על חיי משה, ספר ב ל״גOn the Life of Moses, Book II 33
א׳
1[174] Now the consecrated persons consisted of more than one order. They included both those who were commissioned to penetrate to the inner shrine and offer the prayers and sacrifices and the other holy rites, and those sometimes called temple attendants who had none of these duties but had the care and guarding of the sacred building and its contents by day and night. Consequently, the strife for precedence, the cause of innumerable troubles to many persons and in many places, gained ground here also. The temple attendants made headway against the priests, and purposed to wrest their privileges from them, and they hoped to accomplish this easily, since they were many times the number of the others.
ב׳
2[175] To prevent this sedition appearing to be their own particular project, they persuaded the senior tribe of the twelve to make common cause with them, and this tribe had many adherents among the more thoughtless, who supposed it capable of taking the supremacy as its birthright.
ג׳
3[176] Moses recognized in this the rise of a grave attack upon himself, for he had chosen his brother as high priest in accordance with the oracles vouchsafed to him. But there were spiteful rumours that he had falsely invented the oracles, and had made his choice through family feeling and affection for his brother.
ד׳
4[177] He was naturally pained at this, not merely that he was distrusted when he had shewn his good faith by so many proofs, but that this distrust extended to actions which concerned the honouring of God, actions which by themselves would necessarily ensure truthfulness even in one whose character was false in everything else, for truth is God’s attendant. But he did not think good to use words to explain to them his motives, knowing that it is vain labour to try to change the convictions of those of whom the opposite opinions have already taken hold, but besought God to shew them by clear demonstration that there had been no dishonesty in his choice of persons for the priesthood.
ה׳
5[178] God commanded him to take twelve rods, corresponding to the number of the tribes, and on eleven of them to inscribe the names of the other patriarchs, but on the twelfth that of his brother who was also high priest, and then to take them into the temple, right into the inner sanctuary. Moses did as he was bidden, and eagerly awaited the result.
ו׳
6[179] On the next day, under the impulse of a divine intimation, with all the people standing near, he went in and brought out the rods. The others shewed no difference, but the one on which was inscribed the name of his brother had undergone a wonderful change. Like a goodly plant, it had young sprouts growing all over it, and was laden with abundance of fruits.