XII. (1) AND MIRIAM AND AARON SPAKE AGAINST MOSES. — Miriam appears to have been the leader in this insurrection against the authority of Moses. Her name occurs before that of Aaron, either as the nearer or as the more prominent subject; and the verb which is rendered “spake” is in the feminine gen... [ Continue Reading ]
HATH THE LORD INDEED SPOKEN ONLY BY MOSES? — There is probably a reference in these words to the facts related in Exodus 4:10, where Moses speaks of his own slowness of speech (Numbers 12:10), and where it is said of Aaron, “And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people” (Numbers 12:16). Miriam also... [ Continue Reading ]
NOW THE MAN MOSES WAS VERY MEEK... — These words have been urged by some as an argument against the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch generally, or of the Book of Numbers in particular, but whether they may or may not have been inserted by a later writer, this inference is altogether unfounded. It... [ Continue Reading ]
COME OUT YE THREE... — There is nothing in these words which implies that Miriam entered into the Tabernacle itself. Moses, Aaron, and Miriam were summoned to go out of the camp (comp. Numbers 11:30), and to come to the entrance of the Tabernacle, or rather of the court, inasmuch as the command to c... [ Continue Reading ]
IF THERE BE A PROPHET... — Better, _If there be to_ (or, _among_) ycu _a prophet of Jehovah, I will make myself known unto him in a vision, and speak unto him._ The LXX. and Vulgate connect the word “Jehovah” with the former, not with the latter part of the clause. The mode of communication between... [ Continue Reading ]
MY SERVANT MOSES... — Better, _Not so_ (_in regard to_)_ my servant Moses; he is faithful._ Reference is made to these words in Hebrews 3:5 : “And Moses verily was faithful in all his house,” _i.e.,_ in the whole of the Mosaic economy or dispensation, or the house of Israel, which is spoken of as Go... [ Continue Reading ]
WITH HIM WILL I SPEAK. — Better, _do I speak, mouth to mouth._ Comp. Exodus 33:11. EVEN APPARENTLY. — The noun _mareh,_ which is here used, is cognate with that which occurs with the preposition in Numbers 12:6, and which is rendered “a vision.” It differs from it only in punctuation, and is someti... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THE CLOUD DEPARTED... — The withdrawal of the cloud was the visible token of the Divine displeasure. The word _sar, departed,_ which is here used, is an entirely different word from that which occurs in Numbers 9:17 : “When the cloud was _taken up_ from the tabernacle.” The _lifting up_ of the c... [ Continue Reading ]
ALAS, MY LORD. — The word rendered _alas!_ is an exclamation of entreaty rather than of lamentation. It is used towards superiors in conjunction with _adoni_ (my lord) in Genesis 40:20; 1 Kings 3:17. LAY NOT THE SIN UPON US... — Better, _lay not sin_ (_i.e.,_ the punishment which is due to it) _upo... [ Continue Reading ]
LET HER NOT BE AS ONE DEAD. — This is another of the places in which the Scribes are said to have altered the text. The original is said to have been as follows: — _Let her not be as one dead, who proceeded from the womb of our mother, and half of our flesh be consumed._ The leper was “as one dead”... [ Continue Reading ]
HEAL HER NOW, O GOD, I BESEECH THEE. — Better, _O God, I beseech thee, heal her, I beseech thee. _... [ Continue Reading ]
IF HER FATHER HAD BUT SPIT IN HER FACE. — Or, _in her presence._ Spitting in the presence of any one, much more spitting in the face of any one, is regarded in the East as an indication of the utmost degree of abhorrence and indignation. Comp. Deuteronomy 25:9; Job 30:10; Isaiah 1:6; Matthew 26:67.... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THE PEOPLE JOURNEYED NOT... — The law for the purification of the leper, as prescribed in Leviticus 14, had already been delivered.... [ Continue Reading ]
IN THE WILDERNESS OF PARAN. — See _Note_ on Numbers 10:12. It appears from the 26th verse of the following chapter that the encampment was at Kadesh, which has been supposed by some to be identical with Rithniah (Numbers 33:18).... [ Continue Reading ]