Bilangan 2:34

2:34 So the Israelites did according to all that the Lord commanded Moses; that is the way ¹  they camped under their standards, and that is the way they traveled, each with his clan and family.

Bilangan 3:7

3:7 They are responsible for his needs ²  and the needs of the whole community before the tent of meeting, by attending ³  to the service of the tabernacle.

Bilangan 4:19

4:19 but in order that they will live ⁴  and not die when they approach the most holy things, do this for them: Aaron and his sons will go in and appoint ⁵  each man ⁶  to his service and his responsibility.

Bilangan 5:3

5:3 You must expel both men and women; you must put them outside the camp, so that ⁷  they will not defile their camps, among which I live.”

Bilangan 5:7

5:7 then he must confess ⁸  his sin that he has committed and must make full reparation, ⁹  add one fifth to it, and give it to whomever he wronged. ¹⁰ 

Bilangan 5:12

5:12 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘If any man’s wife goes astray and behaves unfaithfully toward him,

Bilangan 6:18

6:18 “‘Then the Nazirite must shave his consecrated head ¹¹  at the entrance to the tent of meeting and must take the hair from his consecrated head and put it on the fire ¹²  where the peace offering is burning. ¹³ 

Bilangan 11:10-11

Moses’ Complaint to the Lord

11:10 ¹⁴ Moses heard the people weeping ¹⁵  throughout their families, everyone at the door of his tent; and when the anger of the Lord was kindled greatly, Moses was also displeased. ¹⁶  11:11 And Moses said to the Lord, “Why have you afflicted ¹⁷  your servant? Why have I not found favor in your sight, that ¹⁸  you lay the burden of this entire people on me?

Bilangan 11:23

11:23 And the Lord said to Moses, “Is the Lord’s hand shortened? ¹⁹  Now you will see whether my word to you will come true ²⁰  or not!”

Bilangan 14:11

The Punishment from God

14:11 The Lord said to Moses, “How long will this people despise ²¹  me, and how long will they not believe ²²  in me, in spite of the signs that I have done among them?

Bilangan 15:26

15:26 And the whole community ²³  of the Israelites and the resident foreigner who lives among them will be forgiven, since all the people were involved in the unintentional offense.

Bilangan 15:30

Deliberate Sin

15:30 “‘But the person ²⁴  who acts defiantly, ²⁵  whether native-born or a resident foreigner, insults ²⁶  the Lord. ²⁷  That person ²⁸  must be cut off ²⁹  from among his people.

Bilangan 16:9

16:9 Does it seem too small a thing to you that the God of Israel has separated you from the community of Israel to bring you near to himself, to perform the service of the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the community to minister to them?

Bilangan 16:11

16:11 Therefore you and all your company have assembled together against the Lord! And Aaron – what is he that you murmur against him?” ³⁰ 

Bilangan 16:15

16:15 Moses was very angry, and he said to the Lord, “Have no respect ³¹  for their offering! I have not taken so much as one donkey from them, nor have I harmed any one of them!”

Bilangan 18:1

Responsibilities of the Priests

18:1 ³² The Lord said to Aaron, “You and your sons and your tribe ³³  with you must bear the iniquity of the sanctuary, ³⁴  and you and your sons with you must bear the iniquity of your priesthood.

Bilangan 18:16

18:16 And those that must be redeemed you are to redeem when they are a month old, according to your estimation, for five shekels of silver according to the sanctuary shekel (which is twenty gerahs).

Bilangan 18:21

18:21 See, I have given the Levites all the tithes in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they perform – the service of the tent of meeting.

Bilangan 20:14

Rejection by the Edomites

20:14 ³⁵ Moses ³⁶  sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom: ³⁷  “Thus says your brother Israel: ‘You know all the hardships we have experienced, ³⁸ 

Bilangan 22:32

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 ³⁹  is perverse before me. ⁴⁰ 

Bilangan 23:19

23:19 God is not a man, that he should lie,

nor a human being, ⁴¹  that he should change his mind.

