Numbers 20:12
in Numbers 20But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust Me to show My holiness in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jehovah said unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed not in me, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.
KJV
And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.
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This verse in Numbers 20
Commentary
8 notes on this verseBecause ye believed me not - What was the offense for which Moses was excluded from the promised land? It appears to have consisted in some or all of the following particulars: 1. God had commanded him (Num 20:8) to take the rod in his hand, and go and Speak To The Rock, and it should give forth water. It seems Moses did not think speaking would be sufficient, therefore he smote the rock without any command so to do.
This site's exposition
Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me
on Numbers 20:12-13
The reason given here is unbelief and a failure to sanctify God before Israel, and the price of it is the land. Moses tells it differently three times in Deuteronomy, at 1:37, 3:26 and 4:21, where he says the Lord was angry with him for your sakes, and both accounts stand in the canon. Verse 13 answers verse 12 with the same word, since Moses did not sanctify him and he was sanctified in them anyway. Meribah means strife, and the place is named for what the people did.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening5 voices
Fifthly, That which aggravated all the rest, and made it the more provoking, was that it was public, before the eyes of the children of Israel, to whom they should have been examples of faith, and hope, and meekness. We find Moses guilty of sinful distrust, ch. xi. That was private between God and him, and therefore was only checked.
) that they did not sanctify God, that is, they did not give him that glory of this miracle which was due unto his name. Thirdly, Unbelief was the great transgression (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
), but God was sanctified in them; for he will not be a loser in his honour by any man. If he be not glorified by us, he will be glorified upon us. Ambassadors Sent to Edom.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron,.... Out of the cloud, where his glory appeared, and still continued: because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel; that Moses and Aaron committed an evil which was displeasing to the Lord is certain, but what that was is variously represented.
(1.) This is a strange passage of story, yet very instructive. [1.] It is certain that God was greatly offended, and justly, for he is never angry without cause.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
there was no water for the congregation--There was at Kadesh a fountain, En-Mishpat (Ge 14:7), and at the first encampment of the Israelites there was no want of water.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
פעמים [HE SMOTE THE ROCK] TWICE, because at the first attempt it did not bring forth more than a few drops, for God had not bidden him smite it, but He had said, (v. 8) “and ye shall speak to the rock”. They had, indeed, spoken, but to a different rock (not that which God had intended) and it had not given forth water.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
AND HE WAS SANCTIFIED IN THEM — “in that Moses and Aaron died on account of them [i.e., the waters of Meribah ].
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 2 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
25 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָה֮ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מֹשֶׁ֣ה | mosheh | Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
| וְאֶֽל־ | veel- | and to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אַהֲרֹן֒ | ʾaharon | Aaron | H175 → | 347 times |
| יַ֚עַן | yaan | because | H3282 → | |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| הֶאֱמַנְתֶּ֣ם | heemantem | you believed | H539 → | 106 times |
| בִּ֔י | bi | <in> <the> me | ||
| לְהַ֨קְדִּישֵׁ֔נִי | lehakdisheni | to treat as holy me | H6942 → | 171 times |
| לְעֵינֵ֖י | leeinei | to [the] eyes of | H5869 → | 887 times |
| בְּנֵ֣י | benei | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| לָכֵ֗ן | lakhen | <to> therefore | H3651 → | 771 times |
| לֹ֤א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תָבִ֙יאוּ֙ | taviu | you will bring | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַקָּהָ֣ל | hakahal | the assembly | H6951 → | 123 times |
| הַזֶּ֔ה | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | into | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הָאָ֖רֶץ | haaretz | the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| נָתַ֥תִּי | natati | I have given | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לָהֶֽם׃ | lahem | to <the> them |
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
יְהוָה֮Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
מֹשֶׁ֣הMoses
moshehH4872 →765 times
וְאֶֽל־and to
veel-H413 →5510 times
אַהֲרֹן֒Aaron
ʾaharonH175 →347 times
יַ֚עַןbecause
yaanH3282 →
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
הֶאֱמַנְתֶּ֣םyou believed
heemantemH539 →106 times
בִּ֔י<in> <the> me
bi
לְהַ֨קְדִּישֵׁ֔נִיto treat as holy me
lehakdisheniH6942 →171 times
לְעֵינֵ֖יto [the] eyes of
leeineiH5869 →887 times
בְּנֵ֣י[the] people of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֑לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
לָכֵ֗ן<to> therefore
lakhenH3651 →771 times
לֹ֤אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תָבִ֙יאוּ֙you will bring
taviuH935 →2568 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַקָּהָ֣לthe assembly
hakahalH6951 →123 times
הַזֶּ֔ה<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
אֶל־into
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הָאָ֖רֶץthe land
haaretzH776 →2504 times
אֲשֶׁר־which
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
נָתַ֥תִּיI have given
natatiH5414 →2011 times
לָהֶֽם׃to <the> them
lahem
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
Numbers 27:14for when the congregation contended in the Wilderness of Zin, both of you rebelled against My command to show My holiness in their sight regarding the waters.” Those were the waters of Meribah in…
it leads to
- Psalms 106:32–33
At the waters of Meribah they angered the LORD, and trouble came to Moses because of them.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 1:37
The LORD was also angry with me on your account, and He said, “Not even you shall enter the land.
- Deuteronomy 32:51–52
For at the waters of Meribah-kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin, both of you broke faith with Me among the Israelites by failing to treat Me as holy in their presence.
- Exodus 17:7
He named the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled, and because they tested the LORD, saying, “Is the LORD among us or not?”
- Psalms 106:32–33
Through
Ezekiel 36:23I will show the holiness of My great name, which has been profaned among the nations—the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 20:41
When I bring you from the peoples and gather you from the lands to which you have been scattered, I will accept you as a pleasing aroma. And I will show My holiness through…
- Ezekiel 39:7
So I will make My holy name known among My people Israel and will no longer allow it to be profaned. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD, the Holy One…
- Ezekiel 20:41
Through
Numbers 20:24“Aaron will be gathered to his people; he will not enter the land that I have given the Israelites, because both of you rebelled against My command at the waters of Meribah.
it leads to
- Genesis 25:8
And at a ripe old age he breathed his last and died, old and contented, and was gathered to his people.
- Deuteronomy 32:50
And there on the mountain that you climb, you will die and be gathered to your people, just as your brother Aaron died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people.
- Genesis 25:8
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
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.