This is my favorite verse in the entire Bible.
No, it doesn’t speak of great riches in faith. It doesn’t talk about God’s power and glory and majesty. It doesn’t address our common salvation or how great the Word is.
Instead, it’s a verse that talks about Moses’ humility. That seems like it was written by himself.
Get the irony?
It’s technically against the rules of any claim to humility to call yourself the most humble person. That’s like bragging about how you never brag, or lying about never lying. It defeats the whole purpose.
The only reason this verse makes any sense (and is true) is if it’s not written by Moses himself, but was a later add-on by someone else. And, given the fact that it’s in parentheses, that seems like the case.
We know that at least one other passage of the Torah was written by someone besides Moses. Deuteronomy 34 describes his death, his funeral and burial, and then the transference of power to Joshua. Moses obviously couldn’t have written that about himself, so traditionally, that section has been ascribed to Joshua.
Now, does that mean that Moses couldn’t have wrote it about himself? Not at all. In fact, the context shows that the comment in Numbers 12:3 is actually central to the story. Moses couldn’t have claimed authority for himself because he was too humble to do so. In that line of thought, the claim isn’t braggy, but a critical fact to the story line.
Moses couldn’t have claimed authority for himself because he was too humble to do so. Since “every word is inspired” (2 Timothy 3:16-16), the real author of that verse is God, not Moses.
But let’s take it one step further: What does it really mean to be humble? As one writer famously said (even if the actual quote is summarized), humility isn’t thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less.
Moses never wanted to be the leader of this group in the wilderness. He resisted any claims to authority from the very beginning, and certainly never tried to force his way into this position—unlike Aaron, Miriam, and eventually, the Sons of Korah.
That’s why this statement is so important. Anyone who knows Moses’ personality would know that the accusations leveled against him here are false. He was just too humble to admit it.
