Numbers 12:11

Num 12:11 And Aaron said unto Moses, Alas, my lord, I beseech thee, lay not the sin upon us, wherein we have done foolishly, and wherein we have sinned.

Ver. 11. And Aaron said unto Moses.] His late sin had choked him, as it were, - as David in like case felt his mouth stopped, {Psa 51:15} - and therefore he requesteth Moses to mediate for Miriam. Our own key may be rusty sometimes, and we glad to make use of another’s key, to open the cabinet of God’s grace, that therehence we may take out mercy for ourselves and others.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Num 12:11-12. Lay not the sin — Let not the guilt and punishment of this sin rest upon us, upon her in this kind, upon me in any other kind, but pray to God for the pardon and removal of it. As one dead — Because part of her flesh was putrefied and dead, and not to be restored but by the mighty power of God. Like a still-born child, that hath been for some time dead in the womb, which, when it comes forth, is putrefied, and part of it consumed.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

On the humble and penitential submission of Aaron, Moses interceded for both the offenders, especially for Miriam, who was restored; not, however, till she had been made, by her exclusion, a public example [Num 12:14-15].

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

(11) Alas, my lord.—The word rendered alas! is an exclamation of entreaty rather than of lamentation. It is used towards superiors in conjunction with adoni (my lord) in Gen_40:20; 1Ki_3:17.

Lay not the sin upon us . . . —Better, lay not sin (i.e., the punishment which is due to it) upon us, for that (or, inasmuch as) we have done foolishly, &c. Aaron does not seek to shift the guilt which had been incurred from himself and Miriam to any others, but prays that they may not be constrained to bear the punishment which their sin had justly deserved. In Zec_14:19 the same word hattath is rendered punishment.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And Aaron said unto Moses, alas, my lord!.... The word for "alas" is generally interpreted by the Jewish writers as a note of beseeching and entreating, as it is here by the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan,"I beseech thee, my lord,''or "upon me, my lord" (k), be all the blame; such was his tenderness to his sister, and the compassion he had on her; and such reverence and respect did he show to Moses his brother, though younger than he, because of his superior dignity as a prophet, and chief magistrate, and prime minister, and servant of the Lord, calling him "my lord":

I beseech thee, lay not the sin upon us; the punishment of it, bear not hard upon us, or suffer us to be punished in a rigorous manner, without interceding to the Lord for us, for the abatement of removal of it; such a powerful and prevailing interest he knew he had with God, that by his prayers their punishment would be mitigated, or not laid, or, if laid, removed:

wherein we have done foolishly, and wherein we have sinned; he owns they had sinned, but suggests, and so he would have it understood, that it was not through malice, and purposely and presumptuously, but through and ignorance, inadvertency and weakness, and hoped it would be forgiven.

(k) "in me", Montanus.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Let not the guilt and punishment of this sin rest upon us, upon her in this kind, upon me in any other kind, but pray to God for the pardon and removal of it.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

11. I beseech thee — Here we have an instance of a double supplication. Aaron, the anointed high priest, having sympathized with the revolt against Moses, dare not go directly to Jehovah and plead for his partner in sin, but feels that he himself needs a mediator.

We have sinned — Here is Aaron’s confession of complicity in the wrong. The exigency was too great for him to wait till the great day of atonement, in which he could offer a sin offering for himself, and thus become qualified to offer for the sins of the people. Lev_16:11, note.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Aaron said unto Moses, Alas, my lord, I beseech thee. Septuagint, deomai Kurie . In thus addressing his brother Aaron acknowledged his superior position, and tacitly abandoned all pretension to equality. Lay not the sin upon us. Aaron speaks to Moses almost as if he were praying to God, so completely does. he recognize in his brother the representative of God (in a far higher sense than himself), who had power to bind and loose in the name and power of God. What Aaron really prays for is that the sin, which he frankly confesses, may not be imputed to them. The Levitical law had taught them to look upon sin as a burden, which in the nature of things the sinner must carry, but which by the goodness of God might be got rid of, or transferred to some one else. (cf. Lev_4:4 Lev_16:21Jo Lev 1:29)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Lay not the sin - Let not the guilt and punishment of this sin rest upon us, upon her in this kind, upon me in any other kind, but pray to God for the pardon and removal of it.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

When Aaron saw his sister smitten in this way, he said to Moses, "Alas! my lord, I beseech thee, lay not this sin upon us, for we have done foolishly;" i.e., let us not bear its punishment. "Let her (Miriam) not be as the dead thing, on whose coming out of its mother's womb half its flesh is consumed;" i.e., like a still-born child, which comes into the world half decomposed. His reason for making this comparison was, that leprosy produces decomposition in the living body.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

do not hold this sin against us

To hold people's sin against them is to say that they are guilty for their sin. Here it represents punishing them for their sin. (See: Metonymy)

Please do not let her be like a dead newborn whose flesh is half consumed

Miriam's leprosy would cause her body to decay until she died. The flesh being decayed is spoken of as if it were eaten. AT: "Please do not let her be like a dead newborn baby whose flesh is half decayed" (See: Simile and Metaphor)

translationWords

Moses

lord

sin

fool

die

flesh

consume

womb

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

נואלנו — Understand this as the Targum does: (we have acted foolishly); it is associated in meaning with אויל “a fool”.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.