Nombres 12:6

Please listen to my words. נָא is interpreted strictly as a request.

If there will be your prophet. If you will have prophets.

[I,] Adonoy will make Myself known to him in a vision. The Divine Presence of My Name will not be revealed to him in the illuminated reflection, but in a dream and vision.

And He said, Hear now My words, while I speak. Have any of the prophets who have arisen from the days of old been spoken with as Mosheh hath been? To those (prophets) the Word of the Lord hath been revealed in apparition, speaking with them in a dream.

IF THERE BE ‘NEVI’ACHEM’ [literally “your prophet”] - if there be a prophet “among you,” as Onkelos rendered it [“if there be prophets among you”]. And Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra commented that the meaning thereof is: “if there be among you a prophet, a prophet of the Eternal,. Ibn Ezra explains it by adding the word navi (prophet), which is in construct with Hashem — “the prophet of the Eternal.” The reason why Ibn Ezra is forced to do so is because when a noun is in construct it cannot have a pronoun as a suffix, and here it says nevi’achem Hashem, the word nevi’achem having such a pronoun as a suffix. Hence Ibn Ezra adds the word navi (the prophet of), to be in construct with the noun Hashem. The sense of the verse is thus: Im yih’yeh nevi’achem ‘nevi’ Hashem. as in [the expression] and the prophecy of Oded the prophet.”, which indicates the definite article. Here it is stated: v’hanevua Oded. Hence Ibn Ezra explains it by adding the word nevuath (a prophecy of), making the sense of the phrase: “and the prophecy, a prophecy of Oded the prophet.” He has explained it well. Thus the meaning of the verse is that “even if there is a prophet among you who is a [true] prophet of the Eternal, he can only prophesy by My Great Name through a vision or in riddles.” He mentions this [“if he be a true prophet of the Eternal”] because many prophets did not attain even this [stage], but were prophets by virtue of the Holy Spirit, as it is said, The spirit of the Eternal spoke by me, this being the “hand” mentioned in connection with Ezekiel,] etc. as is explained in the words of Zechariah.

נביאכם, same as נבואתכם, “your prophecy.”

אם יהיה נביאכם, if Moses were a prophet on the same spiritual level as you presumed when you said: “G’d spoke to us also,”

ה' במראה אליו אתודע, G’d would have had to reveal Himself to him in a mirror-like vision, (feminine version of the word mareh). He would not have revealed Himself to Moses while the latter was awake, as for instance in the case of Isaiah of whom it is written in Isaiah 6,1 ואראה את ה' יושב על כסא רם ונשא, or as in the case of Michyahu who claimed to have seen G’d sitting on His throne. (Kings I 29,19) These prophets experienced their prophetic visions while they were asleep, certainly not while they were awake. Also Bileam, even though he was addressed by G’d while awake, was not addressed by the Essence of G’d but by one of His attributes, he himself only hoping that G’d as Hashem would address him (Numbers 23,3). He never attained that level of prophecy, but in response to the wish expressed in above mentioned verse we find ויקר אלוקים אל בלעם, that the attribute Elokim encountered Bileam.

'אם יהיה נביאכם ה, “if there be a prophet among you;” these words referred to their having said that they too were prophets, seeing that G–d had spoken to them both. G–d now proceeds to teach them that there are different levels of prophecy, of man’s intimacy with the Lord. G–d’s relationship with Moses, He explains, is of a different dimension altogether than that between Him and any other prophets. Other prophets receive a vision during a dream, and when waking up required the dream to be explained to them. They do not come face to face even with the vision, only with its reflection, mirror-like. In other words, they are told a parable and have to work out how the facts match what has been shown them as a parable. We find examples of this in Ezekiel 4,4, the prophet being instructed to lie on his left side. Or compare Daniel 8,13: “I heard a holy one speaking and the holy one was saying something to an anonymous one.” There are numerous examples in the Bible of such enigmatic communications emanating from the heaven but not clear in meaning. G–d tells Miriam and Aaron that Moses never receives a communication from Him which is not clear and its meaning beyond doubt.