Bilangan 4:26-27

4:26 the hangings for the courtyard, the curtain for the entrance of the gate of the court, ¹  which is around the tabernacle and the altar, and their ropes, along with all the furnishings for their service and everything that is made for them. So they are to serve. ² 

4:27 “All the service of the Gershonites, whether ³  carrying loads ⁴  or for any of their work, will be at the direction of ⁵  Aaron and his sons. You will assign them all their tasks ⁶  as their responsibility.

Bilangan 5:14

5:14 and if jealous feelings ⁷  come over him and he becomes suspicious ⁸  of his wife, when she is defiled; ⁹  or if jealous feelings come over him and he becomes suspicious of his wife, when she is not defiled –

Bilangan 6:20-21

6:20 then the priest must wave them as a wave offering ¹⁰  before the Lord; it is a holy portion for the priest, together with the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the raised offering. ¹¹  After this the Nazirite may drink ¹²  wine.’

6:21 “This is the law ¹³  of the Nazirite who vows to the Lord his offering according to his separation, as well as whatever else he can provide. ¹⁴  Thus he must fulfill ¹⁵  his vow that he makes, according to the law of his separation.”

Bilangan 7:89

7:89 Now when Moses went into ¹⁶  the tent of meeting to speak with the Lord, ¹⁷  he heard the voice speaking to him from above the atonement lid ¹⁸  that was on the ark of the testimony, from between the two cherubim. ¹⁹  Thus he spoke to him.

Bilangan 9:22

9:22 Whether it was for two days, or a month, or a year, ²⁰  that the cloud prolonged its stay ²¹  over the tabernacle, the Israelites remained camped without traveling; ²²  but when it was taken up, they traveled on.

Bilangan 10:10

10:10 “Also in the time when you rejoice, such as ²³  on your appointed festivals or ²⁴  at the beginnings of your months, you must blow with your trumpets over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings, so that they may ²⁵  become ²⁶  a memorial for you before your God: I am the Lord your God.”

Bilangan 11:17

11:17 Then I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take part of the spirit that is on you, and will put it on them, and they will bear some of the burden of the people with you, so that you do not bear it ²⁷  all by yourself.

Bilangan 11:31

Provision of Quail

11:31 Now a wind ²⁸  went out ²⁹  from the Lord and brought quail ³⁰  from the sea, and let them fall ³¹  near the camp, about a day’s journey on this side, and about a day’s journey on the other side, all around the camp, and about three feet ³²  high on the surface of the ground.

Bilangan 14:2

14:2 And all the Israelites murmured ³³  against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, “If only we had died ³⁴  in the land of Egypt, or if only we had perished ³⁵  in this wilderness!

Bilangan 15:25

15:25 And the priest is to make atonement ³⁶  for the whole community of the Israelites, and they will be forgiven, ³⁷  because it was unintentional and they have brought their offering, an offering made by fire to the Lord, and their purification offering before the Lord, for their unintentional offense.

Bilangan 15:38

15:38 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them to make ³⁸  tassels ³⁹  for themselves on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and put a blue thread ⁴⁰  on the tassel of the corners.

Bilangan 27:21

27:21 And he will stand before Eleazar the priest, who ⁴¹  will seek counsel ⁴²  for him before the Lord by the decision of the Urim. ⁴³  At his command ⁴⁴  they will go out, and at his command they will come in, he and all the Israelites with him, the whole community.”

Bilangan 30:4

30:4 and her father hears of her vow or the obligation to which she has pledged herself, and her father remains silent about her, ⁴⁵  then all her vows will stand, ⁴⁶  and every obligation to which she has pledged herself will stand.

Bilangan 30:8

30:8 But if when her husband hears it he overrules her, then he will nullify ⁴⁷  the vow she has taken, ⁴⁸  and whatever she uttered impulsively which she has pledged for herself. And the Lord will release her from it.

[4:26]  ¹ tc This whole clause is not in the Greek text; it is likely missing due to homoioteleuton.

[4:26]  ² tn The work of these people would have been very demanding, since the size and weight of the various curtains and courtyard hangings would have been great. For a detailed discussion of these, see the notes in the book of Exodus on the construction of the items.

[4:27]  ³ tn The term “whether” is supplied to introduce the enumerated parts of the explanatory phrase.

[4:27]  ⁴ tn Here again is the use of the noun “burden” in the sense of the loads they were to carry (see the use of carts in Num 7:7).

[4:27]  ⁵ tn The expression is literally “upon/at the mouth of” (עַל־פִּי, ’al-pi); it means that the work of these men would be under the direct orders of Aaron and his sons.

[4:27]  ⁶ tn Or “burden.”

[5:14]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew text has the construct case, “spirit of jealousy.” The word “spirit” here has the sense of attitude, mood, feelings. The word קִנְאָה (qin’ah) is the genitive of attribute, modifying what kind of feelings they are. The word means either “zeal” or “jealousy,” depending on the context. It is a passionate feeling to guard or protect an institution or relationship. It can also express strong emotional possessiveness such as envy and coveting. Here there is a feeling of jealousy, but no proof of infidelity.

