16 And the Lord said to Moses, Send for seventy of the responsible men of Israel, who are in your opinion men of weight and authority over the people; make them come to the Tent of meeting and be there with you.
And he said to Moses, Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, and Nadab and Abihu and seventy of the chiefs of Israel; and give me worship from a distance.
Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the chiefs of Israel went up:
You are to make judges and overseers in all your towns which the Lord your God gives you, for every tribe: and they are to be upright men, judging the people in righteousness.
And the sons of Joseph whom he had in Egypt were two. Seventy persons of the family of Jacob came into Egypt.
Get together before me all those who are in authority in your tribes, and your overseers, so that I may say these things in their hearing, and make heaven and earth my witnesses against them.
And before them seventy of the responsible men of the children of Israel had taken their places, every man with a vessel for burning perfumes in his hand, and in the middle of them was Jaazaniah, the son of Shaphan; and a cloud of smoke went up from the burning perfume.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Numbers 11
Commentary on Numbers 11 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 11
Hitherto things had gone pretty well in Israel; little interruption had been given to the methods of God's favour to them since the matter of the golden calf; the people seemed teachable in marshalling and purifying the camp, the princes devout and generous in dedicating the altar, and there was good hope that they would be in Canaan presently. But at this chapter begins a melancholy scene; the measures are all broken, God has turned to be their enemy, and fights against them-and it is sin that makes all this mischief.
Num 11:1-3
Here is,
Num 11:4-15
These verses represent things sadly unhinged and out of order in Israel, both the people and the prince uneasy.
Num 11:16-23
We have here God's gracious answer to both the foregoing complaints, wherein his goodness takes occasion from man's badness to appear so much the more illustrious.
Num 11:24-30
We have here the performance of God's word to Moses, that he should have help in the government of Israel.
Num 11:31-35
God, having performed his promise to Moses by giving him assessors in the government, thereby proving the power he has over the spirits of men by his Spirit, he here performs his promise to the people by giving them flesh, proving thereby his power over the inferior creatures and his dominion in the kingdom of nature. Observe,