629
Iz virni	znans tv eni	članek/ Article	(1.01)
Bogoslovni vestnik/Theological Quarterly	81	(2021)	3,	629—640
Besedilo	pr eje t o/R eceiv ed:05/2021;	spr eje t o/ Accep t ed:11/2021
UDK/UDC:	27-277-242.8
DOI:	10.34291/B V2021/03/Sz amocki
©	2021	Szamocki,	CC	BY	4.0
Grzegorz Szamocki
The Universalism of the Spirit of Prophecy in Num-
bers 11:26-29
1
Univerzalnost preroškega duha v 4 Mz 11,26-29
Abstract:	 This	 article	 a tt emp ts	 t o	 e xplain	 and	 in t erpr e t	 the	 men tion	 in	 Num	 11:26-
29	 of	 the	 pr oph es ying	 of	 Eldad	 and	 Medad	 in	 the	 c on t e x t	 of	 the	 his t oric al-lit -
er ary	 f orma tion	 pr ocess	 of	 Num	 11,	 the	 Book	 of	 Number s	 as	 a	 whole,	 and 	
other	t e x ts	dealing	with	the	primar y	his t or y	of	Isr ael.
The	 pr esen t ed	 s tudy	 r esults	 sug g es t	 tha t	 Num	 11:4-32	 is	 a	 c oher en t	 s t or y	 tha t 	
r eceiv ed	 its	 final	 f orm	 in	 the	 la t e	 P er sian	 period.	 The	 passus	 in	 Num	 11:26-29	 is 	
an	 addition	 t o	 the	 alr eady	 e xis ting	 s t ory	 about	 the	 murmuring	 of	 the	 Isr aelit es, 	
the	 quails,	 and	 the	 pr ophes ying	 of	 the	 sev en ty	 elder s,	 which	 w as	 edit ed	 in	 s t ages. 	
Its	 pr esence	 c an	 be	 a ttribut ed	 t o	 the	 univ er salising	 r er eading	 pr esumed	 in	 this 	
article 	 as	 a	 phase	 in	 the	 t e xt ’ s	 f orma tion	 under	 c onsider a tion, 	 which	 f ollow ed	 the 	
He x a t euchal	and	the	P en t a t euchal	r edaction.	This	r er eading	r e flects	the 	univ er -
salising	 t endencies	 pr esen t	 in	 the	 theologic al	 and	 social	 c oncepts	 of	 the	 pos t -e xi-
lic	 c ommunity	 of	 Judah,	 which	 w as	 c oncerned	 about	 its	 iden tity .	 In	 the	 c ase	 of 	
Num	 11:26-29,	 it	 emphasises	 the	 democr a tisa tion 	 of	 pr ophecy	 and	 the	 univ er -
salism	of	the	pr ophe tic	Spirit.
Keywords :	Old	T es t amen t,	Number s,	pr ophecy ,	Spirit,	univ er salism,	iden tity
Povzetek:	 Članek	 posk uša	 pojasniti	 in	 in t erpr e tir a ti	omembo	 iz	 4	 Mz	 11,26-29	 o 	
pr er ok ov anju	 Eldada	 in	 Medada	 v	 k on t ek s tu	 lit er arno z g odovinsk eg a	 oblik ov anja 	
11. poglavja 4. Mojzesove knjige, te knjige kot celote in drugih besedil, ki obrav -
na v ajo	 pr az g od o vino	 Izr aela.	 R e z ult a ti	 pričujoče	 š tudije	 v odijo 	 k	 ug ot o vitvi,	 da	
pr e ds t a v lja 	 4 	 M z	 1 1 , 4 -3 2 	 c e lo v it o	 z g odbo , 	 k i	 je 	 s v ojo	 k onč no	 podobo	 dobila 	 v 	
po znem	 perzijsk em	 obdobju.	 Odlomek	 4	 Mz	 11,26-29	 je	 doda t ek	 k	 ž e	 ob s t oje-
či	 z g odb i	 o	 s tisk ah	 Izr aelce v ,	 nj iho vih	 bojih	 in	 pr er ok o v anju	 sedemdese tih	 s t a-
r ešin,	 ki	 se	 je	 ur ejala	 v	 r azličnih 	 f az ah.	 Ob s t oj	 odlomk a	 lahk o	 pripišemo	 univ er -
z alis tičnemu	 pono vnemu	 br anju	 (r ein t erpr e t aciji),	 ki	 g a	 pr edpos t a vljamo	 k ot 	
eno	 izmed	 f az	 v	 oblik ov anju	 pr oučev aneg a	 besedila	 –	 sledila	 je	 r edak cijam 	
šesteroknižja	 in	 pe t er oknižja.	 T ak šno	 br anje	 odr až a	 t e žnje	 k	 univ erz alnos ti, 	 pri-
sotne	 v	 t eoloških	 in	 družbenih	 k oncep tih	 judo v sk e	 sk upnos ti	 v	 skrbi	 z a	 njeno 	
1 
This	 article	 is	 part	 of	 a	 r esear ch	 pr oject	 financed	 b y	 the	 Na tional	 Science	 Cen tr e,	 P oland	 (No.	 2018/29/B/
HS1/01203).

630 Bogoslovni vestnik 81 (2021) • 3
ide n tit e t o	 po	 izhodu	 iz	 Eg ip t a	 (e k sodusu).	 V	 pr im e r u	 4 	 M z	 1 1 , 2 6 -2 9 	 g r e 	 t ak o	 z a	
poudarjanje	demokr a tiz acije	pr er ok o v anja	in	univ erz alizma	pr er ošk eg a	duha.	
Ključne besede : 	 St ar a	 z a v e z a, 	 4 .	 Mojz e so v a	 k njig a	 (N um e r i), 	 pr e r oš tv o , 	 duh, 	 univ e r -
z alnos t,	iden tit e t a	
1. Introduction
The	 s t or y	 of	 the	 Isr aelit es’	 c omplaining	 and	 the	 gift	 of	 the	 spirit	 of	 pr ophecy	 in 	
Number s	 11	 has	 alr eady	 r eceiv ed	 v arious	 in t erpr e t a tions	 both	 in	 t erms	 of	 the	 the -
ologic al	 messag e	 and	 the	 his t or y	 of	 the	 f orma tion	 of	 the	 t e x t,	 which	 is	 r ela t ed	 t o	
diff er ences	 in	 the	 per cep tion	 of	 the	 his t oric al	 bec oming	 of	 the	 Book	 of	 Number s	
and	 the	 en tir e	 P en t a t euch,	 and	 also	 of	 the	 book s	 tha t	 f ollow	 it	 in	 the	 Hebr ew	 Bible. 	
The	 curr en t	 t e x t	 of	 Num	 11	 is	 the	 fruit	 of	 r edaction	 and	 elabor a tion.	 It	 c oncerns	
the	 Isr aelit es’	 c omplain ts	 and	 murmuring	 ag ains t	 Moses	 and	 God,	 God’ s	 ang er 	
and	 Moses’	 in t er cession,	 and	 God’ s	 r esponse	 in	 the	 f orm	 of	 the	 gift	 of	 quails	 and	
the spirit of prophecy to the elders of the people. 
The	 sev en ty	 elder s	 c ame	 t o	 the	 t en t	 of	 meeting , 	 and	 ther e,	 as	 God	 f or et old,	 they 	
r eceiv ed	 the	 spirit	 tha t	 w as	 on	 Moses,	 and	 they	 pr ophesied.	 In	 c on tr as t,	 Eldad	 and 	
Medad	 r eceived	 the	 spirit	 of	 YHWH	 and	 beg an	 to	 pr ophes y	 as	 well,	 even	 though	 they 	
had	not	c ome	t o	the	t en t	of	meeting.	 Con tr ary	t o	Joshua’ s	objections	 t o	the	pr oph-
es ying	 of	 Eldad	 and 	 Medad,	 Moses	 e xpr essed 	 the	 wish:	 »W ould 	 tha t	 all 	 YHWH’ s 	
people	w er e	pr ophets,	tha t	YHWH	w ould	put	his	spirit	on	them.«	(Num	11:29b)
The	 aim	 of	 this	 s tudy	 is	 not	 so	 much	 t o	 discuss	 the	 r ela tionsh ip	 of	 God’ s	 spirit	
with	 pr ophecy	 or	 the	 na tur e	 of	 the	 pr ophecy	 of	 the	 elder s	 and	 their	 pr ophe tic 	
s t a tus	 in	 c omparison	 with	 the	 s t a tus	 and	 authority	 of	 Moses	 but	 t o	 a tt emp t	 t o 	
indic a t e	 the	 his t oric ally	 possible	 pr ocess	 of	 f orma tion	 of	 the	 t e x t	 with	 the	 men-
tion	 of	 Eldad	 and	 Medad	 in	 Num	 11,	 along	 with	 wha t	 c onditi oned	 it,	 and	 t o	 dis -
c o v er	the	messag e	addr essed	t o	the	fir s t	r ecipien ts	of	the	curr en t	t e x t.
