Bilangan 3:8-9

3:8 And they are responsible for all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and for the needs of the Israelites, as they serve ¹  in the tabernacle. 3:9 You are to assign ²  the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they will be assigned exclusively ³  to him out of all ⁴  the Israelites.

Bilangan 3:15

3:15 “Number the Levites by their clans ⁵  and their families; every male from a month old and upward you are to number.” ⁶ 

Bilangan 3:22

3:22 Those of them who were numbered, counting every male from a month old and upward, were 7,500.

Bilangan 4:8

4:8 They must spread over them a scarlet cloth, and cover the same with a covering of fine leather; and they must insert its poles.

Bilangan 4:10

4:10 Then they must put it with all its utensils in a covering of fine leather, and put it on a carrying beam. ⁷ 

Bilangan 5:10

5:10 Every man’s holy things ⁸  will be his; whatever any man gives the priest will be his.’”

Bilangan 6:7

6:7 He must not defile himself even ⁹  for his father or his mother or his brother or his sister if they die, ¹⁰  because the separation ¹¹  for ¹²  his God is on his head.

Bilangan 7:5

7:5 “Receive these gifts ¹³  from them, that they may be ¹⁴  used in doing the work ¹⁵  of the tent of meeting; and you must give them to the Levites, to every man ¹⁶  as his service requires.” ¹⁷ 

Bilangan 7:9

7:9 But to the Kohathites he gave none, because the service of the holy things, which they carried ¹⁸  on their shoulders, was their responsibility. ¹⁹ 

Bilangan 7:55

7:55 His offering was one silver platter weighing 130 shekels and one silver sprinkling bowl weighing 70 shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel, each of them full of fine flour mixed with olive oil as a grain offering;

Bilangan 7:61

7:61 His offering was one silver platter weighing 130 shekels and one silver sprinkling bowl weighing 70 shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel, each of them full of fine flour mixed with olive oil as a grain offering;

Bilangan 7:83

7:83 and for the sacrifice of peace offerings: two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five lambs in their first year. This was the offering of Ahira son of Enan.

Bilangan 7:85

7:85 Each silver platter weighed 130 shekels, and each silver sprinkling bowl weighed 70 shekels. All the silver of the vessels weighed 2,400 shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel.

Bilangan 8:9

8:9 You are to bring the Levites before the tent of meeting and assemble the entire community of the Israelites.

Bilangan 8:15

8:15 “After this, the Levites will go in ²⁰  to do the work ²¹  of the tent of meeting. So you must cleanse them ²²  and offer them like a wave offering. ²³ 

Bilangan 8:24-25

8:24 “This is what pertains to the Levites: ²⁴  At the age of twenty-five years ²⁵  and upward one may begin to join the company ²⁶  in the work of the tent of meeting, 8:25 and at the age of fifty years they must retire from performing the work and may no longer work.

Bilangan 10:17

10:17 Then the tabernacle was dismantled, and the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari set out, carrying the tabernacle.

Bilangan 10:36

10:36 And when it came to rest he would say, “Return, O Lord, to the many thousands of Israel!” ²⁷ 

Bilangan 13:28

13:28 But ²⁸  the inhabitants ²⁹  are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. Moreover we saw the descendants of Anak there.

Bilangan 14:6-7

14:6 And Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, two of those who had investigated the land, tore their garments. 14:7 They said to the whole community of the Israelites, “The land we passed through to investigate is an exceedingly ³⁰  good land.

Bilangan 14:17

14:17 So now, let the power of my Lord ³¹  be great, just as you have said,

Bilangan 14:27

14:27 “How long must I bear ³²  with this evil congregation ³³  that murmurs against me? I have heard the complaints of the Israelites that they murmured against me.

Bilangan 14:44

14:44 But they dared ³⁴  to go up to the crest of the hill, although ³⁵  neither the ark of the covenant of the Lord nor Moses departed from the camp.

