Numbers 11:17
in Numbers 11And I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take some of the Spirit that is on you and put that Spirit on them. They will help you bear the burden of the people, so that you do not have to bear it by yourself.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And I will come down and talk with thee there: and I will take of the Spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone.
KJV
And I will come down and talk with thee there: and I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone.
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This verse in Numbers 11
Commentary
6 notes on this verseI will take of the spirit which is upon thee - From this place Origen and Theodoret take occasion to compare Moses to a lamp, at which seventy others were lighted, without losing any of its brightness. To convince Moses that God had sufficiently qualified him for the work which he had given him to do, he tells him that of the gifts and graces which he has given him he will qualify seventy persons to bear the charge with him. This was probably intended as a gracious reproof. Query.
This site's exposition
Gather unto me seventy men of the elders
on Numbers 11:16-17
Seventy elders had gone up the mountain with Moses at Exodus 24:1 and 24:9, and Jethro had already told him at Exodus 18:17-23 that the work was too heavy for one man to bear. What is new here is the means, that the LORD takes of the spirit which is upon Moses and puts it upon them. Clarke reports the figure Origen and Theodoret used for that, a lamp from which seventy lamps are lit and the first loses none of its own light. Jewish tradition traces the membership of the later Sanhedrin back to this verse, counting the seventy with Moses over them.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
The same meaning is to be understood in the case of Moses when the Lord said to him, "I will take of your spirit and give to them," that is, I will give to them of the Holy Spirit which I have already given to you. If that which is also given has the giver for its principle, because it did not receive from any other source than that which proceeds from him, then we have to confess that the Father and the Son are the principle of the Holy Spirit, not two principles. But as the Father and the Son are one God, and in relation to the creature are one Creator and one Lord, so they are one principle in relation to the Holy Spirit. But in relation to the creature, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are one principle, as they are one Creator and one Lord.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
(2.) All good qualifications are from God; every perfect gift is from the Father of lights. Even the humour of the discontented people shall be gratified too, that every mouth may be stopped. They are ordered to sanctify themselves (
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And I will come down and talk with thee there,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
1Co 14:12), and by "taking the spirit of Moses, and putting it upon them," is not to be understood that the qualities of the great leader were to be in any degree impaired but that the elders would be endowed with a portion of the same gifts, especially of prophecy (Nu 11:25) --that is, an extraordinary penetration in discovering hidden and settling difficult things.
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The words behind it
19 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְיָרַדְתִּ֗י | veyaradti | and I will come down | H3381 → | 381 times |
| וְדִבַּרְתִּ֣י | vedibarti | and I will speak | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| עִמְּךָ֮ | ʾimekha | with you | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| שָׁם֒ | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| וְאָצַלְתִּ֗י | veatzalti | and I will share | H680 → | |
| מִן־ | min- | some of | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הָר֛וּחַ | haruach | the spirit | H7307 → | 378 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עָלֶ֖יךָ | ʾaleikha | [is] on you | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| וְשַׂמְתִּ֣י | vesamti | and I will put [it] | H7760 → | 584 times |
| עֲלֵיהֶ֑ם | ʾaleihem | on them | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| וְנָשְׂא֤וּ | venaseu | and they will carry | H5375 → | 656 times |
| אִתְּךָ֙ | ʾitekha | with you | H854 → | 929 times |
| בְּמַשָּׂ֣א | bemasa' | in [the] burden of | H4853 → | 66 times |
| הָעָ֔ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| וְלֹא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תִשָּׂ֥א | tisa' | you will carry [it] | H5375 → | 656 times |
| אַתָּ֖ה | ʾatah | you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| לְבַדֶּֽךָ׃ | levadekha | to alone you | H905 → | 200 times |
וְיָרַדְתִּ֗יand I will come down
veyaradtiH3381 →381 times
וְדִבַּרְתִּ֣יand I will speak
vedibartiH1696 →1141 times
עִמְּךָ֮with you
ʾimekhaH5973 →1050 times
שָׁם֒there
shamH8033 →834 times
וְאָצַלְתִּ֗יand I will share
veatzaltiH680 →
מִן־some of
min-H4480 →1188 times
הָר֛וּחַthe spirit
haruachH7307 →378 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
עָלֶ֖יךָ[is] on you
ʾaleikhaH5921 →5755 times
וְשַׂמְתִּ֣יand I will put [it]
vesamtiH7760 →584 times
עֲלֵיהֶ֑םon them
ʾaleihemH5921 →5755 times
וְנָשְׂא֤וּand they will carry
venaseuH5375 →656 times
אִתְּךָ֙with you
ʾitekhaH854 →929 times
בְּמַשָּׂ֣אin [the] burden of
bemasa'H4853 →66 times
הָעָ֔םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
וְלֹא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
תִשָּׂ֥אyou will carry [it]
tisa'H5375 →656 times
אַתָּ֖הyou
ʾatahH859 →1094 times
לְבַדֶּֽךָ׃to alone you
levadekhaH905 →200 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Corinthians 2:12We have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.
it leads to
- 1 John 2:27
And as for you, the anointing you received from Him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But just as His true and genuine anointing teaches you about all…
- Romans 8:5–6
Those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh; but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.
- 1 John 2:20
You, however, have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.
- 1 John 5:19–20
We know that we are of God, and that the whole world is under the power of the evil one.
- 1 John 4:4–5
You, little children, are from God and have overcome them, because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.
- 1 John 2:27
Through
1 Samuel 10:6Then the Spirit of the LORD will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be transformed into a different person.
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 10:10
When Saul and his servant arrived at Gibeah, a group of prophets met him. Then the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied along with them.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Numbers 11:25
Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and He took some of the Spirit that was on Moses and placed that Spirit on the seventy elders. As the Spirit…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Samuel 19:23–24
So Saul went to Naioth in Ramah. But the Spirit of God came upon even Saul, and he walked along prophesying until he came to Naioth in Ramah.
- 1 Samuel 10:10
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Numbers
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Augustine of Hippo, THE TRINITY 5.14.15; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.