Numbers 11:25

25 Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders; and when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But they did not do so again.

Numbers 11:25 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 11:25

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 ) ;

and took of the Spirit which [was] upon him, and gave [it] unto the
seventy elders; (See Gill on Numbers 11:17); and it came to pass [that] when the Spirit rested upon them they
prophesied;
either they sung the praises of God, which is sometimes the sense of prophesying, ( 1 Chronicles 25:1-3 ) ; blessing God for the honour done them, and the gift bestowed on them; or they opened and explained the laws of God, in virtue of the gifts they had received, according to which they were to assist Moses in the government of the people, or they foretold things come: the Jews say they prophesied of the quails, but that is not very likely:

and did not cease;
from prophesying; the spirit of prophecy continued with them, which, in some cases, might be necessary: or, they ceased not to prophesy all that day, though they afterwards did: and in the Hebrew text it is, "they added not" F17, that is, to prophesy, and Jarchi says they only prophesied that day, as it is interpreted in an ancient book of theirs, called Siphre: wherefore this spirit of prophecy is thought only to be given them as a temporary thing, for the confirmation of their having received the spirit of government, or gifts qualifying them for that, and to make them respectable among the people, and to show that they were appointed it by divine authority, and that this was not a device of Moses to ease himself.


FOOTNOTES:

F17 (wpoy) "et non addiderunt", Pagninus, Montanus, Drusius; "et non am lin", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.

Numbers 11:25 In-Context

23 The Lord said to Moses, "Is the Lord's power limited? Now you shall see whether my word will come true for you or not."
24 So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord; and he gathered seventy elders of the people, and placed them all around the tent.
25 Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders; and when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But they did not do so again.
26 Two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad, and the spirit rested on them; they were among those registered, but they had not gone out to the tent, and so they prophesied in the camp.
27 And a young man ran and told Moses, "Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp."
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.