Numbers Chapter 14 verse 13 Holy Bible

Pulpit Commentary

Pulpit CommentaryVerse 13. - And Moses said unto the Lord. The words which follow are so confused, and the construction so dislocated, that they afford the strongest evidence that we have here the ipsissima verba of the mediator, disordered as they were in the moment of utterance by passionate earnestness and an agonizing fear. Had Moses been ever so eloquent, a facility of speech at such a moment would have been alike unnatural and unlovely. What we can see in the words is this: that Moses had no thought for himself, and that it never occurred to him to entertain the tempting offer made to him by God; that he knew God too well, and (if we may say so) cared for God too much, to let him so compromise his honour among the nations, and so thwart his own purposes, without making one effort (however audacious) to turn his wrath aside. We can see that it is (as in Exodus 32:11, 12, only much more boldly and abruptly) the thought of what the heathen would say which he wishes to thrust upon the Almighty; but we cannot be sure of the right translation of the words. The most literal rendering would seem to be, "Both the Egyptians have heard (וְשָׁמְעוּ) that thou broughtest out this people from among them with thy might, and they have told it (וְאָמְרוּ) to the inhabitants of this land; they have heard (שָׁמְעוּ, repeated) that thou, Lord, art amongst this people," etc. The Septuagint, however, translates the first verb by a future (καὶ ἀκούσεται Αἴγυπτος), and, as this gives a much clearer sense, it is followed by the Targum Palestine and most of the versions.

Ellicott's Commentary

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(13, 14) And Moses said unto the Lord . . . --There is considerable difficulty as to the correct rendering of these verses. They may be rendered in accordance with the Authorised Version, or they may be rendered as follows:--And Moses said unto the LORD, The Egyptians have both heard that thou hast brought up this people from among them by thy might, and they have also told (it) to the inhabitants of this land (i.e., the land of Canaan, as in Numbers 14:3); they (i.e., the Egyptians and the Canaanites) have heard that thou LORD art in the midst of this people, for thou LORD art seen face to face, and thy cloud standeth over them, and thou goest before them, &c. &c. Reference may be made to the following passages in illustration of the argument by which Moses enforced his intercessory prayer on behalf of Israel:--Deuteronomy 32:26-27; Joshua 7:9; Isaiah 48:9; Isaiah 48:11; Ezekiel 36:22-23. . . .