🔢WEB · Numbers 11:27
What does Numbers 11:27 mean?
"A young man ran, and told Moses, and said, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp!”"
— Numbers 11:27 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
Moses went out, and told the people Yahweh’s words; and he gathered seventy men of the elders of the people, and set them around the Tent.
Yahweh came down in the cloud, and spoke to him, and took of the Spirit that was on him, and put it on the seventy elders. When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied, but they did so no more.
But two men remained in the camp. The name of one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad: and the Spirit rested on them; and they were of those who were written, but had not gone out to the Tent; and they prophesied in the camp.
A young man ran, and told Moses, and said, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp!”
Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, one of his chosen men, answered, “My lord Moses, forbid them!”
Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all Yahweh’s people were prophets, that Yahweh would put his Spirit on them!”
Moses went into the camp, he and the elders of Israel.
Explanation
This verse comes in the middle of a story about the Spirit of God being poured out on seventy elders of Israel. Read plainly, it simply reports an event: a young man runs to Moses with urgent news that two men, Eldad and Medad, are prophesying back in the camp. The verse itself is a narrative bridge, but its significance lies in what leads up to it and what follows.
The book of Numbers records Israel's journey through the wilderness under Moses' leadership, written to document God's dealings with his people as they moved from Sinai toward the Promised Land. Just before this verse, Moses had complained to God that the burden of leading the complaining, hungry Israelites was too heavy for him alone (Numbers 11:11-15). In response, God instructed Moses to gather seventy elders at the tent of meeting, where God would put his Spirit on them so they could share the load of leadership (11:16-17). When the Spirit came upon these seventy, they
Compare translations
Go deeper with ScriptureCompanion AI
Ask questions about any verse, follow reading plans, write personal prayers, and track your daily habit — all grounded in verified scripture text.