Has he said, and will he not do it?

Or has he spoken, and will he not make it happen? ⁴² 

Bilangan 23:24

23:24 Indeed, the people will rise up like a lioness,

and like a lion raises himself up;

they will not lie down until they eat their ⁴³  prey,

and drink the blood of the slain.” ⁴⁴ 

Bilangan 24:1

Balaam Prophesies Yet Again

24:1 ⁴⁵ When Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, ⁴⁶  he did not go as at the other times ⁴⁷  to seek for omens, ⁴⁸  but he set his face ⁴⁹  toward the wilderness.

Bilangan 24:8-9

24:8 God brought them out of Egypt.

They have, as it were, the strength of a young bull;

they will devour hostile people ⁵⁰ 

and will break their bones

and will pierce them through with arrows.

24:9 They crouch and lie down like a lion,

and as a lioness, ⁵¹  who can stir him?

Blessed is the one who blesses you,

and cursed is the one who curses you!’”

Bilangan 26:3

26:3 So Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke with them in the plains of Moab, by the Jordan River ⁵²  across from Jericho. ⁵³  They said,

Bilangan 26:19

Judah

26:19 The descendants of Judah were Er and Onan, but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan.

Bilangan 26:54

26:54 To a larger group you will give a larger inheritance, ⁵⁴  and to a smaller group you will give a smaller inheritance. ⁵⁵  To each one its inheritance must be given according to the number of people in it. ⁵⁶ 

Bilangan 30:2

30:2 If a man ⁵⁷  makes a vow ⁵⁸  to the Lord or takes an oath ⁵⁹  of binding obligation on himself, ⁶⁰  he must not break his word, but must do whatever he has promised. ⁶¹ 

Bilangan 31:3

31:3 So Moses spoke to the people: “Arm ⁶²  men from among you for the war, to attack the Midianites and to execute ⁶³  the Lord’s vengeance on Midian.

Bilangan 31:23

31:23 everything that may stand the fire, you are to pass through the fire, ⁶⁴  and it will be ceremonially clean, but it must still be purified with the water of purification. Anything that cannot withstand the fire you must pass through the water.

Bilangan 32:9-10

32:9 When ⁶⁵  they went up to the Eshcol Valley and saw the land, they frustrated the intent of the Israelites so that they did not enter ⁶⁶  the land that the Lord had given ⁶⁷  them. 32:10 So the anger of the Lord was kindled that day, and he swore,

[2:34]  ¹ tn The Hebrew word is כֵּן (ken, “thus, so”).

[3:7]  ² tn The Hebrew text uses the perfect tense of שָׁמַר(shamar) with a vav (ו) consecutive to continue the instruction of the preceding verse. It may be translated “and they shall keep” or “they must/are to keep,” but in this context it refers to their appointed duties. The verb is followed by its cognate accusative – “they are to keep his keeping,” or as it is often translated, “his charge.” This would mean whatever Aaron needed them to do. But the noun is also used for the people in the next phrase, and so “charge” cannot be the meaning here. The verse is explaining that the Levites will have duties to perform to meet the needs of Aaron and the congregation.

[3:7]  ³ tn The form is the Qal infinitive construct from עָבַד (’avad, “to serve, to work”); it is taken here as a verbal noun and means “by (or in) serving” (see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 36, §195). This explains the verb “keep [his charge].” Here too the form is followed by a cognate accusative; they will be there to “serve the service” or “work the work.”

[4:19]  ⁴ tn The word order is different in the Hebrew text: Do this…and they will live. Consequently, the verb “and they will live” is a perfect tense with a vav (ו) consecutive to express the future consequence of “doing this” for them.

[4:19]  ⁵ tn The perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive continues the instruction for Aaron.

[4:19]  ⁶ tn The distributive sense is obtained by the repetition, “a man” and “a man.”

[5:3]  ⁷ tn The imperfect tense functions here as a final imperfect, expressing the purpose of putting such folks outside the camp. The two preceding imperfects (repeated for emphasis) are taken here as instruction or legislation.

