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 Living Translation (NLT)And the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to Moses. Then he gave the seventy elders the same Spirit that was upon Moses. And when the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But this never happened again.

Context of Numbers 11:25

23And the Lord said to Moses, “Has the Lord’s arm been shortened? Now you shall see whether what I say will happen to you or not.” 24So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord, and he gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people and placed them around the tabernacle. 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. 26But two men had remained in the camp: the name of one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad. And the Spirit rested upon them. Now they were among those listed, but who had not gone out to the tabernacle; yet they prophesied in the camp. 27And a young man ran and told Moses, and said, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying 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 talk with you there. I will take of the Spirit that is upon you and will put the same upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, that you may not bear it yourself alone.
• Numbers 12:5Then the Lord came down in the pillar of cloud and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam. And they both went forward.
• Exodus 34:5Now the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord.
• Exodus 40:38For the cloud of the Lord was above the tabernacle by day, and fire was over it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.
• Psalms 99:7He spoke to them in the cloudy pillar; They kept His testimonies and the ordinance He gave them.
• Luke 9:34While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were fearful as they entered the cloud.
• 2 Kings 2:15Now when the sons of the prophets who were from Jericho saw him, they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” And they came to meet him, and bowed to the ground before him.
• James 1:17Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
• 1 Samuel 10:5After that you shall come to the hill of God where the Philistine garrison is. And it will happen, when you have come there to the city, that you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place with a stringed instrument, a tambourine, a flute, and a harp before them; and they will be prophesying.
• 1 Samuel 19:20Then Saul sent messengers to take David. And when they saw the group of prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as leader over them, the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied.
• Jeremiah 36:5And Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying, “I am confined, I cannot go into the house of the Lord.
• Joel 2:28“And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions.
• Acts 2:17‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams.
• Acts 11:28Then one of them, named Agabus, stood up and showed by the Spirit that there was going to be a great famine throughout all the world, which also happened in the days of Claudius Caesar.
• Acts 21:9Now this man had four virgin daughters who prophesied.
• 1 Corinthians 11:4Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonors 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