The glory of the LORD appeared to Israelites

[Nimrod]

Numbers 14:5-12
Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown in front of the whole Israelite assembly gathered there. Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes and said to the entire Israelite assembly, "The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. Only do not rebel against the LORD . And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them."
But the whole assembly talked about stoning them. Then the glory of the LORD appeared at the Tent of Meeting to all the Israelites. The LORD said to Moses, "How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the miraculous signs I have performed among them? I will strike them down with a plague and destroy them, but I will make you into a nation greater and stronger than they."

What is the meaning of "the glory of the LORD appeared ... to all the Israelites"? In the verses that follow, there is a conversation between God and Moses (and then Aaron) but there doesn't seem to be any interaction with the Israelites, nor any reaction from them.

[Nimrod]

Many times in the Bible "the LORD appeared", eg. to Abraham, to Isaac, to Solomon.

What does this mean? How did God appear to them? In what form?

Thanks.

[stillsmallvoice]

Hi Nimrod!

In the specific instance from Numbers 14:10, our Sages say that the Cloud, from the midst of which God would frequently speak to Moses (see Exodus 40:34-35), suddenly appeared.

When the Tanakh (what we call what Christians call the "Old Testament") says that God spoke to so-and-so, it can (in our way of looking at it) mean several things. God could speak via an angel/prophet, with the angel/prophet sometimes speaking God's words, in the first person. The person spoken to might perceive God's words/voice directly. We believe that how God communicates with those to whom He chooses to communicate is far less important than the fact that he does communicate with us.

Be well!

ssv :hi:

[Waterrock]

Nimrod ~

The reference there in Numbers to the "glory of the LORD" may probably be pictured as the manifestation of the presence of God via a special kind of light. Probably a Google search for "shekinah" will turn up some data about the shekinah and its appearance (but also probably some craziness, so don't be an omnivore).

In other news: at times, when the Bible refers to the LORD appearing to someone, that's exactly what it means, as in the case of God's visit to Abraham (the jargon-term for this is "theophany"). God showed up with a visible, tangible, body.

At other times, though, it's not altogether clear whether an individual spoke one-on-one with God, or through an intermediary (such as an angel or a prophet), or through an awareness of God's voice, or through an awareness of God's will.

Also, making things a bit more complex, on some occasions when the Bible uses the phrase, "And the LORD said," it's not referring to a direct statement from the LORD but to the pronouncement gained by the high priest after a consultation with the Urim and Thummim. In those cases, I'm willing to kick aorund the idea that the phrase "The LORD said" may be interpreted phenomenologically; that is, the idea that it may have looked that way but it was not necessarily the LORD speaking; it was the priest's interpretation of what the Urim & Thummim indicated.

Yours in Christ,

Waterrock