Bilangan 16:15

16:15 Moses was very angry, and he said to the Lord, “Have no respect ¹  for their offering! I have not taken so much as one donkey from them, nor have I harmed any one of them!”

Bilangan 22:21-23

22:21 So Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the princes of Moab.

God Opposes Balaam

22:22 Then God’s anger was kindled ²  because he went, and the angel of the Lord stood in the road to oppose ³  him. Now he was riding on his donkey and his two servants were with him. 22:23 And the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with ⁴  his sword drawn in his hand, so the donkey turned aside from the road and went into the field. But Balaam beat the donkey, to make her turn back to the road.

Bilangan 22:25-30

22:25 And when the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she pressed herself into the wall, and crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall. So he beat her again. ⁵ 

22:26 Then the angel of the Lord went farther, and stood in a narrow place, where there was no way to turn either to the right or to the left. 22:27 When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she crouched down under Balaam. Then Balaam was angry, and he beat his donkey with a staff.

22:28 Then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you that you have beaten me these three times?” 22:29 And Balaam said to the donkey, “You have made me look stupid; I wish ⁶  there were a sword in my hand, for I would kill you right now.” 22:30 The donkey said to Balaam, “Am not I your donkey that you have ridden ever since I was yours until this day? Have I ever attempted ⁷  to treat you this way?” ⁸  And he said, “No.”

Bilangan 22:32-33

22:32 The angel of the Lord said to him, “Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? Look, I came out to oppose you because what you are doing ⁹  is perverse before me. ¹⁰  22:33 The donkey saw me and turned from me these three times. If ¹¹  she had not turned from me, I would have killed you but saved her alive.”

Bilangan 31:28

31:28 “You must exact ¹²  a tribute for the Lord from the fighting men who went out to battle: one life out of five hundred, from the people, the cattle, and from the donkeys and the sheep.

Bilangan 31:30

31:30 From the Israelites’ half-share you are to take one portion out of fifty of the people, the cattle, the donkeys, and the sheep – from every kind of animal – and you are to give them to the Levites, who are responsible for the care of the Lord’s tabernacle.”

Bilangan 31:32

31:32 The spoil that remained of the plunder which the fighting men ¹³  had gathered ¹⁴  was 675,000 sheep,

Bilangan 31:34

31:34 61,000 donkeys,

Bilangan 31:36

31:36 The half-portion of those who went to war numbered 337,500 sheep;

Bilangan 31:39

31:39 The donkeys were 30,500, of which the Lord’s tribute was 61.

Bilangan 31:42

31:42 From the Israelites’ half-share that Moses had separated from the fighting men, ¹⁵ 

Bilangan 31:45

31:45 30,500 donkeys,

[16:15]  ¹ tn The verb means “to turn toward”; it is a figurative expression that means “to pay attention to” or “to have regard for.” So this is a prayer against Dathan and Abiram.

[22:22]  ² sn God’s anger now seems to contradict the permission he gave Balaam just before this. Some commentators argue that God’s anger is a response to Balaam’s character in setting out – which the Bible does not explain. God saw in him greed and pleasure for the riches, which is why he was so willing to go.

[22:22]  ³ tn The word is שָׂטָן (satan, “to be an adversary, to oppose”).

[22:23]  ⁴ tn The word has the conjunction “and” on the noun, indicating this is a disjunctive vav (ו), here serving as a circumstantial clause.

[22:25]  ⁵ tn Heb “he added to beat her,” another verbal hendiadys.

[22:29]  ⁶ tn The optative clause is introduced with the particle לוּ (lu).

[22:30]  ⁷ tn Here the Hiphil perfect is preceded by the Hiphil infinitive absolute for emphasis in the sentence.

[22:30]  ⁸ tn Heb “to do thus to you.”

[22:32]  ⁹ tn Heb “your way.”

[22:32]  ¹⁰ tn The verb יָרַט (yarat) occurs only here and in Job 16:11. Balaam is embarking on a foolish mission with base motives. The old rendering “perverse” is still acceptable.

[22:33]  ¹¹ tc Many commentators consider אוּלַי (’ulay, “perhaps”) to be a misspelling in the MT in place of לוּלֵי (luley, “if not”).

[31:28]  ¹² tn The verb is the Hiphil, “you shall cause to be taken up.” The perfect with vav (ו) continues the sequence of the instructions. This raised offering was to be a tax of one-fifth of one percent for the Lord.

[31:32]  ¹³ tn Heb “people.”

[31:32]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “had plundered.”

[31:42]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the men who were fighting.”