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		B'ha'alotkha   (Num 8:1 - 12:16)

B'Midbar/Numbers 12:6   Now hear My words: when you have a prophet, I the L-rd will make myself known to him in a vision; in a dream I will speak to him.

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Here, The Name ...

HaShem: literally, Hebrew for 'The Name' - an allusion used to avoid pronouncing the Tetragrammaton, the so-called 'ineffable' name of G–d
HaShem is speaking to Aharon and Miriam, Moshe's brother and sister, because they have been criticising Moshe for marrying a Cushite woman. It seems, from the conversation however, that their real complaint is that they don't feel that they are getting their fair share of the leadership: "Has the L-RD spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us as well?" (B'Midbar 12:2, NJPS). HaShem immediately steps in and calls the three of them out to the Tent of Meeting and rebukes Aharon and Miriam for daring to speak in that way: Given the special and privileged way I speak with Moshe, "how then did you not shrink from speaking against My servant Moses!" (v. 8, NJPS). What are you thinking of, He asks them, adding, "With him I speak mouth to mouth, plainly and not in riddles, and he beholds the likeness of the L-RD" (ibid.).

In our text we have three key words used by the Torah that tell us about the way HaShem communicates directly with His people. The first one, נְבִיאֲכֶם, literally "your prophet" comes from the root נָבַא; this occurs 115 times in Tanakh, almost always in either the Nif'al or Hitpa'el stems, meaning "to prophesy".¹ This is usually used of a prophet giving a word of HaShem as for example, Jeremiah addressing the people in the court of the Temple: "נִבָּא אֶת־הַדְּבָרִים הַאֵלֶּה he prophesied these words/things" (Jeremiah 20:1). Sometimes prophecy was given in an ecstatic state, sometimes it was accompanied by music, mostly it was spoken in plain language by the prophet. The Bible is clear, too, that as well as prophecy coming from HaShem, there can also be false prophesy, either made up by the prophet for their own gain or status, or inspired by demonic forces.

Second, the text uses מַרְאָה - here prefixed with the preposition בַּ 'in' - is a feminine singular noun from the root רָאָה, to see, meaning "a vision",² for example "מַרְאוֹתאֱלֹהִים visions of G-d" (Ezekiel 1:1). One who 'sees' visions, is referred to as רֹאֵה, a "seer": "Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of G-d, he would say, 'Come, let us go to the seer,' for the prophet of today was formerly called a seer" (1 Samuel 9:9, NJPS). Another word often used for 'vision' is חָזוֹן from the root חָזָה, "to see or perceive", for example, "חֲזוֹן לָיְלָה a vision of the night" (Isaiah 29:7). Finally, the last word is חֲלוֹם - here again prefixed by the preposition בַּ, 'in' - from the root חָלַם, "to dream", meaning "a dream"³. It is used 65 times in Tanakh, often as the object of the root verb, so "to dream a dream", for example, "And Yosef dreamed a dream which he told to his brothers" (B'resheet 37:5).

Why does the language of the Hebrew Bible have such a rich and textured vocabulary for what seems such an esoteric and infrequently used phenomenon? How many people prophesied and - in the overall scheme of things - how often? One chapter earlier in this very parasha, the narrative records that in response to Moshe's complaints about his workload, HaShem told him to select seventy of the elders of the people and bring them to the Tent of Meeting: "Then the L-RD came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders. And as soon as the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied" (B'Midbar 11:25, ESV). Samuel led a school or guild of prophets - "the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as head over them" (1 Samuel 19:20, ESV) - and in the days of Elijah and Elisha there were several such schools: "the sons of the prophets who were in Bethel ... the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho ... fifty men of the sons of the prophets" (2 Kings 2:3,5,7). David himself reported that he had prophesied: "the spirit of the L-RD has spoken through me, His message is on my tongue" (2 Samuel 23:2, NJPS).

Prophecy is an important line of communication between HaShem and His people. Moshe tells the Children of Israel, "The L-RD your G-d will raise up for you a prophet from among your own people, like myself" (D'varim 18:15, NJPS), echoing the words of HaShem Himself: "I will raise up a prophet for them from among their own people, like yourself: I will put My words in his mouth and he will speak to them all that I command him" (v. 18, NJPS). We should note that our text says "when you have a prophet"; the NJPS translation renders this as "when a prophet of HaShem arises among you". This will - and should be expected to - happen. Richard Elliott Friedman tells us that "all prophetic experience in the Tanakh is understood to be through visions and dreams - except Moshe's. Many of the fifteen books of the Hebrew Bible that are named for prophets identify the prophets' experiences as visions (e.g., Isaiah, Obadiah, Nahum, Amos, Micah and Habakkuk)."

