Eldad and Medad

Biblical Account

Eldad and Medad appear only in Numbers 11. When the people in the wilderness grew weary of the manna and complained, Moses protested that he could not bear the burden of the people alone. God then instructed him to gather seventy of the elders of Israel. When God put upon the elders some of the spirit that was upon Moses, they prophesied (Numbers 11:16-25).

Two men among those whose names had been recorded (KJV: "of them that were written"), Eldad and Medad, did not go out to the tent of meeting (the tabernacle) but remained in the camp. The spirit rested upon them as well, and they prophesied in the camp (Numbers 11:26). A young man reported this to Moses (Numbers 11:27), and Joshua, the servant of Moses, urged him to forbid them. Moses replied, "Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the LORD'S people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit upon them!" (Numbers 11:28-29). Nothing is recorded about the two men's families or their later lives.

Significance Within Scripture

The episode is read as showing that the Spirit of God is not bound to a designated place or to formal procedures, and as illustrating a leader who does not seek to guard his own authority. The New Testament does not mention the two men by name. However, Moses' wish that all the people might be prophets is frequently read alongside the prophecy of Joel 2:28-29 and Peter's sermon at the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, which quotes that prophecy (Acts 2:16-21). The scene in Mark 9:38-40, in which the disciple John tried to stop a man who was casting out demons in Jesus' name, is also commonly mentioned alongside this passage.

Interpretation and Points of Discussion

• The text does not say why the two men did not go to the tabernacle or what they prophesied. Some Jewish traditions reportedly explained that they held back out of humility, but this interpretation comes from outside the text.
• In antiquity there was a work known as the Book of Eldad and Modad, which the early Christian writing The Shepherd of Hermas is understood to have quoted. The book has not survived and is not part of the canon.
• The Korean Revised Version and the New Korean Revised Version render the Hebrew expression in Numbers 11:25 as saying that the elders "did not do so again," whereas some ancient translations render it "did not cease," leading to differing interpretations.
• Pentecostal and charismatic circles tend to cite this passage as grounds for the view that the gifts of the Spirit are open to all believers, while other traditions connect it with the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers or with the question of recognizing ministry outside formal office.

In the Korean Church

In the Korean church, the two men are usually mentioned in sermons on the account of the seventy elders in Numbers 11 rather than treated as a sermon topic in their own right. In such sermons, common themes are Moses' leadership in not envying his fellow workers and the free working of the Holy Spirit.