Numbers 11:24 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Numbers 11:24
And Moses went out, and told the people the words of the LORD, and gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people, and set them round about the tabernacle.
a man as an individual or a male person · noun, common masculine singular absolute
elders
מִזִּקְנֵ֣יmi.zik.Nei
H2205
old · preposition + adjective, masculine plural construct
people
הָעָ֔םha.'Am
H5971
a people (as a congregated unit) · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
set
וַֽיַּעֲמֵ֥דvai.ya.'a.Med
H5975
to stand · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
about
סְבִיבֹ֥תse.vi.Vot
H5439
(as noun) a circle · noun, common both genders plural construct
tabernacle
הָאֹֽהֶלha.'O.hel
H168
a tent (as clearly conspicuous from a distance) · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Numbers 11:16 And the LORD said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and offi…
Numbers 11:26 But there remained two of the men in the camp, the name of the one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad: and the spirit rested upon th…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Numbers 11:24-30
We have here the performance of God's word to Moses, that he should have help in the government of Israel.
I. Here is the case of the seventy privy-counsellors in general. Moses, though a little disturbed by the tumult of the people, yet was thoroughly composed by the communion he had with God, and soon came to himself again. And according as the matter was concerted, 1. He did his part; he presented the seventy elders before the Lord, round the tabernacle (Num 11:24), that they might there stand ready to receive the grace of God, in the place where he manifested himself, and that the people also might be witnesses of their solemn call. Note, Those that expect favour from God must humbly off…
Moses . . . gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people, &c.--The tabernacle was chosen for the convocation, because, as it was there God manifested Himself, there His Spirit would be directly imparted--there the minds of the elders themselves would be inspired with reverential awe and their office invested with greater respect in the eyes of the people.
John Gill on Numbers 11:24
And Moses went out,.... Either out of his own tent, about which the people assembled, complaining and weeping, Numbers 11:10; or rather, as Aben Ezra, out of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the sanctuary where he had been conversing with God, about the affairs complained of both by the people and by himself; so the Targum of Jonathan says, he went out of the tabernacle, the house of the Shechinah or divine Majesty:
and told the people of the words of the Lord; what he had ordered him to do for his ease in the government of them, and how he had promised to give them flesh on the morrow:
and gathered the seventy men of the elders of Israel; sent for them by name, and ordered them to…
"And Moses went out," it says, "to the people, and spoke the words of the Lord." So long as Moses hears the words of God and is taught by Him, he is within, and abides in the inner places, and is kept among secrets; but when he speaks to the crowds and ministers to the people, who cannot stand within, he is said to go out abroad. What then does a saying of such a form contain? That every teacher and master of the Church, if he stirs up something concerning the deeper mysteries, if he brings forth something hidden and secret concerning the wisdom of God among the perfect—so long as he is occupied in profound meanings, he is to be said to be within and to abide in the inner places; but when he speaks to the crowds and brings forth those things which suffice for those who are outside, and which the common people can hear, he is said to have gone out abroad and to speak to the people the words of the Lord. This I see that Paul also did, and that he was indeed within when he said: "But we speak wisdom among the perfect, yet a wisdom not of this world nor of the princes of this world, who are being brought to nothing. But we speak the wisdom of God hidden in a mystery, which none of the princes of this world knew." You see how Paul is within and penetrates the inner and secret things of divine wisdom, when he speaks these things. But when he proceeds to the people, hear what he says: "Let no evil speech proceed out of your mouth," and: "Let him who stole steal no more," and: "Let each man have his own wife," and: "Let each woman have her own husband." These things, and any of this kind, Paul, going out abroad to the people after the manner of Moses, speaks.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Eldad — Whom God has loved, one of the seventy elders whom Moses appointed (Num. 11:26, 27) to administer justice among the people. He, with Medad, prophesied in the camp instead of going with the rest to…
Law of Moses — Is the whole body of the Mosaic legislation (1 Kings 2:3; 2 Kings 23:25; Ezra 3:2). It is called by way of eminence simply “the Law” (Heb. Torah, Deut. 1:5; 4:8, 44; 17:18, 19; 27:3, 8). As a written…
Medad — Love, one of the elders nominated to assist Moses in the government of the people. He and Eldad “prophesied in the camp” (Num. 11:24-29).
Prophet — (Heb. nabi, from a root meaning “to bubble forth, as from a fountain,” hence “to utter”, comp. Ps. 45:1). This Hebrew word is the first and the most generally used for a prophet. In the time of…
Tabernacle — (1.) A house or dwelling-place (Job 5:24; 18:6, etc.). (2.) A portable shrine (comp. Acts 19:24) containing the image of Moloch (Amos 5:26; marg. and R.V., “Siccuth”). (3.) The human body (2 Cor.…
Courts Of Justice · Sanhedrim or court of the seventy: Probably derived from the seventy elders appointed by Moses — Sanhedrim or court of the seventy: Probably derived from the seventy elders appointed by Moses
Desert, Journey Of Israel Through The · Seventy elders appointed to assist Moses — Seventy elders appointed to assist Moses
Intolerance, Religious · .Joshua — .Joshua
Jury · Of seventy men, el — Of seventy men, el
Seventy · The senate of the Israilites composed of seventy el — The senate of the Israilites composed of seventy el
Trouble · .Foo
And Moses went out and told the people the words. We here see how greatly Moses profited by his brief rebuke, for he now actively sets about what he was commanded. Doubt had given him a check, so that he stopped in the middle of his course; whereas he now testifies by the promptitude of his obedience that his distrust is overcome. For just as unbelief discourages men, so that they sink down into inactivity, so faith inspires both body and mind with rigor for the effectual discharge of their duties.
Although the narrative does not expressly state that he spoke to them respecting the flesh, it declares in general terms that he omitted nothing; and, indeed, it would have been very inappropriat…
After receiving from the Lord this reply to his complaint. Moses went out (sc., "of the tabernacle," where he had laid his complaint before the Lord) into the camp; and having made known to the people the will of God, gathered together seventy men of the elders of the people, and directed them to station themselves around the tabernacle. "Around the tabernacle," does not signify in this passage on all four sides, but in a semicircle around the front of the tabernacle; the verb is used in this sense in Num 21:4, when it is applied to the march round Edom.
Num 11:25
Jehovah then came down in the cloud, which soared on high above the tabernacle, and now came down to the door of it (Num 12:5; Ex…
When Jethro proposed a judicial hierarchy (Exod 18:13-26), he was concerned with practical matters, as were the tribal leaders who helped Moses with the registration (Num 1:5-15). By contrast, this group of seventy . . . elders would provide Israel with spiritual guidance. They needed a share of God’s Spirit that already rested upon Moses and made him the Lord’s special spokesman. Their capacity as leaders depended on the presence of God’s Spirit (cp. 1 Sam 10:6; 19:20; Joel 2:28; Acts 2:16-18; 1 Cor 12:10; 2 Pet 1:20-21).
Rashi on Numbers 11:23
עתה תראה היקרך דברי THOU SHALT SEE NOW WHETHER MY WORD SHALL COME TO PASS UNTO THEE [OR NOT]. — R. Gamliel, the son of R. Judah ha-Nasi said, “The dialogue took the following course: Moses said, “One can never understand a babbler! (One can never fathom his meaning.) Since they are merely seeking a pretext You will never satisfy them (the meaning of the text is: If all the cattle in the world were slaughtered for them, ומצא להם, would this suffice them, i. e., would they be satisfied with that?), in the end they will always argue against You. If You give them flesh of large cattle (oxen) they will say ‘We wanted that of small cattle (sheep)’; if You will give them flesh of sheep, they will s…
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
