Sforno on Numbers 12:8/ספורנו על במדבר י״ב:ח׳

1This is the meaning of the expression פה אל פה אדבר בו, “I speak to him as if one mouth to another mouth.” When he experiences prophetic insights he does not have to take leave of his senses and be put to sleep so that his senses have first become neutralised.

2ומראה, a clear vision (masculine mode of the word), something our sages refer to as “a clear picture, visual image.” (compare Yevamot 49).

3ולא בחידות, neither in riddles, such as parables, sometimes even having to be helped to understand the meaning of the parables. (Zecharyah 4,5) Other prophets understood such parables without an angel being needed to help them, such as Jeremiah 1,12 who was told that he had correctly understood the vision which had been granted him in the form of a parable. Bileam also sometimes revealed the parable he himself had been shown as the Divine message (Numbers 23,7) he was revealing.

4ותמונת ה' יביט, all of the aforementioned Moses experiences as a direct communication from G’d in His capacity as “hashem, i.e. the Essence.” He was distinct from Bileam who received the message not clearly formulated but only expressed in the guise of a parable.

5ומדוע לא יראתם, if you have not been afraid to speak as you did this could only be due to something evil in your heart. For, if you thought that I am certainly aware of Moses’ deeds you must have mistakenly concluded that I find pleasure in the wicked. This is exactly the reverse of what you should have been thinking. You should have thought that in view of Moses’ position and the miracles he performed in My name that I would not have allowed him to do this unless I had thought that he was worthy of such a lofty position. If, perchance, you thought that I am unaware of Moses’ past deeds and that you know more about this than I do, and that is why I considered him fit for his lofty position whereas in fact he is not, you would be far more guilty of an error than the error you kept accusing Moses of.