Bible Strands
Numbers 14:13
But Moses said to the LORD, “The Egyptians will hear of it, for by Your strength You brought this people from among them.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Moses addresses Yahweh immediately after God declares He will strike the people with a plague and replace them with a greater nation. He speaks at the precise moment of threatened destruction to anchor his plea in what God has already done.
The words — The verb הֶעֱלִיתָ (he.'e.Li.ta) literally means “you brought up,” directly referencing the Exodus deliverance. This term grounds Moses’ argument in the completed act of removal from Egypt rather than future promises.
The thread — The verse’s appeal to God’s reputation before the Egyptians runs parallel to Exodus 32:11 and Deuteronomy 32:27. Psalm 106:23 later recalls this exact intervention as Moses standing in the breach to divert wrath.
Why it lands — The text states that God’s prior strength and public witness constrain His immediate judgment. It requires the reader to confront how divine reputation operates independently of human merit or future outcomes.
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 Moses said unto the Lord, Then the Egyptians shall hear it, (for thou broughtest up this people in thy might from among them;)
Cross-references
- Psalms 106:23 So He said He would destroy them—had not Moses His chosen one stood before Him in the breach to divert His wrath from destroying them.
- Exodus 32:11 But Moses sought the favor of the LORD his God, saying, “O LORD, why does Your anger burn against Your people, whom You brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand?
- Deuteronomy 32:27 if I had not dreaded the taunt of the enemy, lest their adversaries misunderstand and say: ‘Our own hand has prevailed; it was not the LORD who did all this.’”
- Ezekiel 20:9 But I acted for the sake of My name, that it should not be profaned in the eyes of the nations among whom they were living, in whose sight I had revealed Myself to Israel by bringing them out of the land of Egypt.
- Deuteronomy 9:26 And I prayed to the LORD and said, “O Lord GOD, do not destroy Your people, Your inheritance, whom You redeemed through Your greatness and brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand.
- Joshua 7:8 O Lord, what can I say, now that Israel has turned its back and run from its enemies?
- Ezekiel 20:14 But I acted for the sake of My name, so that it would not be profaned in the eyes of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out.