He said, “Now hear my words. If there is a prophet among you, I, Yahweh, will make myself known to him in a vision. I will speak with him in a dream.
Parallel Translations
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He said, “Now hear my words. If there is a prophet among you, I, Yahweh, will make myself known to him in a vision. I will speak with him in a dream.
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And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.
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And He said: 'Hear now My words: if there be a prophet among you, I the LORD do make Myself known unto him in a vision, I do speak with him in a dream.
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Contradictions (1)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (31)
Passages linked to Numbers 12:6 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 1 Kings 3:5 In Gibeon, Yahweh appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, “Ask for what I should give you.”
- Genesis 31:10-11 During mating season, I lifted up my eyes, and saw in a dream, and behold, the male goats which leaped on the flock were streaked, speckled, and grizzled. The angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob,’ and I said, ‘Here I am.’
- Genesis 46:2 God spoke to Israel in the visions of the night, and said, “Jacob, Jacob!” He said, “Here I am.”
- Acts 22:17-18 “When I had returned to Jerusalem, and while I prayed in the temple, I fell into a trance, and saw him saying to me, ‘Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not receive testimony concerning me from you.’
- Luke 1:22 When he came out, he could not speak to them. They perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple. He continued making signs to them, and remained mute.
- Daniel 10:8 So I was left alone, and saw this great vision. No strength remained in me; for my face grew deathly pale, and I retained no strength.
- Luke 1:11 An angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
- Ezekiel 1:1 Now in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river Chebar, the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.
- Genesis 15:1 After these things Yahweh’s word came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Don’t be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”
- Genesis 20:7 Now therefore, restore the man’s wife. For he is a prophet, and he will pray for you, and you will live. If you don’t restore her, know for sure that you will die, you, and all who are yours.”
- Exodus 7:1 Yahweh said to Moses, “Behold, I have made you as God to Pharaoh; and Aaron your brother shall be your prophet.
- Job 4:13 In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on men,
- Job 33:15 In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on men, in slumbering on the bed;
- Psalms 89:19 Then you spoke in vision to your saints, and said, “I have given strength to the warrior. I have exalted a young man from the people.
- Psalms 105:15 “Don’t touch my anointed ones! Do my prophets no harm!”
- Jeremiah 23:28 The prophet who has a dream, let him tell a dream; and he who has my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the straw to the wheat?” says Yahweh.
- Daniel 8:2 I saw the vision. Now it was so, that when I saw, I was in the citadel of Susa, which is in the province of Elam. I saw in the vision, and I was by the river Ulai.
- Matthew 1:20 But when he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take to yourself Mary, your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
- Acts 10:11 He saw heaven opened and a certain container descending to him, like a great sheet let down by four corners on the earth,
- Daniel 7:1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head on his bed. Then he wrote the dream and told the sum of the matters.
- Daniel 10:16-17 Behold, one in the likeness of the sons of men touched my lips. Then I opened my mouth, and spoke and said to him who stood before me, “My lord, by reason of the vision my sorrows have overtaken me, and I retain no strength. For how can the servant of this my lord talk with this my lord? For as for me, immediately there remained no strength in me. There was no breath left in me.”
- Matthew 2:19 But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying,
- Acts 10:17 Now while Peter was very perplexed in himself what the vision which he had seen might mean, behold, the men who were sent by Cornelius, having made inquiry for Simon’s house, stood before the gate,
- Matthew 2:12-13 Being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back to their own country another way. Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.”
- Matthew 23:31 Therefore you testify to yourselves that you are children of those who killed the prophets.
- Matthew 23:37 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets, and stones those who are sent to her! How often I would have gathered your children together, even as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you would not!
- Luke 20:6 But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us, for they are persuaded that John was a prophet.”
- Ephesians 4:11 He gave some to be apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, shepherds and teachers;
- Revelation 11:3 I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.”
- Revelation 11:10 Those who dwell on the earth rejoice over them, and they will be glad. They will give gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.
- Matthew 23:34 Therefore behold, I send to you prophets, wise men, and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify; and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city;
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (15 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain These were the two ordinary means.
These were the two ordinary means.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Num 12:6 And he said, Hear now my words:…
Num 12:6 And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, [I] the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, [and] will speak unto him in a dream.
Ver. 6. In a vision.] To those awake.
