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With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?
Numbers 12:8 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB With him, I will speak mouth to mouth, even plainly, and not in riddles; and he shall see Yahweh’s form. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant, against Moses?”
  • BSB I speak with him face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the LORD. Why then were you unafraid to speak against My servant Moses?”
  • NKJV I speak with him face to face, Even plainly, and not in dark sayings; And he sees the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid To speak against My servant Moses?”
  • NASB With him I speak mouth to mouth, That is, openly, and not using mysterious language, And he beholds the form of the Lord. So why were you not afraid To speak against My servant, against Moses?”
  • NLT I speak to him face to face, clearly, and not in riddles! He sees the Lord as he is. So why were you not afraid to criticize my servant Moses?”

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

God speaks with Moses face to face, plainly, so opposing him is a grave offense. Moses' unique intimacy with God vindicates his authority.

Overview

Unlike other prophets, Moses receives clear, direct revelation and beholds the LORD's form. God rebukes Miriam and Aaron for daring to speak against such a servant. Moses' unmatched access foreshadows Christ, who alone has truly seen the Father and made him known (John 1:18).

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 31

  • Deut 34:10And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face,
  • 1 Cor 13:12For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
  • Exod 33:11And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.
  • Exod 33:23And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.
  • Luke 10:16He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.
  • Exod 24:10–11And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness.
  • 2 Cor 4:4–6In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
  • John 15:15Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.
  • John 14:7–10If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.
  • 2 Pet 2:10But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities.
  • 1 Th 4:8He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit.
  • Jude 1:8Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities.
  • 2 Cor 3:18But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the LORD.
  • John 15:24If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father.
  • Heb 1:3Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
  • 1 Tim 6:16Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.
  • Ps 17:15As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.
  • Isa 46:5To whom will ye liken me, and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be like?
  • Deut 4:15Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the LORD spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire:
  • Ezek 20:49Then said I, Ah Lord GOD! they say of me, Doth he not speak parables?
  • Exod 20:4Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
  • Ezek 17:2Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto the house of Israel;
  • John 1:18No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
  • Exod 34:5–7And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD.
  • Isa 40:18To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?
  • Ps 49:4I will incline mine ear to a parable: I will open my dark saying upon the harp.
  • Matt 13:35That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.
  • Num 14:14And they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land: for they have heard that thou LORD art among this people, that thou LORD art seen face to face, and that thy cloud standeth over them, and that thou goest before them, by day time in a pillar of a cloud, and in a pillar of fire by night.
  • Col 1:15Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
  • Exod 33:19And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.
  • Exod 34:30And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (9)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Numbers videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Numbers 12:8YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on NumbersMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 12:8 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.