Numbers 9:1
in Numbers 9In the first month of the second year after Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, the LORD spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai:
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jehovah spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they were come out of the land of Egypt, saying,
KJV
And the Lord spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they were come out of the land of Egypt, saying,
⋯
This verse in Numbers 9
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Passover at Sinai. This, as being kept in the first month, was prior in time to the numbering of Num 1:1 ff, and to the other events narrated in this book. It is, however, recorded here as introductory to the ordinance of Num 9:6-14 in this chapter respecting the supplementary Passover; the observance of which was one of the last occurrences during the halt at Sinai. Num 9:5 In some details, the present Passover differed both from that kept at the Exodus itself and from all subsequent Passovers.
This site's exposition
In the first month of the second year
on Numbers 9:1-3
This is Israel’s second Passover, kept a year after Exodus 12 and a month before the census of Numbers 1:1. Exodus 12:25 had tied the ordinance to a land they had not reached.
The record, by era
The Reformation1 voice
But now God, as the year came to a close, reminds them that the day approaches on which He had fixed the passover to be held; that the Israelites might more surely learn that this solemn sacrifice is of yearly recurrence, and thus that it was sinful to omit it.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
But it is placed after it, because of a special case relating to the passover, which happened after it, upon occasion whereof he mentions the command of God for keeping the passover in the wilderness, which was done but once, and without this command they had not been obliged to keep it at all, till they came to the land of Canaan.
And the Lord spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
The Lord spake unto Moses - The fourteen first verses of this chapter certainly refer to transactions that took place at the time of those mentioned in the commencement of this book, before the numbering of the people, and several learned men are of opinion that these fourteen verses should be referred back to that place. We have already met with instances where transpositions have very probably taken place, and it is not difficult to account for them. As in very early times writing was generally on leaves of the Egyptian flag papyrus, or on thin laminae of different substances, facts and transactions thus entered were very liable to be deranged; so that when afterwards a series was made up into a book, many transactions might be inserted in wrong places, and thus the exact chronology of the facts be greatly disturbed. MSS. written on leaves of trees, having a hole in each, through which a cord is passed to keep them all in their places, are frequently to be met with in the cabinets of the curious, and many such are now before me, especially in Singalese, Pali, and Burman. Should the cord break, or be accidentally unloosed, it would be exceedingly difficult to string them all in their proper places; accidents of this kind I have often met with to my very great perplexity, and in some cases found it almost impossible to restore each individual leaf to its own place; for it should be observed that these separate pieces of oriental writing are not always paged like the leaves of our printed books; nor are there frequently any catch-words or signatures at the bottom to connect the series. This one consideration will account for several transpositions, especially in the Pentateuch, where they occur more frequently than in any other part of the sacred writings. […]
How the passage was read
On Numbers 9:1-14On Numbers 9:1-14
The make-up Passover
This passage creates something rare in the Law: a second chance at a feast. Anyone unclean or far away at Passover could keep it exactly one month later, on the 14th of the second month. Jewish tradition calls it Pesach Sheni, “Second Passover,” and it is still marked lightly today (some eat a piece of matzah on the day). Israel's kings used the provision at national scale: Hezekiah's great Passover was held in the second month on exactly this ground (2 Chronicles 30).
What the Jewish commentators add
IN THE SECOND YEAR AFTER THEIR COMING OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT, IN THE FIRST MONTH. From here the Rabbis have deduced the principle: 58 Sifre Beha’alothcha. Pesachim 6b.
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.
Sources: Mishnah Pesachim 9:1 (who keeps the Second Passover) · 2 Chronicles 30 (the provision used nationally)
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 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
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְדַבֵּ֣ר | vaydaber | and he spoke | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| יְהוָ֣ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מֹשֶׁ֣ה | mosheh | Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
| בְמִדְבַּר־ | vemidbar- | in [the] wilderness of | H4057 → | 270 times |
| סִ֠ינַי | sinai | Sinai | H5514 → | 35 times |
| בַּשָּׁנָ֨ה | bashanah | in the year | H8141 → | 877 times |
| הַשֵּׁנִ֜ית | hashenit | <the> second | H8145 → | 156 times |
| לְצֵאתָ֨ם | letzetam | of going out their | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| מֵאֶ֧רֶץ | meeretz | from [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| מִצְרַ֛יִם | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| בַּחֹ֥דֶשׁ | bachodesh | in the month | H2320 → | 284 times |
| הָרִאשׁ֖וֹן | harishon | <the> first | H7223 → | 182 times |
| לֵאמֹֽר׃ | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
וַיְדַבֵּ֣רand he spoke
vaydaberH1696 →1141 times
יְהוָ֣הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
מֹשֶׁ֣הMoses
moshehH4872 →765 times
בְמִדְבַּר־in [the] wilderness of
vemidbar-H4057 →270 times
סִ֠ינַיSinai
sinaiH5514 →35 times
בַּשָּׁנָ֨הin the year
bashanahH8141 →877 times
הַשֵּׁנִ֜ית<the> second
hashenitH8145 →156 times
לְצֵאתָ֨םof going out their
letzetamH3318 →1067 times
מֵאֶ֧רֶץfrom [the] land of
meeretzH776 →2504 times
מִצְרַ֛יִםEgypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
בַּחֹ֥דֶשׁin the month
bachodeshH2320 →284 times
הָרִאשׁ֖וֹן<the> first
harishonH7223 →182 times
לֵאמֹֽר׃<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 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
Exodus 40:2“On the first day of the first month you are to set up the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting.
it leads to
- Exodus 26:30
So you are to set up the tabernacle according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.
- Exodus 13:4
Today, in the month of Abib, you are leaving.
- Exodus 40:17–19
So the tabernacle was set up on the first day of the first month of the second year.
- Exodus 12:1–2
Now the LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt,
- Numbers 7:1
On the day Moses finished setting up the tabernacle, he anointed and consecrated it and all its furnishings, along with the altar and all its utensils.
- Exodus 26:30
Through
Numbers 1:1On the first day of the second month of the second year after the Israelites had come out of the land of Egypt, the LORD spoke to Moses in the Tent of Meeting in…
it leads to
- Exodus 25:22
And I will meet with you there above the mercy seat, between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the Testimony; I will speak with you about all that I command you…
- Numbers 10:11–12
On the twentieth day of the second month of the second year, the cloud was lifted from above the tabernacle of the Testimony,
- Exodus 19:1
In the third month, on the same day of the month that the Israelites had left the land of Egypt, they came to the Wilderness of Sinai.
- Exodus 25:22
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
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; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament.