Numbers 12:11
in Numbers 12and said to Moses, “My lord, please do not hold against us this sin we have so foolishly committed.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Aaron said unto Moses, Oh, my lord, lay not, I pray thee, sin upon us, for that we have done foolishly, and for that we have sinned.
KJV
And Aaron said unto Moses, Alas, my lord, I beseech thee, lay not the sin upon us, wherein we have done foolishly, and wherein we have sinned.
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This verse in Numbers 12
Commentary
6 notes on this verseLay not the sin - Let not the guilt and punishment of this sin rest upon us, upon her in this kind, upon me in any other kind, but pray to God for the pardon and removal of it.
This site's exposition
the cloud departed from off the tabernacle
on Numbers 12:10-12
The cloud lifts and the leprosy is there in the same verse, which continues the sequence the book has been setting, complaining answered by fire at 11:1, craving answered by plague at 11:33, and speech against Moses answered here. Miriam alone is struck though Aaron spoke too, and the text gives no reason, so the commentators supply one, Gill and Henry pointing to the priesthood a leprous man could not have served. Aaron is the man Leviticus 13 appoints to look at a plague and pronounce on it, and here he looks at his sister and can only ask Moses to plead. His words in verse 12 describe a stillbirth, flesh half consumed, which is what the disease was taken to be doing to her.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Repentance is the unsaying of that which we have said amiss, and it had better be unsaid than that we be undone by it. He begs Moses's pardon: Lay not this sin upon us. Aaron was to bring his gift to the altar, but, knowing that his brother had something against him, he of all men was concerned to reconcile himself to his brother, that he might be qualified to offer his gift.
And Aaron said unto Moses, alas, my lord!....
Note, Those that trample upon the saints and servants of God will one day be glad to make court to them; at furthest, in the other world, as the foolish virgins to the wise for a little oil, and the rich man to Lazarus for a little water; and perhaps in this world, as Job's friend to him for his prayers, and here Aaron to Moses. He confesses his own and his sister's sin,
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
On the humble and penitential submission of Aaron, Moses interceded for both the offenders, especially for Miriam, who was restored; not, however, till she had been made, by her exclusion, a public example [Nu 12:14, 15].
The words behind it
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֥אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אַהֲרֹ֖ן | ʾaharon | Aaron | H175 → | 347 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מֹשֶׁ֑ה | mosheh | Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
| בִּ֣י | bi | pardon me | H994 → | |
| אֲדֹנִ֔י | ʾadoni | O lord my | H113 → | 333 times |
| אַל־ | ʾal- | do not | H408 → | 724 times |
| נָ֨א | na' | please | H4994 → | 404 times |
| תָשֵׁ֤ת | tashet | may put | H7896 → | |
| עָלֵ֙ינוּ֙ | ʾaleinu | on us | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| חַטָּ֔את | chatat | [the] sin | H2403 → | 295 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| נוֹאַ֖לְנוּ | noalnu | we have acted foolishly | H2973 → | |
| וַאֲשֶׁ֥ר | vaasher | and which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| חָטָֽאנוּ׃ | chatanu | we have sinned | H2398 → | 238 times |
וַיֹּ֥אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אַהֲרֹ֖ןAaron
ʾaharonH175 →347 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
מֹשֶׁ֑הMoses
moshehH4872 →765 times
בִּ֣יpardon me
biH994 →
אֲדֹנִ֔יO lord my
ʾadoniH113 →333 times
אַל־do not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
נָ֨אplease
na'H4994 →404 times
תָשֵׁ֤תmay put
tashetH7896 →
עָלֵ֙ינוּ֙on us
ʾaleinuH5921 →5755 times
חַטָּ֔את[the] sin
chatatH2403 →295 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
נוֹאַ֖לְנוּwe have acted foolishly
noalnuH2973 →
וַאֲשֶׁ֥רand which
vaasherH834 →5497 times
חָטָֽאנוּ׃we have sinned
chatanuH2398 →238 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
2 Samuel 24:10After David had numbered the troops, his conscience was stricken and he said to the LORD, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. Now, O LORD, I beg You to take away…
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 12:13
Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” “The LORD has taken away your sin,” Nathan replied. “You will not die.
- 1 Samuel 13:13
“You have acted foolishly,” Samuel declared. “You have not kept the command that the LORD your God gave you; if you had, the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time.
- Proverbs 28:13
He who conceals his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them will find mercy.
- 1 Samuel 24:5
Afterward, David’s conscience was stricken because he had cut off the corner of Saul’s robe.
- 2 Samuel 12:13
Through
Proverbs 30:32If you have foolishly exalted yourself or if you have plotted evil, put your hand over your mouth.
it leads to
- Job 21:5
Look at me and be appalled; put your hand over your mouth.
- Job 21:5
Through
2 Samuel 19:19and said, “My lord, do not hold me guilty, and do not remember your servant’s wrongdoing on the day my lord the king left Jerusalem. May the king not take it to heart.
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 22:15
Was that day the first time I inquired of God for him? Far be it from me! Let not the king accuse your servant or any of my father’s household, for your servant knew…
- 1 Samuel 22:15
Through
1 Samuel 12:19They pleaded with Samuel, “Pray to the LORD your God for your servants so that we will not die! For we have added to all our sins the evil of asking for a king.”
it leads to
- Exodus 9:28
Pray to the LORD, for there has been enough of God’s thunder and hail. I will let you go; you do not need to stay any longer.”
- 1 John 5:16
If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he should ask God, who will give life to those who commit this kind of sin. There is a sin that leads…
- Exodus 9:28
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Numbers
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; 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.