wanted to explain why it had to recall to people, זכרון, what happened to Korach who brought an unauthorised offering, and why it was not sufficient to merely forbid such offerings in the normal manner and to warn of the death that had befallen Korach. People would not be frightened by this. They would consider it an exceptional occurrence. Only the addition of the word זכרון would impress upon them how seriously G'd viewed the offence of someone arrogating to himself the privileges reserved for the priests. כאשר דבר ה׳ ביד משה לו, "as G'd had said to him by means of Moses." The wording of this verse reveals that when Moses had told Korach that G'd would create something new and that he would descend into the bowels of the earth after the earth would split, he had not said this until G'd Himself had told him so. Had the Torah not written this we would have thought that Moses initiated this thought and that G'd did his bidding.
Chizkuni
זכרון לבני ישראל למען אשר לא יקרב איש זר, “a reminder to the Children of Israel so that no non priest, etc.;” why was such a reminder necessary? Someone looking at the copper cover on the earthen altar (which was outside the Tabernacle) would be liable to ask: seeing that the Torah had written in Exodus 20,21 “make for Me an earthen altar,” i.e. fill the hollow with earth, what is the good of that earth if it was now going to be covered with copper sheathing?” He would be answered that this sheathing was constructed from the pans used by the rebels who had supported Korach in his rebellion against the hereditary institution of the priesthood. Seeing what had happened to the owners of these censers the people were afraid to question the institution of the priesthood in the future. ביד משה לו, ”through Moses to him.” The “him” refers to Korach. The meaning is; concerning Korach. The construction is similar to Genesis 28,15: כי לא אעזבך עד אשר עם עשיתי את אשר דברתי לך, “I will not abandon you until I have carried out all that I have said to you (promised to you) [G-d speaking in Yaakov’s dream of the ladder. Ed.] There too the word לב is to be understood as עליך, “concerning you.”An alternate interpretation understands the word לו, as referring to what Moses had said to Aaron. (Rashi and Ibn Ezra)
Rabbeinu Bahya
ולא יהיה כקרח וכעדתו, “and so that they not become like Korach and his congregation.” Our sages in Sanhedrin 110 derive from this verse that if one participates in and reinforces a quarrel one is guilty of infringing on a negative commandment. The meaning of the whole verse is: “one should not become like Korach and his congregation who had been swallowed by the earth and had been burned but one should prefer to be afflicted with tzoraat.” This is an allusion to people who merely quarrel against the “exclusive hereditary nature of the priesthood” such as King Uzziah who arrogated to himself the privilege reserved for priests. He was punished by becoming a צרוע for the remainder of his days (Chronicles II 26,21). He did not die and did not forfeit his afterlife. [I believe the author uses the words: “a negative commandment” as an example of something not carrying the death penalty. Korach did not merely quarrel but made a “federal case” out of his complaint. Hence his special punishment. Ed.]
Kli Yakar
“And he shall not be like Korah and his congregation, etc.” Rashi explains that he will not be afflicted with tzara’at like Moses was afflicted with tzara’at on his hand (Sanhedrin 110a), and the word lo [to him] refers to one who disputes the priesthood. Here the child asks: What is the connection between Moses’ tzara’at and one who disputes the priesthood? It would have been more appropriate to bring as evidence Miriam’s tzara’at, which was similar in nature to Korah’s dispute, for his dispute over the priesthood stemmed from his challenge to Moses’ prophecy — the Lord has not sent you — and of this kind was Miriam’s tzara’at, as she said, Has the Lord spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us as well? (Numbers 12:2). Similarly, Korah said, For all the congregation, all of them are holy (Numbers 16:3) — not only you alone heard at Mount Sinai, I am and You shall have no other gods. But what relevance does Moses’ hand afflicted with tzara’at have to Korah’s dispute? Now, lift up your eyes and see, for I am bringing the matters closer, and they will become one in your hand, and the similar will be struck by the similar, and from there you will take a sound and good proof that one who disputes Moses’s prophecy is afflicted with leprosy. This is because our Sages of blessed memory said (Shabbat 97) that one who suspects the innocent is afflicted in their body; from where do we learn this? From Moses, etc. And according to the line of judgment, it is fitting to do to the one who suspects as they plotted to do to their brother. Therefore, the one who suspects is afflicted with the same plague that would have been appropriate for the suspected person if the accusation were true. And Moses suspected the Israelites of not believing in his prophecy, as it is written But behold, they will not believe me, etc., for they will say: The Lord has not appeared to you (Exodus 4:1). And these are exactly the words of Korach, who said, “The Lord has not appeared to you, and you are fabricating everything from your heart.” This is evident from the fact that Moses needed to say, “For the Lord sent me, for it is not from my heart.” Similarly, Moses suspected the Israelites of denying his prophecy and saying, “The Lord has not appeared to you, and you are making things up in order to rule over us.”And since we see that Moses was afflicted with leprosy for suspecting them of something they were not guilty of, it implies that if it were true that the Israelites were denying his prophecy, then they would have been afflicted with this leprosy. And because he suspected them of something they were not guilty of, he was afflicted with the same plague that would have been appropriate for them. Otherwise, it would not be measure for measure, and it needs to be as they plotted to do to their brother. From here, there is clear evidence that one who disputes the priesthood is afflicted with leprosy, because anyone who disputes the priesthood is disputing Moses’s prophecy and saying that the Lord did not appear to him to give Him permission to give the priesthood specifically to Aaron. Such a person suspects Moses of giving it to his brother of his own accord. And this is a precious interpretation. The reason for leprosy specifically, is because we find (Arakhin 16a) that leprosy comes due to haughtiness of spirit and evil speech. Thus, Uzziah became leprous because his heart became haughty to the point of destruction (II Chronicles 26:19), and from the words of the prophets we learn, as it is written, The arrogant man shall not dwell in peace (Habakkuk 2:5) — he will not remain in his dwelling because he will end up sitting alone outside the camp. And if the Israelites had not believed in Moses’ prophecy, they presumably would have suspected him of wanting to rule over them and drag them after him. And if they had said to him, “The Lord did not appear to You,” speaking directly to him, they would certainly have been among those who speak evil speech, and for these two reasons they would have been stricken with leprosy. Therefore, the judgment turned back on Moses who suspected them unjustly. And the leprosy was specifically in the hand, as our Sages said (Arakhin 15b), it is written, Death and life are in the hands of the tongue (Proverbs 18:21). Does the tongue have a hand? Rather, just as the hand can kill, so too the tongue can kill, as it is said Their tongue is a sharpened [shachut] arrow (Jeremiah 9:7). It is written [though not read], “slaughterer” [shochet], because one who intends to slaughter others ends up being slaughtered himself, as evil speech kills three [the speaker, the listener, and the subject] (Devarim Rabbah 5:10). Similarly, Korach was among the group of mockers, as it states in the Midrash (Shochar Tov, Psalms 1), and a sign for this is that the initials of “Korach” [קרח] stand for “bow, spear, sword” [keshet romach cherev], as it says The sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword (Psalms 57:5). And the reason Korach was not punished with leprosy like Moses was because he was liable for a more severe punishment [kim lei bedraba minei], as he denied the fundamentals of faith and the Torah of Moses, and wanted to abolish authority, for which reason he was judged to be among those swallowed up by the earth. Furthermore, he had already seen the great work of God which the Israelites had not seen during Moses’ first mission. This is what is meant by a reminder to the children of Israel… so that no stranger [meaning one who is not a priest] should approach to burn incense. For the stranger who approaches presumably disputes Moses’ prophecy. Nevertheless, the approaching stranger will not be like Korach and his assembly in terms of punishment, because Korach and his assembly committed great sins beyond this. Rather, it will be as God spoke through Moses to him — just as Moses was stricken with leprosy on his hand, so will anyone who disputes the priesthood be stricken with leprosy.
Tur HaArokh
כאשר דבר ה' ביד משה לו, “as G’d said concerning him (Aaron) through Moses.” Nachmanides writes that the word לו refers to Eleazar who had been mentioned previously in verses 2 and 4, and who had been commanded what to do with the copper remains of the censers and who had made them into a cover for the altar. [The first half of the verse makes better sense if we understand the whole verse as confirming Aaron’s exclusive position as High Priest. Ed.]
Rashbam
כאשר דבר ה' ביד משה לו. This phrase is a continuation of what had been introduced at the beginning of verse 4 concerning the pans used by the insurgents for their incense. The unusual ending לו after the words ביד משה means that G’d had told Moses to relate this instruction to Eleazar. [giving special instructions to Eleazar (verse 2) while his father the High Priest was alive, may have reflected a special sensitivity to Aaron’s feelings on the subject which G’d displayed on this occasion. Ed.]
Daat Zkenim
כאשר דבר ה' ביד משה, “as the Lord had said via Moses.” The plain meaning of the verse is that Eleazar took the copper fire-pans as he had been instructed to do by Moses, whom G–d had told to instruct with this task.
But on the morrow all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying: "You have killed the people of Hashem."
verse value 4458 — יְהֹוָֽה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 54 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָֽה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "you·two" (אַתֶּ֥ם, 3 letters) and the longest is "sons·of·Israel" (בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל֙, 8 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Numbers. Unique to this verse in Numbers (hapax): "you·have·brought·death" (הֲמִתֶּ֖ם). 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "sons·of·Israel" (root בן, 499x in Numbers); "Hashem" (root יהוה, 389x in Numbers); "saying" (root אמר, 246x in Numbers). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'saying', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 4 words. Full calculation: וַיִּלֹּ֜נוּ [and·they·murmured] (102) + כׇּל־עֲדַ֤ת [whole·community] (524) + בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ [sons·of·Israel] (603) + מִֽמׇּחֳרָ֔ת [next·day] (688) + עַל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה [against·Moses] (445) + וְעַֽל־אַהֲרֹ֖ן [and·against·Aaron] (362) + לֵאמֹ֑ר [saying] (271) + אַתֶּ֥ם [you·two] (441) + הֲמִתֶּ֖ם [you·have·brought·death] (485) + אֶת־עַ֥ם [people] (511) + יְהֹוָֽה [Hashem] (26) = 4458.
Onkelos
And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured on the following day against Moses and against Aaron, saying, "You have caused the death of the people of Hashem."
