It is used several times on God's command to initiate the plagues of Egypt. Thus said the Lord Jehovih Zebaoth, O My people that dwellest in Lion, be not afraid of Asshur, who shall smite thee with a rod, and shall lift up his staff upon thee, in the way of Egypt. David left it to his descendants, and the Davidic kings used it as a scepter until the destruction of the Temple, when it miraculously disappeared. And Moses went and returned to Jethro his father in law, and said unto him, "Let me go, I pray thee, and return unto my brethren which are in Egypt, and see whether they be yet alive". Grieve, all ye circuits of Moab, and say, How is the staff of strength broken, the staff of beauty (Jer. In David: Yea, when I walk in the valley of shadow, I will fear not evil to me; for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff comfort me (Ps. 9:23); and that when the rod was stretched out over the land, locusts came up (Exod. The rod (or staff) of Asclepius is the ancient name for this emblem, which is sometimes (incorrectly) called a “caduceus.” Many doctors and medical personnel — including the U.S. Army Medical Corps — use the similar (but different in meaning) double winged staff emblem — the true caduceus. The staff, a long stick with a crook in one end (like a walking stick), was used variously as a walking aid or by shepherds to protect and tend their flocks. It is unknown what became of the staff after the Temple was destroyed and the Jews were exiled from the land. The Staff of Moses is a staff mentioned in the Bible and Quran as a walking stick used by Moses. [2], In later Jewish legend the rod was said to have been created at the beginning of the world on the sixth day of creation and to have been passed down through the hands of the major patriarchs before being inherited by Moses.[2]. § 869): the staff with which Jacob crossed the Jordan is identical with that which Judah gave to his daughter-in-law, Tamar (Gen. xxxii. CONTACT. Psalm 125:3, the King James Version "rod," the Revised Version (British and American) and the American Standard Revised Version "sceptre" (of the wicked); Psalm 2:9, "rod of iron"; Proverbs 22:8, "rod of his wrath"). The rod was a sturdy stick with a knob at one end. What the Bible says about Shepherd's Staff Represents God's Spirit (From Forerunner Commentary) Psalm 23:4 Most frequently, the staff is used in three ways. After that scene in the Bible, it was never again referred to as Moses' staff but always called the Rod of God. Because Aaron's rod and Moses' rod are both given similar, seemingly interchangeable, powers, Rabbinical scholars debated whether or not the two rods were one and the same. SERMONS. 17:5, 6; Num. 4:17, 20); that when smitten by the rod, the waters in Egypt became blood (Exod. 48:17); the staff of strength denotes power from good, and the staff of beauty power from truth. Here he saw a bush on fire, but it wasn’t burning up! The Topkapi Palace holds other reputedly holy relics, most notably those attributed to the Islamic prophet, Muhammad. 10:3-21). “Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. 10:24, 26); where staff denotes power from reasoning and memory-knowledge, such as is the power of those who reason from memory-knowledges against the truths of faith, and either pervert them or make them of no account. Finally, God tells Moses to get water for the Israelites from a rock by speaking to the rock (Numbers 20:8). From this it is also plain how irrational those are who believe that there was any power infused into the staff or the hand of Moses. 105:16). The shepherd used his rod to protect his sheep from wild animals or other threats. According to an identifying document[citation needed] at the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Moses's staff would supposedly be on display today at the Topkapı Palace, Istanbul, Turkey. It had the lineage of the leader carved into it, the names of his forebears. There is a mention of the rod of Moses in a deposition of Nicolas, abbot of the Icelandic Benedictine monastery of Thingeyrar, who had seen it guarded in a chapel of a palace in Constantinople in c. 1150. [1] Whether or not Moses' staff was the same as that used by his brother Aaron (known as Aaron's rod) has been debated by rabbinical scholars. This was known among Gentiles also, as is evident from their fabulous tales in which staffs are ascribed to magicians. Sometimes the knob even had nails in it to make it a better weapon. 3:1); the staff of bread denotes support and power from the good of love, and the staff of water, support and power from the truth of faith. Again: The staff of wickedness shall not rest upon the lot of the just (Ps. A Bible translation that new believers can understand & one that every believer can turn to for lifelong discipleship A Bible you can share with anyone you meet, no matter their background & teach from with confidence A Bible clear for young children to understand & accurate for your personal study [10] Because a staff represented the power of truth, that is, the power of good through truth, therefore kings had scepters, which were made like short staffs; for by kings the Lord is represented as to truth, the Divine truth being the royalty itself (AC 1672, 1728, 2015, 2069, 3670, 4581). EVENTS. 