Bilangan 15:10

15:10 and you must present as the drink offering half a hin of wine with the fire offering as a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

Bilangan 15:20

15:20 You must offer up a cake of the first of your finely ground flour ³⁶  as a raised offering; as you offer the raised offering of the threshing floor, so you must offer it up.

Bilangan 16:6

16:6 Do this, Korah, you and all your company: ³⁷  Take censers,

Bilangan 16:35

16:35 Then a fire ³⁸  went out from the Lord and devoured the 250 men who offered incense.

Bilangan 16:41

16:41 But on the next day the whole community of Israelites murmured against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You have killed the Lord’s people!” ³⁹ 

Bilangan 16:49

16:49 Now 14,700 people died in the plague, in addition to those who died in the event with Korah.

Bilangan 19:5

19:5 Then the heifer must be burned ⁴⁰  in his sight – its skin, its flesh, its blood, and its offal is to be burned. ⁴¹ 

Bilangan 19:22

19:22 And whatever the unclean person touches will be unclean, and the person who touches it will be unclean until evening.’”

Bilangan 20:3

20:3 The people contended ⁴²  with Moses, saying, ⁴³  “If only ⁴⁴  we had died when our brothers died before the Lord!

Bilangan 20:26

20:26 Remove Aaron’s priestly garments ⁴⁵  and put them on Eleazar his son, and Aaron will be gathered to his ancestors ⁴⁶  and will die there.”

Bilangan 21:26

21:26 For Heshbon was the city of King Sihon of the Amorites. Now he had fought against the former king of Moab and had taken all of his land from his control, ⁴⁷  as far as the Arnon.

Bilangan 21:28

21:28 For fire went out from Heshbon,

a flame from the city of Sihon.

It has consumed Ar of Moab

and the lords ⁴⁸  of the high places of Arnon.

Bilangan 22:2

22:2 Balak son of Zippor saw all that the Israelites had done to the Amorites.

Bilangan 22:24

22:24 Then the angel of the Lord stood in a path ⁴⁹  among the vineyards, where there was a wall on either side. ⁵⁰ 

Bilangan 23:26

23:26 But Balaam replied ⁵¹  to Balak, “Did I not tell you, ‘All that the Lord speaks, ⁵²  I must do’?”

Bilangan 24:3-4

24:3 Then he uttered this oracle: ⁵³ 

“The oracle ⁵⁴  of Balaam son of Beor;

the oracle of the man whose eyes are open; ⁵⁵ 

24:4 the oracle of the one who hears the words of God,

who sees a vision from the Almighty,

although falling flat on the ground ⁵⁶  with eyes open: ⁵⁷ 

Bilangan 24:7

24:7 He will pour the water out of his buckets, ⁵⁸ 

and their descendants will be like abundant ⁵⁹  water; ⁶⁰ 

their king will be greater than Agag, ⁶¹ 

and their kingdom will be exalted.

Bilangan 24:11

24:11 So now, go back where you came from! ⁶²  I said that I would greatly honor you; but now the Lord has stood in the way of your honor.”

Bilangan 25:5

25:5 So Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Each of you must execute those of his men ⁶³  who were joined to Baal-peor.”

Bilangan 26:55

26:55 The land must be divided by lot; and they will inherit in accordance with the names of their ancestral tribes.

Bilangan 28:6

28:6 It is a continual burnt offering that was instituted on Mount Sinai as a pleasing aroma, an offering made by fire to the Lord.

Bilangan 28:17

28:17 And on the fifteenth day of this month is the festival. For seven days bread made without yeast must be eaten.

