Bilangan 11:18

11:18 “And say to the people, ‘Sanctify yourselves ¹  for tomorrow, and you will eat meat, for you have wept in the hearing ²  of the Lord, saying, “Who will give us meat to eat, ³  for life ⁴  was good for us in Egypt?” Therefore the Lord will give you meat, and you will eat.

Bilangan 11:31

Provision of Quail

11:31 Now a wind ⁵  went out ⁶  from the Lord and brought quail ⁷  from the sea, and let them fall ⁸  near the camp, about a day’s journey on this side, and about a day’s journey on the other side, all around the camp, and about three feet ⁹  high on the surface of the ground.

Bilangan 22:18

22:18 Balaam replied ¹⁰  to the servants of Balak, “Even if Balak would give me his palace full of silver and gold, I could not transgress the commandment ¹¹  of the Lord my God ¹²  to do less or more.

Bilangan 32:17

32:17 but we will maintain ourselves in armed readiness ¹³  and go before the Israelites until whenever we have brought them to their place. Our descendants will be living in fortified towns as a protection against ¹⁴  the inhabitants of the land.

[11:18]  ¹ tn The Hitpael is used to stress that they are to prepare for a holy appearance. The day was going to be special and so required their being set apart for it. But it is a holy day in the sense of the judgment that was to follow.

[11:18]  ² tn Heb “in the ears.”

[11:18]  ³ tn Possibly this could be given an optative translation, to reflect the earlier one: “O that someone would give….” But the verb is not the same; here it is the Hiphil of the verb “to eat” – “who will make us eat” (i.e., provide meat for us to eat).

[11:18]  ⁴ tn The word “life” is not in the text. The expression is simply “it was for us,” or “we had good,” meaning “we had it good,” or “life was good.”

[11:31]  ⁵ sn The irony in this chapter is expressed in part by the use of the word רוּחַ (ruakh). In the last episode it clearly meant the Spirit of the Lord that empowered the men for their spiritual service. But here the word is “wind.” Both the spiritual service and the judgment come from God.

[11:31]  ⁶ tn The verb means “burst forth” or “sprang up.” See the ways it is used in Gen 33:12, Judg 16:3, 14; Isa 33:20.

[11:31]  ⁷ sn The “quail” ordinarily cross the Sinai at various times of the year, but what is described here is not the natural phenomenon. Biblical scholars looking for natural explanations usually note that these birds fly at a low height and can be swatted down easily. But the description here is more of a supernatural supply and provision. See J. Gray, “The Desert Sojourn of the Hebrews and the Sinai Horeb Tradition,” VT 4 (1954): 148-54.

[11:31]  ⁸ tn Or “left them fluttering.”

[11:31]  ⁹ tn Heb “two cubits.” The standard cubit in the OT is assumed by most authorities to be about eighteen inches (45 cm) in length.

[22:18]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “answered and said.”

[22:18]  ¹¹ tn Heb “mouth.”

[22:18]  ¹² sn In the light of subsequent events one should not take too seriously that Balaam referred to Yahweh as his God. He is referring properly to the deity for which he is acting as the agent.

[32:17]  ¹³ tn The MT has חֻשִׁים (khushim); the verbal root is חוּשׁ (khush, “to make haste” or “hurry”). But in light of the Greek and Latin Vulgate the Hebrew should probably be emended to חֲמֻשִׁים (hamushim), a qal passive participle meaning “in battle array.” See further BDB 301 s.v. I חוּשׁ, BDB 332 s.v. חֲמֻשִׁים; HALOT 300 s.v. I חושׁ, חישׁ; HALOT 331 s.v. I חמשׁ.

[32:17]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “from before.”