Numbers 16:15
in Numbers 16Then Moses became very angry and said to the LORD, “Do not regard their offering. I have not taken one donkey from them or mistreated a single one of them.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Moses was very wroth, and said unto Jehovah, Respect not thou their offering: I have not taken one ass from them, neither have I hurt one of them.
KJV
And Moses was very wroth, and said unto the Lord, Respect not thou their offering: I have not taken one ass from them, neither have I hurt one of them.
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This verse in Numbers 16
Commentary
6 notes on this verseAnd Moses was very wroth,.... Or "it heated Moses exceedingly" (p); made him very angry, caused him to burn with wrath against them; even the speech they made, the words they uttered, not so much on account of their ill usage of him, as for the dishonour cast upon the Lord: and said unto the Lord, respect not thou their offering; their "Minchah", the word is commonly used for the meat or bread offering.
This site's exposition
I have not taken one ass from them
Moses asks that their offering not be respected, and Matthew Henry hears Genesis 4 in it, where the Lord had not respect unto Cain and to his offering, and sets Jude 11 beside it for naming the way of Cain and the gainsaying of Core in one sentence. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note that the man called very wroth here is the man 12:3 calls meek above all the men upon the face of the earth. The defence he makes is that he has taken nothing, and Samuel makes the same defence at the close of his own service in 1 Samuel 12:3, whose ox have I taken, or whose ass have I taken.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Herein he seems to refer to the history of Cain, lately written by his own hand, of whom it is said that to him and his offering God had not respect, Gen. iv. These that followed the gainsaying of Korah walked in the way of Cain (these are put together, Jude 11 ), and therefore he prays that they might be frowned upon as Cain was, and put to the same confusion.
A solemn appearance of the pretenders to the priesthood before God, according to order, and a public appearance of the glory of the Lord, which would have consumed the whole congregation if Moses and Aaron had not interceded,
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Moses was very wroth--Though the meekest of all men [Nu 12:3], he could not restrain his indignation at these unjust and groundless charges; and the highly excited state of his feeling was evinced by the utterance of a brief exclamation in the mixed form of a prayer and an impassioned assertion of his integrity.
Respect not thou their offering - There was no danger of this: they wished to set up a priesthood and a sacrificial system of their own; and God never has blessed, and never can bless, any scheme of salvation which is not of his own appointment. Man is ever supposing that he can mend his Maker’s work, or that he can make one of his own that will do in its place.
The words behind it
20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּ֤חַר | vaiyichar | and it burned | H2734 → | 91 times |
| לְמֹשֶׁה֙ | lemosheh | to Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
| מְאֹ֔ד | meod | exceedingly | H3966 → | 300 times |
| וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אַל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תֵּ֖פֶן | tefen | you turn | H6437 → | 135 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מִנְחָתָ֑ם | minchatam | offering their | H4503 → | 211 times |
| לֹ֠א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| חֲמ֨וֹר | chamor | a donkey | H2543 → | 96 times |
| אֶחָ֤ד | ʾechad | one | H259 → | 971 times |
| מֵהֶם֙ | mehem | from <the> them | ||
| נָשָׂ֔אתִי | nasati | I have taken | H5375 → | 656 times |
| וְלֹ֥א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| הֲרֵעֹ֖תִי | hareoti | I have done harm to | H7489 → | 107 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אַחַ֥ד | ʾachad | one | H259 → | 971 times |
| מֵהֶֽם׃ | mehem | of <the> them |
וַיִּ֤חַרand it burned
vaiyicharH2734 →91 times
לְמֹשֶׁה֙to Moses
lemoshehH4872 →765 times
מְאֹ֔דexceedingly
meodH3966 →300 times
וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙and he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אַל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
תֵּ֖פֶןyou turn
tefenH6437 →135 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
מִנְחָתָ֑םoffering their
minchatamH4503 →211 times
לֹ֠אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
חֲמ֨וֹרa donkey
chamorH2543 →96 times
אֶחָ֤דone
ʾechadH259 →971 times
מֵהֶם֙from <the> them
mehem
נָשָׂ֔אתִיI have taken
nasatiH5375 →656 times
וְלֹ֥אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
הֲרֵעֹ֖תִיI have done harm to
hareotiH7489 →107 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אַחַ֥דone
ʾachadH259 →971 times
מֵהֶֽם׃of <the> them
mehem
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 9:15But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this to suggest that something be done for me. Indeed, I would rather die than let anyone nullify my boast.
it leads to
- 1 Thessalonians 2:9
Surely you recall, brothers, our labor and toil. We worked night and day so that we would not be a burden to anyone while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.
- 2 Thessalonians 3:8
nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. Instead, in labor and toil, we worked night and day so that we would not be a burden to any of you.
- 1 Corinthians 9:12
If others have this right to your support, shouldn’t we have it all the more? But we did not exercise this right. Instead, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of…
- 2 Corinthians 11:9–12
And when I was with you and in need, I was not a burden to anyone; for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied my needs. I have refrained from being a burden to…
- 1 Thessalonians 2:9
Through
Exodus 32:19As Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, he burned with anger and threw the tablets out of his hands, shattering them at the base of the mountain.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 9:16–17
And I saw how you had sinned against the LORD your God; you had made for yourselves a molten calf. You had turned aside quickly from the way that the LORD had commanded you.
- Deuteronomy 9:16–17
Through
2 Corinthians 7:2Make room for us in your hearts. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have exploited no one.
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 6:12–13
It is not our affection, but yours, that is restrained.
- Acts 20:33
I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing.
- 2 Corinthians 11:9
And when I was with you and in need, I was not a burden to anyone; for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied my needs. I have refrained from being a burden to…
- 2 Corinthians 6:12–13
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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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; 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.