Ramban
YE HAVE KILLED THE PEOPLE OF THE ETERNAL.’ Onkelos rendered it: “You have caused the death of the people of the Eternal.” Thus he interprets the verse [to mean that] the people accused Moses and Aaron that because they advised Korach and his company to offer up strange incense to G-d of their own accord, those who offered it up were burnt, since G-d had not told Moses to offer up this incense, nor did he tell Israel to do so in the name of G-d; thus they of their own accord proposed this matter as a result of which the people died — when they could have [just as well] given another sign or miracle, through the rod, or [through] some other [harmless] test. And Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra said [that the verse means that the people said]: “What proof is this that the tribe of Levi has been chosen, and that Aaron was chosen to be the High Priest? It is possible that by your prayer or by some [secret] wisdom which you possess you burnt those that offered the incense.” [All this is the language of Ibn Ezra]. And so indeed it appears, that they did not yet believe [in the Divine selection of the tribe of Levi], for when He stated afterwards, Speak unto the children of Israel, and take of them rods, one for each fathers’ house; And it shall come to pass, that the man whom I shall choose, his rod shall bud, and I will make to cease from Me the murmurings etc. — this proves that the people did not [yet] believe, as a result of the fire, that the Levites were chosen [for service in the Sanctuary] and that the firstborn had been exchanged for them, but they thought that Moses and Aaron had caused the fire [of their own accord]. Or [it may be that the people thought] that the punishment came because they burnt the incense with strange fire which He had not commanded them, and [that Aaron was saved because] Aaron’s incense was the [daily] incense of the morning [commanded by G-d], as I have explained. [According to this interpretation] the complaint [of the people] was only about [those two hundred and fifty men who offered the incense and who were consumed by] the fire, but not about those men [Korach, Dathan, and Abiram] who were swallowed up by the earth, for G-d had said to Moses, Get you up from about the dwelling of Korach, Dathan, and Abiram, and this alluded to the opening of the mouth of the earth. Moses had told this to Israel in the name of G-d. Furthermore, Dathan and Abiram were guilty to a greater extent [in this incident than the two hundred and fifty others], since they mocked the messengers of G-d, and despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets. [Hence the people did not complain about the punishment meted out to Korach, Dathan, and Abiram, but only about the fire that consumed the two hundred and fifty men who offered up the incense.]The correct interpretation appears to me to be that the people now believed in the priesthood of Aaron [that he and his descendants were chosen by G-d to serve as priests], since a fire had already come forth ...
Ibn Ezra
"On the next day" — this is the same day [as the preceding narrative], for it always immediately follows. "You have killed" — the meaning is: what proof was this that the tribe of Levi is the chosen one, and that Aaron was chosen as High Priest? It is possible that through your prayer, or through knowledge you possessed, you caused the burning of those who offered incense.
Sforno
'אתם המתם את עם ה, by telling all these people to test G’d by offering incense, something that is only fit to be offered together with the public burnt-offering burned on the altar every day in the morning and evening by the individual priest performing that service. If you wanted to make such a test you should have done so with meat offerings, a procedure in which a large number of priests can participate.
Or HaChaim
וילנו כל עדת בני ישראל, The whole congregation of Israel murmured, etc. What is the meaning of the word לאמר in this verse? Seeing the complaint was directed only at Moses and Aaron as has been stated what could the word לאמר possibly add? Perhaps the people did not spell out their complaint as did the Torah., i.e. they did not actually say: "you have killed the people of G'd." They merely voiced complaints which amounted to much the same as if they had made this direct accusation which the Torah summarised here. The words וילנו לאמר read together were equivalent to their having said the words quoted in their name in our verse. Furthermore, the audacity of the people who had witnessed how Moses had not stood on ceremony but had himself gone to Datan and Aviram in order to give them a chance to escape death if they recanted, is impossible to understand. What could Moses and Aaron possibly have been guilty of? We must conclude therefore that the complaint of the people concerned the very type of test Moses and Aaron arranged, i.e. the offering of incense of all the associates of Korach at one and the same time. They claimed that Moses only had to make this test between Korach and Aaron and as a result, as soon as G'd had shown that He accepted the incense from Aaron and not from Korach, the other 250 men would have learned their lesson and would not have had to die by engaging in this confrontation. The word לאמר was an accusation against Moses who had made all these men offer incense. The people did not complain about the death of either Korach or Datan and Aviram. They were only angry at the death of the 250 men who represented the elite of the nation, its most senior judges, etc., who they claimed had died through an exercise orchestrated by Moses and Aaron. According to some of our sages, the people's complaint was directed at the very nature of the offering Moses had insisted on, i.e. קטורת, the holiest of the holy. He should have allowed them to perform a relatively minor form of Temple service instead. According to that view the word לאמר addresses the instruction to offer incense.
Chizkuni
אתם המתם את עם ה, “you are killing G-d’s people!” They meant that Moses and Aaron, by suggesting that the two hundred and fifty men offer incense, something non priests were forbidden to do, and were the direct cause of these people dying a sudden death. All of this had been caused by Moses and Aaron substituting the Levites for the firstborn, who previously were in their rights to offer incense.
Rabbeinu Bahya
וילונו כל עדת בני ישראל, “The entire community of the Children of Israel complained.” Seeing that already two different acts of retribution had occurred (to prove the authenticity of the leadership of Moses and Aaron), what was there possibly left for them to challenge, to complain about? Nachmanides writes that whereas after the burning to death of the people offering the incense the people did believe in the authenticity of Aaron as the High Priest, they still wanted that the firstborn perform the functions of the priests instead of the Levites. They still opposed the exchange of the firstborn in favour of the Levites. Their motivation was that they wanted that every tribe should have representatives who would perform the sacrificial service in the Tabernacle. אתם המיתם את עם ה', “you have brought about the death of the nation of the Lord!” They referred to Moses having advised the rebels to test the validity of their claim to priesthood by offering incense. They still maintained that these rebels (firstborn) had been entitled to perform the duties now assigned to the Levites though they may not have been entitled to perform priestly functions. This is also the meaning of the flowering of the staff of Aaron “from the house of Levi” in verse 23 [for who did not know that Aaron was a Levite? Ed.]. Thus far Nachmanides.
Tur HaArokh
אתם המתם את עם ה', “you have killed the people of Hashem. Nachmanides points out that Onkelos by his translation of אתון גרמתון דמות עמא, i.e. “you have caused the death of the people,” that the accusation meant that by inducing the 250 men to offer the incense, Moses and Aaron had made themselves guilty of their deaths. The people did not believe that this suggestion by Moses had been either made at the command of G’d, or even with the silent approval of G’d, but had been of his own doing. They felt that the point Moses and Aaron were trying to make could easily have been made by a test such as the one with the staffs, and then no one would have had to die. They claimed that Moses must have known that presenting incense in an unauthorized manner would lead to the death of those offering it. Their accusation then was: “although you knew that following your suggestion meant that they would die, you still made this suggestion.” Ibn Ezra, taking a different approach, writes that the people rejected the notion that the death of the 250 men as well as the death of Korach and his family proved that G’d had selected the tribe of Levi over the firstborn, and that Aaron was His choice as High Priest. Moses may simply have prayed to G’d to kill the rebels, and in his capacity of prophet, an undisputed capacity, G’d had accepted his prayer. Ibn Ezra’s explanation makes sense seeing that the people accepted the ruling that Aaron was the chosen High Priest only after the staff representing the tribe of Levi had sprouted blossoms and produced almonds, as we have been told in Concerning that experiment, the Torah had written (verse 20) that Hashem would cause the complaints against Him to cease. According to Ibn Ezra, the people’s complaint at this stage did not refer to the descent below the earth of Korach and his cohorts, it only concerned the death by burning of the 250 people who had genuinely wanted to come closer to G’d by exercising the privilege to present an incense offering. After all, they had all heard (or understood) that G’d had told Moses that the people should remove themselves from around Korach, whereas no such instruction had been given concerning standing close to the 250 men. The guilt of Datan and Aviram, who had publicly ridiculed G’d’s appointed leaders was obviously even greater, so that no one challenged the fact that they had died for their sin. Personally, (Nachmanides writing) the correct interpre-tation of all the foregoing is that the people did believe that Aaron was G’d’s chosen priest, for they had observed previously that fire had come down from heaven consuming his incense without his coming to any harm thereby. What the people wanted was that the firstborn be allowed to continue performing secondary tasks in the Tabernacle, the tasks that had now been allocated to the Levites. Only in this way, did they feel, would all the tribes have representation in the Tabernacle and the service being performed therein. They accused Moses of having designed a test for the firstborn that would have equated them with the priests, something that they had not even aspired to, and as a result by their overstepping themselves Moses had caused the death of these 250 firstborn.
Rashbam
'אתם המתם את עם ה, they meant that while they agreed that Datan and Aviram having been swallowed up by the earth as being an appropriate punishment for them, they did not see why the 250 men with them who had offered incense deserved the same fate.
Daat Zkenim
'אתם המיתם את עם ה, “you (Moses and Aaron) have killed the Lord’s people!” The people accused Moses and Aaron as having done this knowingly, as they knew telling them to offer incense outside the sacred soil of the Tabernacle would result in their death. After all, Nadav and Avihu who had been anointed as priests, as opposed to the 250 men Moses told to offer incense had been killed on the spot for doing so in the wrong place and at the wrong time. Moses told Aaron to take the fire-pans that had served these 250 men as the base for their incense and to demonstrate that it was not the incense nor the pans in which it had been offered that killed people but that it was their sins which killed them. When the people heard this, they replied that this was no proof, as they may have died seeing that they were not worthy of becoming priests. G–d therefore ordered Moses to take staffs from each of the leaders of the tribes of Israel and to place them side by side inside the Tent of testimony, (Tabernacle) each staff belonging to the respective leader of their tribe, (verse 17) [people whom they considered most worthy, Ed.]) In this way, from the results of this test, G–d hoped to silence the people’s complaints about nepotism once and for all. (verse 25)
And it came to pass, when the congregation was assembled against Moses and against Aaron, that they looked toward the tent of meeting; and, behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of Hashem appeared.
verse value 2010 — יְהֹוָֽה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 63 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָֽה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "and·it·was" (וַיְהִ֗י, 4 letters) and the longest is "and·against·Aaron" (וְעַֽל־אַהֲרֹ֔ן, 7 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Numbers. Unique to this verse in Numbers (hapax): "as·gathered" (בְּהִקָּהֵ֤ל), "had·covered·it" (כִסָּ֖הוּ), "Presence" (כְּב֥וֹד). 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 389x in Numbers); "against·Moses" (root משה, 217x in Numbers); "and·it·was" (root היה, 180x in Numbers). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'the·cloud', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 3 words. Full calculation: וַיְהִ֗י [and·it·was] (31) + בְּהִקָּהֵ֤ל [as·gathered] (142) + הָֽעֵדָה֙ [community] (84) + עַל־מֹשֶׁ֣ה [against·Moses] (445) + וְעַֽל־אַהֲרֹ֔ן [and·against·Aaron] (362) + וַיִּפְנוּ֙ [and·they·turned] (152) + אֶל־אֹ֣הֶל [toward·Tent] (67) + מוֹעֵ֔ד [Meeting] (120) + וְהִנֵּ֥ה [behold] (66) + כִסָּ֖הוּ [had·covered·it] (91) + הֶעָנָ֑ן [the·cloud] (175) + וַיֵּרָ֖א [and·appeared] (217) + כְּב֥וֹד [Presence] (32) + יְהֹוָֽה [Hashem] (26) = 2010.
