Eldad is a biblical figure mentioned in the Old Testament, specifically in the Book of Numbers. He is recognized as one of the seventy elders chosen by Moses to assist in the governance and spiritual leadership of the Israelites during their wilderness journey. Eldad's account is brief but significant, highlighting themes of divine inspiration and the distribution of prophetic gifts.

Biblical Account

Eldad's account is found in Numbers 11:24-29. In response to Moses' burden of leading the people, God instructs Moses to gather seventy elders of Israel to share the responsibility. The Lord promises to take some of the Spirit that is on Moses and bestow it upon these elders so that they may help bear the burden of the people.

Numbers 11:24-25 states: "So Moses went out and told the people the words of the LORD. He gathered seventy men from the elders of the people and had them stand around the tent. Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and He took some of the Spirit that was on him and put the Spirit on the seventy elders. As the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied—but they did not do so again."

Eldad, along with another elder named Medad, is unique in that they did not go out to the tent of meeting with the other elders. Despite this, the Spirit rested upon them, and they prophesied in the camp. This unusual occurrence caused concern among some of the Israelites, including a young man who reported it to Moses.

Numbers 11:27-29 records: "A young man ran and reported to Moses, 'Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.' Joshua son of Nun, the attendant to Moses since youth, spoke up and said, 'Moses, my lord, stop them!' But Moses replied, 'Are you jealous on my account? I wish that all the LORD’s people were prophets and that the LORD would place His Spirit on them!'"

Theological Significance

Eldad's account underscores the sovereignty of God in bestowing spiritual gifts and the inclusivity of His Spirit. The incident with Eldad and Medad illustrates that God's Spirit is not confined to specific locations or rituals but can operate wherever He wills. Moses' response to Joshua's concern reveals a profound understanding of God's desire for His people to be filled with His Spirit and to speak His words.

This narrative also prefigures the New Testament outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, where the Spirit was given to all believers, enabling them to prophesy and speak in various tongues (Acts 2). Eldad's experience serves as an early example of the democratization of the prophetic gift, a theme that finds its fulfillment in the New Covenant.

Cultural and Historical Context

Eldad's mention in the context of the seventy elders reflects the ancient Near Eastern practice of appointing a council of leaders to assist in governance. The number seventy is often associated with completeness and represents the broader leadership structure within the Israelite community.

The prophesying of Eldad and Medad within the camp, away from the tent of meeting, may have been seen as unconventional, yet it highlights the dynamic and unpredictable nature of God's work among His people. This event would have served as a reminder to the Israelites of God's active presence and His ability to empower individuals for His purposes.

Legacy

Though Eldad is not mentioned elsewhere in Scripture, his brief appearance leaves a lasting impact on the understanding of prophetic ministry and the work of the Holy Spirit. His account encourages believers to recognize and embrace the diverse ways in which God may choose to manifest His presence and power among His people.Eldad

favored of God; love of God

Eldad

(favored of God) and Medad (love), two of the seventy elders to whom was communicated the prophetic power of Moses. (Numbers 11:16,26) (B.C. 1490.) Although their names were upon the last which Moses had drawn up, (Numbers 11:26) they did not repair with the rest of their brethren to the tabernacle, but continued to prophesy in the camp. moses, being requested by Joshua to forbid this, refused to do so, and expressed a wish that the gift of prophecy might be diffused throughout the people.

Eldad

And MEDAD, Two of the seventy elders appointed to aid Moses in governing the people. The spirit of prophecy coming upon them, they prophesied in the camp at a distance from Moses. Joshua censured them for this as an irregularity, but they were nobly vindicated by Moses, Numbers 11:24-29.

Whom God has loved, one of the seventy elders whom Moses appointed (Numbers 11:26, 27) to administer justice among the people. He, with Medad, prophesied in the camp instead of going with the rest to the tabernacle, as Moses had commanded. This incident was announced to Moses by Joshua, who thought their conduct in this respect irregular. Moses replied, "Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the Lord's people were prophets" (Numbers 11:24-30; Comp. Mark 9:38; Luke 9:49). ELDAD

el'-dad ('eldadh, "God has loved"):

One of the 70 elders chosen by Moses at the command of Yahweh to share "the burden of the people" (Numbers 11:16-25). Eldad and his companion Medad were not present with the rest at the tent of meeting, yet the Spirit rested also upon them and they prophesied in the camp (Numbers 11:26-29).

ELDAD AND MODAD, BOOK OF

el'-dad, mo'-dad:

In the Septuagint they are called Eldad and Modad. In the King James Version the names are given as Eldad and Medad; meaning "God has loved" ("God loves") and "object of love" (?).

They were two of the seventy elders chosen by Moses (Numbers 11:26), and while the others obeyed the summons and went to the tabernacle, these two remained in the camp and prophesied (Numbers 11:26). The nature of their prophecy is not recorded, and this naturally became a good subject for the play of the imagination. It furnished the basis for a lost work which was quoted by Hermas (Vis 2 3): "The Lord is near to them who return unto him, as it is written in Eldad and Modad, who prophesied to the people in the wilderness." The Palestine Targums also filled in the subject of the prophecy of Eldad and Modad, and, as they have it, it related to the coming of Gog and Magog against Israel at the end of the days. One of the Targums has the expression, "The Lord is near to them that are in the hour of tribulation." The authors of the Targums were either dependent upon that work or upon a similar tradition; and the former of these views is the more probable. Lightfoot and Holtzman think the lengthy quotation in 1 Clem 23 and 2 Clem 11 is from the Book of Eldad and Modad. The work is found in the Stichometry of Nicephorus and consists of 400 stichoi, which would make it about twice the length of the Cant.

A. W. Fortune

MODAD, BOOK OF ELDAD AND

See ELDAD AND MODAD, BOOK OF.

