Numbers 11:26-29 New English Translation

Eldad and Medad

²⁶But two men remained in the camp; one’s name was Eldad, and the other’s name was Medad. And the Spirit rested on them. (Now they were among those in the registration,^[a] but had not gone to the tabernacle.) So they prophesied in the camp. ²⁷And a^[b] young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp!” ²⁸Joshua son of Nun, the servant^[c] of Moses, one of his choice young men,^[d] said,^[e] “My lord Moses, stop them!”^[f] ²⁹Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for me?^[g] I wish that^[h] all the Lord’s people were prophets, that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!”

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Footnotes

Numbers 11:26 tn The form of the word is the passive participle כְּתֻבִים (k^etuvim, “written”). It is normally taken to mean “among those registered,” but it is not clear if that means they were to be among the seventy or not. That seems unlikely since there is no mention of the seventy being registered, and vv. 24-25 says all seventy went out and prophesied. The registration may be to eldership, or the role of the officer.
Numbers 11:27 tn The article indicates that the “young man” was definite in the mind of the writer, but indefinite in English.
Numbers 11:28 tn The form is the Piel participle מְשָׁרֵת (m^esharet), meaning “minister, servant, assistant.” The word has a loftier meaning than the ordinary word for slave.
Numbers 11:28 tn The verb is בָּחַר (bakhar, “to choose”); here the form is the masculine plural participle with a suffix, serving as the object of the preposition מִן (min). It would therefore mean “[one of] his chosen men,” or “[one of] his choice men.”
Numbers 11:28 tn Heb “answered and said.”
Numbers 11:28 sn The effort of Joshua is to protect Moses’ prerogative as leader by stopping these men in the camp from prophesying. Joshua did not understand the significance in the Lord’s plan to let others share the burden of leadership.
Numbers 11:29 tn The Piel participle מְקַנֵּא (m^eqanneʾ) serves as a verb here in this interrogative sentence. The word means “to be jealous; to be envious.” That can be in a good sense, such as with the translation “zeal,” or it can be in a negative sense as here. Joshua’s apparent “zeal” is questioned by Moses—was he zealous/envious for Moses sake, or for some other reason?
Numbers 11:29 tn The optative is expressed by the interrogative clause in Hebrew, “who will give….” Moses expresses here the wish that the whole nation would have that portion of the Spirit. The new covenant, of course, would turn Moses’ wish into a certainty.

New English Translation (NET)