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Numbers 11:29

in Numbers 11

But Moses replied, “Are you jealous on my account? I wish that all the LORD’s people were prophets and that the LORD would place His Spirit on them!”

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV

ASV

And Moses said unto him, Art thou jealous for my sake? would that all Jehovah’s people were prophets, that Jehovah would put his Spirit upon them!

KJV

And Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit upon them!

This verse in Numbers 11

Commentary

7 notes on this verse

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

They, however, received the gifts of the Spirit as well as their brethren. And when Moses was urged to forbid their prophesying, his answer displayed a noble disinterestedness as well as zeal for the glory of God akin to that of our Lord (Mr 9:39).

This site's exposition

And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses

on Numbers 11:28-29

Joshua asks Moses to forbid them, and Matthew Henry suggests Joshua was one of the seventy himself and jealous for the honour of the order. Moses answers with a wish rather than a ruling, would God that all the LORD's people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit upon them. Joel 2:28 promises that in so many words, and Peter stands up at Acts 2:16-18 and says this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown set the answer beside Mark 9:39, where John forbids a man casting out devils and is told to forbid him not.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

Enviest thou for my sake - Art thou grieved because the gifts and graces of God are imparted to others besides me? Prophets - He saith prophets, not rulers, for that he knew was absurd and impossible. So we ought to be pleased, that God is glorified and good done, tho' to the lessening of our own honour.
Moses said unto him, enviest thou for my sake?....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

Shall we reject those whom Christ has owned, or restrain any from doing good because they are not in every thing of our mind? Moses was of another spirit; so far from silencing these two, and quenching the Spirit in them, he wished all the Lord's people were prophets, that is, that he would put his Spirit upon them.

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

Enviest thou for my sake? - Moses, the minister of God, Rebukes our partial love, Who envy at the gifts bestow’d On those we disapprove. We do not our own spirit know, Who wish to see suppress’d The men that Jesu’s spirit show, The men whom God hath bless’d. Would God that all the Lord’s people were prophets - Shall we the Spirit’s course restrain, Or quench the heavenly fire? Let God his messengers ordain, And whom he will inspire.

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

Enviest thou for my sake? - Moses, the minister of God, Rebukes our partial love, Who envy at the gifts bestow’d On those we disapprove. We do not our own spirit know, Who wish to see suppress’d The men that Jesu’s spirit show, The men whom God hath bless’d. Would God that all the Lord’s people were prophets - Shall we the Spirit’s course restrain, Or quench the heavenly fire? Let God his messengers ordain, And whom he will inspire.

The words behind it

18 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said

    vaiyomerH5595305 times

  • לוֹ֙to <the> him

    lo

  • מֹשֶׁ֔הMoses

    moshehH4872765 times

  • הַֽמְקַנֵּ֥א¿ zealous

    hamkane'H706534 times

  • אַתָּ֖ה[are] you

    ʾatahH8591094 times

  • לִ֑יfor <the> me

    li

  • וּמִ֨יand who?

    umiH4310423 times

  • יִתֵּ֜ןwill he give

    yitenH54142011 times

  • כָּל־all

    kol-H36055413 times

  • עַ֤ם[the] people of

    ʾamH59711873 times

  • יְהוָה֙Yahweh

    yahwehH30686520 times

  • נְבִיאִ֔ים[were] prophets

    neviimH5030

  • כִּי־that

    ki-H35884482 times

  • יִתֵּ֧ןhe will put

    yitenH54142011 times

  • יְהוָ֛הYahweh

    yahwehH30686520 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H85310935 times

  • רוּח֖וֹspirit his

    ruchoH7307378 times

  • עֲלֵיהֶֽם׃on them

    ʾaleihemH59215755 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Luke 10:2

    And He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest.

    it leads to

    • Matthew 9:36–38

      When He saw the crowds, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

    • John 4:35–38

      Do you not say, ‘There are still four months until the harvest’? I tell you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are ripe for harvest.

    • 1 Corinthians 3:6–9

      I planted the seed and Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.

  • Through

    James 4:5

    Or do you think the Scripture says without reason that the Spirit He caused to dwell in us yearns with envy?

    it leads to

    • 2 Corinthians 6:16

      What agreement can exist between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell with them and walk among them, and…

    • 1 Corinthians 6:19

      Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;

  • Through

    James 5:9

    Do not complain about one another, brothers, so that you will not be judged. Look, the Judge is standing at the door!

    it leads to

    • Leviticus 19:18

      Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against any of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.

    • 1 Corinthians 4:5

      Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each…

    • James 4:11

      Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. And if you judge the law, you are not a practitioner of…

Where this verse is studied

About Numbers

The Bronze Serpent, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
The Bronze Serpent, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.