Aaron's rod refers to any of the walking sticks carried by Moses' brother, Aaron, in the Torah. The Bible tells how, along with Moses' rod, Aaron's rod was endowed with miraculous power during the Plagues of Egypt that preceded the Exodus. Later, his rod miraculously sprouted blossoms and almonds to symbolize God's choice of Aaron and his tribe for holy service.
In Israelite culture, the rod (Hebrew : מַטֶּהmaṭṭeh) was a natural symbol of authority, [1] as the tool used by the shepherd to correct and guide his flock. [2] Moses, in fact, initially carried his rod while tending his sheep, [3] and later it became his symbol of authority over the Israelites. [4]
The rods of both Moses and Aaron were endowed with miraculous power during the Plagues of Egypt. [5] God commanded Moses to raise his rod over the Red Sea when it was to be split [6] and in prayer over Israel in battle; [7] at Meribah Moses brought forth water from a stone using his rod. [8]
Aaron's rod – perhaps a different rod – reappears in Numbers 16–17. Here Korah's rebellion against Moses's proclamation of the tribe of Levi as the priesthood has been quashed and the entire congregation's ensuing rebellion has resulted in a plague, ended only by the intercession of Moses and Aaron. In order to "stop the complaints" of the Israelites, God commands that each of the Twelve Tribes provide a rod; and only that of the tribe chosen to become priests will miraculously sprout overnight. [9] Aaron provides his rod to represent the tribe of Levi, and "it put forth buds, produced blossoms, and bore ripe almonds", [10] as an evidence of the exclusive right to the priesthood of the tribe of Levi. In commemoration of this decision, it was commanded that the rod be stored "before the testimony". [11]
Aaron's rod is cited as exhibiting miraculous power on its own, when not physically held by its owner. In Exodus 7:10–1, Aaron "cast down his rod" and it became a serpent. When he does so, the Pharaoh's sorcerers counter by similarly casting down their own rods, which also become serpents, but Aaron's rod swallowed them all. Similarly, in Numbers 17:23 it sprouted blossoms when not being held. [12]
Rabbinic midrash described attributes of Aaron's rod beyond those in the Biblical text.
It is reported that the rod was made of sapphire, weighed forty seahs (a seah = 10.70 pounds), and bore the inscription דצ״ך עד״ש באח״ב (the initials of the Hebrew names of the Ten Plagues). [14]
God created it in the twilight of the sixth day of Creation, [15] [16] and delivered it to Adam when the latter was driven from paradise. After it had passed through the hands of Shem, Enoch, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob successively, it came into the possession of Joseph. On Joseph's death the Egyptian nobles stole some of his belongings, and, among them, Jethro appropriated the staff. Jethro planted the staff in his garden, when its marvelous virtue was revealed by the fact that nobody could withdraw it from the ground (compare "the sword in the stone"); even to touch it was fraught with danger to life. This was because the Ineffable Name of God was engraved upon it. When Moses entered Jethro's household he read the Name, and by means of it was able to draw up the rod, for which service Zipporah, Jethro's daughter, was given to him in marriage. Her father had sworn that she should become the wife of the man who should be able to master the miraculous rod and of no other. [17]
Aaron's rod, together with its blossoms and fruit, was preserved in the Ark. King Josiah, who foresaw the impending national catastrophe, concealed the Ark and the objects stored with it (Aaron's rod, a vial of manna, and the holy anointing oil). [18] Their whereabouts will remain unknown until, in the Messianic age, the prophet Elijah shall reveal them. [16]
As discussed, the Bible ascribes similar miraculous powers to rods of Aaron and Moses. One midrash goes a step further, and identifies them as being the same rod:
The rod with which Jacob crossed the Jordan (Genesis 32:11) is the same rod which was in Judah's hand (Genesis 38:18), which was in Moses' hand (Exodus 4:20), which was in Aaron's hand (Exodus 7:10), which was in David's hand (1 Samuel 17:40). which was in the hand of each king until the destruction of the Temple, when it was hidden. When the Messiah comes it will be given to him for a scepter in token of his authority over the nations. [19]
