Bible Strands
Numbers 11:28
Joshua son of Nun, the attendant to Moses since youth, spoke up and said, “Moses, my lord, stop them!”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Joshua son of Nun, Moses' lifelong attendant, interrupts the camp's tension to urge Moses to silence Eldad and Medad after a young man reports their unauthorized prophesying (Numbers 11:27–29).
The words — The Hebrew מְשַׁרֵת (mesharet) denotes a servant or attendant, identifying Joshua’s long-standing role beside Moses from his youth (מִבְּחֻרָיו, mi-bechurav).
The thread — This intervention parallels later attempts to restrict independent spiritual activity, as recorded in Mark 9:38 and Luke 9:49, where followers seek to halt ministry outside their immediate circle.
Why it lands — The verse requires readers to examine their impulse to control spiritual expression and to recognize that authority follows God’s distribution of His Spirit, not human boundaries.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, one of his young men, answered and said, My lord Moses, forbid them.
Cross-references
- Luke 9:49 “Master,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in Your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not accompany us.”
- Mark 9:38 John said to Him, “Teacher, we saw someone else driving out demons in Your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not accompany us.”
- John 3:26 So John’s disciples came to him and said, “Look, Rabbi, the One who was with you beyond the Jordan, the One you testified about—He is baptizing, and everyone is going to Him.”
- Joshua 1:1 Now after the death of His servant Moses, the LORD spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, saying,
- Exodus 17:9 So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on the hilltop with the staff of God in my hand.”
- Exodus 33:11 Thus the LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young assistant Joshua son of Nun would not leave the tent.