[5:14]  ⁸ tn The word is now used in the Piel stem; the connotation is certainly “suspicious,” for his jealousy seems now to have some basis, even if it is merely suspicion.

[5:14]  ⁹ tn The noun clause begins with the conjunction and the pronoun; here it is forming a circumstantial clause, either temporal or causal.

[6:20]  ¹⁰ sn The ritual of lifting the hands filled with the offering and waving them in the presence of the Lord was designed to symbolize the transfer of the offering to God in the sight of all. This concludes the worshiper’s part; the offering now becomes the property of the priest – his priest’s due (or “raised/heave offering”).

[6:20]  ¹¹ sn The “wave offering” may be interpreted as a “special gift” to be transferred to the Lord, and the “heave offering” as a “special contribution” to God – the priest’s due. These two offerings have also inspired a good deal of study.

[6:20]  ¹² tn The imperfect tense here would then have the nuance of permission. It is not an instruction at this point; rather, the prohibition has been lifted and the person is free to drink wine.

[6:21]  ¹³ tn Actually, “law” here means a whole set of laws, the basic rulings on this topic.

[6:21]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “whatever else his hand is able to provide.” The imperfect tense has the nuance of potential imperfect – “whatever he can provide.”

[6:21]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “according to the vow that he vows, so he must do.”

[7:89]  ¹⁶ tn The adverbial clause of time is constructed with the infinitive construct of the verb “to enter” (בּוֹא, bo’) with the preposition and with the subjective genitive that follows serving as the subject of the clause. The verse is strategic in the structure of the book: At the completion of the dedication with the offerings Moses received more revelation from the Lord in the tent. This verse therefore lays the foundation for what follows.

[7:89]  ¹⁷ tc The MT is obscure here, simply giving the purpose infinitive and the prepositional phrase (“with him”). But the following clause using the Hitpael of the same verb, introducing a reflexive sense: “then he heard the voice speaking with him.” The Greek clarified it by inserting “Lord” after the word “voice.” The editor of BHS favors emendation of the form to a Piel participle rather than the Hitpael of the MT (reading מְדַבֵּר [mÿdabber] instead of מִדַּבֵּר [middabber], the Hitpael with assimilation). Most commentators agree with the change, assuming there was a mistaken pointing in the MT.

[7:89]  ¹⁸ tn The Hebrew word כַּפֹּרֶת (kapporet) has been traditionally rendered “mercy seat,” but since the ark is the footstool (see Ps 132), this translation is somewhat misleading. The word is etymologically connected to the verb “to make atonement.” A technical translation would be “place of atonement” or “propitiatory”; a more common translation would be “cover, lid” – provided that the definition “to cover” does not get transferred to the verb “to atone,” for that idea belongs to a homonym. See also Exod 25:17.

[7:89]  ¹⁹ tn The cherubim are the carved forms of the angels attached to the ark. They indicate the guarding role of this order of angels in the holy of holies. They were also embroidered on the curtains. For basic material see ZPEB 1:788-90, and R. K. Harrison, ISBE 1:642-43.

[9:22]  ²⁰ tn The MT has אוֹ־יָמִים (’o-yamim). Most translators use “or a year” to interpret this expression in view of the sequence of words leading up to it, as well as in comparison with passages like Judg 17:10 and 1 Sam 1:3 and 27:7. See also the uses in Gen 40:4 and 1 Kgs 17:15. For the view that it means four months, see F. S. North, “Four Month Season of the Hebrew Bible,” VT 11 (1961): 446-48.

[9:22]  ²¹ tn In the Hebrew text this sentence has a temporal clause using the preposition with the Hiphil infinitive construct of אָרַךְ (’arakh) followed by the subjective genitive, “the cloud.” But this infinitive is followed by the infinitive construct לִשְׁכֹּן (lishkon), the two of them forming a verbal hendiadys: “the cloud made long to stay” becomes “the cloud prolonged its stay.”

[9:22]  ²² tn Heb “and they would not journey”; the clause can be taken adverbially, explaining the preceding verbal clause.

[10:10]  ²³ tn The conjunction may be taken as explicative or epexegetical, and so rendered “namely; even; that is,” or it may be taken as emphatic conjunction, and translated “especially.”

[10:10]  ²⁴ tn The vav (ו) is taken here in its alternative use and translated “or.”

[10:10]  ²⁵ tn The form is the perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive. After the instruction imperfects, this form could be given the same nuance, or more likely, subordinated as a purpose or result clause.

[10:10]  ²⁶ tn The verb “to be” (הָיָה, hayah) has the meaning “to become” when followed by the preposition lamed (ל).

[11:17]  ²⁷ tn The imperfect tense here is to be classified as a final imperfect, showing the result of this action by God. Moses would be relieved of some of the responsibility when these others were given the grace to understand and to resolve cases.