Onkelos
And it came to pass, when the congregation gathered against Moses and against Aaron, that they turned toward the Tent of Meeting — and behold, the cloud had covered it, and the Glory of Hashem appeared.
Ibn Ezra
"When the community assembled" — every assembly, and after it [the word] "against" indicates contention.
Targum Yonatan
And it was, that when the congregation had gathered against Mosheh and Aharon to kill them, they looked towards the Tabernacle of Ordinance, and, behold, the Cloud of the Glory of the Shekinah covered it, and the Glory of the Lord was revealed there.
Verse structure: 4 words, 18 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֖ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֖ה, 4 letters) and the longest is "and·he·spoke" (וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר, 5 letters). 4 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 389x in Numbers); "saying" (root אמר, 246x in Numbers); "and·he·spoke" (root דבר, 149x in Numbers). Full calculation: וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר [and·he·spoke] (222) + יְהֹוָ֖ה [Hashem] (26) + אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה [to·Moses] (376) + לֵּאמֹֽר [saying] (271) = 895.
"Get you up from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment." And they fell upon their faces.
verse value 2427
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 40 letters. The shortest word is "them" (אֹתָ֖ם, 3 letters) and the longest is "on·their·faces" (עַל־פְּנֵיהֶֽם, 7 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Numbers. Unique to this verse in Numbers (hapax): "remove·yourselves" (הֵרֹ֗מּוּ). 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "on·their·faces" (root פנים, 119x in Numbers); "community" (root עדה, 79x in Numbers); "from·midst" (root תוך, 45x in Numbers). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·an·instant', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 2 words. Full calculation: הֵרֹ֗מּוּ [remove·yourselves] (251) + מִתּוֹךְ֙ [from·midst] (466) + הָעֵדָ֣ה [community] (84) + הַזֹּ֔את [this] (413) + וַאֲכַלֶּ֥ה [that·I·may·consume] (62) + אֹתָ֖ם [them] (441) + כְּרָ֑גַע [in·an·instant] (293) + וַֽיִּפְּל֖וּ [and·they·fell] (132) + עַל־פְּנֵיהֶֽם [on·their·faces] (285) = 2427.
Onkelos
"Separate yourselves from among this congregation, and I will consume them in an instant." And they fell upon their faces.
Ramban
GET YOU UP FROM AMONG THIS CONGREGATION, THAT I MAY CONSUME THEM IN A MOMENT. I have not understood the intention of this verse, nor of its companion above, Separate yourselves from among this congregation, for G-d has the power to kill many people in a plague around one righteous person, and he alone remains [alive], as happened during [the plague on] the firstborn of Egypt. Similarly it happened in all other plagues [throughout the generations], that three people would sleep under one blanket — two of them would die whilst the middle one would be saved! It would appear, therefore, that the wrath went forth to slay even the whole congregation with the death of these sinners [Korach and his associates], who had followed in their way, [and so became liable to death either] by the earth opening its mouth or by a consuming fire — these being general punishments which kill all those who are standing there together, unless a miracle of an unusual nature occurs [to save some individuals amongst the people]. Or it may be that the Holy One, blessed be He, said this [Get you up …] in honor of the righteous men, for as long as they were amongst them [the sinners], He would not stretch forth His hand against them. The intention in these and similar words is to inform them that they have to plead for mercy and forgiveness, and Moses in his zeal did so immediately.
Ibn Ezra
"Withdraw" — that they should remain in the elevated place within the Levite camp, which is the Tent, as I explained on the word "bring up." "And they fell on their faces" — to pray.
Or HaChaim
הרמו מתון העדה הזאת, "get up from amongst this congregation, etc." G'd did not speak about Moses and Aaron but to all those who had not joined the ones who had accused Moses and Aaron. Proof of the fact that my interpretation is correct is the word לאמר, which always means that others are to be informed. The word הזאת, "this," further indicates that only the people who had actively accused Moses of wrongdoing were slated to be destroyed. This also explains the need for G'd to have said הרומו altogether. After all, G'd has no problem in killing the wicked in the very presence of the righteous as He had done when He killed the firstborn in Egypt and their family members did not have to leave their houses first. If you accept our interpretation, however, the instruction הרמו makes sense as even the people not guilty of accusing Moses now were under sentence of death already and unless they demonstrated that they were not involved in this sin the angel of death would execute them now. (I refer you to my commentary on Numbers 16,21).
Tur HaArokh
הרומו מתוך העדה הזאת, “remove yourselves from among this congregation!” Nachmanides commences his commentary by writing that he fails to make sense of this whole verse, as well as of the parallel verse in 16,20 where Moses and Aaron are also commanded to put physical distance between themselves and the complainants. Why was this necessary? Surely G’d possesses the power to kill many people and leave those whom He does not wish to harm alive and unscathed without their first having to “run for their lives!” G’d had demonstrated this power when killing the firstborn in Egypt while no Israelite firstborn had to run for his life. Even Egyptian firstborn hiding in homes of the Israelites would not have been spared. We must assume that in our situation G’d’s anger was directed at people who formed part of an assembly, as this was indicative of their sympathies being with the person or persons at the core of that assembly. In order to be saved one had to demonstrate by an act, such as the act of removing oneself physically from the rebels, that one did not share their attitudes. It is also possible that G’d issued these instructions not so much in order to save the righteous as to show them respect, as He did not feel free to kill the wicked while the righteous were still among them, trying to get them to desist from their rebellious attitude. Moses hastened to inform the innocent that they themselves were in need of mercy, and that if they did not separate themselves they would share the fate of the sinners.
Rashbam
הרמו, a similar construction in the imperative mode to המולו in Jeremiah 4,4. However, on account of the letter ר in our word the vowel chirik has been changed to the vowel tzeyre. We encounter similar changes in the vowel pattern in such words as ברך, beyrech, and birech on account of the dagesh. The reason why the Torah speaks here of הרמו instead of הבדלו in 16,21 which was a far weaker command is that by now G’d’s anger was at full strength as Korach’s punishment had apparently not had the desired effect.
And Moses said to Aaron: "Take your fire-pan, and put fire in it from off the altar, and lay incense on it, and carry it quickly to the congregation, and make atonement for them; for there is wrath gone out from Hashem: the plague is begun."
verse value 5711 — יְהֹוָ֖ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 22 words, 97 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֖ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "take" (קַ֣ח, 2 letters) and the longest is "the·fire·pan" (אֶת־הַ֠מַּחְתָּ֠ה, 7 letters). 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Numbers. Unique to this verse in Numbers (hapax): "the·fire·pan" (אֶת־הַ֠מַּחְתָּ֠ה), "and·put·on·it" (וְתֶן־עָלֶ֨יהָ), "and·carry" (וְהוֹלֵ֧ךְ). The root אל appears 2 times in this verse. 20 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 389x in Numbers); "and·said" (root אמר, 246x in Numbers); "Moses" (root משה, 217x in Numbers). First appearance of the root חלל ("has·begun") in Numbers. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'for·them', dividing the verse into phrases of 16 and 6 words.
Onkelos
And Moses said to Aaron: "Take the fire-pan and put fire upon it from the altar, and place fragrant incense upon it, and go quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them — for wrath has gone out from before Hashem; the plague has begun."
Rashi
וכפר עליהם AND MAKE AN EXPIATION FOR THEM — This secret the Angel of Death communicated to him (Moses) when he went up unto heaven to receive the Torah, viz., that the incense holds back the plague — as is related in Treatise Shabbat 89a.
Ibn Ezra
"The fire-pan" — the well-known one. "And put incense" — it does not say "the incense," and the discerning reader will understand. "And go" — this is an imperative form, like "settle your father" (Gen. 47:6); its root is like holichi ["carry along"], and its meaning is "convey," like "he shall go with you."
Or HaChaim
קח את המחתה, "take the censer, etc." Inasmuch as the people had claimed that the reason the 250 men had died was due to Moses having challenged them to offer the deadly incense, Moses now wanted to demonstrate that incense is far from deadly; on the contrary, this very "deadly" incense would now save the people's lives. The reason the incense had appeared to be "deadly" was because the wrong people had offered it at the wrong time and at the wrong place. Our sages in Shabbat 89 claim that Moses had learned the life-saving property of the incense offering from the angel of death himself when he had been on Mount Sinai waiting to receive the Tablets and the Torah.
Chizkuni
אש מעל המזבח, “fire taken from the altar;” Moses warned Aaron not to err and because of haste to use non consecrated fire as had done two of his sons who had paid with their lives for their error. ושים קטרת, “and lay incense;” in order to show them that you are a priest, and that the incense which they thought is the cause of death, is actually the cause of life if used by people authorised to do so, i.e. a priest. וכפר עליהם, “and make atonement for them;” the smoke of the incense will act as a barrier against the plague.
Rabbeinu Bahya
כי יצא הקצף לפני ה' החל הנגף, “for wrath has gone forth from the Lord, the plague had commenced.” There is an angel whose name is קצף, whose power is derived from the attribute of Justice. As a result of this angel emerging from its “home” the plague had started to strike the Jewish people. Moses had become familiar with this angel at the time when the Torah had been given to the Jewish people. This is the meaning of Tanchuma Ki Tissa 20 on Exodus 32,2 where G’d had said to Moses: “Go and descend!” The message was that due to the people having committed the sin of the golden calf five destructive forces (angels) had been unleashed; they were the angels known as: אף, חמה, קצף, השמד, חרון. As soon as Moses mentioned the three patriarchs three of these angels were neutralized. This left the two angels אף and חמה who were still active, pursuing their destructive activities. This is what Moses had in mind in Deut. 9,19 when he said כי יגורתי מפני האף והחמה, “for I was afraid of Af and Chemah. In answer to Moses’ “fear,” G’d said to him: “you stand up against one of them!” [G’d meant that Moses’ personal merit was sufficient to neutralize at least one of these two angels. Ed.] “whereas I will deal with the second one.” This is the meaning of Psalms 7,7 קומה ה' באפך, “arise O Lord against Your אף,” [i.e. the angel known as אף. Ed.]. Moses himself was going to confront the other angel known as חמה, and this is the meaning of Psalms 106,23: לולא משה בחירו עמד בפרץ לפניו להשיב חמתו מהשחית, “if not Moses His choice one had stood in the breach to confront His angel Chemah preventing him from his destructive activities.” When the Torah here reports Aaron as ויעמוד בין המתים ובין החיים, “standing between the dead and between the living” (verse 13), the additional word ובין is very crucial. Had the Torah only written בין המתים והחיים, this would have indicated that the “dead” were in front of him whereas no living people were amongst that group. All the living were only behind Aaron. Now that the Torah added the word ובין this indicates that amongst the people in front and behind Aaron there were both living and dead. Aaron was truly in “the middle.” This is the meaning of the incense arresting the plague, i.e. that the effect of the incense was that the situation remained as it was; no additional people died. Any of the living who had been among the dead, surrounded by them did not die as a result. We learn from this verse that originally, before Aaron intervened with his incense, the destructive angel חמה had wreaked death without exception whenever he had struck a person. He was killing the living and uprooting the dead [depriving them of their share in the hereafter. Ed.] Now, even the dead that were found among the living were no longer subject to having their hereafter denied them. You find this thought echoed in Tanchuma Tetzaveh 15 where the Midrash examines the word החל, “commenced” in our verse and concludes that not only is the angel described as destroying systematically just as the reaper reaps in the field systematically, but the confrontation even with G’d is described. [It appears to me that when the Midrash speaks of the angel Chemah “uprooting” amongst the already dead, i.e. not skipping anyone in his destructive activity, this can only mean that he had power over the hereafter of those already slain. Ed.]
