Numbers 20:6

6 And when the multitude was left, Moses and Aaron entered into the tabernacle of [the] bond of peace, and they fell down low upon the earth, and they cried to God, and said, Lord God, hear the cry of this people, and open to them thy treasure, a well of quick water, that when they be filled, the grouching of them cease. And the glory of the Lord appeared upon them; (And they left the multitude, and Moses and Aaron entered into the Tabernacle of the Covenant, and they fell down on the ground, and they cried out to God, and said, Lord God, hear the cry of these people, and open thy treasure to them, yea, a well of fresh water, so that when they be filled, their grumbling shall cease. And the glory of the Lord appeared above them;)

Numbers 20:6 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 20:6

And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly,
&c.] Like fugitives, as Aben Ezra; they fled from them through fear, lest they should rise and fall upon them, and stone them, as their fathers were ready to do in a like case, ( Exodus 17:4 ) . It is very likely this assembly gathered about the tents of Moses and Aaron, who went from thence unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation; where the Lord had promised to meet Moses, and speak unto him, ( Exodus 29:42 )

and they fell upon their faces;
to pray, as Aben Ezra, that God would forgive the sin, of the people, and not break forth in his wrath against them, as he sometimes had done, and as their sin deserved, and that he would grant them what was needful for them. In the Vulgate Latin version the following words are added as their prayer,

``and they cried unto the Lord, and said, Lord God, hear the cry of this people, and open to them thy treasure, the fountain of living water, that they being satiated, their murmuring may cease.''

But they are not neither in the Hebrew text, nor in the Greek version, nor the Chaldee paraphrases:

and the glory of the Lord appeared unto them;
either to Moses and Aaron, to encourage them to expect their prayers would be answered; or to the people, to terrify them, and silence their murmurings; see ( Numbers 16:19 ) .

Numbers 20:6 In-Context

4 Why have ye led out the church of the Lord into wilderness, that both we and our beasts die (here)? (Why have ye led out the Lord's congregation into this wilderness, so that both we and our beasts shall die here?)

5 Why have ye made us to go up from Egypt, and have brought us into this worst place, which may not be sown, which neither bringeth forth fig trees, nor vines, neither pomegranates; furthermore and it hath not water to drink? (and furthermore there is no water to drink!)

6 And when the multitude was left, Moses and Aaron entered into the tabernacle of [the] bond of peace, and they fell down low upon the earth, and they cried to God, and said, Lord God, hear the cry of this people, and open to them thy treasure, a well of quick water, that when they be filled, the grouching of them cease. And the glory of the Lord appeared upon them; (And they left the multitude, and Moses and Aaron entered into the Tabernacle of the Covenant, and they fell down on the ground, and they cried out to God, and said, Lord God, hear the cry of these people, and open thy treasure to them, yea, a well of fresh water, so that when they be filled, their grumbling shall cease. And the glory of the Lord appeared above them;)

7 and the Lord spake to Moses, and said,

8 Take the rod of Aaron, and gather together the people, thou, and Aaron thy brother; and speak ye to the stone before them, and it shall give out waters. And when thou hast led water out of the stone, all the multitude shall drink, and their beasts thereof. (Take the staff, and gather together the people, thou, and thy brother Aaron; and speak ye to the stone before them, and it shall give out water. And when thou hast led out water from the stone, all the multitude and their beasts shall drink it.)