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Moses laid his hands on him and commissioned him to lead the people, just as the Lord had commanded through Moses.
Numbers 27:23 · New Living Translation
Parallel translations
  • WEB He laid his hands on him, and commissioned him, as Yahweh spoke by Moses.
  • KJV And he laid his hands upon him, and gave him a charge, as the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses.
  • BSB and laid his hands on him and commissioned him, as the LORD had instructed through Moses.
  • NKJV And he laid his hands on him and inaugurated him, just as the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses.
  • NASB Then he laid his hands on him and commissioned him, just as the Lord had spoken through 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

Moses lays his hands on Joshua and commissions him, just as Yahweh commanded.

Overview

With the laying on of hands, Moses formally installs Joshua as Israel's new leader, completing the orderly succession. This early instance of commissioning by the laying on of hands prefigures the church's practice of setting apart leaders, and it secures the continuity of God's guidance for His people into the Promised Land.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 3

  • Deut 3:28But commission Joshua, and encourage him, and strengthen him; for he shall go over before this people, and he shall cause them to inherit the land which you shall see.”
  • Num 27:19Set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation; and commission him in their sight.
  • Deut 31:7–8Moses called to Joshua, and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land which Yahweh has sworn to their fathers to give them; and you shall cause them to inherit it.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (5)

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 27:23YouTube · 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 27:23 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.