Rashbam
ושים קטורת, to teach the people the lesson that the same incense which is causing death when used by non priests is a remedy when used by the priests. This is further priests that only the priests are worthy of performing sacrificial service.
And Aaron took as Moses spoke, and ran into the midst of the assembly; and, behold, the plague was begun among the people; and he put on the incense, and made atonement for the people.
verse value 4826
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 66 letters. The shortest word is "had·spoken" (דִּבֶּ֣ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "the·incense" (אֶֽת־הַקְּטֹ֔רֶת, 7 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Numbers. Unique to this verse in Numbers (hapax): "the·incense" (אֶֽת־הַקְּטֹ֔רֶת), "for·the·people" (עַל־הָעָֽם). 16 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "as" (root אשר, 223x in Numbers); "Moses" (root משה, 217x in Numbers); "had·spoken" (root דבר, 149x in Numbers). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'among·the·people', dividing the verse into phrases of 12 and 4 words.
Onkelos
And Aaron took it as Moses had spoken, and he ran into the midst of the assembly — and behold, the plague had begun among the people — and he placed the fragrant incense and made atonement for the people.
Or HaChaim
ויקח אהרן כאשר דבר משה, And Aaron took just as Moses had said, etc. This means that Aaron did so as soon as he received the instructions from Moses. Aaron's action is remarkable because he had witnessed what happens when one offers incense at the wrong time. and the wrong place. He might have waited until the appropriate time and offered it inside the Sanctuary. Instead, he knowingly endangered himself having received his instructions from Moses the acknowledged prophet who was entitled to violate a commandment temporarily in order to deal with an emergency. Another example of a prophet acting in this manner was the prophet Elijah on Mount Carmel when he repaired a private altar at a time when private altars were forbidden (Kings I 18,30).
And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed.
verse value 1727
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 32 letters. The shortest word is "and·between" (וּבֵ֣ין, 4 letters) and the longest is "between·the·dead" (בֵּֽין־הַמֵּתִ֖ים, 8 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Numbers. Unique to this verse in Numbers (hapax): "between·the·dead" (בֵּֽין־הַמֵּתִ֖ים), "the·living" (הַֽחַיִּ֑ים). The root בין appears 2 times in this verse. 5 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "between·the·dead" (root בין, 22x in Numbers); "and·he·stood" (root עמד, 20x in Numbers). First appearance of the root עצר ("and·was·checked") in Numbers. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'the·living', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 2 words. Full calculation: וַיַּעֲמֹ֥ד [and·he·stood] (130) + בֵּֽין־הַמֵּתִ֖ים [between·the·dead] (557) + וּבֵ֣ין [and·between] (68) + הַֽחַיִּ֑ים [the·living] (73) + וַתֵּעָצַ֖ר [and·was·checked] (766) + הַמַּגֵּפָֽה [the·plague] (133) = 1727.
Onkelos
And he stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was stopped.
Rashi
ויעמד בין המתים וגו׳ AND HE STOOD BETWEEN THE DEAD [AND THE LIVING] — He (Aaron) seized the Angel of Death and stopped him despite himself. The angel said to him, “Let me be, so that I may carry out my commission!” He (Aaron) answered him, “Moses has bidden me prevent you”. The angel replied, “I am the messenger of the Omnipresent whilst you are but the messenger of Moses!” Aaron retorted, “Moses does not say anything out of his own mind, but only at the command of the Almighty. If you do not believe me, behold, the Holy One, blessed be He, and Moses are at the entrance of the appointed tent; come with me and ask them!” This is the meaning of what is stated (v. 15): And Aaron returned unto Moses (i.e. returned together with the Angel of Death) (cf. Midrash Tanchuma, Tetzaveh 15 at end of תצוה). Another explanation is: Wherefore was the plague stayed by means of the incense? Because the Israelites were traducing and speaking ill of the incense, saying, “It is a deadly poison: through it Nadab and Abihu died; through it the two hundred and fifty men were burnt!” therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, said, You will see that it is also a means for restraining the plague, and it is only sin that brings death” (Mekhilta on Exodus 17:5).
Sforno
ויעמוד בין המתים ובין החיים, after he had already reached that spot he waited in order to help cure the ones who had taken sick but had not died yet. Instead of distancing himself from the congregation of sinners (verse 21) Aaron did the opposite in order to save whom he could save. ותעצר המגפה. Not a single Israelite was struck by the pestilence from that moment on.
Or HaChaim
ויעמד בין המתים ובין החיים. He stood between the dead and between the living. This expression can best be understood with the help of Tanchuma on Tetzaveh paragraph 15. The Midrash explains there that Aaron took hold of the angel of death physically and prevented him from killing. At the same time he counted the number of dead to make sure that the angel of death would not add to their number. The correct translation of our verse then is: "he stood, i.e. arrested or limited the number of dead that had died from amongst the living." This explains why the Torah added that at that moment the number of dead from the plague was (already) 14,700. No additional people died once Aaron offered the incense.
Rashbam
ויעמד בין המתים וכין החיים, the destroyer (angel of death) did not cross beyond where the incense was held by Aaron.
Now they that died by the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, besides them that died about the matter of Korah.
verse value 3631
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 51 letters. The shortest word is "·teen" (עָשָׂ֛ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "on·account·of·Korah" (עַל־דְּבַר־קֹֽרַח, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 495: those·who·died, those·who·died. 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Numbers. Unique to this verse in Numbers (hapax): "on·account·of·Korah" (עַל־דְּבַר־קֹֽרַח). The root מות appears 2 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·came·to" (root היה, 180x in Numbers); "on·account·of·Korah" (root דבר, 149x in Numbers); "thousand" (root אלף, 103x in Numbers). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'hundred', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 3 words. Full calculation: וַיִּהְי֗וּ [and·came·to] (37) + הַמֵּתִים֙ [those·who·died] (495) + בַּמַּגֵּפָ֔ה [of·the·plague] (130) + אַרְבָּעָ֥ה [four] (278) + עָשָׂ֛ר [·teen] (570) + אֶ֖לֶף [thousand] (111) + וּשְׁבַ֣ע [and·seven] (378) + מֵא֑וֹת [hundred] (447) + מִלְּבַ֥ד [aside·from] (76) + הַמֵּתִ֖ים [those·who·died] (495) + עַל־דְּבַר־קֹֽרַח [on·account·of·Korah] (614) = 3631.
Onkelos
And those who died in the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, apart from those who died on account of the dispute of Korah.
And Aaron returned to Moses to the door of the tent of meeting, and the plague was stayed.
verse value 2179 — אֹ֣הֶל = 36 (double-Chai)
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 36 letters. Notable word values: "Tent" (אֹ֣הֶל) = 36, double chai. The shortest word is "Tent" (אֹ֣הֶל, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·the·plague" (וְהַמַּגֵּפָ֖ה, 6 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Numbers. Unique to this verse in Numbers (hapax): "and·the·plague" (וְהַמַּגֵּפָ֖ה), "was·checked" (נֶעֱצָֽרָה). The root אל appears 2 times in this verse. 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·Moses" (root אל, 85x in Numbers); "Aaron" (root אהרן, 83x in Numbers); "Tent" (root אהל, 70x in Numbers). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Meeting', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 2 words. Full calculation: וַיָּ֤שׇׁב [and·returned] (318) + אַהֲרֹן֙ [Aaron] (256) + אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה [to·Moses] (376) + אֶל־פֶּ֖תַח [at·entrance·of] (519) + אֹ֣הֶל [Tent] (36) + מוֹעֵ֑ד [Meeting] (120) + וְהַמַּגֵּפָ֖ה [and·the·plague] (139) + נֶעֱצָֽרָה [was·checked] (415) = 2179.
Onkelos
And Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, and the plague had been stopped.
Ibn Ezra
The meaning of "and Aaron returned" is connected to the following passage, even though there is a section break between them — and I have already shown you many such instances. For when Aaron returned, the plague was stopped, and Hashem spoke.
Sforno
ותעצר המגפה. Not a single Israelite was struck by the pestilence from that moment on.
Or HaChaim
וישב אהרן…והמגפה נעצרה. Aaron returned and the plague had been arrested. The reason the Torah repeats once more that the plague had been arrested is to inform us that even after the cloud of smoke from the incense had dissipated the plague did not break out again. We should not think that the effect of Aaron's offering was limited to while he was in the process of offering incense. We might have thought so in view of what the Torah told us in Exodus 17,11 that Israel's army prevailed over Amalek only while Moses managed to keep his hands raised heavenwards. We may also understand this repetition in light of the Midrash Tanchuma on that verse who claims that the angel of death refused to take orders from Aaron until Aaron brought him to the entrance of the Tabernacle where he heard from the voice of G'd that he was to desist. The meaning of the word והמגפה would then be a reference to the angel of death who is defined as "the plague." At this juncture the angel of death agreed to become inactive, i.e. to stop killing the people of Israel. Whereas in the previous verse the Torah wrote ותעצר המגפה, in this instance the Torah wrote והמגפה נעצרה. In the previous verse the Torah refers to Aaron's role in stopping the plague although the angel of death had not agreed yet; in this verse the Torah describes that the cause of the plague, i.e. the angel of death himself agreed to desist.