Bilangan 29:18

29:18 and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, according to their number as prescribed,

Bilangan 29:21

29:21 and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, according to their number as prescribed,

Bilangan 29:27

29:27 and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, according to their number as prescribed,

Bilangan 29:30

29:30 and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, according to their number as prescribed,

Bilangan 29:33

29:33 and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, according to their number as prescribed,

Bilangan 30:9

Vows Made by Widows

30:9 “But every vow of a widow or of a divorced woman which she has pledged for herself will remain intact. ⁶⁴ 

Bilangan 31:17

31:17 Now therefore kill every boy, ⁶⁵  and kill every woman who has had sexual intercourse with a man. ⁶⁶ 

Bilangan 31:27

31:27 Divide the plunder into two parts, one for those who took part in the war – who went out to battle – and the other for all the community.

Bilangan 32:6-7

Moses’ Response

32:6 Moses said to the Gadites and the Reubenites, “Must your brothers go to war while you ⁶⁷  remain here? 32:7 Why do you frustrate the intent ⁶⁸  of the Israelites to cross over into the land which the Lord has given them?

Bilangan 32:23-24

32:23 “But if you do not do this, then look, you will have sinned ⁶⁹  against the Lord. And know that your sin will find you out. 32:24 So build cities for your descendants and pens for your sheep, but do what you have said ⁷⁰  you would do.”

Bilangan 32:26

32:26 Our children, our wives, our flocks, and all our livestock will be there in the cities of Gilead,

Bilangan 34:7

The Northern Border of the Land

34:7 “‘And this will be your northern border: From the Great Sea you will draw a line to Mount Hor;

Bilangan 34:12

34:12 Then the border will continue down the Jordan River ⁷¹  and its direction will be to the Salt Sea. This will be your land by its borders that surround it.’”

Bilangan 34:16

Appointed Officials

34:16 The Lord said to Moses:

Bilangan 35:14

35:14 “You must give three towns on this side of the Jordan, and you must give three towns in the land of Canaan; they must be towns of refuge.

Bilangan 36:11

36:11 For the daughters of Zelophehad – Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah – were married to the sons of their uncles. ⁷² 

[3:8]  ¹ tn The construction uses the infinitive construct (epexegetically) followed by its cognate accusative. It would convey “to serve the service of the tabernacle,” but more simply it may be rendered as “serving.” Their spiritual and practical service is to serve.

[3:8]  sn The Levites had the duty of taking care of all the tabernacle and its furnishings, especially in times when it was to be moved. But they were also appointed to be gate-keepers (2 Kgs 22:4; 1 Chr 9:19) in order to safeguard the purity of the place and the activities that went on there. Their offices seem to have then become hereditary in time (1 Sam 1:3); they even took on more priestly functions, such as pronouncing the benediction (Deut 10:8). See further R. de Vaux, Ancient Israel, 348-49.

[3:9]  ² tn The verb וְנָתַתָּה (vÿnatattah) is normally “give.” Here, though, the context refers to the assignment of the Levites to the priests for their duties. The form is the perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive, continuing the sequence for the imperfect of instruction.

[3:9]  ³ tn This emphasis is derived from the simple repetition of the passive participle, נְתוּנִם נְתוּנִם (nÿtunim nÿtunim). See GKC 396 §123.e. The forms serve as the predicate with the subject pronoun.

[3:9]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew text simply has the preposition, “from the Israelites.”

[3:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “the house of their fathers.” So also in v. 20.

[3:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “you are to/shall number them.”

[4:10]  ⁷ tn The “pole” or “bar” (מוֹט, mot) is of a different style than the poles used for transporting the ark. It seems to be a flexible bar carried by two men with the implements being transported tied to the bar. The NEB suggests the items were put in a bag and slung over the bar, but there is no indication of the manner.

[5:10]  ⁸ sn The “holy gifts” are described with the root of קֹדֶשׁ (qodesh) to convey that they were separate. Such things had been taken out of the ordinary and normal activities of life.

[6:7]  ⁹ tn The vav (ו) conjunction at the beginning of the clause specifies the cases of corpses that are to be avoided, no matter how painful it might be.

[6:7]  ¹⁰ tn The construction uses the infinitive construct with the preposition and the suffixed subjective genitive – “in the dying of them” – to form the adverbial clause of time.

