to descend (literally · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
pillar
בְּעַמּ֣וּדbe.'a.Mud
H5982
a column (as standing) · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
cloud
עָנָ֔ן'a.Nan
H6051
a cloud (as covering the sky) · noun, common masculine singular absolute
stood
וַֽיַּעֲמֹ֖דvai.ya.'a.Mod
H5975
to stand · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
door
פֶּ֣תַחPe.tach
H6607
an opening (literally) · noun, common masculine singular construct
tabernacle
הָאֹ֑הֶלha.'O.hel
H168
a tent (as clearly conspicuous from a distance) · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
called
וַיִּקְרָא֙vai.yik.Ra'
H7121
to call out to (i.e. properly · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Aaron
אַהֲרֹ֣ן'a.ha.Ron
H175
Aharon · proper noun, a man's name
Miriam
וּמִרְיָ֔םu.mir.Yam
H4813
Mirjam · conjunction + proper noun, a woman's name
both
שְׁנֵיהֶֽםshe.nei.Hem
H8147
two · cardinal number, both genders dual construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
forth
וַיֵּצְא֖וּvai.ye.tze.'U
H3318
to go (causatively · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
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 11:25 And the LORD came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and gave it unto the seventy elders: and it…
Exodus 34:5 And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD.
Exodus 40:38 For the cloud of the LORD was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout a…
Psalms 99:7 He spake unto them in the cloudy pillar: they kept his testimonies, and the ordinance that he gave them.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Numbers 12:4-9
Moses did not resent the injury done him, nor complain of it to God, nor make any appeal to him; but God resented it. He hears all we say in our passion, and is a swift witness of our hasty speeches, which is a reason why we should resolutely bridle our tongues, that we speak not ill of others, and why we should patiently stop our ears, and not take notice of it, if others speak ill of us. I heard not, for thou wilt hear, Psa 38:13-15. The more silent we are in our own cause the more is God engaged to plead it. The accused innocent needs to say little if he knows the judge himself will be his advocate.
I. The cause is called, and the parties are summoned forthwith to attend at the door of th…
the Lord came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood the door of the tabernacle--without gaining admission, as was the usual privilege of Aaron, though it was denied to all other men and women. This public exclusion was designed to be a token of the divine displeasure.
John Gill on Numbers 12:5
The Lord came down in the pillar of the cloud,.... Which was over the most holy place of the tabernacle, and which was a symbol of the presence of the Lord; and who is said to come down, because that was above the tabernacle; whereas he came, as is next expressed:
and stood in the door of the tabernacle; where he set up his tribunal, and called them to his bar, courts of judicature being usually held in the gate; not suffering them to go into the tabernacle as they were wont to do, being delinquents:
and called Aaron and Miriam; to come nearer to him, and hear what he had to say to them; Moses keeping at a greater distance, it not being so proper that he should be within hearing of those c…
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
Hear, then, in what follows, what the Holy Spirit relates and with what praises he extols Moses. "And the Lord came down," he says, "in a pillar of cloud, and stood at the door of the tabernacle of testimony; and Aaron and Miriam were called, and both stood forth. And he said to them: hear my words; if there be a prophet of yours to the Lord, I will be known to him in visions and I will speak to him in dreams. Not so with my servant Moses, who is faithful in all my house; mouth to mouth will I speak to him, in his form and not in a riddle, and he saw the glory of the Lord; and why were you not afraid to detract from my servant Moses?" And the wrath of the Lord's fury was made upon them, and they departed. And the cloud withdrew from the tabernacle, and behold, Miriam was made leprous as snow. You see what penalty the disparagers brought upon themselves, but what praise they sought out for him whom they had disparaged. For themselves they sought foulness, for him splendor; for themselves leprosy, for him glory; for themselves reproach, for him magnificence. Yet Moses, before he received the Ethiopian woman, it is not written that God spoke to him in his form and not in a riddle; but when he received the Ethiopian woman, then God says concerning him: "mouth to mouth will I speak to him, in his form and not in a riddle." For now, when Moses has come to us and has been joined to this our Ethiopian woman, the law of God is now recognized no longer in figures and in images as before, but in the very form of truth; and the things which before were signified in a riddle are now fulfilled in form and truth. And therefore he who expounded the forms of the figures and riddles says: "but we know that our fathers were all under the cloud, and were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of the spiritual rock following them; and the rock was Christ." You see how Paul resolves the riddles of the law and teaches the forms of the riddles, and says that the rock was in a riddle with Moses, before it was joined to this our Ethiopian woman. Now in form the rock is Christ; for now God speaks mouth to mouth through the law. Before, the baptism in the cloud and in the sea was in a riddle, but now in form there is regeneration in water and the Holy Spirit. Then in a riddle the…
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…
Cloud — The Hebrew so rendered means “a covering,” because clouds cover the sky. The word is used as a symbol of the Divine presence, as indicating the splendour of that glory which it conceals (Ex. 16:10;…
Cloud, Pillar Of — The pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night that God caused to pass before the camp of the children of Israel when in the wilderness. The cloud, which became a pillar when the host moved, seems…
Hazeroth — Fenced enclosures consisting of “a low wall of stones in which thick bundles of thorny acacia are inserted, the tangled branches and long needle-like spikes forming a perfectly impenetrable hedge…
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
Cloud · PILLAR OF — PILLAR OF
Cloud Of Glory · Special appearances of: At sedition of Aaron and Miriam — Special appearances of: At sedition of Aaron and Miriam
Envy · .Miriam and Aaron, of Moses — .Miriam and Aaron, of Moses
Forgiveness · .Moses forgives the Israelites — .Moses forgives the Israelites
Jehovah summoned the opponents of His servant to come at once before His judgment-seat. He commanded Moses, Aaron, and Miriam suddenly to come out of the camp (see at Num 11:30) to the tabernacle. Then He Himself came down in a pillar of cloud to the door of the tabernacle, i.e., to the entrance to the court, not to the dwelling itself, and called Aaron and Miriam out, i.e., commanded them to come out of the court,
(Note: The discrepancy discovered by Knobel, in the fact that, according to the so-called Elohist, no one but Moses, Aaron, and the sons of Aaron were allowed to enter the sanctuary, whereas, according to the Jehovist, others did so, - e.g., Miriam here, and Joshua in Exo 33:11,…
In response, the Lord reconfirmed Moses’ special status and authority.
Rashi on Numbers 12:5
בעמוד ענן [AND THE LORD CAME DOWN] IN THE COLUMN OF THE CLOUD — He came alone to punish them, not as is the manner of human beings: when a human king goes to war, he goes with numerous troops, but when he goes forth peaceably, he goes forth with only a few. But the manner of the Holy One, blessed be He, is that He goes to war alone — as it is said, (Exodus 15:3) “The Lord alone is the man of war, but He goes forth for peace accompanied by His hosts, as it is said, (Psalms 68:18) “The chariots of God are twenty thousands, even thousands of angels of peace (שנאן)” (Sifrei Bamidbar 102).
ויקרא אהרן ומרים AND HE CALLED: “AARON AND MIRIAM!” — that they should proceed further, and go forth from t…
Pillars · The divine glory appeared to Israel in the form of — The divine glory appeared to Israel in the form of
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).
