So Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, one of his choice men, answered and said, “Moses my lord, forbid them!”
Parallel translations
- WEB Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, one of his chosen men, answered, “My lord Moses, forbid them!”
- KJV And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, one of his young men, answered and said, My lord Moses, forbid them.
- BSB Joshua son of Nun, the attendant to Moses since youth, spoke up and said, “Moses, my lord, stop them!”
- NASB Then Joshua the son of Nun, the personal servant of Moses from his youth, responded and said, “My lord Moses, restrain them!”
- NLT Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses’ assistant since his youth, protested, “Moses, my master, make them stop!”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Joshua, zealous for Moses, urges him to stop the two men. Misguided loyalty can resist a genuine work of God.
Overview
Joshua, devoted to Moses, wants the prophesying forbidden, fearing it undermines his master's authority. His zeal is sincere but mistaken, treating God's wider gift as a threat. The moment exposes how protectiveness can become an obstacle to what God is doing.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Luke 9:49–50John answered, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we forbade him, because he doesn’t follow with us.”
- Mark 9:38–40John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone who doesn’t follow us casting out demons in your name; and we forbade him, because he doesn’t follow us.”
- John 3:26They came to John, and said to him, “Rabbi, he who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified, behold, the same baptizes, and everyone is coming to him.”
- Josh 1:1Now after the death of Moses the servant of Yahweh, Yahweh spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ servant, saying,
- Exod 17:9Moses said to Joshua, “Choose men for us, and go out, fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with God’s rod in my hand.”
- Exod 33:11Yahweh spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. He turned again into the camp, but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, didn’t depart from the Tent.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
In the wilderness Christ is the water from the rock, the bronze serpent lifted up that the dying might look and live (John 3:14), and the star and scepter that Balaam saw rising out of Jacob.
How Numbers 11:28 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.