Rabbeinu Bahya
וישב אהרן אל משה אל פסח אהל מועד והמגפה נעצרה, “Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting and the plague had been arrested.” Seeing that the Torah had already reported in verse 13 that as soon as Aaron put incense in his censer and stood between the living and the dead the plague stopped, why did the Torah have to repeat the fact that the plague had been arrested? The Torah teaches us here that Aaron forced the angel to come to the entrance of the Tabernacle where Moses stood. This is part of what is described in Tanchuma Tetzaveh 15, excerpts of which we have quoted already. When the angel had challenged Aaron’s interference saying that he was an agent of G’d, Aaron had countered that he was an agent of Moses. The angel ridiculed this saying that Aaron was only the messenger of a mortal human being whereas he was the messenger of eternal G’d. Aaron challenged the angel to accompany him to the entrance of the Tabernacle where both G’d and Moses could be found. The angel refused to accompany Aaron until the latter took hold of his loins and dragged him along. The Torah alludes to all this when it reports about Moses’ last day on earth in Deut. 33,11 when he blesses each of the tribes and writes ברך ה' חילו ופועל ידיו תרצה, “may the Lord bless his (Aaron’s) resources and may the work of his hands be pleasing (in the eyes of the Almighty).” This was a veiled reference to Aaron’s performance in our paragraph. Moses wished that future High Priests from the tribe of Levi be similarly successful in their efforts to intercede on behalf of the Jewish people when the need would arise to do so. The whole passage teaches how beloved the offering of incense is in the eyes of the Lord.
Verse structure: 4 words, 18 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֖ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֖ה, 4 letters) and the longest is "and·he·spoke" (וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר, 5 letters). 4 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 389x in Numbers); "saying" (root אמר, 246x in Numbers); "and·he·spoke" (root דבר, 149x in Numbers). Full calculation: וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר [and·he·spoke] (222) + יְהֹוָ֖ה [Hashem] (26) + אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה [to·Moses] (376) + לֵּאמֹֽר [saying] (271) = 895.
Onkelos
And Hashem spoke with Moses, saying:
Rashbam
'ויקח מאתם מטה, מטה וגו, after the people had complained about the incense accusing Moses and Aaron as causing death among the people (verse 6) and there had not been clear cut proof that the priesthood was reserved for Aaron and his direct descendants, G’d told Moses that He would furnish additional proof of this, the kind of proof which would preclude any further challenge to this as an established fact confirmed by G’d through a miracle.
"Speak to the children of Israel, and take of them rods, one for each fathers' house, of all their princes according to their fathers' houses, twelve rods; you shall write every man's name upon his rod.
verse value 7235
Insights
Verse structure: 20 words, 80 letters. The shortest word is "father" (אָ֜ב, 2 letters) and the longest is "all·their·chieftains" (כׇּל־נְשִֽׂיאֵהֶם֙, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 442: for·house·of, for·house·of. 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Numbers. Unique to this verse in Numbers (hapax): "and·take" (וְקַ֣ח), "father" (אָ֜ב), "all·their·chieftains" (כׇּל־נְשִֽׂיאֵהֶם֙). The root מטה appears 4 times in this verse. 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Israel" (root ישראל, 183x in Numbers); "speak!" (root דבר, 149x in Numbers); "each" (root איש, 130x in Numbers). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'staffs', dividing the verse into phrases of 16 and 4 words.
Onkelos
"Speak to the children of Israel and take from them a staff — a staff for each ancestral house, from all their leaders, for their ancestral houses: twelve staffs. Each man's name you shall write upon his staff.
Ramban
TWELVE RODS. Aaron’s rod was one of the twelve, since it does not say: “and you shall take a rod for the house of Levi and write Aaron’s name upon it” [but instead it says in the following verse, And thou shalt write Aaron’s name upon the rod of Levi]; for he was included in the number mentioned. Thus Joseph was counted as only one tribe [and not as two separate tribes — Ephraim and Menasheh], the reason being that the tribes of Israel are always counted as twelve, and because He counted Levi [here as one tribe], He counted Joseph as only one. I will explain this further in Seder V’zoth Habrachah, if G-d will bless me to reach it [in my commentary]. THOU SHALT WRITE EVERY MAN’S NAME UPON HIS ROD. Some commentators explain that this refers to the name of the founder of the tribe: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah. The correct interpretation is that it means the names of the [present] princes [of the tribes at that time], and He considered Aaron the prince of the tribe of Levi. It was necessary to explain that they each had only one rod and one prince, meaning: “Even though I have divided them [the Levites] into two families, the priests separately and the Levites separately, yet they are [in fact] one tribe, and have only one prince.” The reason for this is as I have explained, that they only needed proof that it was that tribe [i.e., the tribe of Levi] which was chosen out of all the tribes of Israel [to minister in the Tabernacle].
Ibn Ezra
"Staff" — some say that the staff of Levi was not the staff of God, since that one was already recognizable — so what need was there to write Aaron's name on it? Others say that the staff was like all the other staffs, with no difference among them — and this seems correct to me. The meaning of "for his ancestral house" — the tribes of Israel, such as Reuben and Simeon.
Or HaChaim
דבר אל בני ישראל וקח מאתם, "speak to the children of Israel and take from them, etc." The expressions דבר plus קח suggest that we are speaking about two separate subjects. G'd said דבר, referring to the fact that 1) the Israelites were to bring one rod representing their respective tribes; 2) Moses was to accept these rods from them. Although the Torah did not spell out who was to bring these rods to Moses, the letter ו at the beginning of the words וקח alludes to this. [The problem is that the Torah did not spell out exactly what it was that Moses was to take from the children of Israel. Ed.] An additional reason for the Torah to write וקח with the extra letter ו may be that this demonstration was additional to the conversion of the 250 censers into covers for the altar which had also been described as being a memorial to what happened to Korach and associates. The people had to be given visual evidence that G'd had chosen Aaron. מאתם…מאת כל נשיאהם, "from them…from all their princes." The reason the Torah said both מאתם and did not content itself with writing מאת נשיאהם, is to ensure that Moses would accept these rods only from the princes and that he should not set aside 12 rods on behalf of the respective tribes. Had the Torah only written that Moses was to take these rods from the princes this would not have obligated the princes to come forward and present Moses with these rods. Moses could have acted as their representative and assigned a rod for each tribe. Alternatively, we could have thought that if the Torah had only written the words מאת נשיאהם this meant that the rods should be the property of the various princes but that Moses should take them, i.e. select them; therefore the Torah added the word מאתם to teach that the princes themselves must bring these rods to Moses. At any rate, the reason the Torah was so specific was to prevent anyone from claiming afterwards that Moses had selected a rod for them that never had a chance to blossom and that therefore the fact that Aaron's rod blossomed did not prove anything.
Chizkuni
וקח מאתם מטה מטה, “and take from each of them a staff;” seeing that they are still complaining about the tribe (מטה) of Levi being the one G-d has selected to perform special duties, they were to realise that the significance of handling incense was not something that applied only to Aaron, but that Aaron’s tribe, the Levites, had a special role to perform. There was a need to demonstrate this by an additional miracle.
Tur HaArokh
שנים עשר מטות, “twelve staffs.” Aaron’s staff was included in the twelve, seeing that it does not say that Moses should take the staff of Levi and inscribe Aaron’s name on it, but it does say: “inscribe Aaron’s name on the staff representing the tribe of Levi.” In other words, there already was a staff representing the tribe of Levi. The tribe of Joseph was represented here by only one staff as it is axiomatic that the total number of tribes in the Jewish people would be 12 at all times. Nachmanides writes that there are some scholars who believe that the meaning of the words is that the names of the respective staffs were Reuven, Shimon, Levi, etc., but this is not correct. The names inscribed were those of the princes of each tribe at that time, i.e. Elitzur, Shlumiel, etc, and Levi’s prince was Aaron.
And you shall write Aaron's name upon the rod of Levi, for there shall be one rod for the head of their fathers' houses.
verse value 3514 — אֶחָ֔ד = 13 (echad/ahavah)
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 41 letters. Notable word values: "one" (אֶחָ֔ד) = 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "for" (כִּ֚י, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·name·of" (וְאֵת֙ שֵׁ֣ם, 5 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Numbers. Unique to this verse in Numbers (hapax): "and·name·of" (וְאֵת֙ שֵׁ֣ם), "for·head·of" (לְרֹ֖אשׁ). The root מטה appears 2 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "one" (root אחד, 165x in Numbers); "on·staff·of" (root מטה, 111x in Numbers); "Aaron" (root אהרן, 83x in Numbers). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Levi', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 6 words. Full calculation: וְאֵת֙ שֵׁ֣ם [and·name·of] (747) + אַהֲרֹ֔ן [Aaron] (256) + תִּכְתֹּ֖ב [you·shall·inscribe] (822) + עַל־מַטֵּ֣ה [on·staff·of] (154) + לֵוִ֑י [Levi] (46) + כִּ֚י [for] (30) + מַטֶּ֣ה [staff] (54) + אֶחָ֔ד [one] (13) + לְרֹ֖אשׁ [for·head·of] (531) + בֵּ֥ית [house·of] (412) + אֲבוֹתָֽם [their·ancestors] (449) = 3514.
Onkelos
And Aaron's name you shall write upon the staff of Levi, for there is one staff for the head of each ancestral house.
Rashi
כי מטה אחד FOR ONE STAFF SHALL BE (FOR THE HEAD OF THE HOUSE OF THEIR FATHERS) — i.e. although I have divided them into two families, the family of the priests apart, and that of the Levites apart, yet it is only one tribe, [and they shall therefore have but one staff].
Ibn Ezra
The meaning of "for one staff" — because the tribe was divided between the priests and the Levites.
Or HaChaim
ואת שם אהרון תכתב על מטה לוי, "and you will inscribe the name Aaron on the rod of the tribe of Levi." The Torah had to mention this as it had not previously written that the tribe of Levi was one of the 12 tribes for whom rods were to be taken. [Menashe and Ephrayim could have made up the tribe of Joseph. Ed.] It is possible that the whole procedure was that they took one long rod and divided it into 12 equal lengths and every tribal head came and took one length of the same original rod. In that way the test was absolutely fair as all the parts of that rod had come from the same root. If this was the procedure we can also understand the meaning of the words ומטה אהרון בתוך מטותם, "that the rod of Aaron was a part of their rods" (verse 21). I have found an opinion quoted in Bamidbar Rabbah 18,23 which confirms what I have just written.
Chizkuni
כי מטה אחד, “for there shall be one staff, etc.” even though there is an internal division between ordinary Levites and the priests, they all belong to the same tribe.”
Rabbeinu Bahya
כי מטה אחד לראש בית אבותם, For there shall be one staff for each head of an ancestral house - meaning that even though the tribe was divided between Preistes and Levites, [they were still] one staff for the head of their ancestral house.
And it shall come to pass, that the man whom I shall choose, his rod shall bud; and I will make to cease from Me the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against you."
verse value 5087 — וְהָיָ֗ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 15 words, 65 letters. Notable word values: "and·it·shall·be" (וְהָיָ֗ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "they" (הֵ֥ם, 2 letters) and the longest is "mutterings·of" (אֶת־תְּלֻנּוֹת֙, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 501: whom, which. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Numbers. Unique to this verse in Numbers (hapax): "I·choose·him" (אֶבְחַר־בּ֖וֹ), "shall·sprout" (יִפְרָ֑ח), "and·I·will·still" (וַהֲשִׁכֹּתִ֣י). The root אשר appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "sons·of" (root בן, 499x in Numbers); "whom" (root אשר, 223x in Numbers); "Israel" (root ישראל, 183x in Numbers). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'shall·sprout', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 9 words.
