And the LORD spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they were come out of the land of Egypt, saying,

NUMBERS 9:1KJV
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Numbers 9:1 (KJV)

What does Numbers 9:1 mean?

Numbers 9:1 introduces a message from the LORD to Moses during Israel’s journey after leaving Egypt. Its date and location place the message while the people are still at Sinai, before they continue their journey.

The sentence ends with “saying,” so the message itself follows in the next verse. The first month is the month in which Israel had left Egypt the year before; the timing places the coming instructions close to the anniversary of that departure.

The Hebrew behind Numbers 9:1

  • “LORD” — יְהוָה (YHWH): This is God’s personal name in the Hebrew text. The KJV prints it as “LORD” in capital letters, distinguishing it from a general title.
  • “wilderness” — מִדְבָּר (midbar): This word refers to wild or uncultivated land. It helps picture Sinai as a region outside settled towns, where Israel was camped.

Why Numbers 9:1 matters

  • The date helps readers follow the order of events. Numbers 1:1 is set in the second month of the same year, so the message in Numbers 9:1 comes before that earlier scene in the book.
  • The setting connects the coming instructions with Israel’s departure from Egypt. In Numbers 9:2–3, the LORD tells the people to keep Passover at its appointed time, during the same month named in verse 1.

Where else these words appear

“Sinai” Hebrew H5514 · used in 34 verses

  • Exodus 16:1 And they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt.
  • Exodus 34:29 And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses' hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him.
  • Numbers 9:5 And they kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the first month at even in the wilderness of Sinai: according to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so did the children of Israel.