They ¹  said, “Has the Lord only ²  spoken through Moses? Has he not also spoken through us?” ³  And the Lord heard it. ⁴ 

biblegateway Num 12:2

and they said, "Has the LORD indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us as well?" And the LORD heard it.

They said, "Does the LORD speak only through Moses? Does He not also speak through us?" And the LORD heard it .

They asked, "Did the LORD speak only through Moses? Didn’t he also speak through us?" The LORD heard their complaint.

biblegateway Num 12:2

"Has the LORD spoken only through Moses?" they asked. "Hasn’t he also spoken through us?" And the LORD heard this.

And they said, "Has the LORD indeed spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?" And the LORD heard it.

bibleoremus Num 12:2

and they said, "Has the LORD spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?" And the LORD heard it.

and they complained, “Is Moses the only one by whom the LORD has spoken? Has he not spoken by us as well?” -- though Moses was a man of great humility, the most humble man on earth. But the LORD heard them

biblegateway Num 12:2

So they said, "Has the LORD indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us also?" And the LORD heard it .

And they said, Hath the LORD indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the LORD heard [it].

biblegateway Num 12:2

They ¹  said, “Has the Lord only ²  spoken through Moses? Has he not also spoken through us?” ³  And the Lord heard it. ⁴ 

¹ tn Now the text changes to use a plural form of the verb. The indication is that Miriam criticized the marriage, and then the two of them raised questions about his sole leadership of the nation.

² tn The use of both רַק and אַךְ (raq and ’akh) underscore the point that the issue is Moses’ uniqueness.

³ tn There is irony in the construction in the text. The expression “speak through us” also uses דִּבֵּר + בְּ(dibber + bÿ). They ask if God has not also spoken through them, after they have spoken against Moses. Shortly God will speak against them – their words are prophetic, but not as they imagined.

³ sn The questions are rhetorical. They are affirming that God does not only speak through Moses, but also speaks through them. They see themselves as equal with Moses. The question that was asked of the earlier presumptuous Moses – “Who made you a ruler over us?” – could also be asked of them. God had not placed them as equals with Moses. The passage is relevant for today when so many clamor for equal authority and leadership with those whom God has legitimately called.

⁴ sn The statement is striking. Obviously the Lord knows all things. But the statement of the obvious here is meant to indicate that the Lord was about to do something about this.