The Meaning of Numbers 20:6 Explained

Numbers 20:6

KJV: And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they fell upon their faces: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto them.

YLT: And Moses and Aaron go in from the presence of the assembly unto the opening of the tent of meeting, and fall on their faces, and the honour of Jehovah is seen by them.

Darby: And Moses and Aaron went from before the congregation to the entrance of the tent of meeting, and fell upon their faces; and the glory of Jehovah appeared to them.

ASV: And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly unto the door of the tent of meeting, and fell upon their faces: and the glory of Jehovah appeared unto them.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And Moses  and Aaron  went  from the presence  of the assembly  unto the door  of the tabernacle  of the congregation,  and they fell  upon their faces:  and the glory  of the LORD  appeared  unto them. 

What does Numbers 20:6 Mean?

Context Summary

Numbers 20:1-13 - The Sin Of Moses And Aaron
Again the people, as the long years of their Wilderness life drew to an end, gathered around the Tabernacle at Kadesh. Again the murmuring spirit broke out, as it had done forty years before. To the end we shall be liable to the outbreak of the old sins; and can never relax our vigilance or sheathe the sword.
Moses was to speak to the rock, not smite it. See Exodus 17:6. The Rock of Ages was smitten only once. "It is appointed unto men once to die," and "Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many." It is now only needful for the soul to speak to Him, though in the lowest and most faltering accents, to elicit streams of help and salvation.
It was lack of faith that led Moses to smite the rock twice. Speaking seemed too slight an effort for the production of such a marvel! He forgot that neither rod nor speech effected the result, but the power of God that wrought through and with him. See 1 Corinthians 3:4. "She only touched the hem of His garment!" Matthew 9:20. [source]

Chapter Summary: Numbers 20

1  The children of Israel come to Zin, where Miriam dies
2  They murmur for want of water
7  Moses smiting the rock, brings forth water at Meribah
14  Moses at Kadesh desires passage through Edom, which is denied him
22  At Mount Hor Aaron resigns his place to Eleazar, and dies

What do the individual words in Numbers 20:6 mean?

So went Moses and Aaron from the presence of the assembly to the door of the tabernacle of meeting and they fell on their faces And appeared the glory of Yahweh to them -
וַיָּבֹא֩ מֹשֶׁ֨ה וְאַהֲרֹ֜ן מִפְּנֵ֣י הַקָּהָ֗ל אֶל־ פֶּ֙תַח֙ אֹ֣הֶל מוֹעֵ֔ד וַֽיִּפְּל֖וּ עַל־ פְּנֵיהֶ֑ם וַיֵּרָ֥א כְבוֹד־ יְהוָ֖ה אֲלֵיהֶֽם פ

וַיָּבֹא֩  So  went 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
מֹשֶׁ֨ה  Moses 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: מֹשֶׁה  
Sense: the prophet and lawgiver, leader of the exodus.
וְאַהֲרֹ֜ן  and  Aaron 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: אַהֲרֹון  
Sense: brother of Moses, a Levite and the first high priest.
מִפְּנֵ֣י  from  the  presence 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, common plural construct
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.
הַקָּהָ֗ל  of  the  assembly 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: קָהָל  
Sense: assembly, company, congregation, convocation.
פֶּ֙תַח֙  the  door 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: פֶּתַח  
Sense: opening, doorway, entrance.
אֹ֣הֶל  of  the  tabernacle 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֹהֶל  
Sense: tent.
מוֹעֵ֔ד  of  meeting 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: מֹועֵד  
Sense: appointed place, appointed time, meeting.
וַֽיִּפְּל֖וּ  and  they  fell 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: נָפַל  
Sense: to fall, lie, be cast down, fail.
פְּנֵיהֶ֑ם  their  faces 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine plural
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.
וַיֵּרָ֥א  And  appeared 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Nifal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: רָאָה 
Sense: to see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider.
כְבוֹד־  the  glory 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: כָּבֹוד  
Sense: glory, honour, glorious, abundance.
יְהוָ֖ה  of  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
אֲלֵיהֶֽם  to  them 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine plural
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
פ  - 
Parse: Punctuation