[6:7]  sn The Nazirite would defile himself, i.e., ruin his vow, by contacting their corpses. Jesus’ hard saying in Matt 8:22, “let the dead bury their own dead,” makes sense in the light of this passage – Jesus was calling for commitment to himself.

[6:7]  ¹¹ tn The word “separation” here is metonymy of adjunct – what is on his head is long hair that goes with the vow.

[6:7]  ¹² tn The genitive could perhaps be interpreted as possession, i.e., “the vow of his God,” but it seems more likely that an objective genitive would be more to the point.

[7:5]  ¹³ tn The object is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied.

[7:5]  ¹⁴ tn The verb is the perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive; following the imperative, this could be given an independent volitive translation (“they shall be”), but more fittingly a subordinated translation expressing the purpose of receiving the gifts.

[7:5]  ¹⁵ tn The sentence uses the infinitive construct expressing purpose, followed by its cognate accusative: “[that they may be] for doing the work of” (literally, “serving the service of”).

[7:5]  ¹⁶ tn The noun אִישׁ (’ish) is in apposition to the word “Levites,” and is to be taken in a distributive sense: “to the Levites, [to each] man according to his service.”

[7:5]  ¹⁷ tn The expression כְּפִי (kÿfi) is “according to the mouth of.” Here, it would say “according to the mouth of his service,” which would mean “what his service calls for.”

[7:9]  ¹⁸ tn The verb is the imperfect tense, but it describes their customary activity – they had to carry, they used to carry.

[7:9]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “upon them,” meaning “their duty.”

[8:15]  ²⁰ tn The imperfect tense could also be given the nuance of the imperfect of permission: “the Levites may go in.”

[8:15]  ²¹ tn Heb “to serve.”

[8:15]  ²² tn The two verbs in the rest of this verse are perfect tenses with vav (ו) consecutive constructions, making them equal to the imperfect. Some commentators try to get around the difficulty of repetition by making these future perfects, “and you will have cleansed,” as opposed to a summary statement, “for thus you will cleanse….”

[8:15]  ²³ tc The Greek text adds “before the Lord.”

[8:24]  ²⁴ tn The Hebrew text has “this [is that] which [pertains] to the Levites.” “This is what concerns the Levites, meaning, the following rulings are for them.

[8:24]  ²⁵ tc The age of twenty-five indicated in v. 24 should be compared with the age of thirty indicated in Num 4:3,23,30. In order to harmonize the numbers given in chapter 4 with the number given in Num 8:24 the LXX (and perhaps its Hebrew Vorlage) has thirty in all of these references. See further G. J. Wenham, Numbers (TOTC 4), 97-98.

[8:24]  ²⁶ tn The infinitive is לִצְבֹא (litsvo’), related to the word for “host, army, company,” and so “to serve as a company.” The meaning is strengthened by the cognate accusative following it.

[10:36]  ²⁷ sn These two formulaic prayers were offered by Moses at the beginning and at the end of the journeys. They prayed for the Lord to fight ahead of the nation when it was on the move, and to protect them when they camped. The theme of the first is found in Ps 68:1. The prayers reflect the true mentality of holy war, that it was the Lord who fought for Israel and defended her. The prayers have been included in the prayer book for synagogue services.

[13:28]  ²⁸ tn The word (אֶפֶס, ’efes) forms a very strong adversative. The land was indeed rich and fruitful, but….”

[13:28]  ²⁹ tn Heb “the people who are living in the land.”

[14:7]  ³⁰ tn The repetition of the adverb מְאֹד (mÿ’od) is used to express this: “very, very [good].”

[14:17]  ³¹ tc The form in the text is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay), the word that is usually used in place of the tetragrammaton. It is the plural form with the pronominal suffix, and so must refer to God.