[11:31]  ²⁸ sn The irony in this chapter is expressed in part by the use of the word רוּחַ (ruakh). In the last episode it clearly meant the Spirit of the Lord that empowered the men for their spiritual service. But here the word is “wind.” Both the spiritual service and the judgment come from God.

[11:31]  ²⁹ tn The verb means “burst forth” or “sprang up.” See the ways it is used in Gen 33:12, Judg 16:3, 14; Isa 33:20.

[11:31]  ³⁰ sn The “quail” ordinarily cross the Sinai at various times of the year, but what is described here is not the natural phenomenon. Biblical scholars looking for natural explanations usually note that these birds fly at a low height and can be swatted down easily. But the description here is more of a supernatural supply and provision. See J. Gray, “The Desert Sojourn of the Hebrews and the Sinai Horeb Tradition,” VT 4 (1954): 148-54.

[11:31]  ³¹ tn Or “left them fluttering.”

[11:31]  ³² tn Heb “two cubits.” The standard cubit in the OT is assumed by most authorities to be about eighteen inches (45 cm) in length.

[14:2]  ³³ tn The Hebrew verb “to murmur” is לוּן (lun). It is a strong word, signifying far more than complaining or grumbling, as some of the modern translations have it. The word is most often connected to the wilderness experience. It is paralleled in the literature with the word “to rebel.” The murmuring is like a parliamentary vote of no confidence, for they no longer trusted their leaders and wished to choose a new leader and return. This “return to Egypt” becomes a symbol of their lack of faith in the Lord.

[14:2]  ³⁴ tn The optative is expressed by לוּ (lu) and then the verb, here the perfect tense מַתְנוּ (matnu) – “O that we had died….” Had they wanted to die in Egypt they should not have cried out to the Lord to deliver them from bondage. Here the people became consumed with the fear and worry of what lay ahead, and in their panic they revealed a lack of trust in God.

[14:2]  ³⁵ tn Heb “died.”

[15:25]  ³⁶ tn The verb is the Piel perfect with vav (ו) consecutive (וְכִפֶּר, vÿkhipper) to continue the instruction of the passage: “the priest shall make atonement,” meaning the priest is to make atonement for the sin (thus the present translation). This verb means “to expiate,” “to atone for,” “to pacify.” It describes the ritual events by which someone who was separated from the holy Lord God could find acceptance into his presence through the sacrificial blood of the substitutionary animal. See Lev 1 and Num 17:6-15.

[15:25]  ³⁷ tn Or “they will be forgiven.”

[15:38]  ³⁸ tn The construction uses the imperative followed by perfect tenses with vav (ו) consecutives. The first perfect tense may be translated as the imperative, but the second, being a third common plural form, has to be subordinated as a purpose clause, or as the object of the preceding verb: “speak…and say…that they make.”

[15:38]  ³⁹ sn This is a reference to the צִיצִת (tsitsit), the fringes on the borders of the robes. They were meant to hang from the corners of the upper garment (Deut 22:12), which was worn on top of the clothing. The tassel was probably made by twisting the overhanging threads of the garment into a knot that would hang down. This was a reminder of the covenant. The tassels were retained down through history, and today more elaborate prayer shawls with tassels are worn during prayer. For more information, see F. J. Stephens, “The Ancient Significance of Sisith,” JBL 50 (1931): 59-70; and S. Bertman, “Tasselled Garments in the Ancient East Mediterranean,” BA 24 (1961): 119-28.

[15:38]  ⁴⁰ sn The blue color may represent the heavenly origin of the Law, or perhaps, since it is a royal color, the majesty of the Lord.

[27:21]  ⁴¹ tn The passage simply has “and he will ask,” but Eleazar is clearly the subject now.

[27:21]  ⁴² tn Heb “ask.”

[27:21]  ⁴³ sn The new leader would not have the privilege that Moses had in speaking to God face to face. Rather, he would have to inquire of the Lord through the priest, and the priest would seek a decision by means of the Urim. The Urim and the Thummim were the sacred lots that the priest had in his pouch, the “breastplate” as it has traditionally been called. Since the Law had now been fully established, there would be fewer cases that the leader would need further rulings. Now it would simply be seeking the Lord’s word for matters such as whether to advance or not. The size, shape or substance of these objects is uncertain. See further C. Van Dam, The Urim and Thummim.

[27:21]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “mouth,” meaning what he will say.

[30:4]  ⁴⁵ tn The intent of this expression is that he does not object to the vow.

[30:4]  ⁴⁶ tn The verb קוּם (qum) is best translated “stand” here, but the idea with it is that what she vows is established as a genuine oath with the father’s approval (or acquiescence).

[30:8]  ⁴⁷ tn The verb is the Hiphil perfect with a vav (ו) consecutive from the verb פָּרַר (parar, “to annul”). The verb functions here as the equivalent of an imperfect tense; here it is the apodosis following the conditional clause – if this is the case, then this is what will happen.

[30:8]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “which [she is] under it.”