Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Numbers 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.
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’ ( for , 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.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
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.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
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, 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.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
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.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
6, 7. Hear now my wordsAdifference of degree is here distinctly expressed in the gifts andauthority even of divinely commissioned prophets. Moses, having beenset over all God’s house, (that is, His church and people), wasconsequently invested with supremacy over Miriam and Aaron also andprivileged beyond all others by direct and clear manifestations ofthe presence and will of God.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
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:
[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, Am 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, Zec 1:8, and of the four horns, Zec 1:18, and four carpenters, Zec 1:20, with several others shown to Zechariah:
[and] will speak unto him in a dream; as he had done to Jacob,
Ge 31:11, and as he did afterwards to Daniel, Da 7:1, and many others.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
6. If there be a prophet among you. He makes mention of two methods by which the will of God was wont to be revealed to the prophets, viz., visions and dreams. He does not, however, here use the word חזון chazon, (42) which signifies a prophecy as well as a vision, but מראה, marah, expressive of some visible appearance, which confirms and ratifies the truth of His word (oraculi) to the eyes and all the senses. Thus has God often appeared to His servants, so that His majesty might be inscribed upon His addresses to them. Before the giving of the Law such visions were frequently vouchsafed to the Patriarchs; whilst sometimes they were instructed by dreams. Thus Joel, when he promises that under the kingdom of Christ there shall be a complete fullness of all revelations, also enumerates these two forms of them,
“
Your sons (he says) and your daughters shall prophesy: your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions.” (Joe 2:28.)
But we know that the prophets described the kingdom of Christ under the likeness of their own times: when, therefore, God sets forth these two ordinary modes of revelation, he withdraws Moses from the condition of others, as if to exalt him by a special privilege. Now, since Aaron and Miriam were not superior to others, they were thus reminded that they were far behind Moses in rank. With this view he is said to be “faithful in all God’s house;” in quoting which passage in order to prove his inferiority to Christ, the Apostle says he was a servant, and a member of the Church, whereas Christ was its Lord and builder, or creator. (Heb 3:2.) But the difference between them is more clearly specified immediately afterwards, viz., that God speaks to him “mouth to mouth,” by which expression, as I have said elsewhere, (43) more intimate and familiar communication is denoted. Still God does not thus deprive the prophets of anything which is requisite for the discharge of their office; but merely establishes Moses as the chief of them all. It is true, indeed, that the Patriarchs are so ranked, as Abraham was called a prophet by the mouth of God, (Gen 20:7😉 and the Prophet thus names him together with Isaac and Jacob in Psa 105:15; but still God at the same time includes the whole dispensation, which He afterwards chose to employ under the Law; and so prefers Moses to all who were hereafter to arise.
Further, the word vision is used in a different sense from that which it had just above; for God, distinguishing Moses from others, says that He speaks with him in vision, (44) which it would be absurd to explain as meaning an ordinary or common vision. It therefore here signifies actual sight, (45) which He contrasts with “dark speeches (aenigmata) and similitude,” which word is equivalent to a representation (figura,) if the negative be referred to both. For there are some who take similitude for a lively and express image; as if God should assert that He reveals His face to Moses; and therefore read the clause adversatively, as I have given it in the margin. But the former reading is the most natural.
I have elsewhere treated of dreams and visions. It will then be sufficient to give the sum in one word, namely, that they were seals for the confirmation of prophecies; so that the Prophets, as if sent from heaven, might with full confidence declare themselves to be God’s lawful interpreters. For visions had their own peculiar marks, to distinguish them from phantoms and false imaginations; and dreams also were accompanied by their signs, in order to remove all doubt of their authenticity. The prophets, therefore, were fully conscious of their vocation, so that nothing was wanting to the assurance of faith. Meanwhile, the false prophets dressed themselves up in these masks to deceive. Thus Jeremiah, in refutation of their ungodly pretences, says,
“
The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat, saith the Lord?” (Jer 23:28.)
(42) חזון, a vision, from חזה, to see, to look upon. מראה, either the act of sight, or the object of sight; a seeing, or an appearance, from ראה, to see, to perceive. — W.
(43) On Exo 33:11, ante, vol. 3, p. 372.
(44) A.V. “apparently.”
(45) “Veue, ou regard de quelque figure visible;” the view or look of some visible figure. — Fr.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(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.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
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.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And he said, “Hear now 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.’