2. Num 11:26-29 in the Structure of Num 11
The	 t e xt	 of	 Num	 11	 as	 a	 lar g er	 thema tic 	 peric ope	 c an	 easily	 be	 separ a t ed	 fr om 	
the	 pr eceding	 and	 the	 f ollowing	 c on t e xt.	 Num	 10	 c oncludes	 with	 a	 men tion 	 of 	
the	 Isr aelit es’	 thr ee-da y	 mar ch	 »fr om	 the	 moun t	 of	 YHWH«	 a ft er	 »the	 ark	 of	 the	
c o v enan t	 of	 YHWH«	 (v v .	 33-36).	 The	 beginning	 of	 Num	 11	 is	 a	 short,	 schema tic 	
pr esen t a tion	 of	 the	 people’ s	 murmuring	 as	 the y	 w ander ed	 thr ough	 the	 desert 	
(v v .	 1-3)
2
.	 The	 passag e	 men tions	 the	 people’ s	 murmuring	 and	 c omplaining ,	 the 	
ang e r 	 of	 God, 	 Mose s’ 	 in t e r c e ssion, 	 the 	 ce ssa tion	 of	 God’ s	 ang e r , 	 and	 the 	 e tiolog i-
2	
The	 schema tic 	 or der	 of	 this	 passag e	 and	 its	 function	 as	 an	 in tr oduction	 t o	 the	 cy cle	 of	 se v en	 s t ories 	
about	 c omplain ts,	 r ebellion	 and	 c on flict	 pr esen t	 in	 the	 Book	 of	 Number s	 w as	 indic a t ed	 b y	 T .	 R ömer 	
(2007,	 433–434).	 In	 Num	 11:1-3,	 a	 link	 is	 also	 seen	 be tw een	 the	 imag e	 of	 the	 ideal	 situa tion	 of	 the	 Is -
r aelit es	 mar ching	 fr om	 Sinai	 (Num	 10:11-36)	 and	 the	 s t or y	 of	 the	 grumbling	 of	 the	 people	 (Num	 11:4–
12:16)	 a t	 the	 beginning	 of	 the	 unsuccess ful	 c onques t	 of	 the	 Pr omised	 Land	 fr om	 the	 south	 side	 (Num	

631 631 Grzegorz Szamocki - The Universalism of the Spirit of Prophecy...
c al	 e xplana tion 	of	 the	name	of	 the	place	of	 murmuring	(T abeer a).	 The	section	of	
Num	 11:4-32	 pr o vides	 a	 mor e	 e x t ensiv e	 descrip tion	 of	 the	 Isr aelit es’	 c omplain ts	
an d 	 Y HWH’ s	 so l u tio n 	 t o	 th e	 p r o b l em.	 T h e	 s t a t emen t	 i n	 Nu m	 11:33-34,	 wi th 	 th e 	
men tion	 of	 YHWH’ s	 ang er	 ag ains t	 the	 people	 and	 the	 e tiology	 of	 the	 place’ s	 name 	
(Kibr ot -Ha tt aa w a),	 r ec alls	 thema tic ally	 and	 t erminologic ally	 Num	 11:1-3,	 thus	 clo -
sing	 the	 en tir e 	 peric ope	 of	 Num	 11.
3
 The last verse of the chapter tells us that the 
people	 undert ook	 the	 ne x t	 s t ag e	 of	 their	 w andering	 (v .	 35).	 The	 theme	 of	 Num 	
12	fr om	the	v er y	beginning	is	the	r ebellion	of	Miriam	and	Aar on	ag ains t	Moses.
The	 c omplaining	 scene	 described	 in	 Num	 11:4-32	 fir s t	 giv es	 the	 r eason	 f or	 the	
people’ s	 c omplain ts.	 This	 w as	 f ood.	 The y	 w an t ed	 mea t	 and	 had	 only	 manna	 (v v .	
4-9).	 The	 people’ s	 cr y	 ignit ed	 the	 ang er	 of	 YHWH.	 It	 did	 not	 please	 Moses	 either	
(v .	 10).	 He	 then	 turned	 t o	 YHWH,	 be w ailing	 his	 f a t e	 as	 a	 leader	 and	 the	 f act	 tha t	
he	 w as	 unable	 t o	 giv e	 mea t	 t o	 the	 people	 f or	 whom	 he	 w as	 c oncerned	 (v v .	 11-15). 	
YHWH	 r esponded	 t o	 Moses’	 w or ds	 b y	 announcing	 tha t	 tw o	 things	 w ould	 be	 giv en: 	
(1)	 a	 spirit	 f or	 the	 se v en ty	 elder s	 t o	 enable	 them	 t o	 bear	 the	 bur den	 of	 the	 people 	
with	 Moses	 (v v .	 16-17),	 and	 (2)	 mea t	 f or	 all	 the	 people	 t o	 ea t	 (v v .	 18-23).	 The	 f ol -
lo wing	 v er ses,	 in	 addition	 t o	 the	 not e	 tha t	 Moses	 made	 kno wn	 t o	 the	 people	 the	
w or ds	 of	 YHWH	 (v .	 24a),	 describe	 the	 fulfilmen t 	 of	 God’ s	 announcemen ts	 (vv . 	
24b-32):	the	gift	of	the	spirit	(v v .	24b-30)	and	mea t	(v v .	31-32).
Ther e	 ar e	 tw o	 parts	 in	 the	 pass ag e	 about	 the	 gift	 of	 the	 spirit 	 (v v .	 24b-30).	 The	
fir s t	 (v v .	 24b-25)	 c oncerns	 the	 endo wmen t	 of	 pr ophecy	 t o	 the	 se v en ty	 elder s	 who 	
c ame	 t o	 the	 t en t	 of	 mee ting.	 The	 t e xt	 men tions	 the	 g a thering	 of	 the	 elder s	 ar ound 	
the 	 t en t	 (v .	 24b), 	 the 	 descen t 	 of	 YHWH 	 and	 the 	 tr ansmission	 of	 the 	 spirit 	 t o	 the 	
elder s	 (v . 	 25a),	 and	 their	 pr ophes ying	 (v . 	 25b). 	 The	 c on t en t	 of	 the	 sec ond	 part	 (v v . 	
26-29)	 is	 the	 episode	 with	 Eldad	 and	 Medad.	 Acc or ding	 t o	 the	 biblic al	 t e xt,	 the 	
spirit	 r es t ed	 on	 Eldad	 and	 Medad,	 and	 the y	 beg an	 t o	 pr ophes y	 e v en	 though	 the y	
did	 not	 c ome	 t o	 the	 t en t	 (v .	 26).	 A	 y oung	 man	 said	 t o	 Moses	 tha t	 Eldad	 and	 Me-
dad	 w er e	 acting	 as	 pr ophe ts	 (v .	 27).	 Joshua, 	 on	 the	 other	 hand, 	 ask ed	 Moses	 t o	
s t op	 them	 (v .	 28).	 And	 Moses	 e xpr essed	 the	 wish	 tha t	 all	 the	 people	 w ould	 pr oph-
es y	 thr ough	 the	 spirit	 of	 YHWH	 (v .	 29).	 Aft er	 the	 w or ds	 of	 Moses,	 it	 is	 men tioned	
in	the	t e x t	tha t	he	and	the	elder s	w en t	back	t o	the	c amp	(v .	30).
