Based on the assumption that a humble person would not say this about himself, a number of critical scholars have questioned Moses’s authorship, not only of the book of Numbers but of the entire Pentateuch. They theorize that a later author or redactor or editor must have been responsible for at least this parenthetical statement if not the entire literary work.
The Question of Authorship
The first five books of the Hebrew Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy), a.k.a. the Pentateuch or the Torah, have historically been attributed to the authorship of Moses and thus designated the Five Books of Moses. He was clearly an inspired author who preserved in writing a record of historical events, including those in which he and the people of Israel were involved, along with words revealed by God and gathered into a “book” or compilation of documents.1 Through the centuries these writings have been collectively known as “the Book of the Law of Moses,” or comparable descriptors.2
Jesus was familiar with, accepted, and validated the writings of Moses, both as a collective whole,3 as well as individual passages.4 The Spirit-guided apostles were also familiar with, accepted, and validated Moses’s writings, both the entire corpus,5 as well as particular texts,6 in conjunction with other inspired teachers,7 contemporary Jews and Jewish Christians.8
It seems readily apparent from the biblical record itself that Moses wrote all five books consistently ascribed to him, from Genesis 1:1 to Deuteronomy 31:24, “when Moses had completed writing the words of this law in a book, when they were finished.” Unless he prophetically recorded his own death and burial, the ending of Deuteronomy appears to have been completed by someone else, presumably his successor Joshua, who was divinely appointed, indwelt by God’s Spirit, invested with the authority Moses himself had been given, continuing the story in the manuscript bearing Joshua’s name (Num. 27:15-20; Josh. 1:1-8).9
Contextual Considerations
By the time we get to the twelfth chapter of the historical narrative of Numbers, the Lord has provided for his people deliverance from oppressive slavery in Egypt, protection and provision in the wilderness, direction, leadership, and hope. He has given Moses ample instruction and support, along with miraculous confirmation accompanied by God’s Angel, God’s Spirit, and a pillar of cloud and fire for extra guidance and protection.10
As the Israelites departed from Sinai to the land of promise (Num. 10:11-36), they grew increasingly dissatisfied, complaining about their surroundings and lack of variety in the Lord’s provisions, ready to revoke their freedom and return to Egypt (11:1-10). Moses himself was growing weary with all the heavy responsibilities, high expectations, and persistent backlash from the multitude of obstinate, discontent, uncooperative, contentious ingrates (11:11-15).
Once again the Lord intervened to help Moses carry this massive load, providing the assistance of 70 elders, an overabundance of additional food for the people, with a disciplinary plague to quell the disrespectful and selfish complaints (Num. 11:16-35). When it probably seemed the situation could not get any worse, Moses’s own brother and sister turned against him (12:1-2), prompting the parenthetical statement, “Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth” (12:3).
Translational and Interpretive Considerations
The Hebrew word translated “humble” in this verse, sometimes rendered “meek” (ASV, ESV, KJV), is ‘anav [עָנָו], which carries the sense of “lowly,” “afflicted,” or “humbled by oppression” (cf. Job 24:4; Psa. 9:18).11 Contextually we see a clear contrast between Moses, on one hand, and his prideful siblings, on the other, who instead of graciously appreciating the special gifts and positions of service God had bestowed upon them, and rather than recognizing and respecting Moses as the divinely chosen leader of God’s people and helping to bear this enormous load, Miriam the prophetess and Aaron the high priest appear to have been consumed with envy as they turned against God’s chosen one, thereby adding to Moses’s already overwhelming burden.
The antagonism they felt toward their brother was unjustified. Moses was not a self-appointed leader. He had neither aspired to, coveted, nor ambitiously sought this position. In fact, he had yielded to God’s call reluctantly with significant apprehension (Ex. 3:1–4:18). It would have been challenging for a person of lesser character in such a lofty leadership role to resist prideful arrogance, to refrain from defending himself, and to abstain from counter attacking. God, therefore, takes up for his faithful servant Moses (Num. 12:4-9).
Conclusion
By comparison, considering the shameful attitudes and actions of Miriam, Aaron, and the Israelite people, the description of Moses in Num. 12:3, inspired by God’s Spirit, is an accurate assessment. It would be comparable to Daniel recounting his own greatness and humility in light of God’s providence (Dan. 1:19-20; 5:11-12; 10:12), and to Paul speaking of his humbled state of weakness that exalts the power of God working through him (2 Cor. 11:30; 12:5-10). Moreover, with the sense of “afflicted” or “humbled by oppression” understood, the self-reflective statement of Moses makes perfect sense in this context (compare, e.g., Psa. 25:16-21; 37:7-8; 69:29; 94:3-5; Isa. 53:3-4; Jer. 1:6-8, 19-19; 12:6; 13:16-17; 15:10; 20:7-18; Heb. 11:37-39).12
--Kevin L. Moore
Endnotes:
1 Ex. 17:14; 24:4-7; 34:27; Num. 33:2; Deut. 31:9, 24-26. The Hebrew noun cepher [סֵפֶר] does not refer to a “book” in the modern sense of a bound volume of pages but a missive, document, writing, or scroll “in which something is written to preserve it for future use” (Brown–Driver–Briggs–Gesenius 706-707).