[5:7]  ⁸ tn The verb is the Hitpael perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive from the verb יָדָה (yadah), which in this stem means “acknowledge, confess sin,” but in the Hiphil (primarily) it means “praise, give thanks.” In both cases one is acknowledging something, either the sin, or the person and work of the Lord. Here the verb comes in the apodosis: “when…then he must confess.”

[5:7]  ⁹ tn The verb is the Hiphil perfect of שׁוּב (shuv, “return”). Here it has the sense of “repay” with the word “reparation” (traditionally rendered “guilt offering,” but now is understood to refer to what was defrauded). The Levitical rulings called for the guilty to restore what was taken, if it could be made right, and pay a fifth more as a surcharge.

[5:7]  ¹⁰ tn This is now the third use of אָשָׁם (’asham); the first referred to “guilt,” the second to “reparation,” and now “wronged.” The idea of “guilt” lies behind the second two uses as well as the first. In the second “he must repay his guilt” (meaning what he is guilty of); and here it can also mean “the one against whom he is guilty of sinning.”

[6:18]  ¹¹ tn Some versions simply interpret this to say that he shaves his hair, for it is the hair that is the sign of the consecration to God. But the text says he shaves his consecrated head. The whole person is obviously consecrated to God – not just the head. But the symbolic act of cutting the hair shows that the vow has been completed (see Acts 21:23-24). The understanding of the importance of the hair in the ancient world has been the subject of considerable study over the years (see R. de Vaux, Ancient Israel, 436; and J. A. Thompson, “Numbers,” New Bible Commentary: Revised, 177).

[6:18]  ¹² sn Some commentators see this burning of the hair as an offering (McNeile, Numbers, 35; G. B. Gray, Numbers [ICC], 68). But others probably with more foundation see it as destroying something that has served a purpose, something that if left alone might be venerated (see R. de Vaux, Israel, 436).

[6:18]  ¹³ tn Heb “which is under the peace offering.” The verse does not mean that the hair had to be put under that sacrifice and directly on the fire.

[11:10]  ¹⁴ sn Moses begins to feel the burden of caring for this people, a stubborn and rebellious people. His complaint shows how contagious their complaining has been. It is one thing to cry out to God about the load of ministry, but it is quite another to do it in such a way as to reflect a lack of faith in God’s provision. God has to remind the leader Moses that he, the Lord, can do anything. This is a variation on the theme from Exodus – “who am I that I should lead….”

[11:10]  ¹⁵ tn The participle “weeping” is functioning here as the noun in the accusative case, an adverbial accusative of state. It is explicative of the object.

[11:10]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “it was evil in the eyes of Moses.”

[11:11]  ¹⁷ tn The verb is the Hiphil of רָעַע (ra’a’, “to be evil”). Moses laments (with the rhetorical question) that God seems to have caused him evil.

[11:11]  ¹⁸ tn The infinitive construct with the preposition is expressing the result of not finding favor with God (see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 12-13, §57). What Moses is claiming is that because he has been given this burden God did not show him favor.

[11:23]  ¹⁹ sn This anthropomorphic expression concerns the power of God. The “hand of the Lord” is idiomatic for his power, what he is able to do. The question is rhetorical; it is affirming that his hand is not shortened, i.e., that his power is not limited. Moses should have known this, and so this is a rebuke for him at this point. God had provided the manna, among all the other powerful acts they had witnessed. Meat would be no problem. But the lack of faith by the people was infectious.

[11:23]  ²⁰ tn Or “will happen” (TEV); KJV “shall come to pass unto thee.”

[14:11]  ²¹ tn The verb נָאַץ (na’ats) means “to condemn, spurn” (BDB 610 s.v.). Coats suggests that in some contexts the word means actual rejection or renunciation (Rebellion in the Wilderness, 146, 7). This would include the idea of distaste.

