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When Moses had completed the appointment of the elders and had asked them to accompany him
to the Tabernacle, there to receive the Holy Spirit, Eldad and Medad, two of these elders,
in their humility, did not obey his summons, but hid themselves, deeming themselves
unworthy of this distinction. God rewarded them for their humility by distinguishing them
five-fold above the other elders. These prophesied what would take place on the following
day, announcing the appearance of the quails, but Eldad and Medad prophesied what was
still veiled in the distant future. The elders prophesied only on this one day, but Eldad
and Medad retained the gift for life. The elders died in the desert, whereas Eldad and
Medad were the leaders of the people after the death of Joshua. The elders are not
mentioned by name in the Scriptures, whereas theses two are called by name. The elders,
furthermore, had received the prophetic gift from Moses, whereas Eldad and Medad received
it directly from God. 481
Eldad now began to make prophecies, saying: "Moses will die, and Joshua the son of
Nun will be his successor as leader of the people, whom he will lead into the land of
Canaan, and to whom he will give it as a possession." Medad's prophecy was as
follows: "Quails will come from the sea and will cover the camp of Israel, but they
will bring evil to the people." Besides these prophecies, both together announced the
following revelation: "At the end of days there will come up out of the land of Magog
a king to whom all nations will do homage. Crowned kings, princes, and warriors with
shields will gather to make war upon those returned from exile in the land of Israel. But
God, the Lord, will stand by Israel in their need and will slay all their enemies by
hurling a flame from under His glorious Throne. This will consume the souls in the hosts
of the king of Magog, so that their bodies will drop lifeless upon the mountains of the
land of Israel, and will become a prey to the beasts of the field and the fowls of the
air. Then will all the dead among Israel arise and rejoice in the good that at the
beginning of the world was laid up for them, and will receive the reward for their good
deeds." 482
When Gershon, Moses' son, heard these prophecies of Eldad and Medad, he hurried to his
father and told him of them. Joshua was now greatly agitated about the prophecy that Moses
was to die in the desert and that he as to be his successor, and said to Moses: "O
lord, destroy these people that prophesy such evil news!" But Moses replied: "O
Joshua, canst thou believe that I begrudge thee thy splendid future? It is my wish that
thou mayest be honored as much as I have been and that all Israel be honored like
thee." 483
Eldad and Medad were distinguished not only by their prophetic gift, but also by their
noble birth, being half-brothers of Moses and Aaron. When the marriage laws were revealed,
all those who had been married to relatives by blood had to be divorced from them, so that
Amram, too, had to be separated from his wife Jochebed, who was his aunt, and he married
another woman. From this union sprang Eldad, "not of an aunt," and Medad,
"in place of an aunt," so called by Amram to explain by these names why he had
divorced his first wife, his aunt. 484
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