Bilangan 1:51

1:51 Whenever the tabernacle is to move, ¹  the Levites must take it down, and whenever the tabernacle is to be reassembled, ²  the Levites must set it up. ³  Any unauthorized person ⁴  who approaches it must be killed.

Bilangan 4:5

4:5 When it is time for the camp to journey, ⁵  Aaron and his sons must come and take down the screening curtain and cover the ark of the testimony with it.

Bilangan 4:16

4:16 “The appointed responsibility of Eleazar son of Aaron the priest is for the oil for the light, and the spiced incense, and the daily grain offering, and the anointing oil; he also has ⁶  the appointed responsibility over all the tabernacle with ⁷  all that is in it, over the sanctuary and over all its furnishings.” ⁸ 

Bilangan 4:30

4:30 You must number them from thirty years old and upward to fifty years old, all who enter the company to do the work of the tent of meeting.

Bilangan 4:34

Summary

4:34 So Moses and Aaron and the leaders of the community numbered the Kohathites by their families and by clans,

Bilangan 10:35

10:35 And when the ark traveled, Moses would say, “Rise up, O Lord! May your enemies be scattered, and may those who hate you flee before you!”

Bilangan 11:11

11:11 And Moses said to the Lord, “Why have you afflicted ⁹  your servant? Why have I not found favor in your sight, that ¹⁰  you lay the burden of this entire people on me?

Bilangan 11:13

11:13 From where shall I get ¹¹  meat to give to this entire people, for they cry to me, ‘Give us meat, that we may eat!’ ¹² 

Bilangan 11:15

11:15 But if you are going to deal ¹³  with me like this, then kill me immediately. ¹⁴  If I have found favor in your sight then do not let me see my trouble.” ¹⁵ 

Bilangan 11:19

11:19 You will eat, not just one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days,

Bilangan 13:27

13:27 They told Moses, ¹⁶  “We went to the land where you sent us. ¹⁷  It is indeed flowing with milk and honey, ¹⁸  and this is its fruit.

Bilangan 14:31

14:31 But I will bring in your little ones, whom you said would become victims of war, ¹⁹  and they will enjoy ²⁰  the land that you have despised.

Bilangan 15:22

Rules for Unintentional Offenses

15:22 ²¹ “‘If you ²²  sin unintentionally and do not observe all these commandments that the Lord has spoken to Moses –

Bilangan 16:15

16:15 Moses was very angry, and he said to the Lord, “Have no respect ²³  for their offering! I have not taken so much as one donkey from them, nor have I harmed any one of them!”

Bilangan 16:22

16:22 Then they threw themselves down with their faces to the ground ²⁴  and said, “O God, the God of the spirits of all people, ²⁵  will you be angry with the whole community when only one man sins?” ²⁶ 

Bilangan 18:1

Responsibilities of the Priests

18:1 ²⁷ The Lord said to Aaron, “You and your sons and your tribe ²⁸  with you must bear the iniquity of the sanctuary, ²⁹  and you and your sons with you must bear the iniquity of your priesthood.

Bilangan 18:13

18:13 And whatever first ripe fruit in their land they bring to the Lord will be yours; everyone who is ceremonially clean in your household may eat of it.

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 18:30

18:30 “Therefore you will say to them, ³⁰  ‘When you offer up ³¹  the best of it, then it will be credited to the Levites as the product of the threshing floor and as the product of the winepress.

Bilangan 20:14

Rejection by the Edomites

20:14 ³² Moses ³³  sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom: ³⁴  “Thus says your brother Israel: ‘You know all the hardships we have experienced, ³⁵ 

Bilangan 21:2

21:2 So Israel made a vow ³⁶  to the Lord and said, “If you will indeed deliver ³⁷  this people into our ³⁸  hand, then we will utterly destroy ³⁹  their cities.”