14:21, 26, 27). vii. In this epic wager between God and the Devil, discover how Job reacts to the shocking curses inflicted upon him and what we can learn from his incredible example of remaining faithful through suffering. 7:15, 19, 20); that when the rod was stretched out over the streams, frogs came up (Exod. Back to Words index, Back to Artifact words index. It is a book about God and his relationship with man. After the sack of Constantinople in 1204 it was transported to France where Bishop Nevelon placed it in Soissons cathedral and it then passed to the treasury of the Sainte-Chapelle. And the LORD said unto Moses in Midian, "Go, return into Egypt: for all the men are dead which sought thy life". It is a spiritual matter. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” 29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. That bread is the good of love may be seen above (AC 276, 680, 2165, 2177, 3464, 3478, 3735, 3813, 4211, 4217, 4735); and that water is the truth of faith (AC 28, 680, 739, 2702, 3058, 3424). 18). Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek; tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand. Moreover it will be seen at the end of the chapters that in the Grand Man the hand and are correspond to this power. The shepherd also carried a long staff. A. Staff & History. Exodus chapter 4). 20:7-10). 10), and with which, finally, David slew the giant Goliath (I Sam. Bible History Images and Resources for Biblical History. The Tabernacle of Ancient Israel - Brief Overview of the Tabernacle of Moses in the Wilderness and the Ark of the Covenant. The church was founded by the Rev. Aaron and Hur help him to keep the staff raised until victory is achieved. Thou shalt crush them with a rod of iron thou shalt scatter them like a potter's vessels (Ps. 7:15, 19, 20); that when the rod was stretched out over the streams, frogs came up (Exod. That movement began with William Miller, a Baptist lay preacher who, in the year 1816, began proclaiming that Christ would return in 1843. That cannot be proven or dis-proven logically. Douglas B. Stirling, Sr. STAFF & HISTORY. This Bible History Daily article was originally published on May 6, 2014. While in the "wilderness" after leaving Egypt Moses follows God's command to strike a rock with the rod to create a spring for the Israelites to drink from (Exodus 17:5-7). Among the early Greeks, the sceptre (Ancient Greek: σκῆπτρον, skeptron, "staff, stick, baton") was a long staff, such as Agamemnon wielded (Iliad, i) or was used by respected elders (Iliad, xviii. Introduce people to Jesus Christ. The tribal leader’s staff was an emblem of authority, something like a royal sceptre. Let’s begin by looking at what the Bible says about the Shepherd, the sheep, the rod, and the staff. 14:5); where staff and rod manifestly denote power. iv. Even those who wrote the Bible made it clear it was not a secular history, even though secular events are referred to. "And thou shalt take this rod in thine hand, wherewith thou shalt do signs". A Mosque in the area of Medina, possibly: This page was last edited on 20 January 2021, at 11:08. We are the heirs of the Prophets". 8:1-11); that … Judah’s handing over of these items show the disordered state of his mind at this point in his life, after the death of his wife and sons. 2:9); a rod of iron denotes the power of spiritual truth in natural, for all natural truth in which there is spiritual truth has power; iron is natural truth (AC 425, 426). Our desire is that God would use the members of First Bible Church to engage our culture with His truth. MINISTRIES. Yet biblical scholar William Schniedewind, the Kershaw Chair of … News & Activities. With this staff, too, Moses split the Red Sea and brought water out of the rock. It is sometimes difficult to determine whether the word shebheT is used in figurative passages in the sense of scepter or merely in the ordinary sense of staff (e.g. According to the Book of Exodus in the Bible, the staff was The history of musical instruments can be traced throughout the Bible. The staff was used as a walking stick for the shepherd, who also used it to maneuver sheep when needed. When he holds up his arms holding the "rod of God" the Israelites "prevail", when he drops his arms, their enemies gain the upper hand. A staff is frequently mentioned in the Word, and it is surprising that scarcely anyone at this day knows that anything in the spiritual world was represented by it, as where Moses was commanded that whenever miracles were wrought, he was to lift up his staff, and thereby they were wrought. God asks what Moses has in his hand, and Moses answers "a staff" ("a rod" in the KJV version). "That simple little experience was the turning point in the history of the world." 125:3). It is likewise the holy rod with which Moses worked (Ex. 196), and came to be used by judges, military leaders, priests, and others in authority. Be inspired with daily articles featuring marriage help, parenting advice, movie reviews and more! Contact Us. And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed (Exod. 23:4); Thy rod and Thy staff denote the Divine truth and good, which have power. The History of Rome - Brief Overview Of Roman History from Her Dawn to the First Punic War. The staff is first mentioned in the Book of Exodus (chapter 4, verse 2), when God appears to Moses in the burning bush. According to the Midrash Yelammedenu (Yalḳ. The Bible story of Job, from the book of Job, is a powerful tale of testing the devotion and fortitude of the human will. Moses does so, and water springs forth from the rock in the presence of the Elders of Israel. 