“Enviest thou for my sake?”
The full verse · Numbers 11:29 · KJV
And unto him, thou for my sake? would God that all were , and that the would his upon them!
Asked by
Asked to
Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant and successor-in-training, who had reported that Eldad and Medad were prophesying in the camp.
Why It Was Asked
The purpose behind the questionMoses rebukes Joshua’s territorial jealousy by questioning his motives, redirecting his assistant from protecting Moses’ honor to celebrating God’s Spirit distributed widely. The question format allows Joshua to recognize his error through self-examination rather than direct accusation.
The Response
What Scripture recordsThe text records no verbal response from Joshua. Moses immediately follows his question with his own wish that all God’s people were prophets, and the narrative moves forward without recording Joshua’s reaction or any further protest from him.
The Bigger Picture
Where this fits in God's storyMoses’ question cuts to the heart of Joshua’s protest against Eldad and Medad’s prophesying. The Hebrew qana carries both positive zealousness and negative jealousy, and Moses forces Joshua to examine which motivation drives him. Rather than simply commanding Joshua to stop his complaint, Moses asks a question that requires self-reflection. This reveals Moses’ exceptional humility and secure leadership; he sees the Spirit’s distribution as gain, not loss. The question form is rhetorically powerful because it assumes the answer ‘no’ should be obvious, yet Joshua’s behavior suggests otherwise. Moses transforms a moment of potential conflict into a teaching opportunity about the expansiveness of God’s Spirit and the danger of possessive attitudes toward spiritual authority.
Do you find yourself threatened when God uses someone outside your circle? Moses shows us that secure leaders celebrate when God’s Spirit moves beyond their control. When you see God working through unexpected people in unexpected places, resist the urge to protect territory or status. Instead, ask yourself if your concern is really for God’s glory or for your own position. Remember that the kingdom advances not by limiting who can serve but by praying, as Moses did, that God would raise up more workers. The Spirit blows where He wills (John 3:8), and our job is to rejoice, not restrict.
Built from the biblical text and checked against trusted commentaries and lexicons. References & Sources
Keep questioning
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