Numbers 11:23
in Numbers 11The LORD answered Moses, “Is the LORD’s arm too short? Now you will see whether or not My word will come to pass.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jehovah said unto Moses, Is Jehovah’s hand waxed short? now shalt thou see whether my word shall come to pass unto thee or not.
KJV
And the Lord said unto Moses, Is the Lord’s hand waxed short? thou shalt see now whether my word shall come to pass unto thee or not.
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This verse in Numbers 11
Commentary
8 notes on this verseGOD had made a positive promise to Moses that for the space of a whole month he would feed the vast host in the wilderness with flesh. Moses, being overtaken by a fit of unbelief, looks to the outward means—calculates his commissariat—and is at a loss to know how the promise can be fulfilled. Shall the flocks and the herds be slain? How, then, should they have cattle wherewith to stock the land upon which they hoped soon to enter? And if they should slaughter all their beasts, there would not be food enough for ravenous people for a month.
This site's exposition
Here I am among 600,000 men on foot
on Numbers 11:21-23
Moses sets “600,000 men on foot” against a month of meat, a doubt Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read as a passing feeling spoken in private. God answers, “Is the LORD’s arm too short?”, a line Isaiah 50:2 and 59:1 take up.
This site's exposition
Is the LORD’s arm too short?
The LORD answers the arithmetic of verse 22 with a question about his outstretched arm that brought Israel out of Egypt at Exodus 6:6. The test he sets is his word, and verse 31 is its keeping. Spurgeon calls the doubt a fit of unbelief.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And the Lord said unto Moses,....
Was God weaker than he used to be? Or was he tired with what he had done? Whatever our unbelieving hearts may suggest to the contrary, it is certain, (1.) That God's hand is not short; his power cannot be restrained in the exerting of itself by any thing but his own will; with him nothing is impossible.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
But it is probable that it was only a feeling of the moment--at all events, the incredulous doubt was uttered only to himself--and not, as afterwards, publicly and to the scandal of the people.
GOD had made a positive promise to Moses that for the space of a whole month he would feed the vast host in the wilderness with flesh. Moses, being overtaken by a fit of unbelief, looks to the outward means—calculates his commissariat—and is at a loss to know how the promise can be fulfilled. Shall the flocks and the herds be slain? How, then, should they have cattle wherewith to stock the land upon which they hoped soon to enter? And if they should slaughter all their beasts, there would not be food enough for ravenous people for a month. Shall all the fish of the sea leave their watery element, and come to the tables of these clamorous hungry men? Even then, Moses thought there would be scarcely enough food to feed so vast a host for a month! You will see, my Brothers and Sisters, right readily the mistake which Moses made. He looked to the creature instead of the Creator. Does the Creator expect the creature to fulfill his promise? No; only He who makes, fulfills. If He speaks, it is done—done by Himself—His promises do not depend for their fulfillment upon the cooperation of the puny strength of man! God as a Sovereign gives an absolute promise; and He can do it without fear of mistake, because He has Omnipotence wherewith to fulfill His greatest word.
Is the Lord’s hand waxed short? - Hast thou forgotten the miracles which I have already performed? or thinkest thou that my power is decreased? The power that is unlimited can never be diminished.
The words behind it
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מֹשֶׁ֔ה | mosheh | Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
| הֲיַ֥ד | hayad | ¿ [the] hand of | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| תִּקְצָ֑ר | tiktzar | is it short | H7114 → | |
| עַתָּ֥ה | ʾatah | now | H6258 → | 433 times |
| תִרְאֶ֛ה | tireh | you will see | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| הֲיִקְרְךָ֥ | hayikrecha | ¿ will it happen to you | H7136 → | 27 times |
| דְבָרִ֖י | devari | word my | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| אִם־ | ʾim- | or? | H518 → | 1069 times |
| לֹֽא׃ | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
יְהוָה֙Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
מֹשֶׁ֔הMoses
moshehH4872 →765 times
הֲיַ֥ד¿ [the] hand of
hayadH3027 →1618 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
תִּקְצָ֑רis it short
tiktzarH7114 →
עַתָּ֥הnow
ʾatahH6258 →433 times
תִרְאֶ֛הyou will see
tirehH7200 →1300 times
הֲיִקְרְךָ֥¿ will it happen to you
hayikrechaH7136 →27 times
דְבָרִ֖יword my
devariH1697 →1440 times
אִם־or?
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
לֹֽא׃not
lo'H3808 →5168 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
Luke 1:37For no word from God will ever fail.”
it leads to
- Jeremiah 32:27
“Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too difficult for Me?
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Mark 10:27
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Matthew 19:26
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 32:17
“Oh, Lord GOD! You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for You!
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Luke 18:27
But Jesus said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 32:27
Through
Matthew 19:26Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
it leads to
Through
Genesis 18:14Is anything too difficult for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you—in about a year—and Sarah will have a son.”
it leads to
- Ephesians 3:20
Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us,
- Ephesians 3:20
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies13
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; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 363: “The Glorious Right Hand Of The Lord” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon 363, The Glorious Right Hand Of The Lord; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 363; 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.