Bilangan 11:29

11:29 Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for me? ¹  I wish that ²  all the Lord’s people were prophets, that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!”

Bilangan 11:1

The Israelites Complain

11:1 ³ When the people complained, ⁴  it displeased ⁵  the Lord. When the Lord heard ⁶  it, his anger burned, ⁷  and so ⁸  the fire of the Lord ⁹  burned among them and consumed some of the outer parts of the camp.

1 Raja-raja 20:35

A Prophet Denounces Ahab’s Actions

20:35 One of the members of the prophetic guild, speaking with divine authority, ordered his companion, “Wound me!” ¹⁰  But the man refused to wound him.

1 Raja-raja 20:2

20:2 He sent messengers to King Ahab of Israel, who was in the city. ¹¹ 

1 Raja-raja 2:3

2:3 Do the job the Lord your God has assigned you ¹²  by following his instructions ¹³  and obeying ¹⁴  his rules, commandments, regulations, and laws as written in the law of Moses. Then you will succeed in all you do and seek to accomplish, ¹⁵ 

1 Raja-raja 2:15

2:15 He said, “You know that the kingdom ¹⁶  was mine and all Israel considered me king. ¹⁷  But then the kingdom was given to my brother, for the Lord decided it should be his. ¹⁸ 

[11:29]  ¹ tn The Piel participle מְקַנֵּא (mÿqanne’) serves as a verb here in this interrogative sentence. The word means “to be jealous; to be envious.” That can be in a good sense, such as with the translation “zeal,” or it can be in a negative sense as here. Joshua’s apparent “zeal” is questioned by Moses – was he zealous/envious for Moses sake, or for some other reason?

[11:29]  ² tn The optative is expressed by the interrogative clause in Hebrew, “who will give….” Moses expresses here the wish that the whole nation would have that portion of the Spirit. The new covenant, of course, would turn Moses’ wish into a certainty.

[11:1]  ³ sn The chapter includes the initial general complaints (vv. 1-3), the complaints about food (vv. 4-9), Moses’ own complaint to the Lord (vv. 10-15), God’s response to Moses (vv. 16-25), Eldad and Medad (vv. 26-29), and the quail (vv. 30-35). The first part records the burning of the camp, named Taberah. Here is one of the several naming narratives in the wilderness experience. The occasion for divine judgment is the complaining of the people. The passages serve to warn believers of all ages not to murmur as the Israelites did, for such complaining reveals a lack of faith in the power and goodness of God. For additional literature, see W. Brueggemann, “From Hurt to Joy, from Death to Life,” Int 28 (1974): 3-19; B. S. Childs, “The Etiological Tale Re-examined,” VT 24 (1974): 387-97; G. W. Coats, Rebellion in the Wilderness; and A. C. Tunyogi, “The Rebellions of Israel,” JBL 81 (1962): 385-90.

[11:1]  ⁴ tn The temporal clause uses the Hitpoel infinitive construct from אָנַן (’anan). It is a rare word, occurring in Lam 3:39. With this blunt introduction the constant emphasis of obedience to the word of the Lord found throughout the first ten chapters suddenly comes to an end. It is probable that the people were tired of moving for several days, the excitement of the new beginning died out quickly in the “great and terrible wilderness.” Resentment, frustration, discomfort – whatever it all involved – led to complaining and not gratitude.

[11:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “it was evil in the ears of the Lord.” The word רַע (ra’) is a much stronger word than “displeased” would suggest. The bold anthropomorphism shows that what the Lord heard was painful to him.

[11:1]  ⁶ tn The preterite with vav (ו) consecutive is here subordinated to the next verb as a temporal clause.

[11:1]  ⁷ tn The common Hebrew expression uses the verb חָרָה (harah, “to be hot, to burn, to be kindled”). The subject is אַפּוֹ (’appo), “his anger” or more literally, his nose, which in this anthropomorphic expression flares in rage. The emphasis is superlative – “his anger raged.”

[11:1]  ⁸ tn The vav (ו) consecutive does not simply show sequence in the verbs, but here expresses the result of the anger of the Lord for their complaining. With such a response to the complaining, one must conclude that it was unreasonable. There had been no long deprivation or endured suffering; the complaining was early and showed a rebellious spirit.

[11:1]  ⁹ sn The “fire of the Lord” is supernatural, for it is said to come from the Lord and not from a natural source. God gave them something to complain about – something to fear. The other significant place where this “fire of the Lord” destroyed was in the case of Nadab and Abihu who brought strange fire to the altar (Lev 10:2).

[20:35]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Now a man from the sons of the prophets said to his companion by the word of the Lord, ‘Wound me.’”

[20:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “to the city.”

[2:3]  ¹² tn Heb “keep the charge of the Lord your God.”

[2:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “by walking in his ways.”

[2:3]  ¹⁴ tn Or “keeping.”

[2:3]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “then you will cause to succeed all which you do and all which you turn there.”

[2:15]  ¹⁶ tn Or “kingship.”

[2:15]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “set their face to me to be king.”

[2:15]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and the kingdom turned about and became my brother’s, for from the Lord it became his.”