Numbers 27:20
in Numbers 27Confer on him some of your authority, so that the whole congregation of Israel will obey him.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And thou shalt put of thine honor upon him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may obey.
KJV
And thou shalt put some of thine honour upon him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may be obedient.
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This verse in Numbers 27
Commentary
5 notes on this verseAnd thou shalt put, etc. - מחודך mechodecha, of thine honor or authority upon him. Thou shalt show to the whole congregation that thou hast associated him with thyself in the government of the people.
This site's exposition
thou shalt put some of thine honour upon him
on Numbers 27:20-21
Some of thine honour is what passes to Joshua, and verse 21 shows where the difference falls. Joshua stands before Eleazar, who asks counsel for him by the judgment of Urim, while Moses had been spoken with mouth to mouth at Numbers 12:8. Barnes reads this as setting Joshua below Moses and alongside every ruler after him, inquiring of God through the high priest, and he points to Joshua 9:14, where that counsel went unasked and the treaty with the Gibeonites followed. The honour is put on him so that the congregation will obey, which the verse gives as the stated purpose.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
It is an honour to be employed for God and his church; some of this honour must be put upon Joshua, that the people, being used to obey him while Moses lived, might the more cheerfully do it afterwards. (5.) He must appoint Eleazar the high priest, with this breast-plate of judgment, to be his privy-council (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And thou shalt put some of thine honour upon him,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Of thine honor - i. e., of thy dignity and authority (compare Num 11:17, Num 11:28). Joshua was constituted immediately vice-leader under Moses, by way of introduction to his becoming chief after Moses’ death.
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְנָתַתָּ֥ה | venatatah | and you will put | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| מֵהֽוֹדְךָ֖ | mehodkha | some of majesty your | H1935 → | |
| עָלָ֑יו | ʾalav | on him | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| לְמַ֣עַן | lemaan | so that | H4616 → | 272 times |
| יִשְׁמְע֔וּ | yishmeu | they may hear | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| עֲדַ֖ת | ʾadat | [the] congregation of | H5712 → | 149 times |
| בְּנֵ֥י | benei | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
וְנָתַתָּ֥הand you will put
venatatahH5414 →2011 times
מֵהֽוֹדְךָ֖some of majesty your
mehodkhaH1935 →
עָלָ֑יוon him
ʾalavH5921 →5755 times
לְמַ֣עַןso that
lemaanH4616 →272 times
יִשְׁמְע֔וּthey may hear
yishmeuH8085 →1159 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
עֲדַ֖ת[the] congregation of
ʾadatH5712 →149 times
בְּנֵ֥י[the] people of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 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 Samuel 10:6Then the Spirit of the LORD will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be transformed into a different person.
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 10:10
When Saul and his servant arrived at Gibeah, a group of prophets met him. Then the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied along with them.
- 1 Samuel 19:23–24
So Saul went to Naioth in Ramah. But the Spirit of God came upon even Saul, and he walked along prophesying until he came to Naioth in Ramah.
- Numbers 11:25
Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and He took some of the Spirit that was on Moses and placed that Spirit on the seventy elders. As the Spirit…
- Judges 14:6
and the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon him, and he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as one would tear a young goat. But he did not tell his father…
- 1 Samuel 16:13
So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David from that day forward. Then Samuel set out and…
- 1 Samuel 10:10
Through
1 Chronicles 29:25The LORD highly exalted Solomon in the sight of all Israel and bestowed on him royal majesty such as had not been bestowed on any king in Israel before him.
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 1:12
therefore wisdom and knowledge have been granted to you. And I will also give you riches and wealth and honor unlike anything given to the kings before you or after you.”
- 2 Chronicles 1:1
Now Solomon son of David established himself securely over his kingdom, and the LORD his God was with him and highly exalted him.
- 2 Chronicles 1:12
Through
1 Chronicles 29:23So Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king in place of his father David. He prospered, and all Israel obeyed him.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 2:12
So Solomon sat on the throne of his father David, and his kingdom was firmly established.
- 1 Kings 2:12
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Numbers
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.