Keluaran 14:11
Konteks14:11 and they said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the desert? 1 What in the world 2 have you done to us by bringing 3 us out of Egypt?
Keluaran 16:2
Konteks16:2 The entire company 4 of Israelites murmured against Moses and Aaron in the desert.
Keluaran 16:8-9
Konteks16:8 Moses said, “You will know this 5 when the Lord gives you 6 meat to eat in the evening and bread in the morning to satisfy you, because the Lord has heard your murmurings that you are murmuring against him. As for us, what are we? 7 Your murmurings are not against us, 8 but against the Lord.”
16:9 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Tell the whole community 9 of the Israelites, ‘Come 10 before the Lord, because he has heard your murmurings.’”
Keluaran 17:3-4
Konteks17:3 But the people were very thirsty 11 there for water, and they murmured against Moses and said, “Why in the world 12 did you bring us up out of Egypt – to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?” 13
17:4 Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What will I do with 14 this people? – a little more 15 and they will stone me!” 16
Bilangan 11:1-6
Konteks11:1 17 When the people complained, 18 it displeased 19 the Lord. When the Lord heard 20 it, his anger burned, 21 and so 22 the fire of the Lord 23 burned among them and consumed some of the outer parts of the camp. 11:2 When the people cried to Moses, he 24 prayed to the Lord, and the fire died out. 25 11:3 So he called the name of that place Taberah 26 because there the fire of the Lord burned among them.
11:4 27 Now the mixed multitude 28 who were among them craved more desirable foods, 29 and so the Israelites wept again 30 and said, “If only we had meat to eat! 31 11:5 We remember 32 the fish we used to eat 33 freely 34 in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. 11:6 But now we 35 are dried up, 36 and there is nothing at all before us 37 except this manna!”
Bilangan 14:1-4
Konteks14:1 38 Then all the community raised a loud cry, 39 and the people wept 40 that night. 14:2 And all the Israelites murmured 41 against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, “If only we had died 42 in the land of Egypt, or if only we had perished 43 in this wilderness! 14:3 Why has the Lord brought us into this land only to be killed by the sword, that our wives and our children should become plunder? Wouldn’t it be better for us to return to Egypt?” 14:4 So they said to one another, 44 “Let’s appoint 45 a leader 46 and return 47 to Egypt.”
Bilangan 16:11
Konteks16:11 Therefore you and all your company have assembled together against the Lord! And Aaron – what is he that you murmur against him?” 48
Bilangan 16:41
Konteks16:41 But on the next day the whole community of Israelites murmured against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You have killed the Lord’s people!” 49
Bilangan 17:10
Konteks17:10 The Lord said to Moses, “Bring Aaron’s staff back before the testimony to be preserved for a sign to the rebels, so that you may bring their murmurings to an end 50 before me, that they will not die.” 51
Bilangan 20:2-5
Konteks20:2 And there was no water for the community, and so they gathered themselves together against Moses and Aaron. 20:3 The people contended 52 with Moses, saying, 53 “If only 54 we had died when our brothers died before the Lord! 20:4 Why 55 have you brought up the Lord’s community into this wilderness? So that 56 we and our cattle should die here? 20:5 Why 57 have you brought us up from Egypt only to bring us to 58 this dreadful place? It is no place for grain, or figs, or vines, or pomegranates; nor is there any water to drink!”
Bilangan 21:5
Konteks21:5 And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness, for there is no bread or water, and we 59 detest this worthless 60 food.”
Bilangan 21:1
Konteks21:1 61 When the Canaanite king of Arad 62 who lived in the Negev 63 heard that Israel was approaching along the road to Atharim, he fought against Israel and took some of them prisoner.
Kolose 1:10
Konteks1:10 so that you may live 64 worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects 65 – bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God,
Filipi 2:14
Konteks2:14 Do everything without grumbling or arguing,
Yudas 1:16
Konteks1:16 These people are grumblers and 66 fault-finders who go 67 wherever their desires lead them, 68 and they give bombastic speeches, 69 enchanting folks 70 for their own gain. 71
[14:11] 1 sn B. Jacob (Exodus, 396-97) notes how the speech is overly dramatic and came from a people given to using such exaggerations (Num 16:14), even using a double negative. The challenge to Moses brings a double irony. To die in the desert would be without proper burial, but in Egypt there were graves – it was a land of tombs and graves! Gesenius notes that two negatives in the sentence do not nullify each other but make the sentence all the more emphatic: “Is it because there were no graves…?” (GKC 483 §152.y).
[14:11] 2 tn The demonstrative pronoun has the enclitic use again, giving a special emphasis to the question (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 24, §118).
