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Numbers 12:4

in Numbers 12

And suddenly the LORD said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, “You three, come out to the Tent of Meeting.” So the three went out,

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And Jehovah spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, Come out ye three unto the tent of meeting. And they three came out.

KJV

And the Lord spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, Come out ye three unto the tabernacle of the congregation. And they three came out.

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This verse in Numbers 12

Commentary

5 notes on this verse

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

Judges of old sat in the gate of the city to try causes, and so on this occasion the shechinah in the cloud of glory stood at the door of the tabernacle, and Aaron and Miriam, as delinquents, were called to the bar.

This site's exposition

the Lord spake suddenly unto Moses

on Numbers 12:4-5

Suddenly is the word Adam Clarke fastens on, since no interval is left for the complaint to spread or for the three to prepare an account of it. All three are summoned to the door of the tent and the pillar comes down and stands there, which Matthew Henry compares to a judge taking his seat in the gate of a city where causes were tried. Moses is called out with the other two and is never asked to speak.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

And the Lord spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam,....

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

the Lord spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam--The divine interposition was made thus openly and immediately, in order to suppress the sedition and prevent its spreading among the people.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

And the Lord spake suddenly - The sudden interference of God in this business shows at once the importance of the case and his displeasure.

The words behind it

16 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.

  • וַיֹּ֨אמֶרand he said

    vaiyomerH559 →5305 times

  • יְהוָ֜הYahweh

    yahwehH3068 →6520 times

  • פִּתְאֹ֗םsuddenly

    pitomH6597 →

  • אֶל־to

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • מֹשֶׁ֤הMoses

    moshehH4872 →765 times

  • וְאֶֽל־and to

    veel-H413 →5510 times

  • אַהֲרֹן֙Aaron

    ʾaharonH175 →347 times

  • וְאֶל־and to

    veel-H413 →5510 times

  • מִרְיָ֔םMiriam

    miryamH4813 →15 times

  • צְא֥וּcome out

    tzeuH3318 →1067 times

  • שְׁלָשְׁתְּכֶ֖םO [the] three of you

    shelashetekhemH7969 →432 times

  • אֶל־to

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • אֹ֣הֶל[the] tent of

    ʾohelH168 →345 times

  • מוֹעֵ֑דmeeting

    moedH4150 →223 times

  • וַיֵּצְא֖וּand they went out

    vaiyetzeuH3318 →1067 times

  • שְׁלָשְׁתָּֽם׃[the] three of them

    shelashetamH7969 →432 times

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

Related verses

2 in all, six open

The walk

5 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

    Psalms 76:9

    when God rose up to judge, to save all the lowly of the earth. Selah

    it leads to

    • Zephaniah 2:3

      Seek the LORD, all you humble of the earth who carry out His justice. Seek righteousness; seek humility. Perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the LORD’s anger.

    • Matthew 5:5

      Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

    • Psalms 9:7–9

      But the LORD abides forever; He has established His throne for judgment.

    • Isaiah 11:4

      but with righteousness He will judge the poor, and with equity He will decide for the lowly of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth and slay the…

    • Jeremiah 5:28

      They have grown fat and sleek, and have excelled in the deeds of the wicked. They have not taken up the cause of the fatherless, that they might prosper; nor have they defended the…

Where this verse is studied

On this page

Studies1

About Numbers

The Bronze Serpent, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
The Bronze Serpent, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Numbers: the study guide →Read Numbers 12 →

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) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Numbers 12 →