Numbers 12:6
in Numbers 12He said, “Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, will reveal Myself to him in a vision; I will speak to him in a dream.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he said, Hear now my words: if there be a prophet among you, I Jehovah will make myself known unto him in a vision, I will speak with him in a dream.
KJV
And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.
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This verse in Numbers 12
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThe purely intellectual vision existed in the minds of the angels and of the Lawmaker. Moses was raised up to this vision more completely than any other prophet, for it is written: Should there be a prophet among you, in visions will I reveal Myself …
This site's exposition
If there is a prophet among you
on Numbers 12:6-7
Vision and dream are the ordinary ways God speaks to a prophet, and verse 7 sets Moses apart, “he is faithful in all My house”. Hebrews 3:5 quotes it and adds that “Moses was faithful as a servant” while Christ is a Son over the house.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Hence in the last days, the days of the Messiah, the sons and daughters are said to prophesy ( Joel ii. 28 ), because they shall be better acquainted with the mysteries of the kingdom of grace than even the prophets themselves were; see Heb. i. Yet the honour put upon Moses was far greater (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And he said, hear now my words,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
If there be a prophet - We see here the different ways in which God usually made himself known to the prophets, viz., by visions - emblematic appearances, and by dreams, in which the future was announced by dark speeches, בחידת bechidoth, by enigmas or figurative representations, Num 12:
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֖אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| שִׁמְעוּ־ | shimu- | hear | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| נָ֣א | na' | please | H4994 → | 404 times |
| דְבָרָ֑י | devarai | words my | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| אִם־ | ʾim- | if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| יִֽהְיֶה֙ | yihyeh | he is | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| נְבִ֣יאֲכֶ֔ם | neviakhem | prophet of your | H5030 → | |
| יְהוָ֗ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| בַּמַּרְאָה֙ | bamarah | by <the> vision | H4759 → | |
| אֵלָ֣יו | ʾelav | to him | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֶתְוַדָּ֔ע | ʾetvada' | I make myself known | H3045 → | 945 times |
| בַּחֲל֖וֹם | bachalom | by <the> a dream | H2472 → | |
| אֲדַבֶּר־ | ʾadaber- | I speak | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| בּֽוֹ׃ | bo | with <the> him |
וַיֹּ֖אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
שִׁמְעוּ־hear
shimu-H8085 →1159 times
נָ֣אplease
na'H4994 →404 times
דְבָרָ֑יwords my
devaraiH1697 →1440 times
אִם־if
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
יִֽהְיֶה֙he is
yihyehH1961 →3559 times
נְבִ֣יאֲכֶ֔םprophet of your
neviakhemH5030 →
יְהוָ֗הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
בַּמַּרְאָה֙by <the> vision
bamarahH4759 →
אֵלָ֣יוto him
ʾelavH413 →5510 times
אֶתְוַדָּ֔עI make myself known
ʾetvada'H3045 →945 times
בַּחֲל֖וֹםby <the> a dream
bachalomH2472 →
אֲדַבֶּר־I speak
ʾadaber-H1696 →1141 times
בּֽוֹ׃with <the> him
bo
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 Kings 3:5One night at Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream, and God said, “Ask, and I will give it to you!”
it leads to
- James 1:5–6
Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
- 1 Kings 9:2
the LORD appeared to him a second time, as He had appeared to him at Gibeon.
- 2 Chronicles 1:7–12
That night God appeared to Solomon and said, “Ask, and I will give it to you!”
- John 14:13–14
And I will do whatever you ask in My name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
- Mark 10:36
“What do you want Me to do for you?” He inquired.
- James 1:5–6
Through
Genesis 46:2And that night God spoke to Israel in a vision: “Jacob, Jacob!” He said. “Here I am,” replied Jacob.
it leads to
- Job 33:14–15
For God speaks in one way and in another, yet no one notices.
- Genesis 15:1
After these events, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.”
- Genesis 15:13
Then the LORD said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years.
- Job 33:14–15
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies7
About Numbers
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bonaventure, Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.