[14:11] 3 tn The Hebrew term לְהוֹצִּיאָנוּ (lÿhotsi’anu) is the Hiphil infinitive construct with a suffix, “to bring us out.” It is used epexegetically here, explaining the previous question.
[16:2] 4 tn Or “community” or “assembly.”
[16:8] 5 tn “You will know this” has been added to make the line smooth. Because of the abruptness of the lines in the verse, and the repetition with v. 7, B. S. Childs (Exodus [OTL], 273) thinks that v. 8 is merely a repetition by scribal error – even though the versions render it as the MT has it. But B. Jacob (Exodus, 447) suggests that the contrast with vv. 6 and 7 is important for another reason – there Moses and Aaron speak, and it is smooth and effective, but here only Moses speaks, and it is labored and clumsy. “We should realize that Moses had properly claimed to be no public speaker.”
[16:8] 6 tn Here again is an infinitive construct with the preposition forming a temporal clause.
[16:8] 7 tn The words “as for us” attempt to convey the force of the Hebrew word order, which puts emphasis on the pronoun: “and we – what?” The implied answer to the question is that Moses and Aaron are nothing, merely the messengers.
[16:8] 8 tn The word order is “not against us [are] your murmurings.”
[16:9] 9 tn Or “congregation” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV); the same word occurs in v. 10.
[16:9] 10 tn The verb means “approach, draw near.” It is used in the Torah of drawing near for religious purposes. It is possible that some sacrifice was involved here, but no mention is made of that.
[17:3] 11 tn The verbs and the pronouns in this verse are in the singular because “the people” is singular in form.
[17:3] 12 tn The demonstrative pronoun is used as the enclitic form for special emphasis in the question; it literally says, “why is this you have brought us up?” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 24, §118).
[17:3] 13 sn Their words deny God the credit for bringing them out of Egypt, impugn the integrity of Moses and God by accusing them of bringing the people out here to die, and show a lack of faith in God’s ability to provide for them.
[17:4] 14 tn The preposition lamed (ל) is here specification, meaning “with respect to” (see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 49, §273).
[17:4] 15 tn Or “they are almost ready to stone me.”
[17:4] 16 tn The perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive almost develops an independent force; this is true in sentences where it follows an expression of time, as here (see GKC 334 §112.x).
[11:1] 17 sn The chapter includes the initial general complaints (vv. 1-3), the complaints about food (vv. 4-9), Moses’ own complaint to the
[11:1] 18 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
[11:1] 19 tn Heb “it was evil in the ears of the
[11:1] 20 tn The preterite with vav (ו) consecutive is here subordinated to the next verb as a temporal clause.
[11:1] 21 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] 22 tn The vav (ו) consecutive does not simply show sequence in the verbs, but here expresses the result of the anger of the
[11:1] 23 sn The “fire of the
[11:2] 25 sn Here is the pattern that will become in the wilderness experience so common – the complaining turns to a cry to Moses, which is then interpreted as a prayer to the
[11:3] 26 tn The name תַּבְעֵרָה (tav’erah) is given to the spot as a commemorative of the wilderness experience. It is explained by the formula using the same verbal root, “to burn.” Such naming narratives are found dozens of times in the OT, and most frequently in the Pentateuch. The explanation is seldom an exact etymology, and so in the literature is called a popular etymology. It is best to explain the connection as a figure of speech, a paronomasia, which is a phonetic wordplay that may or may not be etymologically connected. Usually the name is connected to the explanation by a play on the verbal root – here the preterite explaining the noun. The significance of commemorating the place by such a device is to “burn” it into the memory of Israel. The narrative itself would be remembered more easily by the name and its motif. The namings in the wilderness wanderings remind the faithful of unbelief, and warn us all not to murmur as they murmured. See further A. P. Ross, “Paronomasia and Popular Etymologies in the Naming Narrative of the Old Testament,” Ph.D. diss., University of Cambridge, 1982.
[11:4] 27 sn The story of the sending of the quail is a good example of poetic justice, or talionic justice. God had provided for the people, but even in that provision they were not satisfied, for they remembered other foods they had in Egypt. No doubt there was not the variety of foods in the Sinai that might have been available in Egypt, but their life had been bitter bondage there as well. They had cried to the
[11:4] 28 tn The mixed multitude (or “rabble,” so NASB, NIV, NRSV; NLT “foreign rabble”) is the translation of an unusual word, הֲָאסַפְסֻף (ha’safsuf). It occurs in the Hebrew Bible only here. It may mean “a gathering of people” from the verb אָסַף (’asaf), yielding the idea of a mixed multitude (in line with Exod 12:38). But the root is different, and so no clear connection can be established. Many commentators therefore think the word is stronger, showing contempt through a word that would be equivalent to “riff-raff.”