2 Josh. 8:31-35; 23:6; 1 Kings 2:3-4; 2 Kings 14:6; 23:21-25; 2 Chron. 23:18; 25:4; 30:16; 35:12; Ezra 3:2; 6:18; 7:6; Neh. 8:1-14; 13:1; Dan. 9:11-13; cf. Mal. 4:4.
3 Luke 16:29, 31; 24:27, 44; John 1:17; 5:45-47; 7:19.
4 Matt. 5:33; 8:4; 19:4-8; Mark 1:44; 7:10; 10:3-8; 12:26; Luke 5:14; 20:37; John 3:14; 7:22-23; 8:5.
5 John 1:17, 45; Acts 15:21; 26:22; 28:23; 2 Cor. 3:14-15.
6 Acts 3:22; 13:17-18, 39; Rom. 9:15; 10:5, 19; 1 Cor. 9:9; 10:1-10; 2 Cor. 3:7-13; 2 Tim. 3:8.
7 Acts 7:2-44; Heb. 3:2-5, 16-19; 7:1-14; 8:5; 9:19-22; 11:23-29; 12:16-24. E. E. Ellis identifies quotes from the Pentateuch in Paul’s writings (Rom. 4:3, 17, 18; 7:7; 9:7, 9, 12, 15, 17; 10:5-8, 19; 12:19; 13:9; 15:10; 1 Cor. 6:16; 9:9; 10:7; 15:45; 6:16; 8:15; 13:1; Gal. 3:6, 8, 10, 13, 16; 4:30; 5:14; Eph. 5:31; 6:2-3; 1 Tim. 5:18a; 2 Tim. 2:19a), along with additional allusions and parallels (Paul’s Use of the OT 150-52). For careful analysis of these and other OT quotations in the rest of the NT, see G. K. Beale and D. A. Carson, eds. Commentary on the NT Use of the OT (2007).
8 Matt. 22:24; Mark 12:19; Luke 2:22; 20:28; John 9:29; Acts 6:11, 14; 13:15; 15:1, 5, 21; 21:21; Heb. 10:28.
9 From the final verses of chapter 31, conservative scholars generally agree that the last chapters of Deuteronomy are an appendix to the entire collection that Moses placed in the care of the Levites: “there is nothing in the whole of the five books which Moses might not have written” (C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the OT: The Pentateuch 3:517).
10 God leads through Moses (Ex. 3:10; 32:7; 33:1), along with Aaron (Ex. 6:26-27), God’s Angel (Ex. 14:19; 23:20-23; 32:34; Isa. 63:9), God’s Spirit (Num. 11:17, 25), and the pillar of cloud and fire (Ex. 13:21-22). See K. L. Moore, “The Angel of the LORD,” Moore Perspective (1 June 2013), <Link>; “The Pillar of Cloud and Fire,” Moore Perspective (27 July 2022), <Link>.
11 Brown–Driver–Briggs–Gesenius 776; Wilson’s OT Word Studies 223. The LXX employs the adj. πραΰς, meaning “not being overly impressed by a sense of one’s self-importance, gentle, humble, considerate, meek in the older favorable sense .... unassuming ...” (BDAG 861).
12 “Powerless to personally supply the people’s demand for meat in the previous crisis (11:13-14), Moses was equally powerless, due to his character, to defend himself against personal attack and so deal with the authority crisis precipitated by the revolt of his brother and sister.... The affirmation of Moses’ meekness, which documents his incapacity and explains the sudden divine intervention, is thus so essential to the context that the supposition of some expositors that verse 3 may be an editorial addition, perhaps by Joshua, is rendered unlikely. To be sure, Moses’ humility ... is seen as a virtue, but one recorded by that remarkable objectivity of inspiration which enabled Moses also to speak fully of his own shortcomings (e.g. 11:11-12, 21-22; 20:10-12 and Exodus 4:10-15)” (C. M. Woods, Living Way Commentary on the OT 2:115).
Works Cited:
Walter Bauer, F. W. Danker, W. F. Arndt, and F. W. Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature. 3rd ed. Chicago; London: The University of Chicago Press, 2001.
G. K. Beale and D. A. Carson, eds. Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2007.
Francis Brown, et al., The New Brown–Driver–Briggs–Gesenius Hebrew and English Lexicon. Lafayette, IN: Associated Publishers, 1980.
E. Earle Ellis, Paul’s Use of the Old Testament. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1991.
C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Vol. III, The Pentateuch. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1968.
William Wilson, Wilson’s Old Testament Word Studies. McLean, VA: MacDonald Publishing, 1990.
Clyde M. Woods, The Living Way Commentary on the Old Testament: Vol. 2, Leviticus-Numbers-Deuteronomy. Shreveport, LA: Lambert, 1974.
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