Bilangan 21:24

21:24 But the Israelites ⁴⁰  defeated him in battle ⁴¹  and took possession of his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, as far as the Ammonites, for the border of the Ammonites was strongly defended.

Bilangan 23:9

23:9 For from the top of the rocks I see them; ⁴² 

from the hills I watch them. ⁴³ 

Indeed, a nation that lives alone,

and it will not be reckoned ⁴⁴  among the nations.

Bilangan 23:13

23:13 Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place from which you can observe them. You will see only a part of them, but you will not see all of them. Curse them for me from there.”

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 25:8

25:8 and went after the Israelite man into the tent ⁵⁰  and thrust through the Israelite man and into the woman’s abdomen. ⁵¹  So the plague was stopped from the Israelites. ⁵² 

Bilangan 26:58

26:58 These are the families of the Levites: the family of the Libnites, the family of the Hebronites, the family of the Mahlites, the family of the Mushites, the family of the Korahites. Kohath became the father of Amram.

Bilangan 28:15

28:15 And one male goat ⁵³  must be offered to the Lord as a purification offering, in addition to the continual burnt offering and its drink offering.

Bilangan 28:24

28:24 In this manner you must offer daily throughout the seven days the food of the sacrifice made by fire as a sweet aroma to the Lord. It is to be offered in addition to the continual burnt offering and its drink offering.

Bilangan 29:7

The Day of Atonement

29:7 “‘On the tenth day of this seventh month you are to have a holy assembly. You must humble yourselves; ⁵⁴  you must not do any work on it.

Bilangan 31:8

31:8 They killed the kings of Midian in addition to those slain – Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba – five Midianite kings. ⁵⁵  They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword. ⁵⁶ 

Bilangan 32:1

The Petition of the Reubenites and Gadites

32:1 ⁵⁷ Now the Reubenites and the Gadites possessed a very large number of cattle. When they saw that the lands of Jazer and Gilead were ideal for cattle, ⁵⁸ 

Bilangan 32:5

32:5 So they said, “If we have found favor in your sight, ⁵⁹  let this land be given to your servants for our inheritance. Do not have us cross ⁶⁰  the Jordan River.” ⁶¹ 

[1:51]  ¹ tn The construction uses the infinitive construct with the temporal preposition; the “tabernacle” is then the following genitive. Literally it is “and in the moving of the tabernacle,” meaning, “when the tabernacle is supposed to be moved,” i.e., when people are supposed to move it. The verb נָסָע (nasa’) means “pull up the tent pegs and move,” or more simply, “journey.”

[1:51]  ² tn Here we have the parallel construction using the infinitive construct in a temporal adverbial clause.

[1:51]  ³ tn Heb “raise it up.”

[1:51]  ⁴ tn The word used here is זָר (zar), normally translated “stranger” or “outsider.” It is most often used for a foreigner, an outsider, who does not belong in Israel, or who, although allowed in the land, may be viewed with suspicion. But here it seems to include even Israelites other than the tribe of Levi.

[4:5]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive construct in an adverbial clause of time; literally it says “in the journeying of the camp.” The genitive in such constructions is usually the subject. Here the implication is that people would be preparing to transport the camp and its equipment.

[4:16]  ⁶ tn This is supplied to the line to clarify “appointed.”

[4:16]  ⁷ tn Heb “and.”

[4:16]  ⁸ sn One would assume that he would prepare and wrap these items, but that the Kohathites would carry them to the next place.

[11:11]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ 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.

[11:13]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew text simply has “from where to me flesh?” which means “from where will I have meat?”

[11:13]  ¹² tn The cohortative coming after the imperative stresses purpose (it is an indirect volitive).

[11:15]  ¹³ tn The participle expresses the future idea of what God is doing, or what he is going to be doing. Moses would rather be killed than be given a totally impossible duty over a people that were not his.

[11:15]  ¹⁴ tn The imperative of הָרַג (harag) is followed by the infinitive absolute for emphasis. The point is more that the infinitive adds to the emphasis of the imperative mood, which would be immediate compliance.

