Numbers 12:1 And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the ||Ethiopian woman whom he had †married: for ahe had †married an ||Ethiopian woman. 2 And they said, Hath the Lord indeed spoken only by Moses? bhath he not spoken also by us? And the Lord cheard it. 3 d(Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.) 4 dAnd the Lord spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, Come out ye three unto the tabernacle of the congregation. And they three came out. 5 eAnd the Lord came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth. 6 And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make myself known unto him fin a vision, and will speak unto him gin a dream. 7 hMy servant Moses is not so, iwho is faithful in all kmine house. 8 With him will I speak lmouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in mdark speeches; and nthe similitude of the Lord shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against omy servant Moses? 9 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against them; and he departed.
CONSIDER: The word translated "meek" is a "masculine noun, ʿānāw is derived from ʿānāh (HED #6257), "to be afflicted." It means "afflicted," "lowly," "humble," "meek." Affliction occurs in every life, and God intends to use it to develop humility in his people. In the OT, godliness is connected with suffering much more often than with worldly abundance. The noun ʿānāw expresses the desired moral and spiritual result of affliction.
Some uses of ʿānāw emphasize the fact of poverty and need. Solomon said that one who is gracious to the poor will be blessed (Prov. 14:21). But Amos complained that the needy were being sold as slaves for the price of a pair of sandals (Amos 2:6f). Some will trample the afflicted (Amos 8:4).
A dominant characteristic of the afflicted is their vulnerability to being abused by the powerful. But God takes the role of protector for the godly who fall in this category. Remembering their plight (Ps. 9:12, 18), God rises in judgment to save them (Ps. 76:9). The Messiah will decide in equity for them (Isa. 11:4). The Lord strengthens their heart (Ps. 10:17), leads them in justice, teaches them his ways (Ps. 25:9), supports them (Ps. 147:6) and promises to beautify them with salvation (Ps. 149:4). They will inherit the land, delight in abundant prosperity (Ps. 37:11) and be filled with gladness (Ps. 34:2).
Moses described himself as the one who most fully exemplified this trait (Num. 12:3). This was not an arrogant claim to perfection; it was simply a recognition that he had been most thoroughly humbled by the afflictions God had allowed in his life. He would surely agree that it is better to be of humble spirit with the lowly than to divide the spoil with the proud (Prov. 16:19)."
* Complete Biblical Library Hebrew-English Dictionary - The Complete Biblical Library Hebrew-English Dictionary – Nun-Ayin.
Some believe verse 3 might have been inserted by a scribe, but is this any different that Paul saying that he was "pressed beyond measure, with trouble on every side"? Moses is simply saying, as you or I might say, having gone through all that he did, "Nobody on earth has been through what I have been through in my life...from the LUXURY of the Palace to the LEARNING in the Pastures to the LEADERSHIP of these People (stubborn, stiff neck, and selfish). He spent in life getting in the middle of things from the fighting of the two Hebrews to the failure of the two million Jews to enter the Land of Promise. HAVE YOU OR I EVER BEEN THROUGH SO MUCH?
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