419. Eldad -- "God has loved," an Israelite name
... Eldad. 420 . "God has loved," an Israelite name. Transliteration: Eldad Phonetic
Spelling: (el-dad') Short Definition: Eldad. ... name NASB Word Usage Eldad (2). ...
/hebrew/419.htm - 6k

449. Elidad -- "God has loved," an Israelite name
... Word Origin from the same as Eldad Definition "God has loved," an Isr. ... Elidad. From
the same as 'Eldad; God of (his) love; Elidad, an Israelite -- Elidad. ...
/hebrew/449.htm - 6k

Eldad and Medad
... ELDAD AND MEDAD. BY REV. ALFRED ROWLAND, DD, LL.B. NUMBERS xi..24-30. Nothing
is known of these two men beyond the incident recorded ...
/.../milligan/men of the bible some lesser-known/eldad and medad.htm

Vision Second. Again, of his Neglect in Chastising his Talkative ...
... The Lord is near to them who return unto Him, as it is written in Eldad and Modat,
[75] who prophesied to the people in the wilderness.". Chap. IV. ...
/.../pastor/the pastor books first second third/vision second again of his.htm

Why Has Only one Apocalypse Been Able to Keep Its Place in the New ...
... and Enoch are quoted as authoritative in post-Apostolic literature from the Epistle
of Jude onward: Hermas quotes no work except a prophecy of Eldad and Modad ...
/.../harnack/the origin of the new testament/ 4 why has only.htm

Horasis B'
... Maximo; arnesai. Engus kurios tois epistrephomenois, hos gegraptai en to Eldad
kai Modat, tois propheteusasin en te eremo to lao. IV. 1 ...
//christianbookshelf.org/lake/the apostolic fathers/horasis b.htm

Books Printed for the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge;
... portrait 1 8 Defoe on the Plague (Abridgment of), with Evelyn's Account of the Fire
of London 1 8 Donne (Dr. John), Life of, with cuts 0 4 Eldad the Pilgrim. ...
/.../murray/kalli the esquimaux christian /books printed for the society.htm

Thou who Answerest to the Name of Abraham, in that Thou Art Made ...
... to cease. In Eldad and Medad he made known, that his good will was altogether
this that all the people should prophesy. R., Blessed ...
/.../hymns and homilies of ephraim the syrian/hymn xix thou who answerest.htm

That the Word "In," in as Many Senses as it Bears, is Understood ...
... An instance of this is seen in Saul, [1235] and the seventy elders of the children
of Israel, except Eldad and Medad, with whom alone the Spirit appears to ...
/.../basil/basil letters and select works/chapter xxvi that the word.htm

October 26 Evening
... But he . . . rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.
Eldad and Medad do prophesy in the camp. And Joshua the son of Nun . . . ...
/.../anonymous/daily light on the daily path/october 26 evening.htm

An Anonymous Sermon, Commonly Called Clement's Second Letter to ...
... comes from Rome. One is the curious use of a lost apocalypse (possibly
that of Eldad and Modat, mentioned in Hermas, Vis. II.3:4 ...
/.../richardson/early christian fathers/an anonymous sermon commonly called.htm

On the Article, and in one Holy Ghost, the Comforter, which Spake ...
... Now there were present sixty and eight, and they prophesied; but Eldad and Modad
were not present: therefore that it might be shewn that it was not Moses who ...
/.../cyril/lectures of s cyril of jerusalem/lecture xvi on the article.htm

Eldad (2 Occurrences)
... Mark 9:38; Luke 9:49). Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. ELDAD. ...ELDAD AND MODAD,
BOOK OF. el'-dad, mo'-dad: In the Septuagint they are called Eldad and Modad. ...
/e/eldad.htm - 10k

Modad
... Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia ELDAD AND MODAD, BOOK OF. el'-dad,
mo'-dad: In the Septuagint they are called Eldad and Modad. In ...
/m/modad.htm - 8k

Medad (2 Occurrences)
... Love, one of the elders nominated to assist Moses in the government of the people.
He and Eldad "prophesied in the camp" (Numbers 11:24-29). Int. ...
/m/medad.htm - 8k

Tent-circle (45 Occurrences)
... Numbers 11:26 But two men were still in the tent-circle one of them named Eldad
and the other Medad: and the spirit came to rest on them; they were among those ...
/t/tent-circle.htm - 20k

Prophesy (96 Occurrences)
... Numbers 11:26 And two of the men are left in the camp, the name of the one 'is'
Eldad, and the name of the second Medad, and the spirit resteth upon them, (and ...
/p/prophesy.htm - 38k

Runneth (36 Occurrences)
... Numbers 11:27 and the young man runneth, and declareth to Moses, and saith,
'Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.' (YLT). ...
/r/runneth.htm - 16k

Registered (21 Occurrences)
... The name of one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad: and the Spirit rested
on them; and they were of those who were written, but had not gone out to the ...
/r/registered.htm - 13k

Recorded (141 Occurrences)
... Numbers 11:26 But there remained two men in the camp, the name of the one was Eldad,
and the name of the other Medad: and the Spirit rested upon them; and they ...
/r/recorded.htm - 39k

Resteth (18 Occurrences)
... Numbers 11:26 And two of the men are left in the camp, the name of the one 'is'
Eldad, and the name of the second Medad, and the spirit resteth upon them, (and ...
/r/resteth.htm - 11k

Elidad (1 Occurrence)
... ELIDAD. e-li'-dad ('elidhadh, "God has loved"): Prince of Benjamin in the division
of the land (Numbers 34:21); perhaps the same as ELDAD (which see). ...
/e/elidad.htm - 7k

Who were Eldad and Medad? | GotQuestions.org

How many prophets are in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org

Questions about Numbers | GotQuestions.org

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