[11:15]  ¹⁵ tn Or “my own ruin” (NIV). The word “trouble” here probably refers to the stress and difficulty of caring for a complaining group of people. The suffix on the noun would be objective, perhaps stressing the indirect object of the noun – trouble for me. The expression “on my trouble” (בְּרָעָתִי, bÿra’ati) is one of the so-called tiqqune sopherim, or “emendations of the scribes.” According to this tradition the original reading in v. 15 was [to look] “on your evil” (בְּרָעָתֶךָ, bÿra’atekha), meaning “the calamity that you bring about” for Israel. However, since such an expression could be mistakenly thought to attribute evil to the Lord, the ancient scribes changed it to the reading found in the MT.

[13:27]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “told him and said.” The referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:27]  ¹⁷ tn The relative clause modifies “the land.” It is constructed with the relative and the verb: “where you sent us.”

[13:27]  ¹⁸ sn This is the common expression for the material abundance of the land (see further, F. C. Fensham, “An Ancient Tradition of the Fertility of Palestine,” PEQ 98 [1966]: 166-67).

[14:31]  ¹⁹ tn Or “plunder.”

[14:31]  ²⁰ tn Heb “know.”

[15:22]  ²¹ sn These regulations supplement what was already ruled on in the Levitical code for the purification and reparation offerings. See those rulings in Lev 4-7 for all the details. Some biblical scholars view the rules in Leviticus as more elaborate and therefore later. However, this probably represents a misunderstanding of the purpose of each collection.

[15:22]  ²² tn The verb is the plural imperfect; the sin discussed here is a sin committed by the community, or the larger part of the community.

[16:15]  ²³ 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.

[16:22]  ²⁴ sn It is Moses and Aaron who prostrate themselves; they have the good of the people at heart.

[16:22]  ²⁵ tn The expression “the God of the spirits of all humanity [flesh]” is somewhat difficult. The Hebrew text says אֱלֹהֵי הָרוּחֹת לְכָל־בָּשָׂר (’elohey harukhot lÿkhol-basar). This expression occurs in Num 27:16 again. It also occurs in some postbiblical texts, a fact which has prompted some scholars to conclude that it is a late addition. The words clearly show that Moses is interceding for the congregation. The appeal in the verse is that it is better for one man to die for the whole nation than the whole nation for one man (see also John 11:50).

[16:22]  ²⁶ tn The verb is the Qal imperfect יֶחֱטָא (yekheta’); it refers to the sinful rebellion of Korah, but Moses is stating something of a principle: “One man sins, and will you be angry….” A past tense translation would assume that this is a preterite use of the imperfect (without vav [ו] consecutive).

[18:1]  ²⁷ 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]  ²⁸ tn Heb “your father’s house.”

[18:1]  ²⁹ 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.

[18:30]  ³⁰ tn The wording of this verse is confusing; it may be that it is addressed to the priests, telling them how to deal with the offerings of the Levites.

[18:30]  ³¹ tn The clause begins with the infinitive construct with its preposition and suffixed subject serving to indicate the temporal clause.

[20:14]  ³² 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]  ³³ tn Heb “And Moses sent.”

[20:14]  ³⁴ 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]  ³⁵ tn Heb “found.”

[21:2]  ³⁶ tn The Hebrew text uses a cognate accusative with the verb: They vowed a vow. The Israelites were therefore determined with God’s help to defeat Arad.

[21:2]  ³⁷ tn The Hebrew text has the infinitive absolute and the imperfect tense of נָתַן (natan) to stress the point – if you will surely/indeed give.”

[21:2]  ³⁸ tn Heb “my.”

[21:2]  ³⁹ tn On the surface this does not sound like much of a vow. But the key is in the use of the verb for “utterly destroy” – חָרַם (kharam). Whatever was put to this “ban” or “devotion” belonged to God, either for his use, or for destruction. The oath was in fact saying that they would take nothing from this for themselves. It would simply be the removal of what was alien to the faith, or to God’s program.