Schema tic ally ,	 the	 en tir e	 section	 of	 Num	 11:4-32	 c an	 be	 pr esen t ed	 as	 f ollo w s:	
v v .	4-15	 	 	 the complaints of the people and the complaints of Moses 
v v .	16-34	 	 	 God’ s	r eaction
	 v v .	16-24a  commands and announcements
	 	 v v .	16-17	 	 	 announcemen t	of	the	gift	of	the	spirit	f or	the	se v en ty	elder s	
	 	 v v .	18-24a	 	 	 announcemen t	of	mea t	f or	the	people
	 v v .	24b-34	 	 	 fu lfilmen t	of	announcemen ts
	 	 v v .	24b-30	 	 	 fulfilmen t	of	the	announcemen t	of	the	spirit
13:1–14:45),	 a	 kind	 of	 pr ogr ammed	 opening	 of	 the	 sag a	 of	 tha t	 unsuccess ful	 c ampaign	 (K nierim	 and 	
Coa ts	2005,	172–173).
3	
Common	 w or ds:	 ,ang er	 of	 YHWH ‘	 /,his	 ang er ‘	 (ʾap yhwh	/ʾappô),	 ,burn ‘	 (ḥārâ	/wayyiḥar ),	 ,ag ains t	 the	
people ‘	 /,ag ains t	 them ‘	 (bāꜥām	/bām).	 In	 Num	 11	 the	 same	 v oc abulary	 is	 pr esen t	 mor e	 in	 v .	 10bα 	
(wayyiḥar-ʾap yhwh mᵉʾōd).

632 Bogoslovni vestnik 81 (2021) • 3
	 	 	 v .	24b	 	 	 g a thering	of	the	elder s	ar ound	the	t en t
	 	 	 v .	25	 	 	 bes t o wing	of	the	spirit	on	the	se v en ty	elder s
	 	 	 v v .	26-29	 	 	 bes t o wing	of	the	spirit	on	Eldad	and	Medad
	 	 	 	 v .	26			the	resting	of	the 	spirit	on	Eldad	and	Medad	and	their	prophes ying
	 	 	 	 v v .	27-29	 	 	 c on tr o v er s y	o v er	the	pr ophes ying	of	Eldad	and	Medad
	 	 	 v .	30	 	 	 r e turn	of	Moses	and	the	elder s	t o	the	c amp 
	 	 v v .	31-32	 	 	 fulfil men t	of	the	announcemen t	of	mea t	(quails)
The	 c on t en t -thema tic	 s tructur e	 of	 this	 section	 of	 Num	 11:4-32	 appear s	 or der ed 	
and	 planned.	 The	 lamen t a tion	 of	 the	 people	 and	 the	 c omplain ts	 of	 Moses	 pr ov ok e 	
God’ s	 r e sponse	 thr ough	 the	 gift	 of	 the	 spirit	 of	 pr ophecy	 and 	 the	 gift	 of	 mea t.	 In	
the	 s tructur e	 r ead	 this	 w a y ,	 the	 only	 surprise	 is	 the	 episode	 with	 Eldad	 and	 Medad 	
(Num	 11:26-29 ).
4
 This element is not necessary for the content completeness of 
the	 en tir e	 section’ s	 utt er ance:	 gr an ting	 the	 spirit	 t o	 the	 se v en ty	 elder s	 w as	 suffi-
cien t	 f or	 YHWH’ s	 announced	 r elie f	 of	 Moses.	 A t	 leas t,	 f or	 this	 r eason,	 the	 passag e 	
pr esen ting	 the	 episode	 with	 El dad	 and	 Medad	 c an	 be	 c onsider ed	 the	 r esult	 and	
e vidence	of	the	his t oric al	de v elopmen t	of	the	Num	11	t e x t.
3. Num 11:26-29 in the History of the Formation of Num 11
In	 the	 curr en t	 discussion 	 on	 the	 origin	 of	 the	 Book	 of	 Number s,	 the	 opinion	 appe-
ar s	 t o	 b e	 c o rr ect	 th a t	 th e	 t e x t	 o f	 Nu mb er s	 i n 	 i ts	 l as t	 f o rm	 i s	 th e	 fru i t	 o f	 b o th 	 r e-
dactional	 w ork,	 especially	 of	 the	 pos t -e xilic	 r edact or s	 of	 the	 P en t a t euch	 (and	 e v en 	
He x a t eu ch ),	 an d 	 n u mer o u s	 so -c al l ed 	Fortschreibungen,	 th a t	 i s,	 su ccessi v e	 r e w o r -
kings,	 r e-r eadings,	 r e visions,	 upda tings	 and	 additions	 t o	 earlier	 t e x ts.
5
 We can see 
the	rise	of	Num	11	in	this	c on t e x t	of	lit er ar y	w ork.
Mos t	 c ommen t a t or s	 see	 tw o	 in t ertwined	 s t ories	 in	 Num	 11:	 (1)	 about	 the	 grum -
bling	 o v er	 the	 lack	 of	 mea t,	 and	 the	 mir acle	 of	 the	 quails,	 and	 (2)	 about	 the	 elder s 	
and	 the	 spirit	 bes t o w ed	 on	 them.	 R esear cher s	 g ener ally	 agr ee	 on	 the	 chr onolog -
ic al	 pr ec edence	 of	 the	 s t or y	 about	 c omplaining	 and	 quails,	 oft en	 iden tif ying	 it	 as	
Y ah wis tic	 (J).	 The	 ma t erial	 about	 the	 elder s	 and	 the	 gift 	 of	 the	 spirit	 f or	 them	 w ould 	
be	 a tt ached 	 t o	 it	 a	 little	 la t er	 (Noth	 1966,	 75;	 Seebass	 2003,	 42–45;	 Schmidt	 2004, 	
27;	 K nierim	 and	 Coa ts	 2005,	 176–178).
6
	 So ,	 scholar s	 see	 Num	 11	 as	 a	 narr a tiv e 	
tha t	has	gr o wn	in	s t ag es	(Noth	1966,	79–81;	K nierim	and	Coa ts	2005,	176–177).
F or	 R.	 Achenbach,	 the	 lit er ary	 f ounda tion	 of	 this	 chapt er	 w as	 not	 an	 old	 Y ah wis-
tic,	 but	 a	 narr a tiv e	 fr agmen t	 of	 the	 pos t -e xilic	 r e f ormula tion	 of	 the	 leg ends	 about 	
the	 e x odus,	 speaking	 about	 the	 mir acle	 of	 the	 quails	 (Achenbach	 2003,	 219–235). 	
4 
Structur al	 dis tinctiv eness	 of	 the	 Eldad-Medad	 elemen t	 w as	 noticed	 and	 emphasiz ed	 e. g.	 b y	 K nierim 	
and	 Geor g e	 in	 their	 r eading	 of	 the	 narr a tiv e	 s tructur e	 of	 Num	 11	 (2005,	 173‒177).	 F or	 mor e	 on	 other	
diff er en t	 appr oaches	 t o	 this	 issue,	 see	 e. g.	 Milgr om	 1990,	 83-84;	 Achenbach	 2003,	 220;	 Seebas	 2003,	
34‒38.
5	
F or	 the	 main	 tr ends	 in	 curr en t	 r esear ch	 on	 the	 issue,	 see	 e. g.	 R .	 Achenbach	 (2003;	 2007,	 1-5),	 H.	 Seebass 	
(2008,	 234–	 259),	 T .	 R ömer	 (2007,	 419–445;	 2008,	 28–34;	 2013,	 19–20),	 R .	 Albertz	 (2011a,	 171–183;	
2011b, 	 336–347), 	 C.	 Fr e v e l	 (2013, 	 6–32; 	 2014, 	 255–299), 	 J .L.	 Sk a	 (2014, 	 106–108), 	 and	 also	 J .	 Le mańsk i 	
(2014,	148–155).
6	
Othe r wise , 	 e . g.	 B. A .	 Le vine , 	 who	 pr e f e r s	 t o	 r e g ar d	 N um	 11	 as	 a	 c ohe r e n t	 c omposition, 	 ins t e ad	 of	 dis -
tinguishing	diachr onic ally	tw o	themes	(1993,	327–328).

633 633 Grzegorz Szamocki - The Universalism of the Spirit of Prophecy...
This	 s t ory	 w as	 la t er	 r e w ork ed	 in	 the	 He x a t euchal	 r edaction	 (in	 the	 fir s t	 half	 of	 the 	
5
th
	 ce n tur y 	 BC)	 in t o	 a	 s t or y 	 about	 mur mur ing 	 and	 r e be llion.	 The 	 r e dact or 	 of	 the 	
P en t a t euch	 (in	 the	 sec ond	 half	 of	 the	 5
th
	 cen tur y	 BC),	 in	 turn,	 e xt ended	 this	 basic 	
narr a tiv e	 by	 adding	 another	 about	 the	 r elie f	 of	 Moses	 by	 the	 sev en ty	 elder s,	 which, 	
in	 t erms	 of	 c on t en t	 and	 languag e,	 is	 not	 closely	 r ela t ed	 t o	 the	 s t ory	 about	 the	 quails 	
and	 its	 neg a tiv e 	 in t erpr e t a tion.	 Ins t ead,	 it	 w as	 c omposed	 as	 a	 leg end	 about	 the 	
origins	 of	 the	 c ouncil	 of	 elder s	 (237).	 In	 sub s t ance,	 this	 leg end	 w ould	 include	 the 	
lamen t a tion	 of	 Moses	 (vv .	 10aβ.bβ.11-12.14-15),	 the	 c ommand	 and	 announcemen t 	
of	 YHWH	 (v v .	 16-17),	 the	 g a thering	 of	 the	 se v en ty	 elder s	 a t	 the	 t en t	 of	 mee ting	 (v . 	
24b),	 the	 descen t	 of	 YHWH	 and	 the	 giving	 of	 the	 spirit	 t o	 the	 elder s	 (v .	 25),	 and	 the 	
episode	 with	 Eldad	 and	 Medad	 (vv .	 26-29),	 f ollowed	 by	 an	 ending	 (v .	 30).	 The	 ev ent ’ s 	
loc a tion	 a t	 the	 t en t	 of	 the	 mee ting	 is	 t o	 t es tif y	 t o	 the	 pos t -Pries tly	 (pos t -P)	 P en t a-
t euchal	 r edaction	 of	 the	 ma t erial	 (Achenbach	 2003,	 246–251). 	 Furthermor e,	 the 	
idea	 of	 the	 c ouncil	 of	 elder s	 does	 not	 allow	 the	 r edaction	 of	 the	 s t ory	 t o	 be	 da t ed 	
be f or e	 the	 5
th
	 cen tury	 BC	 (251–259).	 Acc or ding	 t o	 R.	 Achenbach,	 the	 his t ory	 of	 r e-
lie ving	 Moses	 in	 Num	 11	 is	 part	 of	 the	 r e w orking	 tha t	 c ons titut ed	 the	 T or ah	 in	 the 	
final	pr ocess	 of	 its	 f orma tion,	 and	 the	 episode	 with	 Eldad	 and	 Medad	 (Num	 11:26-
30)	is	a	necessary	hag g adic	c on tinua tion	 of	this	s t ory	(Achenbach	2003,	262–263). 	
In	 the	 episode	 with	 Eldad	 and	 Medad,	 how ev er ,	 suddenly	 new	 c on t en t	 ele-
men ts	 appear:	 the	 names	 Eldad	 and	 Medad,	 the	 enlar g emen t	 of	 the	 gr oup	 of	 men 	
endow ed	 with	 the	 spirit	 fr om	 se v en ty	 t o	 se v en ty -tw o ,	 the	 crit erion	 of	 being	 among 	
the	 writt en, 	 the	 unjus tified	 ab sence	 of	 Eldad	 and	 Medad	 a t	 the	 mee ting	 t en t.	 Both 	
these	 elemen ts	 and	 the	 f act	 men tioned	 abo v e	 tha t	 the	 episode	 with	 Eldad	 and 	
Medad	 is	 not	 necessar y	 f or	 the	 c on t en t	 c omple t eness	 of	 the	 section’ s	 s t a t emen t	
on	 the	 fulfilmen t	 of	 YHWH’ s	 announcemen t	 (v v .	 24b-34),	 r a ther	 indic a t e	 tha t	 the	
fr agmen t	 about	 Eldad	 and	 Medad	 is	 a	 separ a t e	 supplemen t	 t o	 the	 alr eady	 writt en 	
history.
7
	 The	 ob ser v a tions	 and	 analy ses	 pr esen t ed	 her e,	 as	 w ell	 as	 other	 his t oric al-
critic al	 r esear ch,	 ho w e v er	 ambiguous,	 lead	 t o	 the	 pr eliminar y	 opinion	 tha t	 the 	
passag e	 about	 Eldad	 and	 Medad	 is	 a	 c ompositional	 supplemen t	 t o	 the	 pos t -Pries t -
ly	s t or y	about	the	elder s	and	the	alle via tion	of	Moses’	bur den.
4. Analysis of Some Expressions and Motifs from Num 
11:26-29
V e r se 	 2 6	 s t a t e s	 tha t 	 the 	 tw o	 m e n	 r e m aine d	 in	 the 	 c am p	 and	 did	 not 	 g o	 out 	 t o	 the 	
t en t	 of	 mee ting ,	 e v en	 though	 the y	 »w er e	 of	 those	 who	 w er e	 writt en«	 (bakkᵉtubı̂m 
[v .	 26]).	 The	 lis t	 w ould	 ther e f or e	 include	 sev en ty -tw o	 elder s,	 but	 only	 sev en ty 	
w er e	 g a ther ed	 ar ound	 the	 t en t,	 as	 c ommanded	 b y	 YHWH.	 Some	 r abbis	 belie v ed	
tha t	 Moses	 had	 a	 pr oblem 	 with	 ho w	 t o	 appoin t 	 se v en ty 	 elder s	 fr om	 among	 the 	
pe ople .	 So	 fir s t, 	 he 	 chose	 six	 fr om	 e ach	 tr ibe , 	 so	 se v e n ty -tw o	 in	 all, 	 and	 the n	 b y 	
d r a wi n g	 l o ts,	 tw o 	 o f	 th em	 w er e	 e x cl u d ed 	 ( S an h 	 17a;	 Bemi d b ar	 Rab b ah 	 15:18-19) 	
7	
Some	 of	 the	 ar gumen ts	 f or	 such	 a	 position	 ha v e	 alr eady	 been	 pr esen t ed	 by	 M.	 Noth	 (1966,	 80),	 L. 	
Schmidt	 (2004,	 21.27),	 and	 also	 S.	 German y	 (2017,199–200).	 H.	 Seebass	 include s	 in	 this	 addition	 also	
v .	25b	(2003,	52–53).

634 Bogoslovni vestnik 81 (2021) • 3
(Goldschmidt	 1996,	 520;	 F euer	 2020).	 Eldad	 and	 Medad	 w ould	 ther e f or e	 be	 those 	
dr a wn	 not	 t o	 be	 included	 in	 the	 assembly	 b y	 the	 t en t.	 Acc or ding	 t o	 another	 in-
t erpr e t a tion,	 the	 t erm	 »w er e	 writt en«	 r e f er s	 t o	 the	 en tir e	 body	 of	 Isr ael’ s	 elder s,	
of	 whom	 se v en ty	 w er e	 select ed	 (Gr a y	 1956,	 114). 	 Ho w e v er ,	 if	 the	 episode	 with 	
Eldad	 and	 Medad	 w as	 added	 b y	 the	 r edact or	 a t	 a	 la t er	 s t ag e	 in	 the	 de v elopmen t	
of	 the	 t e xt,	 as	 s t a t ed	 abo v e,	 then	 the	 supplemen t a tion	 of	 the	 number	 of	 the	 gift ed 	
elder s	 t o	 mak e	 it	 up	 t o	 se v en ty -tw o	 c an	 be	 under s t ood	 as	 a	 lit er ar y	 r e flection	 of	
a	 univ er salising 	 t endency: 	 the 	 spirit 	 w as	 r eceiv ed	 b y 	 tw o	 elder s	 fr om	 each	 tribe 	
of	Isr ael.	All	of	Isr ael	w as	r epr esen t ed	b y	them.
Wha t ev er	 the	 r eason	 f or	 Eldad	 and	 Medad’ s	 absence	 a t	 the	 t en t	 of	 meeting	 w as, 	
»the	 spirit	 r es t ed	 on	 them	 (tānaḥ [nwḥ] ꜥᵃlêhem hārûaḥ)	/…/	 and	 the y	 pr ophesied 	
(wayyitnabbᵉʾû	 [nbʾ	- 	 hitp])	 in	 the	 c amp«	 (Num	 11:26).	 In	 the	 Hebr e w	 Bible,	 ther e 	
ar e	 r e f er ences	 t o	 the	 migh ty	 c oming	 (ṣlḥ /hyh ꜥal )	 of	 the	 spirit	 of	 God	 /YHWH,	which 	
in tr oduced	 a	 pr ophe tic	 ecs t as y .	 It	 w as	 e xperienced	 by	 a	 gr oup	 of	 pr ophe ts	 (1	 Sam 	
10:5-6)	 and	 b y	 Saul	 and	 his	 messeng er s	 (1	 Sam	 10:10;	 18:10;	 19:20.23).	 How e v er , 	
this	 pr ophetic	 r aptur e	 w as	 not	 permanen t,	 nor	 w as	 it	 dir ect ed	 t ow ar ds	 tr ansmitting	
God’ s	messag e. 	
The	 narr a tiv e	 of	 Elijah	 and	 Elisha	 c on v ey s	 ins t ead	 tha t	 the	 spirit	 acc ompanied	 the 	
pr ophe tic	 activity . 	 It	 w as	 s tr ongly	 associa t ed	 with	 the	 per son	 of	 the	 pr ophe t	 and 	
c ould	 be	 inherit ed.	 Ther e,	t oo ,	the	spirit	 does	 not	 c ause	 w or ds,	but	 only	 a	demon-
s tr a tion 	 of	 pow er	 (2	 Kgs	 2:9.14-15)	 (Albertz	 and	 W es t ermann	 1993,	 749;	 T engs tr öm 	
1993,	 413–415;	 Le vison	 2003,	 518;	 P almisano	 2019,	 88-89).	 This	 w as	 not	 the	 c ase 	
with	 Balaam.	 »The	 spirit	 of	 God	 c ame	 upon	 him	 (tᵉhı̂ ꜥālāyw),	 and	 he	 utt er ed	 his 	
or acle.«	(Num	24:2-3)
Some	 t e xts	 iden tified	 as	 pos t -e xilic	 clearly	 indic a t e	 the	 r ela tionship	 be tw een	 the 	
spirit	 of	 God	 /YHWH	 and	 pr ophecy	 and	 t es tif y	 tha t	 the	 spirit	 enabled	 pr ophes ying 	
(2	 Chr	 15:1;	 20:14;	 24:20).	 Pr ophe tic	 utt er ances	 w er e	 inspir ed	 by	 the	 spirit	 of	 God 	
(Neh	 9:30;	 Isa	 61:1;	 Z ech	 7:12;	 Mic	 3:8)	 (Albertz	 and	 W es t ermann	 1993,	 749). 	
Thr ough	the	pr ophe t	Joel,	God	f or e t old	tha t	he	w ould	pour	out	his	spirit	on	all	hu-
manity	and	all	w ould	pr ophes y	(Joel	3:1-2).
Ther e	ar e	mentions	 in	the	Old	T estament	that	the	fruit	of	endowment	by	the	spirit 	
was	 charismatic	 giftedness,	 which	 allowed	 some	 her oes	 to	 tak e	 on	 specific	 tasks	 and 	
social	r oles	assigned	to	them	by	God,	especially	leader ship.	Thus,	the	cr aftsman	Bez a-
lel,	 of	 the	 tribe	 of	 Judah,	 w as	 filled	 with	 God’ s	 spirit,	 that	 it	 might	 guide	 the	 work	 on 	
the	 c ons truction 	 of	 a	 desert	 sanctuary	 (Ex od	 35:30-35).	 The	 spirit	 of	 YHWH	 s tirr ed 	
Samson	 and	 made	 him	 v ery	 s tr ong	 (Judg	 13:24-25;	 14:6.19;	 15:14).	 This	 spirit	 also 	
clothed	 Gideon	 when	 he	 undertook	 the	 mission	 of	 delivering	 Isr ael	 fr om	 the	 hand	 of 	
the	 Midianites	 (Judg	 6:34),	 and	 the	 spirit	 was	 with	 Judge	 Othniel	 and	 Jephthah	 (Judg 	
3:10;	 11:29.32).	 The	 mighty	 coming	 of	 YHWH’ s	 spirit	 upon	 Saul	 was	 fir st	 a	 sign	 of	 his 	
appointment as king of Israel, and then also, as later in the case of David, made him 
able	 to	 carry	 out	 his	 r oyal	 duties	(1	 Sam	 10:6.10;	 16:13-14)	 (T engstr öm	 1993,	 414–415). 	
Isaiah’ s	 pr ophecy	 in	 11:2	 men tions	 tha t	 the	 spirit	 of	 YHWH	 shall	 r es t	 upon	 a	 futur e 	
ruler ,	 and	 the	 te xt	 of	 Genesis	 communicates	 that	 the	 phar aoh	 recognised	 the	 presence 	
of	God’ s	spirit	(rûaḥ ʾᵉlōhı̂m)	in	Joseph	when	Joseph	e xplained	the	dr eam	and	with	his 	

635 635 Grzegorz Szamocki - The Universalism of the Spirit of Prophecy...
w or ds	 pr ov ed	 tha t	 God	 spok e	 thr ough	 him	 (Gen	 41:38;	 cf .	 41:16)	 (T engs tr öm	 1993, 	
413–414;	W enham	2000,	394–395).
Accor ding	to	Num	27:18,	YHWH	ins truct ed	Moses	to	t ak e	Joshua,	the	son	of	Nun, 	
in	 whom	 was	 the	 spirit	 and	 laid	 his	 hand	 upon	 him,	 to	 tr ansf er	 leader ship	 (Num	 27:15-
23).	 Joshua	 qualified	 as	 Moses’	 successor	 bec ause	 he	 alr eady	 possessed	 the	 spirit, 	
which	 can	 be	 under stood	 here	 as	 his	 pr oper	 disposition 	 toward	 YHWH	 (Milgr om	 1990, 	
235;	 Block	 2004,	 810).	 In	 Deut	 34:9,	 in	 turn,	 we	 r ead:	 »Joshua	 the	 son	 of	 Nun	 w as	 full 	
of	 the	 spirit	 of	 wisdom	 (rûaḥ ḥokmâ),	 f or	 Moses	 had	 laid	 his	 hands	 on	 him.«	 Thus, 	
YHWH	 pr ovided	 Joshua	 with	 the	 spirit	 of	 wisdom	 when	 Moses	 laid	 his	 hands	 on	 Josh-
ua	 in	 the	 in vestitur e	of	 leader ship.	 This	 spirit	 w as	 a	 divine	 gift,	 an	 e xtr aor dinary	 divine 	
endowment	 to	 fulfil	a	 divinely	 or dained	 r ole.	 It	 had	 to	 enable	 Joshua	 to	 lead	 the	 peo-
ple	aft er	Moses	in	accor dance	with	God’ s	e xpect ations.
If	 tha t	 ritual	 of	 in v es titur e	 in v olving	 both	 Moses’	 hands	 r esult ed	 in	 the	 tr ans f er -
ence	 of	 the	 divine	 spirit	 t o	 Joshua,	 it	 means	 tha t	 Moses	 possessed	 the	 same	 spirit 	
of	 wisdom	 (Block	 2004,	 810–811;	 Grisan ti	 2012,	 813).	 This	 f act	 is	 c onfirmed 	 in	 Num 	
11	 in	 the	 w or ds	 of	 YHWH,	 who	 announces	 tha t	 he	 will	 t ak e	 of	 the	 spirit	 which	 is	 on 	
Moses	 and	 will	 put	 it	 on	 the	 se v en ty	 elder s	 of	 Isr ael	 tha t	 the y	 ma y	 bear	 the	 bur den 	
of	 the	 people	 with	 Moses	 (11:17).	 As	 a	 r esult	 of	 this	 tr ansmission	 of	 the	 spirit	 t o 	
those	 sev en ty	 elder s,	 they	 pr ophesied	 (wayyitnabbᵉʾû)	 and	 so	 did	 Eldad	 and	 Medad 	
(mitnabbᵉʾı̂ m )	(Num	11:25-27).
The	 selection	 of	 suit able	 men	 who	 had	 t o	 bear	 the	 bur den	 of	 the	 people	 with 	
Moses	 is	 also	 men tioned	 in	 Ex od	 18:13-27	 and	 Deut	 1:9-18.	 Both	 t e xts	 ar e	 about 	
t aking	 o v er	 Moses’ s	 r esponsibility	 of	 judging	 the	 people	 on	 mor e	 unc omplic a t ed 	
ma tt er s	 and	 the	 adminis tr a tion.	 In	 the	 fir s t	 of	 these	 t e xts,	 such	 action	 is	 the	 subject 	
of	the	wise	advice	of	Moses’	f a ther -in-la w ,	and	in	the	sec ond,	Moses	himself	t ak es 	
the	 initia tiv e	in	 this	 r eg ar d.	 It	 is	 diff er en t	 in	 Num	 11,	 wher e	 YHWH	 sa y s	 wha t	 t o	 do , 	
and	t o	ease	Moses’	bur den,	he	giv es	the	chosen	men	a	spirit	tha t	enables	them	t o 	
pr ophes y .	 B y	 r eceiving	 the	 spirit	 tha t	 w as	 on	 Moses,	 the y	 w er e	 giv en	 a	 shar e	 in	 the 	
pr ophe tic	authority	of	Moses.
A t	 the 	 e nd	 of	 N um	 11: 25, 	 a ft e r 	 the 	 w or ds	 me n tioning 	 tha t	 the 	 se v e n ty 	 e lde r s 	
pr ophesied,	 in	 the	 Masor e tic	 t e xt	 ther e	 is	 the	 clause	lōʾ yāsāpû,	 which	 is	 tr ansla t ed 	
as	 »the y	 did	 not	 c on tinue	 [doing	 it]«.	 This	 addition	c ould	 mean	 tha t	 this	 pr ophes y -
ing	 w as	 jus t	 a	 tr ansien t	 phenomenon	 tha t	 a ff ect ed	 the	 elder s	 on	 this	 occ asion	 only 	
in	 or der	 t o	 pr ovide	 divine	 v alida tion	 f or	 their	 selection	 as	 leader s	 in	 the	 c ommunity 	
(Milgr om	 1990,	 89;	 Da vies	 1995,	 110;	 Le vison	 2003,	 519).	 In	 such	 a	 c ase,	 in	 wha t 	
e x actly	 w ould	 their	 participa tion	 in	 bearing	 the	 bur den	 of	 the	 people	 c onsis t?	 Wha t 	
w ould 	 the	 leader ship	 of	 the	 elder s	 c ome	 do wn 	 t o?	 In 	 the	 v er ses	 men tioning	 the 	
pr ophecies	 of	 Eldad	 and	 Medad	 (v .	 26-29),	 tha t	 c ommen t	 is	 not	 made.	 It	 is	 perhaps 	
mor e	 legitima t e	 t o	 f ollow	 the	 t es timon y	 of	 t ar gums	 and	 the	 V ulg a t e,	 which	 in	 v .	 25b 	
instead of yāsāpû	 (fr om	ysp	 –	 ,add,	 do	 ag ain,	 c on tinue ‘)	 r ead	yāsupû	 (fr om	swp – 
,cease,	 c ome	 t o	 an	 end‘),	 and	 t o	 tr ansla t e	 the	 clause	 as	 »the y	 did	 not	 cease«	 (Noth 	
1966,	 74;	 Scharbert	 1992,	 50;	 Seebass	 2003,	 31;	 R ömer	 2007,	 438–439).	 The	 t e xt 	
of	 Num	 11	 only	 s t at es	 that	 the	 sev enty	 elder s,	 and	 lik ewise	 Eldad	 and	 Medad,	 pr oph-
esied.	 In	 an y	 c ase,	 tha t	 pr ophe tic	 activity	 ma y	 ha v e	 been	 less	 in	 adminis t ering	 and 	

636 Bogoslovni vestnik 81 (2021) • 3
judging	 than	 in	 c arrying	 out	 specific	 spiritual	 and	 pas t or al	 activities, 	 helping	 Moses 	
to educate the people and strengthening them in faithfulness to YHWH.
8
 
Acc or ding	 t o	 Num	 11:27,	 the	 pr ophes ying	 of	 Eldad	 and	 Medad	 c aused	 as t onish-
men t	and	s tir .	 This	also	pr ov ok ed	a	r eaction	 fr om	Joshua,	who	ask ed	Moses	t o	s t op 	
them	(Num	11:28).	Joshua	is	ther e	r e f err ed	t o	as	the	son	of	Nun	and	Moses’ s	assis-
t ant	 (mᵉšārēt)	 fr om	 his	 y outh.	 E arlier ,	 in	 the	 Book	 of	 Ex odus,	 he	 is	 depict ed	 as	 Moses’ 	
assis t an t	 who	 ser v ed	 in	 the	 t en t	 of	 meeting	(Ex od	 33:11).	 This	 c ould	 alr eady	 e xplain 	
Joshua’ s	 in v olv emen t	 in	 the	 pr ophecy	 of	 Eldad	 and	 Medad	 in	 the	 c amp,	 some	 dis-
t ance	 fr om	 the	 t en t	 of	 meeting.	 The	 Old	 T es t amen t	 t e xts	 tha t	 f ollow	 Num	 11	 in	 the 	
biblic al	 c anon	 r e f er	 t o	 Joshua	 as	 the	 successor	 of	 Moses	 and	 the	 leader	 of	 the	 Isr a-
elit e	 c ommunity	 (Num	 27:12-23;	Deut	 3:23-28;	Josh	 4:14),	 r epr esen t a tiv e	 of	 the	 Is-
r aelit es	 be f or e	 God	 YHWH	 (Josh	 7:6-9),	 and	 also	 the	 messenger	 of	 his	 will	 (Josh	 4:10; 	
8:30-35;	 23:	 6-11),	 his	 ser v an t	 (ꜥebed yhwh)	 (Josh	 24:29)	 and	 the	 c ov enan t	 media t or 	
(Josh	 24:25-28).	 The	 biblic al	 t e xts	 do	 not	 dir ectly	 c all	 Joshua	 a	 pr ophe t.	 How e v er , 	
they	 allow	 the	 conclusion	 that	 the	 portr ait	 of	 Joshua	 w as	 made	 his t orically	 mor e	 and 	
mor e	 pr ophetic.	 F or	 e x ample,	 in	 Josh	 24:2,	 he	 addr essed	 all	 the	 people	 with	 a	 pr o-
phetic	 f ormula:	 »Thus	 sa y s	 Y ahw eh,	 the	 God	 of	 Isr ael«.	 In	 1	 Kgs	 16:34,	 the	 narr a t or 	
speak s	 about	 »the	 w or d	 of	 Y ahw eh,	 which	 he	 spok e	 by	 Joshua	 the	 son	 of	 Nun«,	 and 	
in	 Sir	 46:1	 Joshua	 is	 men tioned	 as	 »the	 successor	 of	 Moses	 in	 the	 pr ophetic	 office	
(en prophēteiais)«.	 The	 r ole	 of	 the	 pr ophe t	 w as	 assigned	 t o	 Joshua	 clearly	 in	 the 	
Apocryphon	 of	 Joshua	 fr om	 Qumr an	 (2
nd
 – 1
st 
cen tury	 BC).	 In	 the	 pr ophetised	 imag e 	
of	 Joshua,	 outlined	 in	 these	 t e xts,	 he	 announces	 the	 will	 of	 God	 and	 in t erpr ets	 his-
tory	 in	 or der	 to	 f orm	 the	 addr essees	 of	 his	 s t at ements	 (Blumenthal	 2008,	 90;	 Ben	 Z vi 	
2013,	85–87;	Sz amocki	2014,	80–87).
Joshua’ s	 pr ot es t	 in	 Num	 11:28	 w as	 not	 due	 t o	 jealous y	 tha t	 the	 elder s	 pr ophesied 	
who	 w er e	 not	 a t	 the	 t en t	 of	 mee ting	 and	 did	 not	 r eceiv e	 the	 spirit	 of	 YHWH	 as	 he 	
did,	 thr ough	 Moses	 in	 a	 ritualis tic	 or dinance.	 Moses’	 ques tion	 in	 Num	 11:29a:	 »Ar e 	
y o u	 jeal o u s	 f o r	 m y	 sak e? «	 r e v eal s,	 h o w e v er ,	 th a t	 i n	 th e	 p r o p h eci es	 o f	 E l d ad 	 an d 	
Medad,	 Joshua	 sa w	 a	 thr ea t	 t o	 Moses’	 authority	 ins t ead.	 The	 author	 /r edact or 	 of 	
Num	 11:26-29	 thus	 put	 in 	 Joshua’ s	 mouth 	 w or ds	 tha t	 c orr espond 	 t o	 the	 deut er -
onomis tic	ideology	 acc or ding	 t o	 which	 ther e	 is	 a	 pr ophe tic	succession	 fr om	 Moses 	
(cf .	 Deut	 18:15-22)	 (Auld	 2002,	 240;	 R ömer	 2007,	 438).	 Since	 Eldad	 and	 Medad	 be-
g an	t o	pr ophes y	independen tly	of	Moses,	 Joshua,	who	r epr esen t ed	the	ins titution 	
of the tent, expressed concern about the disregard for the role of Moses. Moses 
sa w	 the	 situa tion 	 diff er en tly . 	 F or	 he	 e xpr essed 	 the	 wish	 tha t	 all	 YHWH’ s	 people 	
w ould	 be	 able	 t o	 pr ophes y	 by	 r eceiving	 YHWH’ s	 spirit	 (Num	 11:29a).	 This	 s t a t emen t 	
by	 Moses	 c an	 be	 seen	 as	 a	 t es timon y	 t o	 a	 c oncept	 of	 pr ophecy	 diff er en t	 fr om	 wha t 	
w as	 indir ectly	 e xpr essed	 in	 the	 a ttitude 	 and	 w or ds	 of	 Joshua.	 F or	 a	 f ea tur e	 of	 the 	
c oncept	 r e flect ed	 in	 Moses’	 utt er ance	 is	 the	 democr a tisa tion	 of	 pr ophecy	 and	 the 	
univ er salisa tion	of	the 	spirit	of	YHWH,	which	enables	and	c onditions	pr ophecy . 	
The	 though t	 a ttribut ed	 t o	 Moses	 in	 Num	 11:29	 show s	 a	 gr ea t	 deal	 of	 closeness 	
t o	 the	 pr ophe tic	announcemen t	 in	 Joel	 3:1-2:	 »I	 will	 pour	 out	 m y	 spirit	 on	 all	 flesh, 	
8	
This	 sor t 	 of	 ac tiv ity 	 and	 t ask 	 w as	 ty pic al	 f or 	 a	 Mosaic 	 pr ophe t 	 and	 as	 suc h	 r e m aine d	 in	 the 	 m e m or ie s 	
of	pr ophe ts	in	the	pos t -e xilic	period	(see	e. g.	2	Kgs	17:13)	(Scharbert	1992,	50;	Ben	Z vi	2013,	83).

637 637 Grzegorz Szamocki - The Universalism of the Spirit of Prophecy...
and	 y our	 sons	 and	 y our	 daugh t er s	 will	 pr ophes y .«	 How ev er ,	 while	 Num	 11:29	 is	 only 	
about	the	wish	tha t	the	en tir e	people	of	YHWH	should	pr ophes y ,	in	Joel	3:1-2,	the 	
pr omise	 tha t	 r eceiving	 the	 spirit	 of	 YHWH	 will	 enable	 the	 people	 t o	 pr ophes y	 is	 also 	
associa t ed	 with	 the	 abolition	 of	 diff er ences	in	 ag e,	 g ender ,	 and	 social	 s t a tus.	 This 	
will	 begin	 a	 ne w ,	 pr ophe tic 	 e xis t ence 	 with	 a	 ne w	 r ela tionship	 t o	 God	 and	 people 	
(W olff	1977, 	66–67;	Seebass	2003,	53).
The	Book	of	Joel	r eceived	its	final	 f orm	in	the	late	P er sian	period.	During	this	time, 	
pr ophecy	 in	 Isr ael	 was	 undergoing	 its	 tr ansf ormation	and	 a	 new	 phase	 of	 development. 	
The	biblical	te xts	fr om	that	time, 	especially	2	Chr onicles,	testify	that	in	addition	to	the 	
tr aditional 	 pr ophecy	 r elated	 to	 the	 succession	 fr om	 Moses,	 ther e	 was	 also	 a	 concept 	
of	 democr atised	 pr ophecy ,	 f ounded	 on	 charismatic	 gifting	 by	 the	 spirit	 of	 YHWH.	 Be-
side	 the	 ,pr of essional‘	 pr ophets,	 ther e	 wer e	 tempor ary	 pr ophets	 who	 pr ophesied	 on 	
certain occasions and in response to various challenges. They took on the role of a 
pr ophet	 f or	 the	 good	 of	 the	 people	 when	 it	 w as	 needed.	 Tha t	 ca t egory	 of	 pr ophets 	
could	 include	 pries ts,	 Levit es,	 la yper sons	 and	 ev en	 non-Isr aelit e	 kings	 lik e	 Neco	 and 	
Cyrus	 (2	 Chr	 20:14-15;	 24:20;	 35:20-22;	 36:22-23).	 The	 spirit	 of	 YHWH	 was	 the	 motive 	
f or ce	 behind	 their	 pr ophetic	 utt er ances. 	 The	 divine	 inspir a tion 	 led	 fir s t	 of	 all	 t o	 the 	
pr oclamation 	 of	 a	 pr ophetic	 or acle	 and	 God’ s	 will	 and	 not	 to	 an	 ecs t atic	 and	 mantic 	
beha viour .	 Hence	 the	 r eligious	 community	 of	 the	 time 	 of	 Joel	 spok e	 mor e	 about	 the 	
r ole	 of	 the	 spirit	 in	 pr ophecy	 to	 emphasise	 also	 its	 divine	 origin	 (2	 Chr	 15:1-2;	 20:14-17; 	
24:20;	 Isa	 61:1;	 Joel	 3:1-2).	 Accor ding	 to	 the	 testimon y	 of	 2	 Chr onicles,	 the	 activity	 of 	
the	pr ophets	 of	that	time	 was	also	instructive 	and	pedagogical.	 They	encour aged	hu-
mility	 and	 s t eadf as tness,	 motiv a t ed	 people	 t o	 be	 c our ag eous	 in	 the	 f ace	 of	 f or eign 	
military	 thr eats,	 and	 also	 g a ve	 guidance	 on	 theopolitics	(2	 Chr	 12:5-8;	 15:1-7;	 16:7-10) 	
(Barton	 1992,	 492–494;	 K nopper s	 2010,	 395–405).	 The	 author/redactor	of	 Num	 11:26-
29	 ma y	 ha ve	 seen	 the	 pr ophecy	 of	 Eldad	 and	 Medad	 in	 these	 terms.	 Thus	 pr ophes ying, 	
they	would	bear	the	bur den	of	the	people	along	with	Moses	(Num	11:17).
5. Final Remarks and Conclusions
The	 observ ations	 and	 analyses	 made	 sugges t	 that	 in	 Num	 11:26-29,	 we	 ha v e	 a	 lit er -
ary	 r eflection	 of	 the	 his torical	 confr ont ation	 between	 the	 two	 concepts	 of	 pr ophecy 	
mentioned 	 above.	 The	 pr ophes ying	 of	 seventy	 elder s	 (11:25)	 w as	 dependent	 on	 Mo -
ses	and	as	such,	 corr esponded	to	the	fir s t	concept.	Moses	g ather ed	the	elder s	at	the 	
t ent	 of	 the	 meeting , 	 wher e	 YHWH	 t ook	 of	 the	 Spirit	 tha t	 w as	 on	 Moses	 (yāʾṣel min-
hārûaḥ ʾᵃšer ꜥālāyw)	and	 put	it	 on	them.	 Joshua	is	the	spok esman	f or	this	concept	in 	
our	 t e xt.	 This	 w as	 e xpr essed	 in	 his	 r eaction	 t o	 the	 pr ophes ying	 of	 Eldad	 and	 Medad 	
and	 in	 his	 r eques t	 t o	 Moses:	 »s t op	 them.«	 In	 turn,	 Moses’	 ans w er	 t o	 this	 r eques t 	
poin ts	 t o	 the	 sec ond	 c oncept,	 which	 c orr esponded	 pr ecisely	 t o	 the	 pr ophes ying	 of 	
Eldad	 and	 Medad.	 Their	 pr ophes ying	 was	 not	 dependent	 on	 Moses.	 Eldad	 and	 Medad 	
wer e	 not	 with	 Moses	 at	 the	 t ent,	 y et	 the	 spirit	 of	 YHWH	 came	 upon	 them,	 and	 they 	
beg an	 to	 pr ophes y .	 In	 our	 t e xt,	 it	 w as	 Moses	 who	 opt ed	 f or	 such	 a	 pr ophecy .	 That	 is 	
wh y	 he	 said:	 »W ould	 tha t	 all	 YHWH’ s	 people	 w er e	 pr ophets,	 tha t	 YHWH	 w ould	 put 	
his	spirit	on	them.«	(11:29b)

638 Bogoslovni vestnik 81 (2021) • 3
The	 passus	 about	 Eldad	 and	 Medad	 in	 Num	 11:26-29,	 as	 a	 compositional	addition 	
fr om	 the	 lat e	 P er sian	 period,	 is	 one	 of	 the	 r esults	 of	 the	 e xt ensiv e	 editorial	 work	 un-
dert ak en	 by	 r eligious	 writ er s	 and	 r edactor s	 to	 r er ead	 and	 adapt	 e xis ting	 and	 owned 	
sacr ed	 t e xts	 to	 a	 new	 r eligious	and	socio-political	cont e xt.	 Num	 11:26-29	 r eflects	the 	
confr ont ation	 of	 the	 concepts	 of	 pr ophecy ,	 and	 this	 confr ont ation	 w as	 also	 part	 of	 a 	
br oader	 pos t -e xilic	 deba t e	 on	 the	 particularism	 and	 univ er salism	 of	 God’ s	 gifts	 and 	
blessings	 (Num	 24:1-4;	 1	 Kgs	 8:41-43;	 2	 Kgs	 5)	 and	 on	 e x clusivism	 and	 inclusivism	 of 	
the	 community	 of	 the	 YHWH	 people	 (Lev	 20:22-26;	 Josh	 2;	 6:25;	 Isa	 56:6-7).	 The	 idea 	
of	 the	 democr a tisa tion	 of	 pr ophecy	 and	 of	 the	 univ er salism	 of	 the	 pr ophe tic	 spirit 	
harmonised	 with	 the	 univ er salism	 of	 the	 gifts	 of	 blessing	 and	 r eligious	 and	 social	 in-
clusivism.	 Based	 on	 these	 conclusions,	 it	 is	 possible	 to	 try	 to	 place	 Num	 11:26-29	 more 	
pr ecisely	 in	 the	 pr ocess	 of	 f orma tion	 of	 this	 part	 of	 the	 Bible,	 which	 deals	 with	 the 	
primary history of Israel.
The	 analysis	 carried	 out	 allows	 assuming	 that	 bef ore	 the	 Num	 11:26-27	 passage	 was 	
incorpor ated	 into	 the	 e xisting 	 material	 of	 Num	 11,	 this	 already	 had	 its	 post -e xilic	 history 	
of	 redaction	and	 reworking.	 The	 thesis	 put	 f orward	 by	 R.	 Achenbach	 appear s	 to	 be	 cor -
rect	 in	 this	 respect	 in	 its	 basic	 outline	 (Achenbach	 2003,	 221).	 Namely ,	 in	 the	 fir st	half	 of 	
the	5th	century	BC,	the	He x ateuchal	redaction	 (He xR ed)	composed	a	story	about	mur -
muring	 and	 quails.	 Among	 other	 things,	 it	 highlights	 Isr ael’ s	 recurring	 apostas y	 and	 also 	
mentions	 the	 presence	 of	 str anger s	 in	 Isr ael	 (v .	 4).	 The	 ne xt	 phase	 could	 be	 the	 P enta-
teuchal	redaction	 (P entR ed)	in	the	second	half	of	the	5th	century	BC.	A t	this	stage,	the 	
story	 of	 Moses’	 relief	 by	 the	 seventy	 elders	 was	 incorpor ated	 into	 Hex ateuch’ s	 narr ative. 	
The	redactor s	 wanted	to	 point	out	the	r ole	of	the	elder s
9
	and,	fir st	of	all,	the	e x ception-
al	pr ophetic	authority	of	Moses.
The	 main	 objectiv e	 of	 the	 r edaction 	 of	 the	 whole	 P en t a t euch	 w as	 t o	 de fine	 the 	
iden tity	 of	 the	 pos t -e xilic	 Je wish	 c ommunity	 and	 rising	 Judaism.	 Tha t	 iden tity	 w as 	
f ounded	 in	 the	 T or ah,	 r eceiv ed	 thr ough	 the	 mediation	 of	 Moses.
10
 Hence the redac-
tion	combined	 Deut er onomis tic 	 and	 Pries tly	 ideas	 and	 concepts	 that	 emphasised	 the 	
uniqueness	 of	 Isr ael	 and	 its	 e x clusive	 r elationship	with	 YHWH.	 The	 pr ophecy	 w as	 also 	
per ceiv ed	and	char act erised	in	accor dance	with	this	r edactional	 orient ation.	 In	Num 	
11, it is, therefore, a prophecy by virtue of the spirit of YHWH received by a certain 
gr oup	 of	 chosen	 ones	 -	 sev en ty	 elder s	 -	 thr ough	 Moses	 and	 in	 c onnection	 with	 his 	
pr ophetic	charism	(Num	11:24-25).
The	 passag e	 on	 the	 pr ophes ying	 of	 Eldad	 and	 Medad	 should	 be	 c onnect ed	 with 	
another ,	 not	 so	 thor ough,	 phase	 of	 the	 f ormation	 of	 t e xts	 about	 the	 primary	 his tory 	
of	 Isr ael,	 which	 can	 be	 mor e	 closely	 described	 as	 a	 univer salising	 r er eading	 or	 r evision 	
(R el/R evU).	 The	 int erf er ence	 in	 the	 t e xt	 made	 in	 the	 cont e xt	 of	 this	 r electur e	 would 	
be	 a	 consequence	 of	 the	 theological	 and	 social	 debate	 held	 in	 Judah	 at	 the	 end	 of	 the 	
P er sian	 period.	 In	 discussions	 about	 identity , 	 univ er salising	 and	 inclusivis t	 t endencies 	
9	
It	 c ann ot	 be	 ruled	 out	 tha t	 -	 as	 R .	 Ac henbach	 claims	 -	 this	 r edactional	 supple men t	 w as	 a	 leg end	 about	
the	 es t ablishmen t	 of	 the	 c ouncil	 of	 elder s	 (Achenbach	 2003, 	 237.249–259).	 Ho w e v er ,	 a	 de t ailed	 discus -
sion of this topic is beyond the scope of this study.
10 
Such	 a	 per cep tion	 of	 the	 P en t a t euchal	 r edaction	 is	 sug g es t ed	 f or	 e x ample	 b y	 E.	 Ott o	 (e. g.	 2000,	 esp. 	
247–250;	2002,	125–155;	2013,	384–385)	or	T .	R ömer	(e. g.	2011,	28–31).

639 639 Grzegorz Szamocki - The Universalism of the Spirit of Prophecy...
ha v e	 emer ged	 ag ain.	 In	 their	 per spectiv e,	 the	 pr ophetic	 charism	 enjoy ed	 by	 Moses 	
would	 also	 be	 a v ailable	 to	 all	 member s	 of	 the	 Judean	 community .	 The	 spirit	 of	 pr oph-
ecy	 was	 not	 reserved	 only	 f or	 some	 representatives	of	 God’ s	 people.	 Hence,	 the	 wor ds 	
of	 such	 wishes	 w er e	 put	 in t o	 Moses’	 mouth:	 »W ould	 tha t	 all	 YHWH’ s	 people	 w er e 	
pr ophets,	that	YHWH	would	put	his	Spirit	on	them.«	(Num	11:29)	The	univ er salising 	
r er eading	 also	 left	 its	 tr aces	 elsewher e	 in	 the	 t e xt	 collection	on	 the	 primary	 his t ory	 of 	
Isr ael.	 W e	 ar e	 lik ely	 to	 find	them	 in,	 f or	 e x ample,	 Deut	 11:30;	 Josh	 8:32-35;	 1	 Kgs	 8:41-
43.	 V erifying	 the	 thesis	 about	 this	 univer salising	 r er eading	 or	 r evision	 r equir es	 further 	
in-depth	s tudies	of	the	t e xts	that	ma y	be	consider ed	its	r esult.
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