Scripture Helps
Numbers 11–14; 20–24; 27

Scripture Helps

Numbers 11–14; 20–24; 27

Moses sent 12 spies to search the land of Canaan. Only two of them, Caleb and Joshua, had faith that the Lord would help the Israelites conquer Canaan as He had promised. Because of the Israelites’ unbelief, the Lord declared that they would wander in the wilderness for 40 years. They continued to complain and rebel against the Lord in many instances. The Lord sent poisonous serpents that afflicted the people. He then directed Moses to make a brass serpent that the people could look to and be healed. The Lord directed a non-Israelite prophet named Balaam to bless the children of Israel. Joshua was chosen to succeed Moses.

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Background and Context

What is the book of Numbers?

The book of Numbers is the fourth of the five books of Moses. Its name is based on the Lord’s instruction for Moses to number all the Israelite males 20 years and older who were able go to war. The Hebrew title for the book comes from the phrase “in the wilderness.” Numbers records the Israelites’ experiences as they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. The book can be divided into three sections:

  1. Chapters 1–10: The Israelites’ preparation to depart from Sinai after their yearlong encampment there.

  2. Chapters 10–21: The Israelites’ journey from Sinai to the southern borders of Canaan, their refusal to enter Canaan, and their subsequent wandering in the wilderness.

  3. Chapters 22–36: Events on the plains of Moab just outside the promised land.

map of the Israelites’ journey from Egypt to Canaan

Bible Maps, no. 2, “Israel’s Exodus from Egypt and Entry into Canaan”

Numbers 11

What can we learn from the Israelites’ murmuring?

Not long after the Israelites departed from Sinai, they complained to Moses about having to eat manna every day. This is the first of many instances of murmuring recorded in Numbers. The Israelites’ complaining displeased both the Lord and Moses. When recounting these events to his brothers, the Book of Mormon prophet Nephi attributed the Israelites’ murmuring to their hardheartedness. Nephi taught that despite all the Lord had done for the children of Israel, “they hardened their hearts and blinded their minds, and reviled against Moses and against the true and living God.”

Elder Dale G. Renlund warned of the ingratitude we may feel when we distance ourselves from God. He taught: “Our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, are the ultimate Givers. The more we distance ourselves from Them, the more entitled we feel. We begin to think that we deserve grace and are owed blessings. We are more prone to look around, identify inequities, and feel aggrieved—even offended—by the unfairness we perceive. While the unfairness can range from trivial to gut-wrenching, when we are distant from God, even small inequities loom large. We feel that God has an obligation to fix things—and fix them right now!”

Numbers 11:24–29; 12:1–15

What did Moses mean when he said he wished that all the Lord’s people were prophets?

Moses’s wish “that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit upon them” showed his desire for others to experience the blessings of revelation. However, Moses was not suggesting that anyone could be the Lord’s spokesperson. This is illustrated in Numbers 12, when Aaron and Miriam were chastised by the Lord for challenging Moses’s authority as the inspired leader for all of Israel.

Prophets in our day have emphasized the need for both personal revelation and prophetic guidance. President Dallin H. Oaks taught: “Our Heavenly Father has given His children two lines of communication with Him—what we may call the personal line and the priesthood line. All should understand and be guided by both of these essential lines of communication.”

Elder Dale G. Renlund explained that “doctrine, commandments, and revelations for the Church are the prerogative of the living prophet, who receives them from the Lord Jesus Christ.” Regarding personal revelation, Elder David A. Bednar taught: “The spirit of revelation is available to every person. … This blessing is not restricted to the presiding authorities of the Church; rather, it belongs to and should be operative in the life of every man, woman, and child who … enters into sacred covenants. Sincere desire and worthiness invite the spirit of revelation into our lives.”

Numbers 13:16

What was significant about Oshea being called Joshua?

The Lord instructed Moses to send a leader from each tribe to search the land of Canaan. Moses changed the name of the leader of the tribe of Ephraim from Oshea (meaning “salvation”) to Joshua (meaning “Jehovah is salvation”). This change may have been a reminder to the Israelites that God was leading them and that they could obtain the promised land through His power.

