Numbers 12:2

And they said, Hath the LORD indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the LORD heard it.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
said	וַיֹּאמְר֗וּ vai.yo.me.Ru	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
LORD	יְהוָ֔ה Yah.weh	H3068	Jehovah · proper noun, a title
spoken	דִּבֶּ֣ר di.Ber	H1696	perhaps properly · verb, piel perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Moses	בְּמֹשֶׁה֙ be.mo.Sheh	H4872	Mosheh · preposition + proper noun, a man's name
spoken	דִבֵּ֑ר di.Ber	H1696	perhaps properly · verb, piel perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
LORD	יְהוָֽה Yah.weh	H3068	Jehovah · proper noun, a title
heard	וַיִּשְׁמַ֖ע vai.yish.Ma'	H8085	to hear intelligently (often with implication of attent… · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular

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 16:3 And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congreg…
Ezekiel 35:12-13 And thou shalt know that I am the LORD, and that I have heard all thy blasphemies which thou hast spoken against the mountains of Israel, sa…
Isaiah 37:4 It may be the LORD thy God will hear the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach the living God, and w…
Micah 6:4 For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of servants; and I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Mir…
Philippians 2:3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.
Philippians 2:14 Do all things without murmurings and disputings:
Numbers 11:1 And when the people complained, it displeased the LORD: and the LORD heard it; and his anger was kindled; and the fire of the LORD burnt amo…
2 Kings 19:4 It may be the LORD thy God will hear all the words of Rab-shakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach the living God;…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Numbers 12:1-3

Here is, I. The unbecoming passion of Aaron and Miriam: they spoke against Moses, Num 12:1. If Moses, that received so much honour from God, yet received so many slights and affronts from men, shall any of us think such trials either strange or hard, and be either provoked or discouraged by them? But who would have thought that disturbance should be created to Moses, 1. From those that were themselves serious and good; nay, that were eminent in religion, Miriam a prophetess, Aaron the high priest, both of them joint-commissioners with Moses for the deliverance of Israel? Mic 6:4, I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. 2. From those that were his nearest relations, his own brother and s…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Numbers 12:2

Hath the Lord indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not also spoken by us?--The prophetical name and character was bestowed upon Aaron (Exo 4:15-16) and Miriam (Exo 15:20); and, therefore, they considered the conduct of Moses, in exercising an exclusive authority in this matter, as an encroachment on their rights (Mic 6:4).

John Gill on Numbers 12:2

And they said, hath the Lord, indeed spoken only by Moses?.... They own he had spoken by him; this was so notorious that it could not be denied: hath he not spoken also by us? are we not prophets as well as he? the Lord spake to Aaron while he was in Egypt, and had made him a good spokesman in his name, and bore this testimony of him, that he could speak well, and Miriam is expressly called a prophetess, Exodus 4:14 Exodus 15:20; and this being the case, they stomached it that they should have no concern in the choice and appointment of the seventy elders: and the Lord heard it; for perhaps this was said secretly between themselves; but God, that sees, and hears, and knows all things, took…

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John Calvin on Numbers 12:1-15

Numbers 12:1-16 1. And Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman. 1. Et loquuta est Maria et Aharon contra Mosen propter uxorem AEthiopissam quam acceperat: uxorem enim AEthiopissam acceperat. 2. And they said, Hath the Lord indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the Lord heard it. 2. Et dixerunt, Nunquid solummodo per Mosen loquutus est Jehova? nonne etiam per nos loquutus est? Et audivit Jehova. 3. (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.) 3. Vir autem ille Moses mansuetissimus fuit prae cunctis hominibus qui erant super faci…

The Church Fathers

Moses, then, is found in Numbers to take a dark, or black, Ethiopian woman to wife, on whose account Miriam and Aaron disparage him, and, indignant, say: "Has the Lord spoken to Moses alone? Has he not spoken also to us?" … In which it seems to me too that, according to the mystery, they understood rather what was being done, and saw that Moses — that is, the spiritual law — was now passing over into the nuptials and wedlock of the Church gathered from the nations; and that Miriam, who held the form of the forsaken Synagogue, and Aaron, who held the image of the carnal priesthood, seeing that the kingdom was taken away from themselves, and given to a nation bringing forth its fruits, said: "Has God spoken to Moses alone? Has he not spoken also to us?"
— Origen of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON THE SONG OF SONGS, BOOK 2

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

Aaron — The eldest son of Amram and Jochebed, a daughter of Levi (Ex. 6:20). Some explain the name as meaning mountaineer, others mountain of strength, illuminator. He was born in Egypt three years before…
Miriam — Their rebellion. (1.) The sister of Moses and Aaron (Ex. 2:4-10; 1 Chr. 6:3). Her name is prominent in the history of the Exodus. She is called “the prophetess” (Ex. 15:20). She took the lead in the…
Ambition · .Aaron and Miriam — .Aaron and Miriam
Citizens · .Miriam and Aaron — .Miriam and Aaron
Desert, Journey Of Israel Through The · Aaron and Miriam envy Moses — Aaron and Miriam envy Moses
Envy · .Miriam and Aaron, of Moses — .Miriam and Aaron, of Moses
First Born, The · Instances of superseded: Aaron — Instances of superseded: Aaron
Forgiveness · .Moses forgives the Israelites — .Moses forgives the Israelites
Judgments · Miriam — Miriam
Leprosy · .Miriam — .Miriam
Murmuring · Exemplified: Aaron, &c — Exemplified: Aaron, &c
Treason · .Of Aaron and Miriam against Moses — .Of Aaron and Miriam against Moses

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).

Numbers 12:2

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Numbers 12:1-3

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Numbers 12:2

John Gill on Numbers 12:2

John Calvin on Numbers 12:1-15

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Numbers 12:2

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Numbers 12:1-3

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Numbers 12:2

John Gill on Numbers 12:2

John Calvin on Numbers 12:1-15

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on Numbers 12:1-3

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Numbers 12:2

Rashi on Numbers 12:2