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In a dream.] To those asleep: but dreams and visions do soon vanish and fly away. {Job 20:8}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain If you be prophets, as you pretend, yet know…
If you be prophets, as you pretend, yet know there is a difference among prophets, nor do I put equal authority and honour upon all of them. By a vision God represents things to the mind of a prophet when he is awake, as Gen 15:1; 46:2; Dan 8:18; 10:8. By a dream God manifests his mind to them when asleep, as Gen 20:3; 28:12.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And he said, hear now my words,.... The Targum…
And he said, hear now my words,.... The Targum of Jonathan reads, "I beseech you"; and Jarchi says, this particle always so signifies; but it is not so agreeable to the language of the divine Being:
if there be a prophet among you; not as making a doubt of it, but rather allowing that there was, and that there were others besides Moses, as even they themselves, Aaron and Miriam, and the seventy elders, and perhaps others; or at least there had been, and would be again, as there were in later times:
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I the Lord will make myself known to him; that is, declare my mind and will concerning things present, or things to come:
in a vision; when awake, either by day or by night, representing objects to the bodily sight; as the almond tree rod, and the boiling pot, to Jeremiah, Jer 1:11; the visions of the chariots, Eze 23:24, and dry bones, Eze 37:1, to Ezekiel, and such as were shown to Amos, Amo 7:1, or to the mind by night, as if really discerned by the senses; as the visions of the man riding on a red horse, Zac 1:8, and of the four horns, Zac 1:18, and four carpenters, Zac 1:20, with several others shown to Zechariah:
and will speak unto him in a dream; as he had done to Jacob, Gen 31:11, and as he did afterwards to Daniel, Dan 7:1, and many others.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Among you - if you be prophets, yet know…
Among you - if you be prophets, yet know there is a difference among prophets, nor do I put equal honour upon all of them.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 6. If there be a prophet] We see…
Verse 6. If there be a prophet] We see here the different ways in which God usually made himself known to the prophets, viz., by visions - emblematic appearances, and by dreams, in which the future was announced by dark speeches, בחידת bechidoth, by enigmas or figurative representations, Nu 12:8. But to Moses God had communicated himself in a different way - he spoke to him face to face, apparently, showing him his glory: not in dark or enigmatical speeches; this could not be admitted in the case in which Moses was engaged, for he was to receive laws by Divine inspiration, the precepts and expressions of which must all be ad captum vulgi, within the reach of the meanest capacity. As Moses, therefore, was chosen of God to be the lawgiver, so was he chosen to see these laws duly enforced for the benefit of the people among whom he presided.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Num 12:6. If there be a prophet among you…
Num 12:6. If there be a prophet among you — If you be prophets, yet know there is a difference among prophets, nor do I put equal honour upon all of them. In a vision — To some the divine will was communicated by strong impressions upon their imaginations when they were awake, but in an ecstasy, as in the case of Abraham, Gen 15:1; Jacob, Gen 46:2; and Dan 8:1-15. Now we never read that Moses was thus entranced in a prophetic vision. He was always awake and quite master of himself when conversing with God, or receiving communications from him. In a dream — To others God revealed his mind by figurative, enigmatical representations, exhibited to them in their sleep; as the ladder which was represented to Jacob in a dream, Gen 28:12.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Vision. Other prophets were inspired in a more mysterious…
Vision. Other prophets were inspired in a more mysterious manner: Moses, though he saw not the majesty of God in any corporeal figure, was instructed by him in the most secret things with the utmost perspicuity, (Calmet) as if a man were explaining his sentiments to his most intimate friend, Exodus xxxiii. 19. (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Hear now my words--A difference of degree is here…
Hear now my words--A difference of degree is here distinctly expressed in the gifts and authority even of divinely commissioned prophets. Moses, having been set over all God's house, (that is, His church and people), was consequently invested with supremacy over Miriam and Aaron also and privileged beyond all others by direct and clear manifestations of the presence and will of God.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 6. If there be a prophet — The literal…
6. If there be a prophet — The literal rendering of this verse is, If there be a prophet of Jehovah to you, (that is, if ye have one,) I reveal myself to him in a vision, I speak to him in a dream.
