Bible Strands
Numbers 27:18
And the LORD replied to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a man with the Spirit in him, and lay your hands on him.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Yahweh addresses Moses in direct response to Moses' request for a successor, so the congregation will not be "like sheep without a shepherd" (27:17).
The words — קַח (kakh), "take," is a bare imperative: a command, not a suggestion. The phrase "a man with the Spirit in him" (אִישׁ אֲשֶׁר־רוּחַ־בּוֹ) locates the Spirit inside the person, a construction rare in the Hebrew Bible.
The thread — Deuteronomy 34:9 confirms the result: Joshua was "filled with the spirit of wisdom" because Moses laid hands on him. Genesis 41:38 uses a parallel construction — Pharaoh asks for a man "in whom the Spirit of God abides."
Why it lands — The verse ties the transfer of authority to a specific, observable act (laying on of hands) and marks the recipient by the presence of the Spirit, not by lineage or self-appointment.
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 the Lord said unto Moses, Take thee Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay thine hand upon him;
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 34:9 Now Joshua son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands on him. So the Israelites obeyed him and did as the LORD had commanded Moses.
- Genesis 41:38 So Pharaoh asked them, “Can we find anyone like this man, in whom the Spirit of God abides?”
- Numbers 27:23 and laid his hands on him and commissioned him, as the LORD had instructed through Moses.
- Deuteronomy 31:7 Then Moses called for Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you will go with this people into the land that the LORD swore to their fathers to give them, and you shall give it to them as an inheritance.
- Deuteronomy 3:28 But commission Joshua, encourage him, and strengthen him, for he will cross over ahead of the people and enable them to inherit the land that you will see.”
- Deuteronomy 31:23 Then the LORD commissioned Joshua son of Nun and said, “Be strong and courageous, for you will bring the Israelites into the land that I swore to give them, and I will be with you.”
- Judges 3:10 The Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he became Israel’s judge and went out to war. And the LORD delivered Cushan-rishathaim king of Aram into the hand of Othniel, who prevailed against him.
- Acts 19:6 And when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.
- Numbers 11:25 Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and He took some of the Spirit that was on Moses and placed that Spirit on the seventy elders. As the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied—but they never did so again.
- Judges 11:29 Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh, then through Mizpah of Gilead. And from there he advanced against the Ammonites.