Centuries later, the same name would be given to the Son of God. President Russell M. Nelson taught: “Mary and Joseph did not need to be taught the deep significance of the name Jesus. The Hebrew root from which it was derived, Jehoshua, means ‘Jehovah is salvation.’ So the mission of Jehovah, soon to be named Jesus, was salvation, and His supreme destiny was to become the Savior of the world.”

Numbers 13:26–33

Who were the sons of Anak?

The 10 unbelieving spies referred to the sons of Anak as “giants” when they gave reasons why they felt Israel could not conquer the promised land. The sons of Anak may have been related to the people of Raphah, from whom Goliath descended.

For more information, see “Moses 7:15. What does it mean that there were giants in the land?”

Numbers 14

Why did the Israelites have to wander in the wilderness for 40 years?

Most of the Israelites accepted the report of the 10 spies, who claimed that conquering the promised land would be impossible. Some Israelites started an effort to reject Moses and choose a leader that would take them back to Egypt. When Joshua and Caleb intervened, the congregation tried to have them stoned.

Despite the people’s actions against him, Moses pleaded with the Lord to have mercy on them. The Lord said that He would not destroy the people, but they would wander in the desert for 40 years. He stated that “[none] of them that provoked [Him]” would live to inherit the promised land. This included all adults over 20 years old except Caleb and Joshua.

This was one of many instances in the wilderness in which the Israelites missed out on the Lord’s blessings because of their rebellion and unbelief. The scriptures sometimes refer to these instances as “the provocation” in the wilderness.

desert near the Sinai Peninsula

Desert near the Sinai Peninsula

Numbers 20:12

Why were Moses and Aaron not allowed to enter the promised land?

When the Israelites again murmured for want of water, the Lord gave Moses and Aaron specific instructions on how to provide for their needs. Pointing out a certain rock, the Lord told Moses to gather the people and “speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water.” However, instead of following God’s command to speak to the rock, Moses struck it twice with his staff. Additionally, Moses and Aaron failed to give credit to the Lord for this miracle. Before Moses struck the rock, he asked, “Must we fetch you water out of this rock?”

The Lord chastened Moses and Aaron for straying from his instructions and for failing to “sanctify [Him] in the eyes of the children of Israel.” He declared that because of their actions, Moses and Aaron would not be allowed to lead the Israelites into the promised land.

Although the scriptures do not fully explain the reasons for this consequence, Moses’s actions did not disqualify him from all future responsibilities and blessings. The Book of Mormon teaches that at the end of Moses’s life, “the Lord took Moses unto himself.” As a translated being, Moses appeared at the Mount of Transfiguration and bestowed priesthood keys upon Peter, James, and John. Moses also appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in our dispensation as a resurrected being, conferring upon them the keys of the gathering of Israel.

Numbers 21:4–9

What do other scriptures add to our understanding of the account of the brass serpent?

Numbers 21 recounts the story of the Israelites being bitten by poisonous snakes and then healed by looking upon the brass serpent that Moses set up. Additional scriptures add important insights and meaning to this account.

Most notably, Jesus Christ taught that this incident symbolized His atoning sacrifice. He testified, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.” Similarly, Nephi the son of Helaman foretold that Jesus Christ would be lifted up on the cross and that “as many as should look upon the Son of God with faith, having a contrite spirit, might live, even unto that life which is eternal.”

Nephi the son of Lehi provided the important detail that even though all the Israelites had to do was look, there were many who perished “because of the simpleness of the way, or the easiness of it.” The prophet Alma further explained that the reason some would not look at the serpent was “because they did not believe that it would heal them.”

Moses pointing to a staff with a brass serpent

Moses and the Brass Serpent, by Judith Mehr

Numbers 22–24

Who was Balaam?