According to one midrash, Moses split a tree trunk into twelve portions, and gave one portion to each tribe. When the Rod of Aaron produced blossoms, the Israelites could not but acknowledge the significance of the token. [20] This opinion seemingly assumes that the rod in Korach's rebellion was separate from the rod used for the plagues. [12]
Hebrews 9:4 states that Aaron's rod was kept in the Ark of the Covenant. [12]
The account of the blossoming of Aaron's rod contained in Clement's first letter to the Corinthians (ep. 43) is in haggadic-midrashic style, and may probably be ascribed to Jewish or, more strictly speaking, Jewish-Hellenistic sources. According to that account, Moses placed upon each of the twelve staffs the corresponding seal of the head of a tribe. The doors of the sanctuary were similarly sealed, to prevent anyone from having access to the rods at night. [12]
The miraculous flowering of the rod was also considered a type of the Incarnation of Christ and his Virgin Birth, and appears in scenes of the Annunciation to Mary. [13]
In the Ethiopian fourteenth-century text of the Kebra Nagast, Aaron's rod is broken in three and probably a symbol of the Trinity: "The rod of Aaron which sprouted after it had become withered though no one watered it with water, and one had broken it in two places, and it became three rods being [originally only] one rod." [21]
Accounts of Aaron's rod appear in Islamic literature. A depiction from al-Tha'labi's (d. 1035, AH 427) Stories of the Prophets depicts Harun (Aaron) leaning on his rod, while his brother Musa's (Moses) staff miraculously turned into a snake-dragon to defeat Pharaoh's magicians.
D. H. Lawrence entitled a novel Aaron's Rod in 1922. This book describes a flautist, Aaron Sissons, and his experiences as he journeys through a Europe exhausted by the First World War. The biblical eponymous reference, with the flute representing a magic rod, is intended to be ironic.
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1906). "Aaron's rod". The Jewish Encyclopedia . New York: Funk & Wagnalls.
According to Abrahamic religions, Aaron was a prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of Moses. Information about Aaron comes exclusively from religious texts such as the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, and the Quran.
The Ark of the Covenant, also known as the Ark of the Testimony or the Ark of God, is believed to have been the most sacred religious relic of the Israelites. It is described as a wooden chest coated in pure gold and topped off by an elaborate golden lid known as the mercy seat. According to the Book of Exodus and First Book of Kings in the Hebrew Bible, the Ark contained the Tablets of the Law, by which God delivered the Ten Commandments to Moses at Mount Sinai. According to the Epistle to the Hebrews in the New Testament, the Book of Exodus, and the Book of Numbers it also contained Aaron's rod and a pot of manna.
The Book of Numbers is the fourth book of the Hebrew Bible and the fourth of five books of the Jewish Torah. The book has a long and complex history; its final form is possibly due to a Priestly redaction of a Yahwistic source made sometime in the early Persian period. The name of the book comes from the two censuses taken of the Israelites.
The Book of Exodus is the second book of the Bible. It is a narrative of the Exodus, the origin myth of the Israelites leaving slavery in Biblical Egypt through the strength of their deity named Yahweh, who according to the story chose them as his people. The Israelites then journey with the legendary prophet Moses to Mount Sinai, where Yahweh gives the 10 commandments and they enter into a covenant with Yahweh, who promises to make them a "holy nation, and a kingdom of priests" on condition of their faithfulness. He gives them their laws and instructions to build the Tabernacle, the means by which he will come from heaven and dwell with them and lead them in a holy war to conquer Canaan, which has earlier, according to the myth of Genesis, been promised to the "seed" of Abraham, the legendary patriarch of the Israelites.
Miriam is described in the Hebrew Bible as the daughter of Amram and Jochebed, and the older sister of Moses and Aaron. She was a prophetess and first appears in the Book of Exodus.
Korah, son of Izhar, is an individual who appears in the Biblical Book of Numbers of the Old Testament and four different verses in the Quran, known for leading a rebellion against Moses. Some older English translations, as well as the Douay–Rheims Bible, spell the name Core, and many Eastern European translations have "Korak" or "Korey".
