Bilangan 3:3

3:3 These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed ¹  priests, whom he consecrated ²  to minister as priests. ³ 

Bilangan 4:45

4:45 These are those numbered from the families of the Merarites, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the word of the Lord by the authority of Moses.

Bilangan 10:18

Journey Arrangements for the Tribes

10:18 The standard of the camp of Reuben set out according to their companies; over his company was Elizur son of Shedeur.

Bilangan 10:22

10:22 And the standard of the camp of the Ephraimites set out according to their companies; over his company was Elishama son of Ammihud.

Bilangan 18:14

18:14 “Everything devoted ⁴  in Israel will be yours.

Bilangan 25:3

25:3 When Israel joined themselves to Baal-peor, ⁵  the anger of the Lord flared up against Israel.

Bilangan 26:7

26:7 These were the families of the Reubenites; and those numbered of them were 43,730. ⁶ 

Bilangan 26:20

26:20 And the Judahites by their families were: from Shelah, the family of the Shelahites; from Perez, the family of the Perezites; and from Zerah, the family of the Zerahites.

Bilangan 26:22

26:22 These were the families of Judah according to those numbered of them, 76,500. ⁷ 

Bilangan 26:25

26:25 These were the families of Issachar, according to those numbered of them, 64,300. ⁸ 

Bilangan 26:34

26:34 These were the families of Manasseh; those numbered of them were 52,700. ⁹ 

Bilangan 26:47

26:47 These are the families of the Asherites, according to those numbered of them, 53,400. ¹⁰ 

Bilangan 28:16

Passover and Unleavened Bread

28:16 “‘On the fourteenth day of the first month is the Lord’s Passover.

Bilangan 31:2

31:2 “Exact vengeance ¹¹  for the Israelites on the Midianites ¹²  – after that you will be gathered to your people.” ¹³ 

Bilangan 31:18

31:18 But all the young women ¹⁴  who have not had sexual intercourse with a man ¹⁵  will be yours. ¹⁶ 

Bilangan 32:18

32:18 We will not return to our homes until every Israelite has his inheritance.

Bilangan 32:37

32:37 The Reubenites rebuilt Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim,

[3:3]  ¹ tn The verb מָשַׁח (mashakh) means “to anoint”; here the form modifies the “priests.” The service of consecration was carried out with anointing oil (Exod 30:30). The verb is used for the anointing of kings as well as priests in the OT, and so out of that derived the technical title “Messiah” for the coming ideal king – the “Anointed One.”

[3:3]  ² tn In this verse the expression is in a relative clause: “who he filled their hand” means “whose hands he filled,” or “whom he consecrated.” The idiomatic expression used here is from Lev 8; it literally is “he filled their hand” (מִלֵּא יָדָם, mille’ yadam). In the ordination service Moses placed some of the meat from the sacrifice in the hand of the ordinand, and this signified what he was going to be about – having his hand full, or being consecrated to the priesthood. There is some evidence that this practice or expression was also known in Mesopotamia. In modern ordination services a NT or a Bible may be placed in the ordinand’s hand – it is what the ministry will be about.

[3:3]  ³ tn The form is an infinitival construction for the word for the priest, showing the purpose for the filling of the hands.

[18:14]  ⁴ tn The “ban” (חֵרֶם, kherem) in Hebrew describes that which is exclusively the Lord’s, either for his sanctuary use, or for his destruction. It seems to refer to an individual’s devoting something freely to God.

[25:3]  ⁵ tn The verb is “yoked” to Baal-peor. The word is unusual, and may suggest the physical, ritual participation described below. It certainly shows that they acknowledge the reality of the local god.

[25:3]  sn The evidence indicates that Moab was part of the very corrupt Canaanite world, a world that was given over to the fertility ritual of the times.

[26:7]  ⁶ sn The Reubenites had decreased from 46,500 to 43,730.

[26:22]  ⁷ sn The Judahites increased from 74,600 to 76,500.

[26:25]  ⁸ sn The Issacharites increased from 54,400 to 64,300.

[26:34]  ⁹ sn The Manassehites increased from 32,200 to 52,700.

[26:47]  ¹⁰ sn The Asherites increased from 41,500 to 53,400.

[31:2]  ¹¹ tn The imperative is followed by its cognate accusative to stress this vengeance. The Midianites had attempted to destroy Israel with their corrupt pagan practices, and now will be judged. The accounts indicate that the effort by Midian was calculated and evil.

[31:2]  ¹² sn The war was commanded by the Lord and was to be divine vengeance on the Midianites. So it was holy war. No Israelites then could take spoils in this – it was not a time for plunder and aggrandizement. It was part of the judgment of God upon those who would destroy or pervert his plan and his people.

[31:2]  ¹³ sn This would be the last major enterprise that Moses would have to undertake. He would soon die and “be gathered to his people” as Aaron was.

[31:18]  ¹⁴ tn Or “girls.” The Hebrew indicates they would be female children, making the selection easy.

[31:18]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “who have not known [a] man by lying with a man.”

[31:18]  ¹⁶ sn Many contemporary scholars see this story as fictitious, composed by the Jews during the captivity. According to this interpretation, the spoils of war here indicate the wealth of the Jews in captivity, which was to be given to the Levites and priests for the restoration of the sanctuary in Jerusalem. The conclusion drawn from this interpretation is that returning Jews had the same problem as the earlier ones: to gain a foothold in the land. Against this interpretation of the account is a lack of hard evidence, a lack which makes this interpretation appear contrived and subjective. If this was the intent of a later writer, he surely could have stated this more clearly than by making up such a story.