Balaam was a non-Israelite who had a reputation for pronouncing blessings and curses. While he is never called a prophet in Numbers 22–24, there are many examples in these chapters of Balaam acting as a prophet for the Lord. For example, despite Balak’s repeated requests for Balaam to curse the Israelites, “the Lord put a word in Balaam’s mouth,” and Balaam pronounced blessings upon them instead.

Although the Lord used Balaam to serve His purposes, there are indications that Balaam’s intentions were not always good. For instance, “God’s anger was kindled” against Balaam when he agreed to speak with Balak, and God sent an angel to block Balaam’s path. The Lord then opened the mouth of Balaam’s donkey to make Balaam aware of the angel’s presence, which seems to demonstrate Balaam’s spiritual blindness. The man who was sought out because of his reputation as a soothsayer could not see what even his donkey could.

The scriptures indicate that Balaam eventually succumbed to Balak’s pressure and betrayed Israel. The book of Revelation states that Balaam taught Balak “to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.” Elsewhere in the scriptures, the example of Balaam is used to warn against greed and seeking after the things of the world.

Learn More

Prophetic and personal revelation

The 12 spies

  • S. Michael Wilcox, “The 12 Spies,” Ensign, Mar. 2002, 35–37

The brass serpent

40 Years in the Wilderness

Media

Images

illustration of the spies explaining to Moses what they found in Canaan

Joshua and Caleb: Obedient Spies

northeastern view of the great Wadi, where biblical Kadesh Barnea was located

Northeastern view of the great Wadi, where biblical Kadesh Barnea was located

a brass serpent on a pole
angel with a sword appearing to Balaam

The Angel Appearing to Balaam, by Gustave Doré

Moses laying his hands on Joshua’s head

Moses Ordaining Joshua, by Darrell Thomas

Notes

  1. See Numbers 1:2–3. This first census of Israel after the Exodus showed that there were more than 600,000 men over 20 years of age who could go to war (see Numbers 1:45–46). When accounting for the Levites, women, children, and elderly men not included in this number, some scholars estimate the total number of Israelites to be about three million. Other scholars believe that there have been inaccuracies or textual errors over the centuries and that the total number of Israelites was smaller. Whatever the correct number, Moses was tasked with leading a large group of people through the wilderness (see Richard Neitzel Holzapfel and others, Jehovah and the World of the Old Testament: An Illustrated Reference for Latter-day Saints [2009], 126).

  2. Numbers 1:1. See Holzapfel and others, Jehovah and the World of the Old Testament, 124.

  3. See Numbers 14:2; 16:1–41; 17:5–10; 21:4–5.

  4. 1 Nephi 17:30.

  5. Dale G. Renlund, “That I Might Draw All Men unto Me,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2016, 39.

  6. Numbers 11:29.

  7. See Matthew O. Richardson, “The Prophet-Leader,” Religious Educator, vol. 9, no. 1 (2008), 72.

  8. See Robert D. Hales, “The Holy Ghost,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2016, 105–6; Kerry Muhlestein, “A Savior with a Sword: The Power of a Fuller Scriptural Picture of Christ,” Religious Educator, vol. 20, no. 3 (2019), 118–19.

  9. Dallin H. Oaks, “Two Lines of Communication,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2010, 83.

  10. Dale G. Renlund, “A Framework for Personal Revelation,” Liahona, Nov. 2022, 17.

  11. David A. Bednar, “The Spirit of Revelation,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2011, 87.

  12. The King James Version of the Bible gives his name as “Jehoshua” in Numbers 13:16, which is a longer form of the name Joshua.

  13. See Tremper Longman III and Mark L. Strauss, The Baker Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words (2023), “Savior,” 704–5.

  14. See Joseph Fielding McConkie, Gospel Symbolism (1985), 71.

  15. Russell M. Nelson, “Christ the Savior Is Born,” New Era, Dec. 2006, 3.

  16. Numbers 13:33.

  17. Giants are mentioned elsewhere in the Bible as well. For example, the book of Deuteronomy describes Og, who was the king of Bashan and was known as the last of the Rephaim. His huge bed was evidence that he was a giant (see Deuteronomy 3:11).