Firstly He confirmed what a prophet was. He was a man who received visions and dreams. That, said Yahweh, was how He made Himself known to the general run of prophets. Both of them probably knew something about that, so, yes, they were prophets. He acknowledged that. But how different they were from Moses.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Num 12:6. If there be a prophet among you It is very plain, that the design of the Lord in this speech is to shew the evident superiority of Moses, as a prophet, over Aaron and Miriam. They boasted, Num 12:2 that the Lord had spoken by them as well as by Moses. The Lord, therefore, now condescends to settle the dispute, and to shew the difference between them. In which view, I cannot help thinking our translation dark and unintelligible; and therefore I would propose the following version, which is certainly as agreeable to the Hebrew as that of ours, which is pretty generally followed, though I have the countenance of the Arabic and Syriac for what is now offered. If either of you have at any time been a prophet, [or have prophesied,] I the Lord have made myself known unto you by a vision: in a dream have I spoken unto you, Num 12:7. Not so with my servant Moses: he is faithful (a trusty and constant servant) over all my house, Num 12:8. With him will I speak mouth to mouth, openly, and not by dark speeches or parables; and in figures, or similitudes, shall he behold the Lord. The Arabic renders the last verse thus: I speak to him without a medium, and grant him to see visions, not in a dark enigmatical way, but by figures of God exhibited to him. See Exo 33:11. Houbigant, however, thinks, that the clause, and he sees the appearance of the Lord, is right, and that it refers to Moses seeing Christ in that human form wherein he afterwards manifested himself upon earth. (“Deo Mosi se talem monstrante, qualis erat in terris videndus, et cum hominibus habitaturus.”) Moses enjoyed the highest degree of prophesy: he was employed as a minister over all God’s house; over all Israel, who were the family or chosen people of the Lord: and in this trust he was faithful; executing all the divine commands, and doing nothing of himself, as he was now falsely accused. In this, the apostle assures us, he was the type of Christ, who is constituted head of the Christian church, but with a far more extensive power. Calmet observes, very ingeniously, that the word, which we render faithful, neeman, is used as an appellative, and signifies a person in high trust, as an ambassador, minister, or secretary. Thus Samuel is said to be a namen, established to be a prophet of the Lord. 1Sa 3:20. Job speaks of namenim, in the plural number, as persons of dignity; ch. Job 12:20 see Pro 13:17; Pro 25:13. In the same way the word fidus is used in Latin for a trusty servant. Jesus Christ is called the faithful and true witness, Rev 3:14; Rev 19:11. Moses is here considered as a faithful domestic in the Lord’s house, and as such indulged in the freest intercourse with his divine Lord and Master: the others, Aaron and Miriam, as only visited occasionally by him, and that in a distant and reserved manner.
REFLECTIONS.Though the innocent may be silent, God will be the avenger of their quarrel. We have here,
1. The immediate interposition of God: he summons the parties to appear at his bar to decide the controversy, and will make them know the difference between his chosen servant Moses and all other prophets. He made himself known to them in visions, and a great favour that was; but Moses was more highly favoured. 1. God testifies of his fidelity: eminent it was, and distinguished; and this he most approves. It is not so much great gifts, or great abilities, but faithfulness and simplicity of heart, which God esteems. 2. The manifestations made to him were peculiar. His eyes beheld more of God’s glory than any before him, and the revelations given him were more distinct and clear, God speaking to him familiarly, not in dark speeches, but as a man speaketh to his friend. Note; If prophetical visions have ceased, and we see no more the similitude of the Lord, yet, blessed be God, we enjoy now distincter views of gospel-mysteries than even the holy prophets; and, in the face of Jesus Christ incarnate, have been favoured with brighter displays of the divine glory, grace, and truth, than even Moses on the mount.
2. God’s anger was kindled, and he shews it by some visible sign, or by his sudden departure, without waiting for their excuse. Note; (1.) The reputations of God’s ministers are his jealous concern; when God shall arise to plead their cause, confusion shall cover their adversaries. (2.) When God is provoked he will depart; and no judgment heavier than to be forsaken of him.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Probably it was by dreams when his servants were sleeping, and by visions when they were waking, that the LORD revealed himself to the patriarchs and prophets in those early ages. But how much happier is our dispensation of grace to which we are brought, since the LORD JESUS finished redemption-work, and that promise is fulfilled, Joh_14:16-17; Joh_14:26 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
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.
In a dream.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
He: i.e. Jehovah.
said. See note on Num 3:40.
If there be = should there be; i.e. when ye have your prophet.
make Myself known. This also essential to a prophet. Compare Num 11:29.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
a prophet: Gen 20:7, Exo 7:1, Psa 105:15, Mat 23:31, Mat 23:34, Mat 23:37, Luk 20:6, Eph 4:11, Rev 11:3, Rev 11:10
in a vision: Gen 15:1, Gen 46:2, Job 4:13, Job 33:15, Psa 89:19, Eze 1:1, Dan 8:2, Dan 10:8, Dan 10:16, Dan 10:17, Luk 1:11, Luk 1:22, Act 10:11, Act 10:17, Act 22:17, Act 22:18
a dream: Gen 31:10, Gen 31:11, 1Ki 3:5, Jer 23:28, Dan 7:1, Mat 1:20, Mat 2:12, Mat 2:13, Mat 2:19
Reciprocal: Gen 17:22 – General Gen 28:12 – he dreamed Gen 31:24 – dream Gen 37:5 – dreamed Gen 40:5 – General Gen 41:16 – It is not Num 22:8 – General Num 24:4 – saw Deu 18:18 – like unto Deu 34:10 – the Lord 1Sa 3:21 – appeared 1Sa 28:6 – by dreams 2Sa 7:4 – that night 1Ch 17:3 – word Job 42:5 – mine Isa 1:1 – vision Jer 23:25 – dreamed Eze 1:28 – This Dan 1:17 – Daniel had understanding Dan 2:19 – in Hos 12:10 – multiplied Joe 2:28 – dream Act 9:10 – and to 2Co 12:1 – visions Heb 1:1 – in
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
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.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
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 {c} vision, [and] will speak unto him in a dream.
(c) These were the two ordinary means.