10, xxxviii. The pharaoh's sorcerers are also able to transform their own rods into serpents, but Aaron's swallows them. Introduction to Historical Proofs of the Bible. 8:1-11); that when the dust was smitten by the rod, it became lice (Exod. My people interrogate their wood, and their staff will answer them; for the spirit of whoredom hath led them astray (Hosea 4:12); interrogating wood means consulting evils; the staff answering means that falsity is thence, which has power from the evil which they confirm; the spirit of whoredom denotes a life of falsity from evil. The Bible Evangelical Church was established as the Kennett Square Bible Methodist Church in 1952 and is associated with the Evangelical Methodist Conference. When the Messiah comes it will be given to him for a scepter in token of his authority over the heathen. From these passages it is very evident that a rod or staff, like the hand, represented power, and in the supreme sense the Divine omnipotence of the Lord; and it is also evident that at that time representatives constituted the externals of the church; and that the internals, which are spiritual and celestial things such as are in heaven, corresponded to them; and that from this came their efficacy. When Joshua fought against Amalek. GIVE. The first is drawing sheep together into an intimate relationship. The Midrash (a homiletic method of biblical exegesis) states that the staff was passed down from generation to generation and was in the possession of the Judean kings until the First Temple was destroyed. 8:16-20); that when the rod was stretched out toward heaven, there was hail (Exod. The staff is miraculously transformed into a snake and then back into a staff. Convinced that Jesus Christ is … ‘This is strange,’ Moses thought. But Moses, being vexed by the complaining of the Israelites, instead of speaking to the rock as God commanded, strikes the rock twice with the staff. It is said that Sultan Selim I (1512–1520) brought the holy relics to Topkapi Palace after conquering Egypt in 1517. The scepter signifies the power belonging to them, not by dignity, but by the truth which should rule, and no other truth than that which is from good; thus principally the Divine truth, and with Christians the Lord, from whom is all Divine truth. 46; Herodotus 1. We know from Psalm 23 that God [Jesus] is the Shepherd: Psa 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. The staff is thereafter referred to as the "rod of God" or "staff of God" (depending on the translation). 36:6); Egypt denotes memory-knowledges, as above; power from them in spiritual things is the staff of a bruised reed; the hand which it goes into and pierces, is power from the Word. Answer: Aaron’s rod, or staff, played an important part in God’s plan to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and into the Promised Land. For the proposed orbital strike weapon, see, Exuviae Costantinopolitanae, Genève 1878, t. II, pp. 10:11). According to the Book of Exodus in the Bible, the staff (Hebrew: מַטֶּה‎ matteh, translated "rod" in the King James Bible) 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. Aaron brings about the miracle of the first three plagues, changing the Nile's water into blood (7:20) and infesting the land with frogs (8:1-2) and vermin (8:13). This is signified by the rod with which Asshur shall smite, and by the staff which he shall lift up in the way of Egypt. [2] That by a staff was represented power, appears, as just said, from what is related of Moses, in that he was commanded to take a staff (or rod), with which he was to do miracles; and that he took the rod of God in his hand (Exod. 2:26, 27; 12:5; 19:15). 40). In the modern era, we take for granted that the Hebrew Bible is a text—written words, displayed in chapters and verse. on Ps. Thou hast trusted on the staff of a bruised reed, even upon Egypt; whereon if a man lean it will go into his hand and pierce it (Isa. Events. The CSB is a Bible Translation for Everyone. Jehovah's Witnesses trace their origins to the nineteenth century Adventist movement in America. xvii. [4], "Rod of God" redirects here. RODS AND STAFFS. It was with this divine staff that Moses later performed all the miracles in Egypt at G‑d’s command. Bible Roman Empire Map - Large Map of the Roman Empire in the Early First Century - Click around on the Places. [3]. Again: Jehovah hath broken the staff of the wicked, the rod of the rulers (Isa. He is the author of the upcoming book Etrog: How a Chinese Fruit Became a Jewish Symbol (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018). 