Numbers 12:8
in Numbers 12I speak with him face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the LORD. Why then were you unafraid to speak against My servant Moses?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
with him will I speak mouth to mouth, even manifestly, and not in dark speeches; and the form of Jehovah shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant, against Moses?
KJV
With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the Lord shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?
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This verse in Numbers 12
Commentary
7 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
With him will I speak mouth to mouth
on Numbers 12:8-9
Mouth to mouth stands against vision and dream, and Exodus 33:11 says the same thing as face to face, while Exodus 33:20 says no man shall see God and live. Older readers hold those together by taking the similitude of the Lord as a manifestation of glory rather than the divine essence, and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown add that the clause reads with the phrase before it, which removes the appearance of a clash with Deuteronomy 4:15. The charge at the end of the verse is about fear rather than rank, wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses. The anger is kindled and he departed, and that withdrawal comes before any symptom appears.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
As I started to say, it is shown later in the book of Numbers that even what he asked was granted to his desire, for thereby the Lord rebuked the sister of Moses for her obstinacy. The Lord appeared to the other prophets in visions and dreams but to Moses plainly and not by riddles. He added the words "And he saw the glory of the Lord." Why then did God make such an exception of him, if not perhaps that he considered him such a ruler of his people, so faithful a minister of his whole house, that he was worthy, even then, of that contemplation, so that, as he desired, he saw God as he is—a contemplation promised to all his sons at the end of life?
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Dark speeches - Not in parables, similitudes, dark resemblances; as by shewing a boiling pot, an almond tree, &c. to Jeremiah, a chariot with wheels, &c. to Ezekiel. The similitude - Not the face or essence of God, which no man can see and live, Exod. xxxiii, 20, but some singular manifestation of his glorious presence, as Exod. xxxiii, 11, 20.
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 (
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With him will I speak mouth to mouth,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Joh 1:18); but some unmistakable evidence of His glorious presence (Ex 33:2; The latter clause should have been conjoined with the preceding one, thus: "not in dark speeches, and in a figure shall he behold the Lord." The slight change in the punctuation removes all appearance of contradiction to De 4:15.
The words behind it
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| פֶּ֣ה | peh | mouth | H6310 → | 498 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| פֶּ֞ה | peh | mouth | H6310 → | 498 times |
| אֲדַבֶּר־ | ʾadaber- | I speak | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| בּ֗וֹ | bo | with <the> him | ||
| וּמַרְאֶה֙ | umareh | and a vision | H4758 → | 103 times |
| וְלֹ֣א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| בְחִידֹ֔ת | vechidot | by riddles | H2420 → | |
| וּתְמֻנַ֥ת | utemunat | and [the] form of | H8544 → | |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| יַבִּ֑יט | yabit | he sees | H5027 → | 69 times |
| וּמַדּ֙וּעַ֙ | umadua' | and why? | H4069 → | |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יְרֵאתֶ֔ם | yeretem | were you afraid | H3372 → | 315 times |
| לְדַבֵּ֖ר | ledaber | to speak | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| בְּעַבְדִּ֥י | beavdi | against servant my | H5650 → | 799 times |
| בְמֹשֶֽׁה׃ | vemosheh | against Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
פֶּ֣הmouth
pehH6310 →498 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
פֶּ֞הmouth
pehH6310 →498 times
אֲדַבֶּר־I speak
ʾadaber-H1696 →1141 times
בּ֗וֹwith <the> him
bo
וּמַרְאֶה֙and a vision
umarehH4758 →103 times
וְלֹ֣אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
בְחִידֹ֔תby riddles
vechidotH2420 →
וּתְמֻנַ֥תand [the] form of
utemunatH8544 →
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
יַבִּ֑יטhe sees
yabitH5027 →69 times
וּמַדּ֙וּעַ֙and why?
umadua'H4069 →
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יְרֵאתֶ֔םwere you afraid
yeretemH3372 →315 times
לְדַבֵּ֖רto speak
ledaberH1696 →1141 times
בְּעַבְדִּ֥יagainst servant my
beavdiH5650 →799 times
בְמֹשֶֽׁה׃against Moses
vemoshehH4872 →765 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
1 Corinthians 13:12Now we see but a dim reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
it leads to
- 1 John 3:2
Beloved, we are now children of God, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when Christ appears, we will be like Him, for we will see Him as…
- 2 Corinthians 3:18
And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into His image with intensifying glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
- 1 Corinthians 13:9–10
For we know in part and we prophesy in part,
- Philippians 3:12
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.
- Revelation 22:4
They will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads.
- 1 John 3:2
Through
Luke 10:16Whoever listens to you listens to Me; whoever rejects you rejects Me; and whoever rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.”
it leads to
- John 13:20
Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever receives the one I send receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives the One who sent Me.”
- 1 Thessalonians 4:8
Anyone, then, who rejects this command does not reject man but God, the very One who gives you His Holy Spirit.
- John 13:20
Through
Exodus 33:11Thus the LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young assistant Joshua son of Nun would not…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 34:10
Since that time, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face—
- Deuteronomy 34:10
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 Augustine of Hippo, LETTER 147.32; Bonaventure, Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9; 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; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.