[21:24]  ⁴⁰ tn The Hebrew text has “Israel,” but the verb is plural.

[21:24]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “with the edge of the sword.”

[23:9]  ⁴² tn Heb “him,” but here it refers to the Israelites (Israel).

[23:9]  ⁴³ sn Balaam reports his observation of the nation of Israel spread out below him in the valley. Based on that vision, and the Lord’s word, he announces the uniqueness of Israel – they are not just like one of the other nations. He was correct, of course; they were the only people linked with the living God by covenant.

[23:9]  ⁴⁴ tn The verb could also be taken as a reflexive – Israel does not consider itself as among the nations, meaning, they consider themselves to be unique.

[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.

[25:8]  ⁵⁰ tn The word קֻבָּה (qubbah) seems to refer to the innermost part of the family tent. Some suggest it was in the tabernacle area, but that is unlikely. S. C. Reif argues for a private tent shrine (“What Enraged Phinehas? A Study of Numbers 25:8,” JBL 90 [1971]: 200-206).

[25:8]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “and he thrust the two of them the Israelite man and the woman to her belly [lower abdomen].” Reif notes the similarity of the word with the previous “inner tent,” and suggests that it means Phinehas stabbed her in her shrine tent, where she was being set up as some sort of priestess or cult leader. Phinehas put a quick end to their sexual immorality while they were in the act.

[25:8]  ⁵² sn Phinehas saw all this as part of the pagan sexual ritual that was defiling the camp. He had seen that the Lord himself had had the guilty put to death. And there was already some plague breaking out in the camp that had to be stopped. And so in his zeal he dramatically put an end to this incident, that served to stop the rest and end the plague.

[28:15]  ⁵³ tn Heb “one kid of the goats.”

[29:7]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “afflict yourselves”; NAB “mortify yourselves”; NIV, NRSV “deny yourselves.”

[29:7]  sn The verb seems to mean “humble yourself.” There is no explanation given for it. In the days of the prophets fasting seems to be associated with it (see Isa 58:3-5), and possibly the symbolic wearing of ashes.

[31:8]  ⁵⁵ sn Here again we see that there was no unified empire, but Midianite tribal groups.

[31:8]  ⁵⁶ sn And what was Balaam doing among the Midianites? The implication is strong. This pagan diviner had to submit to the revealed will of God in the oracles, but he nonetheless could be hired. He had been a part of the attempt to destroy Israel that failed; he then apparently became part of the plan, if not the adviser, to destroy them with sexual immorality and pagan ritual.

[32:1]  ⁵⁷ sn While the tribes are on the other side of Jordan, the matter of which tribes would settle there has to be discussed. This chapter begins the settlement of Israel into the tribal territories, something to be continued in Joshua. The chapter has the petitions (vv. 1-5), the response by Moses (vv. 6-15), the proposal (vv. 16-27), and the conclusion of the matter (vv. 28-42). For literature on this subject, both critical and conservative, see S. E. Loewenstein, “The Relation of the Settlement of Gad and Reuben in Numbers 32:1-38, Its Background and Its Composition,” Tarbiz 42 (1972): 12-26; J. Mauchline, “Gilead and Gilgal, Some Reflections on the Israelite Occupation of Palestine,” VT 6 (1956): 19-33; and A. Bergmann, “The Israelite Tribe of Half-Manasseh,” JPOS 16 (1936): 224-54.

[32:1]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “the place was a place of/for cattle.”

[32:5]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “eyes.”

[32:5]  ⁶⁰ tn The verb is the Hiphil jussive from עָבַר (’avar, “to cross over”). The idea of “cause to cross” or “make us cross” might be too harsh, but “take across” with the rest of the nation is what they are trying to avoid.

[32:5]  ⁶¹ tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.