[14:11]  ²² tn The verb “to believe” (root אָמַן, ’aman) has the basic idea of support, dependability for the root. The Hiphil has a declarative sense, namely, to consider something reliable or dependable and to act on it. The people did not trust what the Lord said.

[15:26]  ²³ tn Again, rather than translate literally “and it shall be forgiven [to] them” (all the community), one could say, “they (all the community) will be forgiven.” The meaning is the same.

[15:30]  ²⁴ tn Heb “soul.”

[15:30]  ²⁵ tn The sin is described literally as acting “with a high hand” – בְּיָד רָמָה (bÿyad ramah). The expression means that someone would do something with deliberate defiance, with an arrogance in spite of what the Lord said. It is as if the sinner was about to attack God, or at least lifting his hand against God. The implication of the expression is that it was done in full knowledge of the Law (especially since this contrasts throughout with the sins of ignorance). Blatant defiance of the word of the Lord is dealt with differently. For similar expressions, see Exod 14:8 and Num 33:3.

[15:30]  ²⁶ tn The verb occurs only in the Piel; it means “to blaspheme,” “to revile.”

[15:30]  ²⁷ tn The word order in the Hebrew text places “Yahweh” first for emphasis – it is the Lord such a person insults.

[15:30]  ²⁸ tn Heb “soul.”

[15:30]  ²⁹ tn The clause begins with “and” because the verb is the perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive. As discussed with Num 9:13, to be cut off could mean excommunication from the community, death by the community, or death by divine intervention.

[16:11]  ³⁰ sn The question indicates that they had been murmuring against Aaron, that is, expressing disloyalty and challenging his leadership. But it is actually against the Lord that they had been murmuring because the Lord had put Aaron in that position.

[16:15]  ³¹ 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.

[18:1]  ³² sn This chapter and the next may have been inserted here to explain how the priests are to function because in the preceding chapter Aaron’s position was affirmed. The chapter seems to fall into four units: responsibilities of priests (vv. 1-7), their portions (vv. 8-19), responsibilities of Levites (vv. 20-24), and instructions for Levites (vv. 25-32).

[18:1]  ³³ tn Heb “your father’s house.”

[18:1]  ³⁴ sn The responsibility for the sanctuary included obligations relating to any violation of the sanctuary. This was stated to forestall any further violations of the sanctuary. The priests were to pay for any ritual errors, primarily if any came too near. Since the priests and Levites come near all the time, they risk violating ritual laws more than any. So, with the great privileges come great responsibilities. The bottom line is that they were responsible for the sanctuary.

[20:14]  ³⁵ sn For this particular section, see W. F. Albright, “From the Patriarchs to Moses: 2. Moses out of Egypt,” BA 36 (1973): 57-58; J. R. Bartlett, “The Land of Seir and the Brotherhood of Edom,” JTS 20 (1969): 1-20, and “The Rise and Fall of the Kingdom of Edom,” PEQ 104 (1972): 22-37, and “The Brotherhood of Edom,” JSOT 4 (1977): 2-7.

[20:14]  ³⁶ tn Heb “And Moses sent.”

[20:14]  ³⁷ sn Some modern biblical scholars are convinced, largely through arguments from silence, that there were no unified kingdoms in Edom until the 9th century, and no settlements there before the 12th century, and so the story must be late and largely fabricated. The evidence is beginning to point to the contrary. But the cities and residents of the region would largely be Bedouin, and so leave no real remains.

[20:14]  ³⁸ tn Heb “found.”

[22:32]  ³⁹ tn Heb “your way.”

[22:32]  ⁴⁰ 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.

[23:19]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “son of man.”

[23:19]  ⁴² tn The verb is the Hiphil of קוּם (qum, “to cause to rise; to make stand”). The meaning here is more of the sense of fulfilling the promises made.

[23:24]  ⁴³ tn The pronoun “their” has been supplied for clarity; it is not present in the Hebrew text.

