🔢WEB · Numbers 27:14
What does Numbers 27:14 mean?
"because in the strife of the congregation, you rebelled against my word in the wilderness of Zin, to honor me as holy at the waters before their eyes.” (These are the waters of Meribah of Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.)"
— Numbers 27:14 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
If his father has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to his kinsman who is next to him of his family, and he shall possess it. This shall be a statute and ordinance for the children of Israel, as Yahweh commanded Moses.’”
Yahweh said to Moses, “Go up into this mountain of Abarim, and see the land which I have given to the children of Israel.
When you have seen it, you also shall be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother was gathered;
because in the strife of the congregation, you rebelled against my word in the wilderness of Zin, to honor me as holy at the waters before their eyes.” (These are the waters of Meribah of Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.)
Moses spoke to Yahweh, saying,
“Let Yahweh, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation,
who may go out before them, and who may come in before them, and who may lead them out, and who may bring them in; that the congregation of Yahweh may not be as sheep which have no shepherd.”
Explanation
This verse records God speaking to Moses, reminding him why he will not be permitted to lead Israel into the Promised Land. In plain language, God says: "You rebelled against my instructions during the people's complaining at Zin, and in doing so you failed to honor me as holy in front of the whole community." The parenthetical note identifies the location as Meribah of Kadesh, tying this statement directly back to a specific historical incident the original readers would have known well.
The context is found in Numbers 20:1-13. The Israelites, wandering in the wilderness, had run out of water and were quarreling with Moses and Aaron, blaming them for their hardship. God instructed Moses to speak to a rock in front of the people, and water would flow from it. Instead, Moses, frustrated and angry with the people's constant complaining, struck the rock twice with his staff and said, "Listen, you rebels! Shall we bring water out of this rock for you?" Water still came out, but Moses had disobeyed the specific command and had spoken as though he and Aaron were the source of the miracle, rather than pointing to God.
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