Onkelos
And the man whom I favor — his staff shall blossom; and I will cause to cease from before Me the murmuring of the children of Israel, which they murmur against you."
Rashi
והשכתי AND I WILL CAUSE TO CEASE — This word is the same as in (Genesis 8:1) “and the waters abated (וישכו)”; (Esther 7:10) “and the wrath of the king was abated (שככה)”.
Ibn Ezra
"And I will quiet" — this is from the class of doubled-root verbs [root: שכך], like the form ve-hatimmoti ("and I will consume") in "and I will consume your impurity" (Ezek. 22:15), which is derived from the same root as "the king's fury abated" (Esth. 7:10). The meaning of "and I will quiet" — in the manner of human beings, to find rest. The staff of Levi was among the twelve, and Joseph counted as one staff.
Or HaChaim
והיה האיש אשר אבחר בו, "and it will be that the rod of the man whom I choose will bud." All the miracles G'd had performed with Korach had not sufficed to convince the people. Perhaps this was because the people thought that Korach's sin was that he challenged Moses so that G'd had had to defend the honour of His prophet, but that this did not prove that G'd was not willing to choose another tribe from which the High Priest would be chosen.
Chizkuni
והשכותי מעלי את תלונות בני ישראל, “and I will put an end to the complaints of the Children of Israel against Me.” Their complaints were that you, Moses and Aaron, had acted arbitrarily when selecting a special rank for the members of the tribe of Levi in lieu of the firstborns of each family.
Rabbeinu Bahya
והיה האיש אשר אבחר בו מטהו יפרח והשיכותי מעלי את תלונות בני ישראל, “it will be that the staff of the man whom I choose will sprout, and I will rid Myself, etc.” This verse teaches that there were still some people who complained and challenged the established hierarchy even though G’d had already employed three different methods of punishments for the people challenging same, i.e. “swallowing by the earth, burning by fire and now death through the plague.” G’d now felt the time had come to make Aaron’s staff sprout seeing that the swallowing of Korach had proven that the firstborn had been disqualified in the eyes of the Lord as priests and the burning of the non-priests who had dared offer incense had proven that Aaron was the High Priest; the plague had shown that the people’s demand to have the firstborn officiate as Levites if not as priests was not acceptable. However, there were still people complaining as we know from G’d saying that He hoped the new measure, i.e. demonstrating which of the staffs of the tribes would sprout and produce fruit would settle the matter. If it would be the staff of Aaron (the Levite) this should finally put to rest any lingering doubt about the role of the tribe of Levi in the hierarchy of the Jewish people. The fact that the staff of Levi sprouted something positive, i.e. blossoms and fruit, was in contrast to the challengers whose actions had produced negative fallout for themselves on three occasions. The Torah stresses the words: “the house of Levi,” to show that it was not merely Aaron’s appointment that was confirmed thereby but the appointment of the entire tribe of Levi for its respective task as outlined in Numbers chapter eight.
Rashbam
והשיכותי, the word is derived from שככה, “calmed down,” as in Esther 7,10 which describes the king’s state of mind once Haman at whom he had been furious had been hanged.
And Moses spoke to the children of Israel; and all their princes gave him rods, for each prince one, according to their fathers' houses, even twelve rods; and the rod of Aaron was among their rods.
verse value 6651 — אֶחָ֜ד = 13 (echad/ahavah)
Insights
Verse structure: 22 words, 94 letters. Notable word values: "one" (אֶחָ֜ד) = 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "Moses" (מֹשֶׁ֜ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "all·their·chieftains" (כׇּֽל־נְשִׂיאֵיהֶ֡ם, 9 letters). Words sharing gematria 391: for·chieftain, for·chieftain. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Numbers. Unique to this verse in Numbers (hapax): "all·their·chieftains" (כׇּֽל־נְשִׂיאֵיהֶ֡ם), "their·staffs" (מַטּוֹתָֽם). The root מטה appears 5 times in this verse. 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Moses" (root משה, 217x in Numbers); "Israel" (root ישראל, 183x in Numbers); "one" (root אחד, 165x in Numbers). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'staffs', dividing the verse into phrases of 18 and 4 words.
Onkelos
And Moses spoke to the children of Israel, and all their leaders gave him a staff, one staff per leader, one staff per leader, for their ancestral houses — twelve staffs — and Aaron's staff was among their staffs.
Rashi
בתוך מטותם [AND THE STAFF OF AARON WAS] IN THE MIDST OF THEIR STAVES — He placed Aarons staff in the middle (בתוך) in order that people should not say, “It is only because he placed it at the side where the Shechinah is that it blossomed” (Midrash Tanchuma, Achrei Mot 8 on אחרי מות).
Rabbeinu Bahya
ומטה אהרן בתוך מטותם, “and Aaron’s staff among their staffs.” [בתוך מטותם can be translated "in the middle of their staffs." The other tribes’ staffs were placed surrounding that of Aaron] so that it could not be argued that this miracle occurred because only his staff had been deposited near the Shechinah.
And Moses laid up the rods before Hashem in the tent of the testimony.
verse value 1987 — יְהֹוָ֑ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 29 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֑ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "Moses" (מֹשֶׁ֛ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "the·staffs" (אֶת־הַמַּטֹּ֖ת, 6 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Numbers. Unique to this verse in Numbers (hapax): "and·he·deposited" (וַיַּנַּ֥ח), "the·staffs" (אֶת־הַמַּטֹּ֖ת). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 389x in Numbers); "Moses" (root משה, 217x in Numbers); "before" (root פנים, 119x in Numbers). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Hashem', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 2 words. Full calculation: וַיַּנַּ֥ח [and·he·deposited] (74) + מֹשֶׁ֛ה [Moses] (345) + אֶת־הַמַּטֹּ֖ת [the·staffs] (855) + לִפְנֵ֣י [before] (170) + יְהֹוָ֑ה [Hashem] (26) + בְּאֹ֖הֶל [in·Tent·of] (38) + הָעֵדֻֽת [the·Pact] (479) = 1987.
Onkelos
And Moses deposited the staffs before Hashem in the Tabernacle of the Testimony.
Chizkuni
וינח משה , “and Moses laid out, etc.” the letter נ in the word וינח, has a dot in it.
And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses went into the tent of the testimony; and, behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and put forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and bore ripe almonds.
verse value 4111
Insights
Verse structure: 17 words, 71 letters. The shortest word is "Moses" (מֹשֶׁה֙, 3 letters) and the longest is "staff·of·Aaron" (מַטֵּֽה־אַהֲרֹ֖ן, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 288: had·sprouted, blossoms. 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Numbers. Unique to this verse in Numbers (hapax): "staff·of·Aaron" (מַטֵּֽה־אַהֲרֹ֖ן), "and·it·blossomed" (וַיָּ֣צֵֽץ), "blossoms" (צִ֔יץ). The root פרח appears 2 times in this verse. 16 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Moses" (root משה, 217x in Numbers); "and·it·was" (root היה, 180x in Numbers); "staff·of·Aaron" (root מטה, 111x in Numbers). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Levi', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 6 words.
Onkelos
And it came to pass on the following day that Moses entered the Tabernacle of the Testimony — and behold, Aaron's staff for the house of Levi had blossomed: it had put forth buds, and produced blossoms, and bore ripe almonds.
Rashi
ויצא פרח AND IT BROUGHT FORTH A BLOSSOM — Take this as what it literally implies. ציץ is the first stage in the growth of the fruit when the blossom has fallen off. ויגמל שקדים AND RIPENED INTO ALMONDS — This means that when the fruit was recognisable as such it could be recognised that they were almonds. The verb has the same meaning as in (Genesis 21:8) “And the child grew ויגמל, and became a full child” (i.e., able to do without its mother’s milk). This expression is frequently used of the fruit of trees, as e.g. (Isaiah 18:5) “And the blossom becometh a ripening (גמל) grape” (cf. Rashi on Genesis 40:10). — But why did it bring forth almonds? Because it is a fruit that blossoms earlier than all other fruits; so, too, the punishment of him who sets himself in opposition to the constituted priesthood comes quickly, just as we find stated in the case of Uzziah (II Chronicles 26:19) “And the leprosy instantly broke out in his forehead”. — Its translation in the Targum is: וכפת שגדין, meaning that it produced a kind of cluster of almonds, knotted together one upon the other (Aramaic כפת denotes “tied”).
Ibn Ezra
"For the house of Levi" — the staff of the minister himself, and alongside him another — the staff of Aaron — the staff for the house of Levi. "And it had put forth buds" — from the same root as "and the child grew and was weaned" (Gen. 21:8). Many said it produced almonds because the staff was of almond wood — but this is not proof; it is a homiletical interpretation, reading "almonds" (shekeidim) as an allusion to "for I am watchful" (shoked ani).
Or HaChaim
ויגמל שקדים, it bore ripe almonds. Our sages in Bamidbar Rabbah 18,23 say that the reason G'd chose almonds was to serve as a warning that anyone who would challenge that the priesthood belonged to the descendants of Aaron would be dealt with very promptly. It appears to me that what forced the sages to come to this conclusion was that if someone is desirous of having a miracle performed for him he does not wish the fruit to ripen prematurely as this could reflect something negative about the one who performs the miracle and is unable to deliver fully ripened fruit. If G'd nonetheless exposed Himself to such an interpretation by the people who watched this miracle it could only be because He had considerations which outweighed those of how His own image was being perceived.
Chizkuni
ויצא פרח, “and bloomed blossoms;” this was to be a symbol that the young priests would come forth from the sons of Aaron. ויצץ ציץ, “it had budded;” a sign that priests would come forth. The High Priests descended from Aaron would wear this ציץ, headband, engraved with the word: kodesh, holy, on their forehand (compare Exodus 28,36). ויגמול שקדים, “it bore ripe almonds.” This was an allusion to the eagerness with which the priests descended from Aaron would perform their duties. Throughout history the priests were lauded for the eagerness with which they performed their duties. They were cited as examples of such eagerness, i.e. כהנים זריזים הם (compare Talmud tractate Shabbat, folio 20) According to some opinions, this phenomenon of Aaron’s staff producing blossoms and almonds was also one of the miracles for which G-d had provided the potential during dusk on the sixth day of creation. (Compare tractate Avot, chapter 5, Mishnah 6)
Rabbeinu Bahya
והנה פרח מטה אהרן לבית לוי, “and behold! The staff of Aaron, representing the ancestral house of Levi, sprouted, etc.” It did so because Aaron was part of the ancestral house of Levi. ויוצא פרח ויצץ ציץ, “it had brought forth sprouts, produced blossoms, and borne almonds.” The reason the staff produced almonds instead of some other fruit [seeing the almond is not one of the fruit for which the land of Israel is famous, Ed.] is because not only are almonds highly regarded but they are the first to mature after winter. The word שקד suggests a kind of eagerness such as the prophet Jeremiah describing G’d as “eager” to carry out His promise/threat [having shown Jeremiah an almond tree in a vision, Jeremiah 1,11-12. Ed.]. In that particular instance the almond tree symbolized the bitter taste of some almonds and G’d used it as a threat of the Jewish people tasting the bitterness of exile. We have other examples of similar meanings of the simile of almonds. The people of Israel were to learn from this that if someone challenges the hierarchy as established by the Torah not only would he be punished but his punishment would be swift. The attribute of Justice would be activated against such a person. King Uzziah was a case in point; he was punished immediately he offered incense, his forehead becoming afflicted with tzoraat, the dreaded skin disease (Chronicles II 26,19).