[14:27]  ³² tn The figure is aposiopesis, or sudden silence. The main verb is deleted from the line, “how long…this evil community.” The intensity of the emotion is the reason for the ellipsis.

[14:27]  ³³ sn It is worth mentioning in passing that this is one of the Rabbinic proof texts for having at least ten men to form a congregation and have prayer. If God called ten men (the bad spies) a “congregation,” then a congregation must have ten men. But here the word “community/congregation” refers in this context to the people of Israel as a whole, not just to the ten spies.

[14:44]  ³⁴ tn N. H. Snaith compares Arabic ’afala (“to swell”) and gafala (“reckless, headstrong”; Leviticus and Numbers [NCB], 248). The wordעֹפֶל (’ofel) means a “rounded hill” or a “tumor.” The idea behind the verb may be that of “swelling,” and so “act presumptuously.”

[14:44]  ³⁵ tn The disjunctive vav (ו) here introduces a circumstantial clause; the most appropriate one here would be the concessive “although.”

[15:20]  ³⁶ tn Or “the first of your dough.” The phrase is not very clear. N. H. Snaith thinks it means a batch of loaves from the kneading trough – the first batch of the baking (Leviticus and Numbers [NCB], 251).

[16:6]  ³⁷ tn Heb “his congregation” or “his community.” The expression is unusual, but what it signifies is that Korah had set up a rival “Israel” with himself as leader.

[16:35]  ³⁸ tn For a discussion of the fire of the Lord, see J. C. H. Laughlin, “The Strange Fire of Nadab and Abihu,” JBL 95 (1976): 559-65.

[16:41]  ³⁹ sn The whole congregation here is trying to project its guilt on Moses and Aaron. It was they and their rebellion that brought about the deaths, not Moses and Aaron. The Lord had punished the sinners. The fact that the leaders had organized a rebellion against the Lord was forgotten by these people. The point here is that the Israelites had learned nothing of spiritual value from the event.

[19:5]  ⁴⁰ tn Again, the verb has no expressed subject, and so is given a passive translation.

[19:5]  ⁴¹ tn The imperfect tense is third masculine singular, and so again the verb is to be made passive.

[20:3]  ⁴² tn The verb is רִיב (riv); it is often used in the Bible for a legal complaint, a law suit, at least in form. But it can also describe a quarrel, or strife, like that between Abram’s men and Lot’s men in Genesis 13. It will be the main verb behind the commemorative name Meribah, the place where the people strove with God. It is a far more serious thing than grumbling – it is directed, intentional, and well-argued. For further discussion, see J. Limburg, “The Root ‘rib’ and the Prophetic Lawsuit Speeches,” JBL 88 (1969): 291-304.

[20:3]  ⁴³ tn Heb “and they said, saying.”

[20:3]  ⁴⁴ tn The particle לוּ (lu) indicates the optative nuance of the line – the wishing or longing for death. It is certainly an absurdity to want to have died, but God took them at their word and they died in the wilderness.

[20:26]  ⁴⁵ tn The word “priestly” is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[20:26]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “will be gathered”; this is a truncated form of the usual expression “gathered to his ancestors,” found in v. 24. The phrase “to his ancestors” is supplied in the translation here.

[21:26]  ⁴⁷ sn There is a justice, always, in the divine plan for the conquest of the land. Modern students of the Bible often think that the conquest passages are crude and unjust. But an understanding of the ancient Near East is critical here. This Sihon was not a part of the original population of the land. He himself invaded the territory and destroyed the population of Moab that was indigenous there and established his own kingdom. The ancient history is filled with such events; it is the way of life they chose – conquer or be conquered. For Israel to defeat them was in part a turning of their own devices back on their heads – “those that live by the sword will die by the sword.” Sihon knew this, and he did not wait, but took the war to Israel. Israel wanted to pass through, not fight. But now they would either fight or be pushed into the gorge. So God used Israel to defeat Sihon, who had no claim to the land, as part of divine judgment.

