Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Numbers 12:13
And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee.
And Moses cried unto the Lord,…. With a loud voice, and with great earnestness and importunity, being heartily affected with the miserable condition Miriam was in:
saying, heal her now, O God, I beseech thee; in the original text it is, “O God now, heal her now”; for the same particle is used at the close as at the beginning of the petition; and the repetition of it shows his earnestness and importunity that she might be healed directly, immediately, without any delay; and Moses uses the word “El”, which signifies the strong and mighty God, as expressive of his faith in the power of God, that he was able to heal her; and at the same time suggests that none but he could do it; and so Aben Ezra interprets it,
“thou that hast power in thine hand, now heal her;”
this prayer is a proof of his being of a meek, humble, and forgiving spirit.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Moses, with his mildness, took compassion upon his sister, upon whom this punishment had fallen, and cried to the Lord, “ O God, I beseech Thee, heal her. ” The connection of the particle with is certainly unusual, but yet it is analogous to the construction with such exclamations as (Jer 4:31; Jer 45:3) and (Gen 12:11; Gen 16:2, etc.); since in the vocative is to be regarded as equivalent to an exclamation; whereas the alteration into , as proposed by J. D. Michaelis and Knobel, does not even give a fitting sense, apart altogether from the fact, that the repetition of after the verb, with before it, would be altogether unexampled.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
13. And Moses cried unto the Lord. The event now proves, what was recently asserted, that Moses was of a meek and gentle disposition beyond all other men; for he is not only ready at once to forgive, but also intercedes with God for them. And thus the presumption of Miriam is best reproved; for the only hope of safety that remains to her is in the dignity of Moses, which of late she could not endure.
From the reply of God, it is manifest that the punishment which she alone had received was intended for the instruction of all. The pride and temerity of Miriam were sufficiently chastised, but God wished it to be a lesson for all, that every one should confine himself to his own bounds. Meanwhile, let us learn from this passage to pay due honor to the judgments of God, so that they may suffice us as the rule of supreme equity. For if such power over their children is accorded to earthly parents, as that they may put them to shame at their will, how much more reverence is due to our heavenly Father, when he brands us with any mark of disgrace? This was the reason why Miriam was shut out for seven days, not only that she might mourn apart by herself, but also that her chastisement might be profitable to all. It is likewise addressed to us, that we may learn to blush whensoever God is angry with our sins, and thus that shame may produce in us a dislike of sin. This special example afterwards passed into a law, as we have already seen, (Deu 24:9); (47) for when God commands lepers to be separated, He recalls to the recollection of the people what He had appointed with respect to Miriam, lest, if internal impurity be cherished, its infection may spread beyond ourselves.
(47) Ante, vol. 2, p. 12.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(13) Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee.Better, O God, I beseech thee, heal her, I beseech thee.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
13. Heal her now Strong faith always insists on a present blessing. Says J. Wesley, in respect to the healing of the leprosy of inbred sin, “If it is by faith, why not NOW?” Weak faith drops out the now, grasps no definite time, and looks only for a gradual cure. The greatest achievement of faith requires for its condition the idea of immediateness and instantaneousness.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And Moses cried to Yahweh, saying, “Heal her, O God, I beseech you.’
So Moses heard their plea and prayed to Yahweh and begged Him to heal her. Note that his prayer was to ‘God’, not ‘Yahweh’, recognising that by her behaviour Miriam had put herself outside covenant promises. Moses is ever the final intercessor.
How we should rejoice that we have an even greater intercessor, the One Who lives ever to make intercession for us (Heb 7:25). But it is not intercession that our sin be overlooked, but rather that we might be saved from it. It is not an intercession that leaves us as we are.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Who doth not, or who will not behold the LORD JESUS here represented, in his glorious character of our intercessor; Reader! behold him in an unequalled moment of the kind on the cross, when he prayed for his murderers, FATHER forgive them for they know not what they do. Luk 23:34 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Num 12:13 And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee.
Ver. 13. And Moses cried. ] Passing by all the unkindness, he prayed earnestly for her. This was a noble kind of revenge. David was much in it.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
GOD = El. = God, the mighty God. See App-4.
spit in her face = treat with contempt: so the idiom is used in Syriac and Arabic to-day. Hebrew “had spitted a spitting. “Figure of speech Polyptoton (App-6), for emphasis. Compare Job 30:10.
seven days. Compare Lev 13:4, Lev 13:5, Lev 13:21, Lev 13:26.
received in. Homonym ‘asaph (1) to heal or recover, here, 2Ki 5:6. Psa 27:10; (2) to snatch away or destroy, Psa 26:9. Jer 16:5.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Num 14:2, Num 14:13-20, Num 16:41, Num 16:46-50, Exo 32:10-14, 1Sa 12:23, 1Sa 15:11, Mat 5:44, Mat 5:45, Luk 6:28, Luk 23:34, Act 7:60, Rom 12:21, Jam 5:15
Reciprocal: Exo 4:7 – it was turned Deu 18:18 – like unto 1Ki 13:6 – besought Job 42:10 – when Psa 6:2 – heal Psa 103:3 – healeth 1Jo 5:16 – he shall ask