WAS MOSES REALY A HUMBLE MAN? (NUMBERS 12:3)

When we consider all of Moses' career (He murdered an Egyptian who was mistreating a Jewish slave, stood up to the highest leader of the land repeatedly, pleaded and even argued with God on occasion, effectively led his people for years through the wilderness, broke the tablets of the commandments in a fit of rage, and called down punishment on idolaters among the people), it is hard to take the statement that he was the most humble/meek man on earth at its face value. And that is especially true since the speaker appears to be Moses himself.

It reminds me quite a bit of a cartoon I saw in the newspaper years ago. The picture was of a middle-age woman with a self-satisfied smile on her face. The caption read “Genevieve is proud of her humility.” Kaiser's opinion is that “Numbers 12:3 is the most difficult text in the whole book of Numbers. Critical scholars (and others) have correctly observed that it is rather unlikely that a truly humble person would write in such a manner about himself, even if he actually felt the statement was true.” One of the “others” Kaiser alludes to is D.W. Baker who also states the obvious fact that the statement in Num. 12:3 “would be falsified if it were made by the one to whom it refers.”

So the first question to address is naturally, “Who did offer this assessment of Moses' character?” T.D. Alexander expresses the most common feelings among evangelical scholars today. He enumerates a number of passages in Genesis-Deuteronomy that betray an authorship later in time than Moses' life and concludes that “some of the features that are viewed as clearly post-Mosaic are in keeping with the idea that older traditions were edited at a later date.” One of the most glaring of these (in addition to Numbers 12:3) is the account of Moses' death at the end of Deuteronomy.

If these “older traditions,” whether written or oral, are considered to have stemmed from Moses himself, then that view does nothing whatsoever to weaken the canonical status of the Pentateuch. After all, we must keep in mind that (1) there are many Old Testament books and even the NT book of Hebrews to which no authorship is ascribed, (2) “The Books of Moses” may easily refer to the major figure in the Pentateuch without indicating that he necessarily wrote them all, and (3) ultimately, the canonicity of a book depends on whether it was inspired by the Holy Spirit, as determined by a consensus of the early church.

But for those who wish to stick as closely as possible to Moses as the sole author of the Pentateuch without making him sound like an egotist in Numbers 12:3, the example of Walter Kaiser could be followed. He concludes, “The translators of the NIV were no doubt justified in placing this verse in parentheses. The note is a later parenthetical remark made under the direction of the Holy Spirit by Joshua.” Kaiser is silent regarding his evidence for such a specific pronouncement.

And if that is not enough to convince his readers, Kaiser takes another approach in order to justify the possibility that Moses did write Numbers 12:3. He cites a “recent scholar” (unnamed) who proposes “miserable” as an acceptable translation of the Hebrew word anaw, usually rendered as “humble,” “weak” or “meek.” He feels that this alternative definition fits very well in its immediate context in which Moses is weighed down with responsibilities and has just been accused by his own brother and sister of ungodly behavior. “Miserable” may well fit well the context, but unfortunately the weight of opinion from translators, commentators, and linguistic experts is soundly against that translation.

KJV and RSV read “very meek” and other translations such as the Jerusalem Bible, NIV, and NRSV say “humble.” The Message paraphrase uses the phrase “quietly humble.” Levine in the Anchor Bible translates anaw as “unassuming.” Dumbrell notes, “Humility, need, and oppression are often linked, though this is not so with the parade example of total humility, Moses at Num 12:3.” Dumbrell also points out that the word usually applies in the plural to a whole category of people who are humble; only here in the OT does it refer to a single person.

But if the word anaw really does mean “humble,” that hardly seems to fit the character of Moses that is revealed in the Old Testament. After all, as Taylor and Harvey say, “To be sure, Moses' own faults are vividly portrayed, notably his anger, lack of patience, frustration, and perhaps even some pretentiousness as a leader, and some of these led to Moses' punishment (Num 12:16; Deut 1:37).” Don't forget that Moses had to flee Egypt because he was a murderer! This is hardly the picture of a “humble” man in our current understanding of the word, much less the powerful Charlton Heston image of his actions during the Exodus.

