Tucked away in the wilderness account of Numbers 10 is one of the most intriguing prophetic markers in all of Scripture—a “book within the Book.” It’s found in verses 35–36, right as the Israelites set out from Sinai under the divine guidance of the Shekhinah Cloud. But these two verses don’t just stand out for their content—they’re framed by something incredibly rare in the Hebrew Bible: two backward, upside-down Hebrew letters—called nuns (pronounced noons). Hebrew letters carry symbolic meaning, and when you see something as odd as inverted nuns inserted directly into the inspired text, it’s not just decoration, it’s a divine signal. In this case, a hidden prophecy of the Messiah’s return.
The Jewish sages write in the Talmud that these two verses, bracketed by the flipped nuns, are treated as their own separate scroll—a book within the Torah. Before moving the camp, Moses declared Numbers 10:35, “Arise, O LORD! Let Your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate You flee before You.” And when the Ark rested, Moses would declare, “Return, O LORD, to the many thousands of Israel.” These were declarations of a supernatural conquest where, as the Ark of the Covenant went ahead of the people, God would miraculously clear out Israel’s enemies as He promised in Exodus 23:27–28: “I will send My terror before you… I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you… I will send hornets before you.” But that’s not exactly what happened.
The mission is derailed by a parade of complaints, rebellion, and collapse: cravings for food, grumbling against leadership, and the catastrophic failure of the spies sent into the land. Moses even asks God to take his life out of sheer misery. Instead of having their enemies supernaturally scattered in faith, the Israelites chose the path of unbelief, rebellion and fear. The journey meant to take a few days turns into 40 years and the next generation had to conquer the land by physically fighting. So what happened to the promise? The nuns, marking off these two verses like literary time capsules, are a picture of what should have been. They describe a moment in Israel’s story that was postponed by unbelief. Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says in Talmud Shabbat 116b, “In the future, this portion will be uprooted from here… and placed in its proper place.”
In other words, this “hidden book” is a prophecy. It points toward a future time when the Messiah, the greater Moses, will rise and truly scatter His enemies. When He will return to the people of Israel in glory. That day is coming. The story wasn’t canceled—it’s simply on pause. And here’s the takeaway: though we, like ancient Israel, may delay or detour God’s plan for us through fear or disobedience, God’s promise doesn’t get erased. It waits. It waits for faith. It waits for the Messiah. And when He comes, the parentheses will close, and the story will pick up exactly where it left off. Romans 11:29 says, “For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” One day soon, the inverted nuns will no longer mark what might have been—but what finally is.