The Exodus is the founding myth of the Israelites whose narrative is spread over four of the five books of the Pentateuch.
Shemot, Shemoth, or Shemos is the thirteenth weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the first in the Book of Exodus. It constitutes Exodus 1:1–6:1. The parashah tells of the Israelites' affliction in Egypt, the hiding and rescuing of the infant Moses, Moses in Midian, the calling of Moses, circumcision on the way, meeting the elders, and Moses before Pharaoh.
Va'eira, Va'era, or Vaera is the fourteenth weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the second in the Book of Exodus. It constitutes Exodus 6:2–9:35. The parashah tells of the first seven Plagues of Egypt.
Bo is the fifteenth weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the third in the book of Exodus. The parashah constitutes Exodus 10:1–13:16. The parashah tells of the last three plagues on Egypt and the first Passover.
Beshalach, Beshallach, or Beshalah is the sixteenth weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the fourth in the Book of Exodus. It constitutes Exodus 13:17–17:16. In this parashah, Pharaoh changed his mind and chased after the Israelites, trapping them at the Sea of Reeds. God commanded Moses to split the sea, allowing the Israelites to escape, then closed the sea back upon the Egyptian army. The Israelites also experience the miracles of manna and clean water. And the Amalekites attacked, but the Israelites were victorious.
Bemidbar, BeMidbar, B'midbar, Bamidbar, or Bamidbor, is the 34th weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the first in the Book of Numbers. The parashah tells of the census and the priests' duties. It constitutes Numbers 1:1–4:20. The parashah is made up of 7,393 Hebrew letters, 1,823 Hebrew words, 159 verses, and 263 lines in a Torah Scroll. Jews generally read it in May or early June.
Behaalotecha, Behaalotcha, Beha'alotecha, Beha'alotcha, Beha'alothekha, or Behaaloscha is the 36th weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the third in the Book of Numbers. The parashah tells of the Menorah in the Tabernacle, the consecration of the Levites, the Second Passover, how pillars of cloud and fire led the Israelites, the silver trumpets, how the Israelites set out on their journeys, the complaints of the Israelites, and how Miriam and Aaron questioned Moses. The parashah comprises Numbers 8:1–12:16. It is made up of 7,055 Hebrew letters, 1,840 Hebrew words, 136 verses, and 240 lines in a Torah Scroll.
"With a strong hand and an outstretched arm" is a phrase used in the Bible to describe God's use of his power on behalf of Israel, particularly during the Exodus.
Korach or Korah is the 38th weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the fifth in the Book of Numbers. It tells of Korach's failed attempt to overthrow Moses.
According to the Hebrew Bible, Phinehas or Phineas was a priest during the Israelites' Exodus journey. The grandson of Aaron and son of Eleazar, the High Priests, he distinguished himself as a youth at Shittim with his zeal against the heresy of Peor.
Discussions in rabbinic literature of the biblical character Moses, who led the Israelites out of Egypt and through their wanderings in the wilderness, contain various expansions, elaborations and inferences beyond what is presented in the text of the Bible itself.
Allusions in Jewish rabbinic literature to the Biblical character Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, contain various expansions, elaborations and inferences beyond what is presented in the text of the Bible itself.
In Judaism, the instructions of the priests are the rulings and teachings of the priests that are addressed to the Jewish people. Numerous Biblical passages attest to the role of the priests in teaching Torah to the people and in issuing judgment. Later rabbinic statements elaborate on these roles. However, the priest's religious authority is not automatic: even a bastard who is a scholar takes precedence over an ignorant high priest.
The Staff of Moses, also known as the Staff of God, is a staff mentioned in the Bible and Quran as a walking stick used by Moses. According to the Book of Exodus, the staff was used to produce water from a rock, was transformed into a snake and back, and was used at the parting of the Red Sea. Whether the staff of Moses was the same as the staff used by his brother Aaron has been debated by rabbinical scholars.