So which episode or episodes in Moses' life is Numbers 12:3 referring to? There are at least two possibilities:

The Jerusalem Bible's cross reference at this point in the text is to Exodus 3 where Moses cannot figure why he of all people could be chosen to lead the people. Actually Moses reminds me a lot of Saul when Samuel told him that he was destined to be the first king of Israel. Saul argued that he was from the weakest family of the weakest tribe and even attempted to hide among the baggage rather than take his appointed role. But whereas the assignment proved to be too much for Saul since he stopped relying on God's leading, Moses only grew in his assignment because he knew where his true strength lay.

In the same manner, B.W. Anderson translates anaw in Numbers 12:3 as “humble before God,” and points back to Exodus 3:11 for proof of that designation.

Another, and perhaps the preferred, possibility for the referent to this problem verse is the immediately preceding episode in which Moses is accused of impious behavior by his brother and sister, who are jealous of Moses' authority. Thus, we have the following explanations:

    Wenham notes that Moses could be forceful in other occasions, but: “This time when his own status was questioned, he remained silent.”

    Ashley: “The narrator wishes the reader to know that Moses himself would probably have let this challenge go unanswered. It was Yahweh who heard it and who took it upon himself to answer it.”

    Boice: “What was the conduct of the man whom God says was the meekest man who ever lived? Did he fight back? Did he seek to defend himself against his accusers? Not at all, Moses submitted himself to God. That was his meekness. He bowed low before God and was vindicated.” Other than Boice's use of the inappropriate word “meek” and going beyond the text in stating that Moses was the meekest man who ever lived, the basic thought is in agreement with those above.

At this point I will turn the subject over to an additional “cloud of witnesses” who attempt to explain the meaning of anaw in the context of Moses. I think you will find that they are all in general agreement.

    “As G.B. Gray correctly emphasizes, the Hebrew anaw does not mean 'meek,' but rather humble before God. This is the connotation of anaw in Zeph 2:3, where we read that the humble obey God's just laws. In Ps 22:27, the humble are those who seek the Lord.” (Levine)

    Thompson: “He was very meek, i.e. a humble man who was more concerned to be the servant of Yahweh than to advance his own status.”

    The ancient Jewish book of Sirach (45:4) explains: “For his (Moses'] loyalty and gentleness he [God] sanctified him, choosing him alone out of all mankind.”

    “It is a word that elsewhere is used only in poetry. It sometimes refers to those in real poverty, or those who are weak and liable to be exploited (Am. 2:7; Is. 11:4). Such people must look to God for aid, because they are unable to help themselves. But more frequently the word seems to denote an attitude of mind, more characteristic of the poor than of the rich, one of humility and dependence on God.”

    Meyers and Meyers: “The sense of this term [anaw] seems to derive from the ancient Near Eastern virtue of humility, attributed to good leaders and rulers. Although kings hardly exhibited humility toward their subjects or enemies, they were supposed to be pious and humble to their god...” In this regard, the NRSV has a footnote for Numbers 12:3 giving the alternative translation of “devout.”

Earlier, I compared Moses with Saul, but an even closer parallel seems to be between Moses and King David. David was uniquely called “a man after God's own heart” despite his many failings in relation to his fellow man, but through all of his life he was loyal to the first Great Commandment of loving God. In a similar fashion, Moses was uniquely singled out as the most humble man alive, not for his humble dealings with others but for his wholehearted devotion to and dependence on God.

Or we might go even further forward in the history of Israel's leaders and consider John 12:15 in the context of Numbers 12:3, as does Kostenberger. In that NT passage, Jesus enters Jerusalem for the last time to the shouts of the people who quote from Zephaniah and Zechariah: “Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion. Look, your king is coming sitting on a donkey's colt.” The humble king of Israel comes to save mankind through his death. Or in the context of Moses' silence when he was accused, we could turn to Acts 8:826-35 where Philip quotes Isaiah 53:7-8 to the Ethiopian eunuch to explain about Jesus' death: “Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter, and like a lamb silent before its shearer, he does not open his mouth.”