[23:24]  ⁴⁴ sn The oracle compares Israel first to a lion, or better, lioness, because she does the tracking and hunting of food while the lion moves up and down roaring and distracting the prey. But the lion is also the traditional emblem of Judah, Dan and Gad, as well as the symbol of royalty. So this also supports the motif of royalty as well as power for Israel.

[24:1]  ⁴⁵ sn For a thorough study of the arrangement of this passage, see E. B. Smick, “A Study of the Structure of the Third Balaam Oracle,” The Law and the Prophets, 242-52. He sees the oracle as having an introductory strophe (vv. 3, 4), followed by two stanzas (vv. 5, 6) that introduce the body (vv. 7b-9b) before the final benediction (v. 9b).

[24:1]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “it was good in the eyes of the Lord.”

[24:1]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “as time after time.”

[24:1]  ⁴⁸ tn The word נְחָשִׁים (nÿkhashim) means “omens,” or possibly “auguries.” Balaam is not even making a pretense now of looking for such things, because they are not going to work. God has overruled them.

[24:1]  ⁴⁹ tn The idiom signifies that he had a determination and resolution to look out over where the Israelites were, so that he could appreciate more their presence and use that as the basis for his expressing of the oracle.

[24:8]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “they will devour nations,” their adversaries.

[24:9]  ⁵¹ tn On the usage of this word see HALOT 517 s.v. לָבִיא.

[26:3]  ⁵² tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity (also in v. 62).

[26:3]  ⁵³ map For the location of Jericho see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.

[26:54]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “to many you will multiply his inheritance.”

[26:54]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “to a few you will lessen his inheritance.”

[26:54]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “according to those that were numbered of him,” meaning, in accordance with the number of people in his clan.

[30:2]  ⁵⁷ tn The legal construction states the class to which the law applies, and then lays down the condition: “men [man] – if….”

[30:2]  ⁵⁸ tn The Hebrew text uses a cognate accusative construction to express this: “a man if he vows a vow.”

[30:2]  ⁵⁹ tn The expression is “swear an oath” (הִשָּׁבַע שְׁבֻעָה, hishava’ shÿvu’ah). The vow (נֵדֶר, neder) was a promise to donate something of oneself or one’s substance to the Lord. The solemn oath seals the vow before the Lord, perhaps with sacrifice. The vocabulary recalls Abraham’s treaty with Abimelech and the naming of Beer Sheba with the word (see Gen 21).

[30:2]  ⁶⁰ tn The Hebrew text hasלֶאְסֹר אִסָּר (le’sor ’issar), meaning “to take a binding obligation.” This is usually interpreted to mean a negative vow, i.e., the person attempts to abstain from something that is otherwise permissible. It might involve fasting, or abstaining from marital sex, but it might also involve some goal to be achieved, and the abstaining from distractions until the vow is fulfilled (see Ps 132). The נֶדֶר (neder) may have been more for religious matters, and the אִסָּר more for social concerns, but this cannot be documented with certainty.

[30:2]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “according to all that goes out of his mouth.”

[31:3]  ⁶² tn The Niphal imperative, literally “arm yourselves,” is the call to mobilize the nation for war. It is followed by the jussive, “and they will be,” which would then be subordinated to say “that they may be.” The versions changed the verb to a Hiphil, but that is unnecessary: “arm some of yourselves.”

[31:3]  ⁶³ tn Heb “give.”

[31:23]  ⁶⁴ sn Purification by fire is unique to this event. Making these metallic objects “pass through the fire” was not only a way of purifying (burning off impurities), but it seems to be a dedicatory rite as well to the Lord and his people. The aspect of passing through the fire is one used by these pagans for child sacrifice.

[32:9]  ⁶⁵ tn The preterite with vav (ו) consecutive is here subordinated to the parallel yet chronologically later verb in the next clause.

[32:9]  ⁶⁶ tn The infinitive construct here with lamed (ל) is functioning as a result clause.

[32:9]  ⁶⁷ tn The Lord had not given it yet, but was going to give it. Hence, the perfect should be classified as a perfect of resolve.