Numbers 11:25

Numbers 11:25 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the Lord came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and gave it unto the seventy elders: and it came to pass, that, when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease.
• New International Version (NIV)Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke with him, and he took some of the power of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders. When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied—but did not do so again.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders. And as soon as the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied. But they did not continue doing it.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then the Lord came down in the cloud, and spoke to him, and took of the Spirit that was upon him, and placed the same upon the seventy elders; and it happened, when the Spirit rested upon them, that they prophesied, although they never did so again.

Context of Numbers 11:25

23The Lord said to Moses, “Is the Lord’s hand (ability, power) limited (short, inadequate)? You shall see now whether My word will come to pass for you or not.” 24So Moses went out and spoke to the people the words of the Lord, and he gathered seventy men from among the elders of the people and stationed them around the Tent (tabernacle). Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him; and He took some of the Spirit who was upon Moses and put Him upon the seventy elders. When the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied [praising God and declaring His will], but they did not do it again. 26But two men had remained in the camp; one named Eldad and the other named Medad. The Spirit rested upon them (now they were among those who had been registered, but had not gone out to the Tent), and they prophesied in the camp. 27So a young man ran and told Moses and said, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying [extolling the praises of God and declaring His will] in the camp.”

Numbers 11:25 word by word

וַיֵּ֨רֶד יְהוָ֥ה׀ בֶּעָנָן֮ וַיְדַבֵּ֣ר אֵלָיו֒ וַיָּ֗אצֶל מִן־הָר֙וּחַ֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר עָלָ֔יו וַיִּתֵּ֕ן עַל־שִׁבְעִ֥ים אִ֖ישׁ הַזְּקֵנִ֑ים וַיְהִ֗י כְּנ֤וֹחַ עֲלֵיהֶם֙ הָר֔וּחַ וַיִּֽתְנַבְּא֖וּ וְלֹ֥א יָסָֽפוּ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• came downיָרַדyârad · to go downH3381
• in a cloudעָנָן‛ânân · cloudH6051
• and spakeדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
• unto him, and tookאָצַל'âtsal · to reserveH680
• of the spiritרוּחַrûach · spiritH7307
• upon him, and gaveנָתַןnâthan · to give: putH5414
• unto the seventyשִׁבְעִיםshib‛îym · seventyH7657
• eldersאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
• eldersזָקֵןzâqên · old: elderH2205
• restedנוּחַnûach · to restH5117
• upon them, they prophesiedנָבָאnâbâ' · to prophesyH5012
• and did not ceaseיָסַףyâsaph · to add: againH3254

Cross-references for Numbers 11:25

• Numbers 11:17Then I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take away some of the Spirit who is upon you, and will put Him upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you will not have to bear it all alone.
• Numbers 12:5The Lord came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the doorway of the tabernacle, and He called Aaron and Miriam, and they came forward.
• Exodus 34:5Then the Lord descended in the cloud and stood there with Moses as he proclaimed the Name of the Lord.
• Exodus 40:38For throughout all their journeys, the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, and there was fire in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel.
• Psalms 99:7He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud; They kept His testimonies And the statutes that He gave them.
• Luke 9:34But even as he was saying this, a cloud formed and began to overshadow them; and they were [greatly] afraid as they entered the cloud.
• 2 Kings 2:15When the sons of the prophets who were [watching] opposite at Jericho saw him, they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” And they came to meet him and bowed down to the ground before him [in respect].
• James 1:17Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above; it comes down from the Father of lights [the Creator and Sustainer of the heavens], in whom there is no variation [no rising or setting] or shadow cast by His turning [for He is perfect and never changes].
• 1 Samuel 10:5After that you will come to the hill of God where the garrison of the Philistines is; and when you come there to the city, you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place [of worship] with harp, tambourine, flute, and lyre before them, and they will be prophesying.
• 1 Samuel 19:20Then Saul sent messengers to take David; but when they saw the group of prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing and presiding over them, the Spirit of God came on the messengers of Saul; and they also prophesied.
• Jeremiah 36:5Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying, “I am [in hiding, virtually] restrained; I cannot go into the house of the Lord.
• Joel 2:28“It shall come about after this That I shall pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and your daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions.
• Acts 2:17‘And it shall be in the last days,’ says God, ‘That I will pour out My Spirit upon all mankind; And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, And your young men shall see [divinely prompted] visions, And your old men shall dream [divinely prompted] dreams;
• Acts 11:28One of them named Agabus stood up and prophesied through the [Holy] Spirit that a severe famine would come on the entire world. And this did happen during the reign of Claudius.
• Acts 21:9He had four virgin daughters who had the gift of prophecy.
• 1 Corinthians 11:4Every man who prays or prophesies with something on his head dishonors his head [and the One who is his head].

Commentaries on Numbers 11:25

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 25When the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied - By prophesying here we are to understand their performing those civil and sacred functions for which they were qualified; exhorting the people to quiet and peaceable submission, to trust and confidence in the goodness and providence of God, would make no small part of the duties of their new office. The ideal meaning of the word נבא naba is to pray, entreat, etc. The prophet is called נביא nabi, because…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4-35Verses 4-35 Occurrences at Kibroth-hattavah. Numbers 11:4 The mixt multitude - The word in the original resembles our “riff-raff,” and denotes a mob of people scraped together. It refers here to the multitude of strangers (see Exodus 12:38) who had followed the Israelites from Egypt. Numbers 11:5 The natural dainties of Egypt are set forth in this passage with the fullness and relish which bespeak personal experience. Numbers 11:6-7 There is nothing at…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 24-30Verses 24-30 We have here the fulfilment of God's word to Moses, that he should have help in the government of Israel. He gave of his Spirit to the seventy elders. They discoursed to the people of the things of God, so that all who heard them might say, that God was with them of a truth. Two of the elders, Eldad and Medad, went not out unto the tabernacle, as the rest, being sensible of their own weakness and unworthiness. But the Spirit of God found them…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 25The text does not describe what happened when the Spirit rested on them and they prophesied. It only says that they spoke as the Spirit enabled them. Whatever took place, it may have included ecstatic speech (intense or Spirit-driven words spoken in a special way). Similar events appear later in Acts 2:4 and 1 Corinthians 14:2. However, the text suggests that this was a unique event.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2525. when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease--As those elders were constituted civil governors, their "prophesying" must be understood as meaning the performance of their civil and sacred duties by the help of those extraordinary endowments they had received; and by their not "ceasing" we understand, either that they continued to exercise their gifts uninterruptedly the first day (see 1Sa 19:24), or that these were permanent…Read the comment

Topics related to Numbers 11:25

• Anthropomorphisms
• Cloud
• Government
• Inspiration
• Intolerance, Religious
• Jury
• Moses
• Prayer
• Prophets
• Seventy
• Trouble

In the dictionaries

• Cloud
• Complain
• Cry
• Eldad
• Exodus
• Fall
• Medad
• Prophet
• Sinai
• Talk

Commentaries on Numbers 11

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings