by Douglas Ward
Moses, the man YHWH chose to guide the Israelites from Egypt to the borders of the Promised Land, was notable for his intimacy with God and for his mighty deeds (Deut 34:10-12). The Bible also states that Moses "was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth" (Num 12:3,). Let's take a closer look at this aspect of the character of Israel's great prophet, teacher, and leader.
The Hebrew word for meek in Num 12:3 is anav. Scholar Cleon Rogers reports that anav probably comes from a root meaning "to be bowed down."(1) One way to be bowed down is to be bowed down in submission—in other words, to be humble. Most modern English translations render anav as humble in Num 12:3.(2)
This translation of anav is consistent with the biblical portrayal of Israel's leader. Moses, who was eighty years old at the time of the Exodus from Egypt (Acts 7:23,30), acquired humility through a unique set of life experiences. Though raised in Pharaoh's court, Moses was forced to flee Egypt at age forty after killing an Egyptian, who had been beating a Hebrew slave (Exod 2:11-15). He then spent the next forty years in obscurity, watching the flocks of his Midianite father-in-law Jethro (Exod 2:15-3:1). Then God interrupted his quiet life by sending him back to Egypt to petition a new Pharaoh for Israel's release. At that time Moses asked, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?" (Exod 3:11) As a lowly shepherd, he did not feel prepared to negotiate with the ruler of a powerful country. Humility was the result of his years in Midian.
Despite feelings of inadequacy, Moses accepted his challenging commission. While facing insurmountable obstacles in leading the Israelites to freedom, a special bond was forged between Moses and his God. This relationship was the source of Moses' humility. Dr. R. Dennis Cole astutely observed that anav is a word that "conveys an individual's devout dependence upon the Lord".(3) Cole cites Ps 22:26 and Zeph 2:3 as passages that connect anav with an earnest seeking after God. Moses was a person who continually sought Him (see for instance Exod 33:12-18). His deepening divine knowledge gave him a more realistic view of himself, contributing to his humility. As a result, he did not let his leadership role go to his head.
Moses' humility is visible: in his ready acceptance of wise advice from Jethro (Exod 18:13-27), in his willingness to share the role of prophet (Num 11:24-29), and in his love and lack of resentment toward those who challenged his authority (Num 12). Such examples suggest that humility was a fundamental part of the meekness mentioned in Num 12:3.
Anav is also used in the Hebrew Scriptures to describe a person bowed down with care or trouble. In the writings of the prophets, anav refers to people who are "socially oppressed and miserable."(3) The ESV translates it as afflicted in Amos 2:7 and poor in Isa 61:1. The word anav appears a number of times in the Psalms where the afflicted person is crying out, amidst their suffering, in order to find help (Ps 9:12; 10:12, 17; 34:2; 76:9). A connection emerges between the different scriptural senses of anav, those experiencing afflictions often humble themselves before God.
This definition of anav applies equally well to Moses. On Israel's journey from Egypt to Mt. Sinai, he faced the burden of the people's continual complaints (Exod 15:22-24; 16:2-3; 17:1-4) and legal disputes (Exod 18:13-16). After Israel's year of training at Mt. Sinai, he undoubtedly had high hopes that the remainder of the trip to the Promised Land would go smoothly. (One can sense his enthusiasm in Num 10:29-36.)
Unfortunately, the complaints soon resumed (Num 11:1-3). When demands for a more varied menu spread through the Israelite camp (Num 11:4-6), Moses felt overwhelmed by the weight of his responsibilities. He asked God, "Why have you dealt ill with your servant? And why have I not found favor in your sight, that you lay the burden of all this people on me?" (Num 11:11) Adding to this already heavy load, Moses' sister and brother began to criticize him (Num 12:1-2). By this point, he may have felt that he faced the greatest trials of anyone in the world. So Num 12:3 is also an apt description of Moses, with anav meaning bowed down by care or trouble.
The two meanings of anav—humble and afflicted—both accurately portray Moses. Not surprisingly, they also apply to Jesus of Nazareth, who, through his resurrection, we recognize as the Torah's "prophet like Moses" (Deut 18:15, 18). In fact, his humility and burden far surpassed even those of Moses. We read, about Jesus in Phil 2:6-8, that,
"though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."
In addition to showing the utmost humility on the cross, our Savior bore the heaviest burden of all, the sins of mankind. The prophet Isaiah was inspired to write that God's Servant, the Messiah,
"has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted" (Isa 53:4).
How then shall we live? Moses’ meekness involved a profound humility with which he bore a daunting responsibility. Even more importantly, this servant of God (Num 12:7) points forward to the meekness of Jesus, God's greatest Servant. With burdens made light by our Master (Matt 11:27-30), let us encourage one another to persevere in humility, by the same Spirit which shone through them both.
Footnotes:
(1) "Moses: Meek or Miserable?", Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, Vol. 29, No. 3, 1986, pp. 257-263.
(2) Other passages in which anav is often translated "humble" include Ps 25:9, 147:6, 149:4 and Zeph 2:3.
(3) Numbers, New American Commentary, Volume 3B, Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville, 2000, p. 202.
(4) Rogers, p. 260.
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