Moses Refuses a Nation Born From Himself Alone

Midrash Aggadah, Numbers 14:12

Curated by Arthur·Translated by Maggid (Beta)·

"And I will make of you a great nation" (Numbers 14:12). Moses said before the Holy One, blessed be He: If a throne of three legs cannot stand before You in the hour of anger, a throne of one leg, all the more so, cannot stand in the hour of anger. That is to say: the merit of the three patriarchs is like a throne of three legs, and a throne of one leg is Moses our teacher. And even so, He did not retract His good word, until He multiplied the seed of Moses our teacher to more than sixty myriads, as it is said, "And the sons of Rehabiah [were very many above]" (1 Chronicles 23:17). And the sons of Rehabiah are the sons of Moses, for they were fruitful and multiplied until they were "above." What is "above"? This teaches that they multiplied above sixty myriads.

Themes

MosesDivine ThroneKingsSinBirth

Biblical References

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