  18. See Adele Berlin and Marc Zvi Brettler, eds., The Jewish Study Bible, 2nd ed. (2014), 295, note on Numbers 13:22, 28, 33.

  19. See Numbers 14:1–4. Nehemiah 9:17 suggests that they did choose a leader to take them back to Egypt.

  20. See Numbers 14:6–10.

  21. See Numbers 14:11–19. Moses similarly pleaded for the people after they worshipped the golden calf. His intercession for his people was similar to Jesus Christ’s intercession for us (see “Exodus 32:9–14, 31–32. How can Moses’s pleading for his people remind us of Jesus Christ?”).

  22. Numbers 14:23.

  23. See Numbers 14:29–30.

  24. Psalm 95:8. See also Hebrews 3:7–11, 15; Jacob 1:7; Alma 12:36; S. Michael Wilcox, “The 12 Spies,” Ensign, Mar. 2002, 36; M. Catherine Thomas, “The Provocation in the Wilderness and the Rejection of Grace,” in Sperry Symposium Classics: The Old Testament, ed. Paul Y. Hoskisson (2005), 164–76.

  25. Numbers 20:8.

  26. Numbers 20:10; emphasis added.

  27. Numbers 20:12. See also Numbers 27:12–14; Deuteronomy 32:51–52.

  28. Alma 45:19.

  29. See Matthew 17:1–8; Guide to the Scriptures, “Moses,” Gospel Library.

  30. See Doctrine and Covenants 110:11.

  31. See John 3:14–16; 1 Nephi 17:41; 2 Nephi 25:20; Alma 33:19–21; Helaman 8:14–15. Presumably the Book of Mormon prophets had a more complete version of the story from the brass plates.

  32. John 3:14–15.

  33. Helaman 8:15.

  34. 1 Nephi 17:41.

  35. Alma 33:20.

  36. See Numbers 22:5–6. The scriptures refer to Balaam as a “soothsayer” (Joshua 13:22). Balaam likely also had a reputation of being able to see the future (see Dana M. Pike, “Balaam in the Book of Numbers,” in From Creation to Sinai: The Old Testament Through the Lens of the Restoration, ed. Daniel L. Belnap and Aaron P. Schade [2021], 573).

  37. Numbers 23:5.

  38. See Numbers 23:11, 20; 24:1–10. Numbers 22–24 contain multiple instances of Balaam prophesying or offering other prophetic pronouncements. For an analysis of these, see Pike, “Balaam in the Book of Numbers,” 585–88.

  39. Multiple Old Testament passages suggest that Balaam did attempt to curse the Israelites, but the Lord “would not hearken unto” him (Deuteronomy 23:5; see also Joshua 24:10).

  40. Numbers 22:22.

  41. This occurred after the Lord had already commanded Balaam not to go speak with Balak (see Numbers 22:12). Verse 20 presents some confusion because it appears that the Lord is telling Balaam to go. The Joseph Smith Translation changes the phrase “rise up, and go with them” in verse 20 to “rise up, if thou wilt go with them” (Scott H. Faulring and others, eds., Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible: Original Manuscripts [2004], 707, Numbers 22:20; emphasis added). This may indicate that God was making Balaam responsible for the decision whether to follow God or to go with the princes of Moab. However, there is not enough information in the text to know exactly why the Lord was angry with Balaam (see Pike, “Balaam in the Book of Numbers,” 580).

  42. “This short account of Balaam, his donkey, and an angel serves to ridicule Balaam, suggesting that he was not really who he claimed to be” (Pike, “Balaam in the Book of Numbers,” 582).

  43. Revelation 2:14.

  44. See 2 Peter 2:15; Jude 1:11. “Overall, the Bible and post-biblical traditions present a complex and mixed picture of Balaam, one that becomes predominantly negative through later texts and time” (Pike, “Balaam in the Book of Numbers,” 591).