10:21, 22); and when his hand was stretched forth over the sea Suph, by an east wind the sea was made dry land; and on again stretching forth his hand, the waters returned (Exod. [4] That in the spiritual sense, a staff is power, appears also from many passages in the prophets, as in Isaiah: Behold the Lord Jehovah Zebaoth doth take away from Jerusalem staff and stay, the whole staff of bread, and the whole staff of water (Isa. [2] That by a staff was represented power, appears, as just said, from what is related of Moses, in that he was commanded to take a staff (or rod), with which he was to do miracles; and that he took the rod of God in his hand (Exod. And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt: and Moses took the rod of God in his hand. [3] Moreover when the rock of Horeb was smitten with the rod, waters flowed out (Exod. Christian living resources and Bible study to encourage your walk with Jesus Christ. We know that Israel was likened unto sheep that belonged to God: 4:17, 20); that when smitten by the rod, the waters in Egypt became blood (Exod. David, who penned this psalm, had been a shepherd himself and understood the parallel between the task of a shepherd caring for his sheep and of God caring for His people. 20, 21), with which Aaron performed wonders before Pharaoh (Ex. The earliest instruments of music (Hebrew, kinnor , translated "harp" in Genesis 4:21) were invented by a man named Jubal. Psalm 23 is a poem that uses the image of God as a shepherd. So also in the Revelation: He that overcometh, and keepeth My works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations; that he may pasture them with a rod of iron as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers (Rev. Shepherds used rods to guide and correct their flocks ( Psalm 23:4 ). 17:9, 11). There are many speculations about what has happened to Moses's staff. (KJV. Aaron's rod is again used to turn the Nile blood-red. Topkapı Palace was officially designated a museum in 1924, and the holy relics were placed on public view on 31 August 1962. It is narrated in Kitab al-Kafi that Ja'far al-Sadiq claims that the "Tablets of Moses and the Staff of Moses are with us. MOSES had come all the way to the mountain of Hoʹreb to find grass for his sheep. In ancient Israelite culture, a rod was a symbol of authority. According to this source, the archbishop of Novgorod, Anthony, stated that it was in the church of St Michael in the Boukoleon Palace, among other precious relics. During the Exodus, Moses stretches out his hand with the staff to part the Red Sea. The staff of bread is mentioned in like manner in (Ezekiel 4:16; 5:16; 14:13; Ps. "'Lay it down and it will come alive, but Moses every time you pick it up it's going to die,'" said Warren. Moses also uses the staff in the battle at Rephidim between the Israelites and the Amalekites (Exodus 17:8-15). Moses and Aaron appear before the pharaoh when Aaron's rod is transformed into a serpent. 28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Jehovah shall stir up against him a scourge, as in the plague of Midian at the rock of Oreb; and his staff shall be over the sea, and he shall lift it up in the way of Egypt (Isa. That by Asshur is meant reasoning may be seen above (AC 1186); and that by Egypt is meant memory-knowledge (AC 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462). (Such as his bow, his sword, his footprint, and even a tooth.) Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. Resources, Free Bible Software, Bible Art, Biblical History Topics and Study, and ancient Bible maps of Rome, Greece, and ancient Near East. And Jethro said to Moses, "Go in peace". The Staff of Moses is a staff mentioned in the Bible and Quran as a walking stick used by Moses. A ROD IS USED IN THE Bible to symbolize power and authority—destructive power, such as the “rod of iron”; the rod of discipline; and especially the rod of assistance and comfort as suggested in our theme text.. 10:12, 13); when his hand was stretched forth toward heaven, there was thick darkness over the land of Egypt (Exod. A Short History of the Watchtower Organization. David Z. Moster, PhD, is a Research Fellow in Hebrew Bible at Brooklyn College and a Lecturer in Rabbinics at Nyack College. As the hand is the principal, by which power is signified, and a rod is the instrumental, therefore miracles were also wrought when his hand was stretched forth (Exod. ex. Because Moses did not obey God's command to speak to the rock, implying lack of faith, God punished Moses by not letting him enter into the Promised Land (Numbers 20:12). 214 and 223 and passim, Learn how and when to remove this template message, ibn Abdullah ibn Abdul-Muttalib ibn Hashim, Current Ummah of Islam (Ummah of Muhammad), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Staff_of_Moses&oldid=1001593128, Articles needing additional references from August 2017, All articles needing additional references, Articles with unsourced statements from February 2016, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Mother Abiona or Amtelai the daughter of Karnebo, Slayers of Saleh's she-camel (Qaddar ibn Salif and Musda' ibn Dahr). The pride of Assyria shall be brought down, and the staff of Egypt shall depart away (Zech. That a staff signifies power, is because it is a support; for it supports the hand and arm, and through them the whole body; wherefore a staff takes on the signification of the part which it immediately supports, that is, the hand and arm, by both of which in the Word is signified the power of truth. The Bible is essentially a religious history. According to the best authorities, the distinction between a rod and a staff in olden times is not clear.