[21:28]  ⁴⁸ tc Some scholars emend to בָּלְעָה (bal’ah), reading “and devoured,” instead of בַּעֲלֵי (ba’aley, “its lords”); cf. NAB, NRSV, TEV. This emendation is closer to the Greek and makes a better parallelism, but the MT makes good sense as it stands.

[22:24]  ⁴⁹ tn The word means a “narrow place,” having the root meaning “to be deep.” The Greek thought it was in a field in a narrow furrow.

[22:24]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “a wall on this side, and a wall on that side.”

[23:26]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “answered and said.”

[23:26]  ⁵² tn This first clause, “all that the Lord speaks” – is a noun clause functioning as the object of the verb that comes at the end of the verse. It is something of an independent accusative case, since it is picked up with the sign of the accusative: “all that the Lord speaks, it I must do.”

[24:3]  ⁵³ tn Heb “and he took up his oracle and said.”

[24:3]  ⁵⁴ tn The word נְאֻם (nÿ’um) is an “oracle.” It is usually followed by a subjective genitive, indicating the doer of the action. The word could be rendered “says,” but this translations is more specific.

[24:3]  ⁵⁵ tn The Greek version reads “the one who sees truly.” The word has been interpreted in both ways, “shut” or “open.”

[24:4]  ⁵⁶ tn The phrase “flat on the ground” is supplied in the translation for clarity. The Greek version interprets the line to mean “falling asleep.” It may mean falling into a trance.

[24:4]  ⁵⁷ tn The last colon simply has “falling, but opened eyes.” The falling may simply refer to lying prone; and the opened eyes may refer to his receiving a vision. See H. E. Freeman, An Introduction to the Old Testament Prophets, 37-41.

[24:7]  ⁵⁸ tc For this colon the LXX has “a man shall come out of his seed.” Cf. the Syriac Peshitta and Targum.

[24:7]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “many.”

[24:7]  ⁶⁰ sn These two lines are difficult, but the general sense is that of irrigation buckets and a well-watered land. The point is that Israel will be prosperous and fruitful.

[24:7]  ⁶¹ sn Many commentators see this as a reference to Agag of 1 Sam 15:32-33, the Amalekite king slain by Samuel, for that is the one we know. But that is by no means clear, for this text does not identify this Agag. If it is that king, then this poem, or this line in this poem, would have to be later, unless one were to try to argue for a specific prophecy. Whoever this Agag is, he is a symbol of power.

[24:11]  ⁶² tn Heb “flee to your place.”

[25:5]  ⁶³ tn Heb “slay – a man his men.” The imperative is plural, and so “man” is to be taken collectively as “each of you men.”

[30:9]  ⁶⁴ tn The Hebrew text says her vow “shall stand against her.” In other words, she must fulfill, or bear the consequences of, whatever she vowed.

[31:17]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “every male among the little ones.”

[31:17]  sn The command in holy war to kill women and children seems in modern times a terrible thing to do (and it was), and something they ought not to have done. But this criticism fails to understand the situation in the ancient world. The entire life of the ancient world was tribal warfare. God’s judgment is poured out on whole groups of people who act with moral abandonment and in sinful pursuits. See E. J. Young, My Servants, the Prophets, 24; and J. W. Wenham, The Enigma of Evil.

[31:17]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “every woman who has known [a] man by lying with a man.”

[32:6]  ⁶⁷ tn The vav (ו) is a vav disjunctive prefixed to the pronoun; it fits best here as a circumstantial clause, “while you stay here.”

[32:7]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “heart.” So also in v. 9.

[32:23]  ⁶⁹ tn The nuance of the perfect tense here has to be the future perfect.

[32:24]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “that which goes out/has gone out of your mouth.”

[34:12]  ⁷¹ tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[36:11]  ⁷² tn They married in the family as they were instructed. But the meaning of דּוֹד (dod) is not necessarily restricted to “uncle.”