Numbers — Chapter 17

God commands Moses to collect twelve staffs from the twelve tribal princes; each man writes his name on his own staff; Aaron's name is written on the staff of Levi. The dispute over the priesthood is submitted to divine arbitration.

Aaron's staff sprouted, burst into blossom, and bore ripe almonds overnight — a triple miracle: bud, flower, and ripe fruit simultaneously; all the other staffs remained dead. A manifest sign of divine election.

Aaron's rod is preserved before the Ark as a perpetual memorial and sign against rebels; Lapide notes it was stored with the manna and the tablets of the Law — three testimonies of God's special mercy to Israel.

Israel cries: \"We are consumed, we are all undone; everyone who comes near the Tabernacle dies!\" Their terror at God's holiness leads to institution of the priestly mediation described in chapter 18.