Vision… dream — Trances and dreams are here represented as modes of divine communication, but they do not bestow the highest dignity upon the man who is the organ of the revelation.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 6. if there be a prophet among you, I…
6. if there be a prophet among you, I Jehovah &c.] The Heb. text is corrupt. The true reading is probably ‘a prophet among you’ (נָבִיא בָכֶם for נְבִיְאַכֶם, and ‘Jehovah’ must be omitted. Its position in the Heb. forbids the rendering of the R.V. Possibly it has been accidentally transposed, and the verse should begin ‘And Jehovah said,’ as Syr. and LXX. Luc. [Note: uc. The Lucianic recension of the Septuagint.] have it.
6–8. The words of Jehovah (from ‘If there be a prophet’) are couched in rhythmical form, as was the common practice in the utterance of oracles. As they stand in the Heb. text they fall into ten short lines.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (6) If there be a prophet . . .…
(6) If there be a prophet . . . —Better, If there be to (or, among) ycu a prophet of Jehovah, I will make myself known unto him in a vision, and speak unto him. The LXX. and Vulgate connect the word “Jehovah” with the former, not with the latter part of the clause. The mode of communication between God and Moses differed in the respects which are enumerated in Num_12:8 from the mode of communication by visions or dreams, in which God communicated His will to others.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain If there boa prophet among you I the Lord…
If there boa prophet among you I the Lord will make myself known. More probably "the Lord" belongs to the first clause: "If there be to you a prophet of the Lord, I will make myself known." So the Septuagint, eanhtai profhthv umwn Kuriw ... gnwsyhsomai . In a vision. En oramati . An internal vision, in which the eyes (even if open) saw nothing, but the effects of vision" were produced upon the sensorium by other and supernatural means. (see, e.g., Amo_7:7, 8 Act_10:11) Speak unto him in a dream. Rather, speak "in him wOB. The voice that spake to the prophet was an internal voice, causing no vibration of the outer air, but affecting only the inner and hidden seat of consciousness. It is not necessary to restrict the prophetic dream to the time of sleep; a waking state, resembling what we call day-dream, in which the external senses arc quiescent, and the imagination is freed from its usual restraints, was perhaps the more usual mental condition at the time. Indeed the Divine communications made to Joseph (Mat_1:20 Mat_2:13) and to the Magi (ibid. Num_2:12) are almost the only ones we read of as made during actual sleep, unless we include the ease of Pilate"s wife; (ibid. Num_27:19) and none of these were prophets in the ordinary sense. Compare, however, Act_2:17.
Vers. 6-8. The singular honour of Moses.
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The best commentary on these verses is supplied by the comparison instituted between Moses and our blessed Lord in the Epistle to the Hebrews. (Heb_3:1-6) The Hebrews are reminded that of all the servants whom the Lord raised up to minister in the ancient Church, there was not one who approached Moses, in respect either to the greatness and variety of the services performed by him, or the greatness of the honours bestowed upon him. Moses was set over all God"s house, and in this eminent station he was conspicuously faithful. In these respects Moses was the most perfect figure of Christ. Christ"s priesthood was foreshadowed by Melchisedec, his royalty by David and Solomon, his prophetical office by Samuel and the goodly company of prophets who followed him. But in Moses all the three offices were foreshadowed at once. Of these two men, Moses and Christ, and of no other since the world began, could it be affirmed that they were "faithful in all the Lord"s house." No doubt there was disparity as well as a resemblance. Both were servants. But Moses was a servant in a house which belonged to another, in a household of which he was only a member, whereas Christ is such a servant as is also a son, and serves in a household of which he is the Maker and Heir. This is true. Nevertheless it is profitable to forget occasionally the disparity of the two great mediators, and to fix attention on the resemblance between them, the points in which the honour of Christ the Great Prophet was prefigured by the singular honour of Moses. Hence the interest and value of this text in Numbers.
I AS A FOIL TO BRING OUT THE SINGULAR HONOUR OF MOSES, THE LORD PUTS ALONGSIDE OF IT THE HONOUR BESTOWED ON OTHER PROPHETS. a Consider the prophets that have been or yet are among you. How has my will been made known to them?" Two ways are specified.
1. "In a vision. There was a memorable example of this in the case of Abraham. (Ge 15) Visions continued to be the vehicles of revelation during the whole course of the Old Testament history. Isaiah, (Isa 6 Isa 13, &c.); Jeremiah, (Jer 50, &c.); Ezekiel and Daniel (everywhere). Peter"s vision at Joppa is a familiar example of the same kind under the New Testament.