While the Jewish tradition makes a big play of suggesting that Moshe's level of prophecy was greater than any subsequent prophet and that prophecy ceased after the last of the post-exilic prophets recorded in Tanakh (Haggai and Zechariah), this is quite possibly a push back against the prophecy of Yeshua - who fulfills Moshe's prophecy of "the prophet" (above) - and the first generations of His disciples. Rashi tries to differentiate between "I shall make Myself known to him" and "I shall make Myself, HaShem, known to him", to emphasis Moshe's unique role and the Be'er Yitz'khak suggests that בַּמַּרְאָה here and וּמַרְאֶה (the masculine form) used of Moshe in verse 8 are different. Writing in the first century, the Sages try to put prophecy off until the Olam HaBa, commenting: "Rabbi Phinehas said in the name of Rabbi Hosha'iah: This may be compared to a king who allowed himself to be seen by his intimate friend [only] by means of his image. In this world the Shechinah manifests itself only to chosen individuals; in the Time to Come, however, The glory of the L-rd shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken (Isaiah 40:5)" (Vayikra Rabbah 1:14).

Tanakh on the other hand, seems to see it as a continuing, if not more frequent, phenomenon. Joel's prophecy, echoed by Peter on the day of Shavuot after Yeshua's resurrection, is very clear: "I will pour out My spirit on all flesh; Your sons and daughters shall prophesy; Your old men shall dream dreams, And your young men shall see visions" (Joel 3:1, NJPS). As this is another verse bring together those key words 'prophesy', 'visions' and 'dreams', we also need to respond to the question whether a dream or a vision is inferior to prophecy? Jeremiah has the answer for us: "Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream; and let him who has received My word report My word faithfully! How can straw be compared to grain? -- says the L-RD. Behold, My word is like fire -- declares the L-RD -- and like a hammer that shatters rock!" (Jeremiah 23:28-29, NJPS). However the word of the L-rd is conveyed, in words, pictures or dreams, it is still the word of the L-rd and is still effective to accomplish His purposes provided it is faithfully and accurately spoken out to the people.

Moshe himself spoke of a time when more of G-d's people would move in the prophetic gifts: "Would that all the L-RD's people were prophets, that the L-RD put His spirit upon them!" (B'Midbar 11:29, NJPS). Rav Sha'ul repeats that call in his letter to the disciples in Corinth: "I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy ... So, my brothers, earnestly desire to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues" (1 Corinthians 14:5,39, ESV). We don't have Yeshua physically among us in these days, although we anticipate His return on a daily basis - may it be soon and in our days - but we do have His words recorded in the gospels and a wealth of interpretation and implementation guidelines in the Apostolic letters. More importantly, we do have His Spirit with us, the promised Helper and Comforter; He encourages us through the written word and - just like the ancient prophets - by speaking to us in real time. He calls us back to the words of Yeshua and the Torah; He encourages us by reminding us of the hope we have in Yeshua and His imminent return. He challenges and rebukes those who deny or attempt to change His word; He comforts those who mourn or are oppressed.

The most important question for us today is whether we are listening to what the prophets - those who bring us the words of the Spirit - are saying. Because we all have the Spirit, we do - by definition - have prophets among us. Some, like the Jewish tradition, deny the operation of the spiritual gifts since the days when the Apostolic Writings were completed. Others are prepared to accept nice, comfortable words but refuse to accept - despite the overwhelming balance of biblical prophecy - that G-d would rebuke or chastise His people today. Still others don't want to allow the Spirit to speak unless He confirms their particular understandings and interpretations of Scripture, in case He exposes or blows down their house of cards.

Certainly, prophecy must be tested - Rav Sha'ul tells us to "test everything; hold fast what is good" (1 Thessalonians 5:21, ESV), while John even more frankly instructs us to "test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world" (1 John 4:1, ESV) - against Scripture, for the Spirit will not contradict what He has previously said in the written word, but that does not give us the freedom to reject anything we don't like or seems too challenging. As Yeshua instructs John to write to every single one of the seven churches: "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches" (Revelation 2:7,11,17,29; 3:6,13,22, ESV). Hello - are you listening? Are you listening to what the Spirit is saying to the churches right now in these days?

1. - David J. A. Clines (ed.) The Concise Dictionary of Classical Hebrew, (Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2009), pages 255-256.

2. - Clines, page 242. FootNotetext(3) Clines, page 118.

Further Study: Luke 3:1-6; John 12:49-50; Ephesians 5:6-11

Application: How can you listen more clearly and carefully to what the Spirit is saying to you and to your congregation in these increasingly noisy and challenging days? Is it your role to speak out what you hear the Spirit saying so that others can hear and be drawn closer to our Master in the time before He returns? Ask the Father today to confirm what He is saying to you and what He wants to say through you.

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© Jonathan Allen, 2024

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