Numbers 11:27

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

But there remained two of the men in the camp, the name of the one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad: and the spirit rested upon them; and they were of them that were written, but went not

Fearing lest his authority should be diminished by their prophesying; and thereby, as by the signal given at this time, taking authority to themselves without his knowledge and consent.

Numbers 11:27 And there ran a young man, and told Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad do prophesy in the camp.Ver. 27. And there ran a young man.] Three manner of persons, said Mr Latimer, can make no credible information: (1.) Adversaries and enemies; (2.) Ignorant persons and without judgment; (3.) Whisperers and blowers in men’ s ears, that will utter in secret more than they dare avow openly.

Verse 27. Eldad and Medad do prophesy, &c.] ELDAD, they said, and MEDAD there, Irregularly bold, By Moses uncommission'd, dare A separate meeting hold! And still whom none but heaven will own. Men whom the world decry, Men authorized by GOD alone, Presume to prophesy!

4–34. (I) The Manna and Quails. J . (II) The burden of the people too heavy for Moses. J . (III) The Spirit of ecstasy upon the elders. E . These verses should be studied in the following order: (I) Numbers 11:4-10; Numbers 11:13; Numbers 11:18-24 a (to ‘the words of the Lord’), 31–34. (II) Numbers 11:11-12; Numbers 11:14-15. (III) Numbers 11:16-17 a, 24b–30. It will be seen that the narratives (II) and (III) have no real connexion with (I). In the process of compilation two sentences were lost. The words ‘And Moses said unto Jehovah’ in Numbers 11:11 a are required for both narratives, and must be added for (I) at the beginning of Num 11:13. Similarly Numbers 11:18 (as Numbers 11:16) must begin ‘And Jehovah said unto Moses, say thou &c.’ If this is done, two distinct narratives emerge, and a fragment of a third: (I) The people being weary of manna murmured for flesh. Jehovah was angry and warned them that they would loathe the flesh when it came. Moses was incredulous that such a miracle could be performed. But a wind brought a mass of quails, and a plague was the result. (II) Moses found the care and guidance of the people a burden too heavy to bear, and prayed that he might die. (III) Jehovah took some of Moses’ spirit and put it upon seventy elders, so that they were filled with prophetic frenzy, including two who were not with the others in front of the Tent. Joshua wished Moses to forbid them, but he refused. (I) Numbers 11:4-10; Numbers 11:13; Numbers 11:18-24 a, 31–34. Manna and Quails. In Exodus 16 there is a more complete narrative of the manna, from P , where Numbers 11:35 (‘they did eat the manna … until they came into the borders of the land of Canaan’) shews that manna was not sent on two distinct occasions, but that the two narratives are parallel accounts. In the present chapter the sending of the manna is not related (see on Numbers 11:6). But it must not be concluded from this that our narrative is the sequel to that in Exodus 16; for (I) a description of the manna is given, as though it were a new phenomenon, in Numbers 11:7-9 as well as in Exodus 16:14; Exodus 16:31, and there are considerable differences in the two accounts; and (2) the laying of the pot of manna ‘before the Testimony’ (Exodus 16:34) shews that that narrative belongs to a time after the Testimony (i.e. the Decalogue) was given at Sinai. Thus both in P and J it is related that manna was sent after the departure from the mountain. Moreover, while P has this very full parallel account of the manna, it also has fragmentary references to the quails embedded in it. See Exodus 16:8 a (‘in the evening flesh to eat’), 12 (‘at even ye shall eat flesh’), 13a (‘at even the quails came up and covered the camp’). (II) Numbers 11:11-12; Numbers 11:14-15.