Kli Yakar
“And behold, Aaron’s rod blossomed, etc.” This hints that God does not judge by what appears to human eyes. Even if one appears as a dry stick without the moisture of water, Torah, and wisdom, the Holy One, Blessed be He, can make it blossom. And conversely, as concluded in the Yalkut (in Ezekiel 17, see there) which interpreted regarding Korah and Aaron the verse I have dried up the green tree and made the dry tree flourish (Ezekiel 17:24). It may be that from here extends the source that everything in the Temple was blooming and bearing fruit, even the gold that was called parvaim [choice gold]. And it brought forth blossoms — this was a sign for the young priests who were called pirchei kehunah [the flowers of priesthood]. And it budded [yatzetz tzitz] — this is a sign for the high priests who wore the tzitz, the holy crown. And it yielded almonds — this was in the merit of he ran into the midst of the congregation, etc. to stop the plague, and in the merit that priests are zealous in their service, God rewarded him by yielding almonds, which connotes diligence [shekidut] and swiftness. And he merited the gifts, as it is said, And I, behold, I have given you (Numbers 18:8). The language of “behold” [hineh] indicates zealousness, as Rashi explained in Parashat Vayeshev (Genesis 37:13) on And he said, “Here I am” [hineni] — an expression of humility and zealousness. And Rashi explained here that “behold” [hineh] indicates joy, as it says, Behold, he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart (Exodus 4:14). The reason for this is that every “hineh” [behold] is an expression of zealousness, and whenever a person acts zealously, surely they are happy in their actions. Just as Aaron was happy to greet his brother Moses, who was younger than him, and was not jealous of his authority, in this merit Aaron was given the authority of the priesthood to be anointed with joy. This is what is meant by And I, behold, I have given you — in the merit of behold, he is coming out to meet you. And above in the verse in the morning, the Lord will make known, God gave him the gifts in the morning with a shining face, with joy, as is customary for everything given properly to one who asks. And our Sages said (Shabbat 139a) that in the merit of and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart, Aaron deserved to wear the breastplate of judgment on his heart, because it is said He guides the humble in justice (Psalms 25:9). As was explained above in Parashat Mishpatim (Exodus 21:1), this path of humility was his, that he rejoiced in his brother’s authority. And our Sages said (Chullin 89a): Great is what was said about Moses and Aaron, as it is written What are we? (Exodus 16:8). And likewise concerning Aaron it is written And what is Aaron? (Numbers 16:12). For he considered himself as nothing, as if he were a dry stick with no moisture at all. Therefore, he merited that Aaron’s dry rod blossomed. And the reason they gave him twenty-four gifts, corresponding to the twenty-four books [of the Bible], as Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachmani said in the name of Rabbi Yonatan (Sanhedrin 90b): “From where [do we learn] that priestly gifts are not given to an ignorant priest? As it is said, To give the portion of the priests and the Levites, so that they might strengthen themselves in the Torah of the Lord (II Chronicles 31:4), etc.” And in the Yalkut (18, 955, see there) it enumerates twenty-four gifts: 12 in the Temple and 12 in the borders [outside the Temple]. A hint to this matter is [in the verse] This (zeh, which has a numerical value of 12) shall be yours of the most holy things. According to this number, that is, 12 shall be yours of the most holy things, referring to the 12 [gifts] in the Temple, and this [zeh] shall be yours: the gift of their offering, for all the wave offerings of the children of Israel. This corresponds to the 12 [gifts] in the borders, for there is no Temple there. And above, in Parshat Naso (6:23), we explained that there is another service of gifts, and that is the priestly blessing — thus (koh, which has a numerical value of 25) shall you bless. For with it there will be twenty-five. And here it is alluded to in the extra wording. Behold (18:8) has a numerical value of 60, corresponding to the sixty mighty men surrounding it (Song of Songs 3:7), which are alluded to in the priestly blessing, and there it speaks of shining faces — May the Lord make His face shine upon you, and that is Behold [which indicates] joy.
Rashbam
ויוצא פרח ויצץ ציץ ויגמל שקדים, according to the plain meaning of the words when Moses came to inspect these staffs he merely found that Aaron’s staff had blossomed. ויצץ ציץ, the sprouting of a bud and almonds ripening happened when Moses displayed the staffs to the people. This also explains the word והנה in connection with the blossom, i.e. Moses found something which had already happened, whereas the other details occurred in full view of the people. Had it been otherwise there would have been no point in the Torah writing any more that that ripe almonds were found on Aaron’s staff, i.e. the staff representing the Levites.
Daat Zkenim
והנה פרח מטה אהרן, “and behold the rod of Aaron of the house of Levi, had begun to sprout blooms.” From this verse we learn that there are two kinds of flowers, פרח and ציץ. Not only did these blooms sprout forth, but they retained their freshness and did not wilt, as do normal flowers. The flowers were still in bloom after having already produced fruit, i.e. almonds. We have proof of the above from the Talmud, tractate Yuma folio 21, (based on Isaiah 35,2) as well as from the chapter in the Talmud discussing items in the Temple that were hidden to prevent them from falling into the hands of our enemies. Some sages believe that this staff of Aaron was hidden during that period, which would prove that it and its fruit had remained in prime condition for hundreds of years.
And Moses brought out all the rods from before Hashem to all the children of Israel; and they looked, and took every man his rod.
verse value 3001 — יְהֹוָ֔ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 53 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֔ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "Moses" (מֹשֶׁ֤ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "all·the·staffs" (אֶת־כׇּל־הַמַּטֹּת֙, 8 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Numbers. Unique to this verse in Numbers (hapax): "all·the·staffs" (אֶת־כׇּל־הַמַּטֹּת֙). The root מטה appears 2 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 389x in Numbers); "Moses" (root משה, 217x in Numbers); "Israel" (root ישראל, 183x in Numbers). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Israel', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 4 words. Full calculation: וַיֹּצֵ֨א [and·he·brought·out] (107) + מֹשֶׁ֤ה [Moses] (345) + אֶת־כׇּל־הַמַּטֹּת֙ [all·the·staffs] (905) + מִלִּפְנֵ֣י [from·before] (210) + יְהֹוָ֔ה [Hashem] (26) + אֶֽל־כׇּל־בְּנֵ֖י [to·all·sons·of] (143) + יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל [Israel] (541) + וַיִּרְא֥וּ [and·they·saw] (223) + וַיִּקְח֖וּ [and·they·took] (130) + אִ֥ישׁ [each] (311) + מַטֵּֽהוּ [his·staff] (60) = 3001.
Onkelos
And Moses brought out all the staffs from before Hashem to all the children of Israel; and they recognized [their staffs], and each man took his staff.
Ibn Ezra
"And they saw" — each one recognized his own handwriting [on his staff].
Sforno
ויראו ויקחו איש מטהו. So there will be an indication for their tribe.
Rabbeinu Bahya
ויראו ויקח איש מטהו, “when they saw, each (tribal representative) took his own staff.” Each one knew which was his staff as they had inscribed their names on it.
And Hashem said to Moses: "Put back the rod of Aaron before the testimony, to be kept there, for a token against the rebellious children; that there may be made an end of their murmurings against Me, that they die not."
verse value 6146 — יְהֹוָ֜ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 73 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֜ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "put·back" (הָשֵׁ֞ב, 3 letters) and the longest is "to·rebels" (לִבְנֵי־מֶ֑רִי, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 456: and·may·cease, they·die. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Numbers. Unique to this verse in Numbers (hapax): "put·back" (הָשֵׁ֞ב), "to·rebels" (לִבְנֵי־מֶ֑רִי), "and·may·cease" (וּתְכַ֧ל). 16 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 389x in Numbers); "and·he·said" (root אמר, 246x in Numbers); "and·not" (root לא, 129x in Numbers). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·rebels', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 5 words.
Onkelos
And Hashem said to Moses: "Return Aaron's staff before the Testimony to be kept as a sign for the rebellious people, so that their murmuring may cease from before Me, and they shall not die."
Rashi
למשמרת לאות TO BE KEPT AS A SIGN — i.e. as a reminder that I have chosen Aaron to be the priest and that they should therefore not murmur any more against the priesthood. ותכל תלונתם is the same as וּתְכַלֶּה תלונתם, AND THOU SHALT MAKE AN END OF THEIR MURMURING. This form (תלנֹתם) is a nomen actionis (שם מפעל), singular number, feminine gender, the same as is תלונָתם; in O. F. murmures. But there is a difference in sense between תלנֹתם and תלונָתם. The word תלונָתם denotes a single act of murmuring; תלנתם is a noun with singular meaning although there may be many acts of murmuring.
Ramban
PUT BACK THE ROD OF AARON BEFORE THE TESTIMONY, TO BE KEPT THERE, FOR A TOKEN. “As a reminder that I have chosen Aaron to be the priest, so that they should no longer murmur about the [right to the] priesthood.” This is Rashi’s language. But this rod was only a sign that the tribe of Levi was chosen from the rest of the tribes, but did not [serve as a sign] that Aaron should have the priesthood [since the people did not dispute his right to it ever since the Heavenly fire had descended on the eighth day of the installation of the priests and consumed Aaron’s offerings, as explained above]. The correct interpretation is that [the expression] to be kept there, for a token means [that the budding of the rod of the house of Levi was to serve as a reminder to Israel that G-d had chosen] the tribe of Levi in exchange for the firstborn. This is because the burning [of Aaron’s offerings by the Heavenly fire] was a sign [that Aaron had been chosen] for the priesthood, and the budding [of the rod was an indication] that the Levites [had been selected for their functions in the Tabernacle], as I have explained. This is the meaning of the expression, and, behold, the rod of Aaron ‘for the house of Levi’ was budded, because it budded for [the benefit of] the whole tribe of Levi, and in their merit [to confirm their appointment to do the holy service]. It is possible that since it became known through the [budding of the] rod that G-d did not desire the service of the firstborn, but preferred that of the Levites, the priesthood [automatically could be given] to Aaron without complaint [on the part of the people], since he was the most honored person in the tribe, being the prince thereof, and it was befitting that he should have the authority of that tribe. But this does not appear to me to be correct, since Gershon was the firstborn of Levi.