2. "In a dream. This was a lower way of revelation. The stories of Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar remind us that the dreams (I do not say the interpretations of them) were not seldom vouchsafed to men who were strangers to God. We shall see immediately that these ways of making himself known to men through the prophets, were inferior to the ways in which the Lord was wont to reveal himself through Moses. But let us not so fix our attention on the points of difference as to lose sight of or forget the bright and glorious feature which they have in common. "I, the Lord, do make myself known in a vision, and do speak in a dream." For reasons we can only guess at, the Lord was pleased to suffer the nations to walk in their own ways. But in Israel he revealed himself. At sundry times and in divers manners he was pleased to speak to the fathers by the prophets. The Scriptures of the Old Testament are oracular. In them we inherit the most precious part of the patrimony of the ancient Church. For this was the chief advantage which the Jews had above the Gentiles, that "unto them were committed the oracles of God." It is our own fault if, in reading the Old Testament, we fail to hear everywhere the voice of God.
II OVER AGAINST THE HONOUR VOUCHSAFED TO ALL THE PROPHETS, THE LORD SETS FORTH THE SINGULAR HONOUR OF MOSES. It is denoted by the loving title by which the Lord here and elsewhere names him: "My servant Moses." "Were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?" (verses 7, 8; cf. Jos_1:2; also Deu_34:5) The word here translated "servant" is a word of honourable import; and in the singular and emphatic way in which it is applied by the Lord to Moses, it is applied by him to no other till we come to Christ himself. (see Isa_52:13 Isa_53:11, &c.); The singular honour of Moses is indicated, moreover, by this, that he was called and enabled to do faithful service "in all God"s house." Aaron served as a priest, Miriam as a prophetess, Joshua as a commander, each being intrusted with one department of service; Moses was employed in all. More particularly, Moses was singularly honoured in regard to the manner of the Divine communications granted to him. With him the Lord spoke "mouth to mouth," even apparently, i.e., visibly, and not in dark speeches, and he beheld the similitude of the Lord.
1. When prophets received communications in dreams and visions they were very much in a passive state, simply beholding and hearing, often unable to make out the meaning of what they saw and heard. Moses, on the contrary, was admitted as it were into the audience chamber, and the Lord spoke to him as a man speaks with his friend. (cf. Num_7:89)
2. A few of the prophets, specially honoured, had visions of the Divine glory. (Isa 6, &c.); But in this respect Moses was honoured above all the rest. (Ex 33 Ex 34) In these respects he prefigured the great Prophet, the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, knows the Father even as the Father knows him, and has fully declared him. It has seemed to some learned men a thing unlikely, a thing incredible, that the vast body of doctrine and law and divinely-inspired history contained in the last four books of the Pentateuch should have been delivered to the Church within one age, and chiefly by one man. But the thing will not seem strange to one who believes and duly considers the singular honour of Moses as described in this text, especially if it is read in connection with the similar testimony borne elsewhere to Christ. Moses, and the Prophet like unto Moses, stand by themselves in the history of Divine revelation in this respect, that each served "in all God"s house;" each was commissioned to introduce the Church into a new dispensation, to deliver to the Church a system of doctrine and institutions. In harmony with this is the patent fact that, as at the bringing in of the gospel dispensation the stream of Holy Scripture expands into the four gospels, even so at the bringing in of the ancient dispensation the stream of Holy Scripture originated in the Books of the Law. B.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 My servant Moses is not like that
My servant Moses is not like that
"I do not speak to Moses like that"
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He is faithful in all my house
Here "my house" represents the nation of Israel. Being faithful in God's house represents being faithful in leading Israel. AT: "Moses leads my people faithfully" or "Moses is the one whom I trust to lead my people Israel" (See: Metonymy)
So why are you unafraid to speak against my servant, against Moses?
Yahweh asks this question to rebuke Miriam and Aaron. It can be translated as a statement. AT: "You should be afraid to speak against my servant, against Moses." (See: Rhetorical Question)
against my servant, against Moses
The phrase "against Moses" clarifies that he is the "servant" of whom Yahweh speaks. AT: "against my servant, Moses" (See: Parallelism)
translationWords
word
prophet
reveal
vision
dream
servant
faithful
house
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 12:6-8 The Lord’s trust in Moses resulted in an…
12:6-8 The Lord’s trust in Moses resulted in an intimate relationship. God spoke to prophets in visions and dreams, but he spoke to Moses face to face (literally mouth to mouth; see Exod 33:8-11, 18-23; Deut 34:10).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.