Numbers 12:14
in Numbers 12But the LORD answered Moses, “If her father had but spit in her face, would she not have been in disgrace for seven days? Let her be confined outside the camp for seven days; after that she may be brought back in.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jehovah said unto Moses, If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be ashamed seven days? let her be shut up without the camp seven days, and after that she shall be brought in again.
KJV
And the Lord said unto Moses, If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be ashamed seven days? let her be shut out from the camp seven days, and after that let her be received in again.
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This verse in Numbers 12
Commentary
7 notes on this verseIf her father had but spit in her face - This appears to have been done only in cases of great provocation on the part of the child, and strong irritation on the side of the parent. Spitting in the face was a sign of the deepest contempt. See Job 30:10; Isa 50:6; Mar 14:65. In a case where a parent was obliged by the disobedient conduct of his child to treat him in this way, it appears he was banished from the father’s presence for seven days.
This site's exposition
And Moses cried unto the Lord
on Numbers 12:13-14
The prayer runs to five words in the Hebrew and the man praying it is the man who was spoken against. The answer is a delay rather than a refusal, and its measure is a domestic one, the shame of a daughter whose father has spat in her face, which stands seven days. Leviticus 13:46 had already put the leper outside the camp, so the sentence applies a law that Miriam's own brother administers.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
A commentator
Clement of RomeClement's First Letter to the Corinthians, Chapters 3-4 · Written before 99.
proposed
Every kind of honour and happiness was bestowed upon you, and then was fulfilled that which is written, "My beloved ate and drank, and was enlarged and became fat, and kicked." [Deuteronomy 32:15] Hence flowed emulation and envy, strife and sedition, persecution and disorder, war and captivity. So the worthless rose up against the honoured, those of no reputation against such as were renowned, the foolish against the wise, the young against those advanced in years.
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
1 And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman. 2 And they said, Hath the L ORD indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? 3 (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.) Here is, I.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:92%@v1-3
Spit in her face - That is, expressed some eminent token of indignation and contempt, which was this, Job xxx, 10 Isaiah l, 6. Ashamed - And withdraw herself, from her father's presence, as Jonathan did upon a like occasion, 1 Sam. xx, 34.
And the Lord said unto Moses,....
If Miriam the prophetess be put under such marks of humiliation for one hasty word spoken against Moses, what may we expect for our murmurings? If this be done in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry? See how people debase and diminish themselves by sin, stain their glory, and lay their honour in the dust.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֨אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָ֜ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מֹשֶׁ֗ה | mosheh | Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
| וְאָבִ֙יהָ֙ | veaviha | and father her | H1 → | 1212 times |
| יָרֹ֤ק | yarok | certainly <to spit> | H3417 → | |
| יָרַק֙ | yarak | he had spat | H3417 → | |
| בְּפָנֶ֔יהָ | befaneiha | in face her | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| הֲלֹ֥א | halo' | ¿ not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תִכָּלֵ֖ם | tikalem | will she be put to shame | H3637 → | |
| שִׁבְעַ֣ת | shivat | seven | H7651 → | 394 times |
| יָמִ֑ים | yamim | days | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| תִּסָּגֵ֞ר | tisager | she will be shut up | H5462 → | |
| שִׁבְעַ֤ת | shivat | seven | H7651 → | 394 times |
| יָמִים֙ | yamim | days | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| מִח֣וּץ | michutz | from [the] outside | H2351 → | 164 times |
| לַֽמַּחֲנֶ֔ה | lamachaneh | of the camp | H4264 → | 215 times |
| וְאַחַ֖ר | veachar | and after | H310 → | 715 times |
| תֵּאָסֵֽף׃ | teasef | she will be received | H622 → | 200 times |
וַיֹּ֨אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
יְהוָ֜הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
מֹשֶׁ֗הMoses
moshehH4872 →765 times
וְאָבִ֙יהָ֙and father her
veavihaH1 →1212 times
יָרֹ֤קcertainly <to spit>
yarokH3417 →
יָרַק֙he had spat
yarakH3417 →
בְּפָנֶ֔יהָin face her
befaneihaH6440 →2123 times
הֲלֹ֥א¿ not
halo'H3808 →5168 times
תִכָּלֵ֖םwill she be put to shame
tikalemH3637 →
שִׁבְעַ֣תseven
shivatH7651 →394 times
יָמִ֑יםdays
yamimH3117 →2304 times
תִּסָּגֵ֞רshe will be shut up
tisagerH5462 →
שִׁבְעַ֤תseven
shivatH7651 →394 times
יָמִים֙days
yamimH3117 →2304 times
מִח֣וּץfrom [the] outside
michutzH2351 →164 times
לַֽמַּחֲנֶ֔הof the camp
lamachanehH4264 →215 times
וְאַחַ֖רand after
veacharH310 →715 times
תֵּאָסֵֽף׃she will be received
teasefH622 →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
Isaiah 50:6I offered My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who tore out My beard. I did not hide My face from scorn and spittle.
it leads to
- Matthew 26:67
Then they spit in His face and struck Him. Others slapped Him
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Matthew 27:30
Then they spit on Him and took the staff and struck Him on the head repeatedly.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Mark 14:65
Then some of them began to spit on Him. They blindfolded Him, struck Him with their fists, and said to Him, “Prophesy!” And the officers received Him with slaps in His face.
- Mark 15:19
They kept striking His head with a staff and spitting on Him. And they knelt down and bowed before Him.
- Luke 22:63–64
The men who were holding Jesus began to mock Him and beat Him.
- Matthew 26:67
Through
Job 30:10They abhor me and keep far from me; they do not hesitate to spit in my face.
it leads to
- Isaiah 50:6
I offered My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who tore out My beard. I did not hide My face from scorn and spittle.
- Psalms 88:8
You have removed my friends from me; You have made me repulsive to them; I am confined and cannot escape.
- Isaiah 50:6
Through
Deuteronomy 25:9his brother’s widow shall go up to him in the presence of the elders, remove his sandal, spit in his face, and declare, “This is what is done to the man who will not…
it leads to
- Ruth 4:7–8
Now in former times in Israel, concerning the redemption or exchange of property, to make any matter legally binding a man would remove his sandal and give it to the other party, and this…
- Ruth 4:7–8
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 Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Clement of Rome, Clement's First Letter to the Corinthians, Chapters 3-4; 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.