Sforno
This was the reminder for all times, a miracle which silenced their complaints forthwith.
Chizkuni
ותכל תלונתם. “so that their complaints will cease.” Our author understands the word as if the Torah had written: ותכלה אתה תלונתן של ישראל, “so that you will be able to bring to an end the Israelites’ complaints.” He cites two similar constructions in Deuteronomy 3,28: וצו את יהושע, and Genesis 38,14 ותכס בצעיף.
Tur HaArokh
למשמרת לאות לבני מרי, “as a safekeeping to serve as a sign for the rebellious ones.” Rashi understands this line as “a reminder that I have selected Aaron as My Priest, and that further complaints about the priesthood should cease.” Nachmanides counters that the staff and its blossoming was a sign only that the tribe of Levi enjoys a special status among the other tribes, but it did not signify anything about the priesthood. He therefore understands the word לאות as a reference to the special status of the tribe of Levi. He claims that there was no need at all to furnish a sign that the priesthood belonged to Aaron, seeing that whenever heavenly fire descended on the censer of Aaron and he did not get burned by it this was sufficient proof that G’d approved of him in his capacity as High Priest. This is also the meaning of the words והנה פרח מטה אהרן לבית לוי, “here the staff of Aaron, member of the house of Levi blossomed.” Aaron’s position among the tribe of Levi, which was already special, flowered even further.
Rashbam
לאות לבני מרי, as a sign to forestall similar challenges by future generations to the priesthood and its hereditary transfer from father to son. ותכל תלונותם, in the future such as when king Uziah arrogated to himself to offer incense in the Temple (Chronicles Ii 26,15). The construction of the word ותכל when we would have expected ותכלה, is parallel to the occasions when the Torah writes צו! as an abbreviated imperative instead of צוה, “tzaveh!”
Thus did Moses; as Hashem commanded him, so did he.
verse value 2231 — יְהֹוָ֛ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 26 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֛ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "thus" (כֵּ֥ן, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·he·did" (וַיַּ֖עַשׂ, 4 letters). The root עשה appears 2 times in this verse. 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 389x in Numbers); "just·as" (root אשר, 223x in Numbers); "Moses" (root משה, 217x in Numbers). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Moses', dividing the verse into phrases of 2 and 6 words. Full calculation: וַיַּ֖עַשׂ [and·he·did] (386) + מֹשֶׁ֑ה [Moses] (345) + כַּאֲשֶׁ֨ר [just·as] (521) + צִוָּ֧ה [had·commanded] (101) + יְהֹוָ֛ה [Hashem] (26) + אֹת֖וֹ [him] (407) + כֵּ֥ן [thus] (70) + עָשָֽׂה [he·did] (375) = 2231.
Onkelos
And Moses did as Hashem had commanded him — so he did.
Or HaChaim
ויעש משה כאשר צוה השם כן עשה, Moses did as G'd commanded, so he did. The reason that the Torah repeated the same statement twice may be as follows: The first statement indicates that Moses carried out G'd's instructions immediately; the second statement כן עשה refers to his replacing the rod of Aaron in the Sanctuary. The word כאשר therefore refers to both actions.
And the children of Israel spoke to Moses, saying: "Behold, we perish, we are undone, we are all undone.
verse value 1935
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 44 letters. The shortest word is "behold" (הֵ֥ן, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·they·said" (וַיֹּֽאמְרוּ֙, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 63: we·are·lost, we·are·lost. 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Numbers. Unique to this verse in Numbers (hapax): "all·of·us" (כֻּלָּ֥נוּ). The root אמר appears 2 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "sons·of" (root בן, 499x in Numbers); "and·they·said" (root אמר, 246x in Numbers); "Israel" (root ישראל, 183x in Numbers). First appearance of the root גוע ("we·perished") in Numbers. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'saying', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 5 words. Full calculation: וַיֹּֽאמְרוּ֙ [and·they·said] (263) + בְּנֵ֣י [sons·of] (62) + יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל [Israel] (541) + אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֖ה [to·Moses] (376) + לֵאמֹ֑ר [saying] (271) + הֵ֥ן [behold] (55) + גָּוַ֛עְנוּ [we·perished] (135) + אָבַ֖דְנוּ [we·are·lost] (63) + כֻּלָּ֥נוּ [all·of·us] (106) + אָבָֽדְנוּ [we·are·lost] (63) = 1935.
Onkelos
And the children of Israel said to Moses, saying: "Behold, some of us the sword has killed; behold, some of us the earth has swallowed; and behold, some of us have died in the plague."
Ibn Ezra
"And the children of Israel said" — it is enough for us that we have perished and been lost, and now whoever draws near to the Tabernacle of Hashem dies, like those who were burned — would that we had simply perished [and no more]. Then Hashem spoke to Aaron, who is the leader over the tribe of Levi, to warn him that the Levites should not cause Israel to stumble. The address "to Aaron" came through Moses, or it may be taken literally, since Aaron too was a prophet. This passage as well is a sign that it occurred in the Sinai wilderness, when the Tabernacle was erected, the Levites were chosen, and the firstborns were disqualified.
Chizkuni
הן גוענו אבדנו, “here we are perishing;” some of the people would die from natural causes, whereas others would perish from external causes. When the people said this they were still under the impression that anyone, not only non priests, would expose themselves to death by approaching the Tabernacle. They did thought that only blemished priests were included in this prohibition to approach too closely. (Compare Numbers 1,51) [The subsequent general prohibition was in effect only for people who, having eaten holy things in a state of ritual impurity, dared approach sacred precincts. Ed.]
Rabbeinu Bahya
הן גוענו, אבדנו, כולנו אבדנו, “behold we perish, we are lost, we are all lost.” They meant that they were all lost as anyone approaching the sacred precincts of the Tabernacle would die. The reason the Torah repeats the expression קריבה, “approaching” in verse 28 is that if anyone who approaches the Tabernacle more closely than his neighbor is subject to death just like the 250 men who had been burned they wished they would die now [seeing they had nothing to look forward to except death in the desert. Ed.]. The question: “will we ever stop perishing?” (verse 28) suggested that the Israelites viewed the Levites as the cause of their deaths. This is why G’d told Aaron in his capacity as the tribal head of the tribe of Levi to take care that the Levites should not become the cause of Israelites dying through any error they would commit (compare Ibn Ezra on verse 27). There is also another approach to these words הן גוענו אבדנו כלנו אבדנו; this statement by the Israelites was a reference to the three penalties that had struck the people who had challenged the existing order in Jewish society. The words הן גוענו, “here we have perished,” refer to the people who suffered death by being burned; the word אבדנו, “we are lost,” refers to the people who had been swallowed up by the earth. The final expression: כלנו אבדנו, “we have all perished,” referred to the plague which had cost 14,700 victims. (verse 14). Onkelos reflects this approach in his translation. He writes: הא מננא קטלת חרבא הא מננא בלעת ארעא, והא מננא דמיתו במותנא, i.e. he mentions the three kinds of death which struck these three groups of people by name instead of speaking in generalities as does our verse in its original. The translation of גוענו as קטלת חרבא, “death by the sword,” is quite appropriate for a description of the attribute of Justice as it is found in Isaiah 27,1.
Rashbam
אבדנו, a reference to 15,33 when the people swallowed by the earth during Korach’s uprising had been described by the Torah as ויאבדו, “they became lost.” The people now felt that a similar fate might befall them on any day if the Tabernacle was so inaccessible to them. כל הקרב הקרב אל משכן ה' ימות, they spell out what they mean by predicting that they may die any moment. Remember that the prohibition for non-priests not to enter the Tabernacle’s precincts had not been issued yet; this legislation had not yet been published. This is the reason why later in our portion (18,4) as well as in 18,7 both the prohibition and the penalty for violating it are spelled out precisely. In Leviticus where similar legislation did appear it referred only to the offering of sacrifices in the Tabernacle by non-priests (Leviticus 21,17 as well as 22, 3). In that context only priests afflicted with a blemish had been banned from partaking in such activities as had been reserved for priests. Also in chapter 22 there only the eating of sacrificial meat in a state of ritual impurity had been forbidden. At any rate, no death penalty had yet been spelled out for non-priests violating the rules for entering the Tabernacle or handling its furnishings had been discussed.
Every one that comes near, that comes near to the tabernacle of Hashem, is to die; shall we wholly perish?"
verse value 2238 — יְהֹוָ֖ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 35 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem's" (יְהֹוָ֖ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "everyone" (כֹּ֣ל, 2 letters) and the longest is "to·Tabernacle·of" (אֶל־מִשְׁכַּ֥ן, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 307: who·draws·near, who·draws·near. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Numbers. Unique to this verse in Numbers (hapax): "to·Tabernacle·of" (אֶל־מִשְׁכַּ֥ן), "are·we" (הַאִ֥ם), "we·are·finished" (תַּ֖מְנוּ). The root קרוב appears 2 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem's" (root יהוה, 389x in Numbers); "everyone" (root כל, 98x in Numbers); "must·die" (root מות, 87x in Numbers). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'must·die', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 3 words. Full calculation: כֹּ֣ל [everyone] (50) + הַקָּרֵ֧ב [who·draws·near] (307) + הַקָּרֵ֛ב [who·draws·near] (307) + אֶל־מִשְׁכַּ֥ן [to·Tabernacle·of] (441) + יְהֹוָ֖ה [Hashem's] (26) + יָמ֑וּת [must·die] (456) + הַאִ֥ם [are·we] (46) + תַּ֖מְנוּ [we·are·finished] (496) + לִגְוֺֽעַ [to·perish] (109) = 2238.
Onkelos
Anyone who draws near — who comes near to the Tabernacle of Hashem — dies. Are we then doomed to perish entirely?"
Rashi
כל הקרב הקרב וגו׳ WHOSOEVER APPROACHETH [UNTO THE DWELLING OF THE LORD SHALL DIE] — The meaning is: “We cannot be cautious enough in this matter: we are all of us allowed to enter into the court of the appointed tent, but one who betakes himself nearer than his fellow and goes into the appointed tent itself will die! האם תמנו לגוע means are we perhaps constantly to be freely exposed to the danger of death?
Or HaChaim
כל הקרב הקרב..ימות, "Anyone that comes near..that comes near will die." Only now did the message penetrate the average Israelite's head although they had been informed about this previously. This is remindful of a proverb cited in Shir Hashirim Rabbah on the verse (Song of Songs, 1,2: "May he kiss me with the kisses of his mouth." The proverb says that if one slaughters an animal one will suffer terrible pain."
Onkelos