Bilangan 21:14

21:14 This is why it is said in the Book of the Wars of the Lord,

“Waheb in Suphah ¹  and the wadis,

the Arnon

Bilangan 22:19

22:19 Now therefore, please stay ²  the night here also, that I may know what more the Lord might say to me.” ³ 

Bilangan 30:1

Vows Made by Men

30:1 ⁴ Moses told the leaders ⁵  of the tribes concerning the Israelites, “This is what ⁶  the Lord has commanded:

Bilangan 32:27

32:27 but your servants will cross over, every man armed for war, to do battle in the Lord’s presence, just as my lord says.”

Bilangan 36:5

Moses’ Decision

36:5 Then Moses gave a ruling ⁷  to the Israelites by the word ⁸  of the Lord: “What the tribe of the Josephites is saying is right.

[21:14]  ¹ tc The ancient versions show a wide variation here: Smr has “Waheb on the Sea of Reeds,” the Greek version has “he has set Zoob on fire and the torrents of Arnon.” Several modern versions treat the first line literally, taking the two main words as place names: Waheb and Suphah. This seems most likely, but then there would then be no subject or verb. One would need something like “the Israelites marched through.” The KJV, following the Vulgate, made the first word a verb and read the second as “Red Sea” – “what he did in the Red Sea.” But subject of the passage is the terrain. D. L. Christensen proposed emending the first part from אֶת וָהֵב (’et vahev) to אַתָּה יְהוָה (’attah yehvah, “the Lord came”). But this is subjective. See his article “Num 21:14-15 and the Book of the Wars of Yahweh,” CBQ 36 (1974): 359-60.

[22:19]  ² tn In this case “lodge” is not used, but “remain, reside” (שְׁבוּ, shÿvu).

[22:19]  ³ tn This clause is also a verbal hendiadys: “what the Lord might add to speak,” meaning, “what more the Lord might say.”

[30:1]  ⁴ sn Num 30 deals with vows that are different than the vows discussed in Lev 27 and Num 6. The material is placed here after all the rulings of the offerings, but it could have been revealed to Moses at any time, such as the Nazirite vows, or the question of the daughters’ inheritance. The logic of placing it here may be that a festival was the ideal place for discharging a vow. For additional material on vows, see R. de Vaux, Ancient Israel, 465-66.

[30:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “heads.”

[30:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “This is the word which.”

[36:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “commanded.”

[36:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “mouth.”