46 matching verse commentaries
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
Then Moses heard the people weep throughout their families, every man in the door of his tent: and the anger of the LORD was kindled greatly; Moses also was displeased. And no wonder; meek man as he was, they vexed his gracious spirit by their perpetual murmurings. As we read this sad story, let us, as in a glass, see ourselves; and let us deeply...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Moses said unto the Lord, wherefore hast thou afflicted thy servant?.... Or "done evil" (m) to him, that which was distressing to him, and gave him trouble; namely, setting him at the head of the people of Israel, and laying the government of them on his shoulders; which surely was doing him honour, though that is not to be expected without...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Have I conceived all this people? have I begotten them?.... Conceived them as a mother, or begotten them as a father? am I a parent of either sort to them, in a literal sense, that I should have the like care of them as parents of their children? but though this was not the case, yet, in a civil and political sense, he was their parent, as every...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Whence should I have flesh to give unto all this people?.... This seems to countenance the Israelites in their lusting after flesh, as if it was no evil in them, and as if it was but right they should have what they desired, though it was out of his power to give it them: for they weep unto me, saying, give us flesh, that we may eat; he seems to...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
I am not able to bear all this people alone,.... The burden of government of them, to take care of them and provide sustenance for them; but he was not alone, for, not to take notice of the rulers and officers in the several divisions of the people that assisted and eased him in lighter matters, advised to by Jethro, Exodus 18:21, the Lord himself...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And if thou deal thus with me,.... Let the whole weight of government lie upon me, and leave the alone to bear it: kill me, I pray thee, out of hand; take me out of the world at once, or "kill me now, in killing" (n); dispatch me immediately, and make a thorough end of me directly: if I have found favour in thy sight; if thou hast any love for me,...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And the Lord said unto Moses,.... Without making any reflection upon him, or upbraiding him with his unbecoming speeches to him, but in a kind and tender manner directs for his assistance and case: gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel; out from among them, such as were not only men in years, but men of gravity, prudence, and wisdom;...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And I will come down and talk with thee there,.... Descend from heaven, by some visible token of his power and presence, and in a friendly manner converse with him face to face; which was an instance of great condescension and grace, and especially when Moses had showed a very froward peevish spirit; yet all is overlooked, and the Lord vouchsafes...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And say thou unto the people,.... For what follows respects them, as what goes before regarded himself: sanctify yourselves against tomorrow; or prepare yourselves, as the Targums of Onkelos, and Jonathan, either to receive mercies, or to meet the Lord in the way of his judgments; so Jarchi interprets it, "prepare for punishments,'' for what is...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Ye shall not eat one day,.... Only, as in Exodus 16:12; nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days; but even thirty days, a whole month, as in Numbers 11:20.
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
[But] even a whole month,.... So long the Israelites continued at Taberah or Kibrothhattaavah, as the Jews (o) conclude from this clause: until it come out at your nostrils; being vomited up, through a nausea of it, the stomach being overfilled and glutted with it; in which case, it will make its way through the nostrils, as well as out of the...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Moses said,.... By way of objection to what God had promised, distrusting his power to perform: the people amongst whom I [am]; among whom he dwelt, of whom he was a part, and over whom he was a ruler: [are] six hundred thousand footmen; that were able to travel on foot, and were fit for war: this was the number of them when they came out of...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Shall the flocks and the herds be slain for them, to suffice them?.... Suggesting that if all their cattle, their sheep, and oxen were killed, which they and the mixed multitude brought out of Egypt, they would not be sufficient for them to live upon a whole month; and intimating also, that it would be an unwise thing, and very improper, to slay...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And the Lord said unto Moses,.... In answer to his objection, without upbraiding him with his sin of unbelief: is the Lord's hand waxed short? or his power diminished since the creation, when he formed all things out of nothing, and what is it then he is not able to do? or since he wrought the wonders in Egypt, divided the Red sea, rained down...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Moses went out,.... Either out of his own tent, about which the people assembled, complaining and weeping, Numbers 11:10; or rather, as Aben Ezra, out of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the sanctuary where he had been conversing with God, about the affairs complained of both by the people and by himself; so the Targum of Jonathan says,...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And the Lord came down in a cloud,.... In a cloud of glory, or a glorious one, as the Targums; either in the same that went before the people in the wilderness, or in one distinct from it, and only used on this occasion, as a visible token of the presence of God: and spake unto him; to Moses, talked with him, as he said he would, Numbers 11:17;...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
But there remained two [of the] men in the camp,.... Of the seventy who were summoned, that came not out of the camp of Israel to the tabernacle when the rest did: the name of the one [was] Eldad, and the name of the other Medad: who, according to the Targum of Jonathan, were brethren of Moses by his mother's side; for it says, they were the sons...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And there ran a young man,.... From the camp to the tabernacle, who had heard Eldad and Medad prophesy; which he thought was not right, being done without the knowledge and approbation of Moses, and in a private tent in the tabernacle, not among the elders, but the common people: who this young than was is not material to know; some of the...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses,.... That waited upon him, and ministered to him, and executed his orders, especially in civil things, and was to be his successor: [one] of his young men; not that Joshua was a young man in age, for he must be now between fifty and sixty years of age, [See comments on Exodus 33:11]; nor does the...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Moses said unto him, enviest thou for my sake?.... Lest his authority should be weakened, and his honour lessened, because they began not to prophesy in his presence, and at the tabernacle, and among the rest of the elders, and so seemed not to have received of the Spirit that was upon him, and to be independent of him: would God that all the...