Numbers 16:22
in Numbers 16But Moses and Aaron fell facedown and said, “O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, when one man sins, will You be angry with the whole congregation?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And they fell upon their faces, and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt thou be wroth with all the congregation?
KJV
And they fell upon their faces, and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt thou be wroth with all the congregation?
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This verse in Numbers 16
Commentary
5 notes on this verseO God, the God of the spirits of all flesh - אל אלהי הרוחת לכל בשר El Elohey haruchoth lechol basar. This address sufficiently proves that these holy men believed that man is a being compounded of flesh and spirit, and that these principles are perfectly distinct. Either the materiality of the human soul is a human fable, or, if it be a true doctrine, these men did not pray under the influence of the Divine Spirit. In Num 27:16 there is a similar form of expression: Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh.
This site's exposition
the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron
on Numbers 16:20-22
The offer to consume the congregation in a moment is the third of its kind, after Exodus 32:10 and Numbers 14:12, and each time Moses stands in the way of it. The title he uses, the God of the spirits of all flesh, occurs twice in Scripture, here and at 27:16 where he asks for a man to be set over the congregation after him. His argument is the argument Abraham made at Genesis 18:23-25, that the many should not be swept away with the guilty.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
23 ): Wilt thou destroy the righteous with the wicked? Such is the plea here: Shall one man sin and wilt thou be wroth with all the congregation? Not but that it was the sin of them all to join in this matter, but the great transgression was his that first hatched the treason.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens
And they fell upon their faces,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
they fell upon their faces, and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh--The benevolent importunity of their prayer was the more remarkable that the intercession was made for their enemies.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּפְּל֤וּ | vaiyipelu | and they fell | H5307 → | 435 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| פְּנֵיהֶם֙ | peneihem | faces their | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ | vaiyomeru | and they said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֵ֕ל | ʾel | O God | H410 → | 241 times |
| אֱלֹהֵ֥י | ʾelohei | [the] God of | H430 → | 2601 times |
| הָרוּחֹ֖ת | haruchot | the spirits | H7307 → | 378 times |
| לְכָל־ | lekhol | of all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| בָּשָׂ֑ר | basar | flesh | H1320 → | 270 times |
| הָאִ֤ישׁ | haish | ¿ a man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| אֶחָד֙ | ʾechad | one | H259 → | 971 times |
| יֶחֱטָ֔א | yecheta' | will he sin | H2398 → | 238 times |
| וְעַ֥ל | veal | and towards | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הָעֵדָ֖ה | haedah | the congregation | H5712 → | 149 times |
| תִּקְצֹֽף׃ פ | tiktzof | will you be angry? | H7107 → |
וַיִּפְּל֤וּand they fell
vaiyipeluH5307 →435 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
פְּנֵיהֶם֙faces their
peneihemH6440 →2123 times
וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּand they said
vaiyomeruH559 →5305 times
אֵ֕לO God
ʾelH410 →241 times
אֱלֹהֵ֥י[the] God of
ʾeloheiH430 →2601 times
הָרוּחֹ֖תthe spirits
haruchotH7307 →378 times
לְכָל־of all
lekholH3605 →5413 times
בָּשָׂ֑רflesh
basarH1320 →270 times
הָאִ֤ישׁ¿ a man
haishH376 →1663 times
אֶחָד֙one
ʾechadH259 →971 times
יֶחֱטָ֔אwill he sin
yecheta'H2398 →238 times
וְעַ֥לand towards
vealH5921 →5755 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הָעֵדָ֖הthe congregation
haedahH5712 →149 times
תִּקְצֹֽף׃ פwill you be angry?
tiktzofH7107 →
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
Hebrews 12:9Furthermore, we have all had earthly fathers who disciplined us, and we respected them. Should we not much more submit to the Father of our spirits and live?
it leads to
- Isaiah 42:5
This is what God the LORD says—He who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and its offspring, who gives breath to the people on it and life to…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Numbers 27:16
“May the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation
- John 3:6
Flesh is born of flesh, but spirit is born of the Spirit.
- Job 12:10
The life of every living thing is in His hand, as well as the breath of all mankind.
- Isaiah 42:5
Through
Ecclesiastes 12:7before the dust returns to the ground from which it came and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
it leads to
- Daniel 12:2
And many who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to everlasting life, but others to shame and everlasting contempt.
- Ecclesiastes 3:20–21
All go to one place; all come from dust, and all return to dust.
- Psalms 146:4
When his spirit departs, he returns to the ground; on that very day his plans perish.
- Daniel 12:2
Through
Job 12:10The life of every living thing is in His hand, as well as the breath of all mankind.
it leads to
- Acts 17:28
‘For in Him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are His offspring.’
- Acts 17:28
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
On this verse
On this chapter
About Numbers
Who and where
2 names 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 Calvin, Commentary on the Four Last Books of Moses Arranged in the Form of a Harmony; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.