[11:4] 29 tn The Hebrew simply uses the cognate accusative, saying “they craved a craving” (הִתְאַוּוּ תַּאֲוָה, hit’avvu ta’vah), but the context shows that they had this strong craving for food. The verb describes a strong desire, which is not always negative (Ps 132:13-14). But the word is a significant one in the Torah; it was used in the garden story for Eve’s desire for the tree, and it is used in the Decalogue in the warning against coveting (Deut 5:21).
[11:4] 30 tc The Greek and the Latin versions read “and they sat down” for “and they returned,” involving just a change in vocalization (which they did not have). This may reflect the same expression in Judg 20:26. But the change does not improve this verse.
[11:4] tn The Hebrew text uses a verbal hendiadys here, one word serving as an adverb for the other. It literally reads “and they returned and they wept,” which means they wept again. Here the weeping is put for the complaint, showing how emotionally stirred up the people had become by the craving. The words throughout here are metonymies. The craving is a metonymy of cause, for it would have then led to expressions (otherwise the desires would not have been known). And the weeping is either a metonymy of effect, or of adjunct, for the actual complaints follow.
[11:4] 31 tn The Hebrew expresses the strong wish or longing idiomatically: “Who will give us flesh to eat?” It is a rhetorical expression not intended to be taken literally, but merely to give expression to the longing they had. See GKC 476 §151.a.1.
[11:5] 32 tn The perfect tense here expresses the experience of a state of mind.
[11:5] sn As with all who complain in such situations, their memory was selective. It was their bitter cries to the
[11:5] 33 tn The imperfect tense would here be the customary imperfect, showing continual or incomplete action in past time.
[11:5] 34 tn The adverb “freely” is from the word חָנַן (khanan, “to be gracious”), from which is derived the noun “grace.” The word underscores the idea of “free, without cost, for no reason, gratis.” Here the simple sense is “freely,” without any cost. But there may be more significance in the choice of the words in this passage, showing the ingratitude of the Israelites to God for His deliverance from bondage. To them now the bondage is preferable to the salvation – this is what angered the
[11:6] 36 sn The Hebrews were complaining both about the bland taste of the manna and dehydration – they were parched in the wilderness.
[11:6] 37 tn Heb “before our eyes,” meaning that “we see nothing except this manna.”
[14:1] 38 sn This chapter forms part of the story already begun. There are three major sections here: dissatisfaction with the reports (vv. 1-10), the threat of divine punishment (vv. 11-38), and the defeat of the Israelites (vv. 39-45). See K. D. Sakenfeld, “The Problem of Divine Forgiveness in Num 14,” CBQ 37 (1975): 317-30; also J. R. Bartlett, “The Use of the Word רֹאשׁ as a Title in the Old Testament,” VT 19 (1969): 1-10.
[14:1] 39 tn The two verbs “lifted up their voice and cried” form a hendiadys; the idiom of raising the voice means that they cried aloud.
[14:1] 40 tn There are a number of things that the verb “to weep” or “wail” can connote. It could reflect joy, grief, lamentation, or repentance, but here it reflects fear, hopelessness, or vexation at the thought of coming all this way and being defeated by the Canaanite armies. See Judg 20:23, 26.
[14:2] 41 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
[14:2] 42 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
[14:4] 44 tn Heb “a man to his brother.”
[14:4] 45 tn The verb is נָתַן (natan, “to give”), but this verb has quite a wide range of meanings in the Bible. Here it must mean “to make,” “to choose,” “to designate” or the like.
[14:4] 46 tn The word “head” (רֹאשׁ, ro’sh) probably refers to a tribal chief who was capable to judge and to lead to war (see J. R. Bartlett, “The Use of the Word רֹאשׁ as a Title in the Old Testament,” VT 19 [1969]: 1-10).
[14:4] 47 tn The form is a cohortative with a vav (ו) prefixed. After the preceding cohortative this could also be interpreted as a purpose or result clause – in order that we may return.
[16:11] 48 sn The question indicates that they had been murmuring against Aaron, that is, expressing disloyalty and challenging his leadership. But it is actually against the
[16:41] 49 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
[17:10] 50 tn The verb means “to finish; to complete” and here “to bring to an end.” It is the imperfect following the imperative, and so introduces a purpose clause (as a final imperfect).
[17:10] 51 tn This is another final imperfect in a purpose clause.
[20:3] 52 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] 53 tn Heb “and they said, saying.”
[20:3] 54 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.
[20:4] 55 tn Heb “and why….” The conjunction seems to be recording another thing that the people said in their complaint against Moses.
[20:4] 56 tn The clause uses the infinitive construct with the lamed (ל) preposition. The clause would be a result clause in this sentence: “Why have you brought us here…with the result that we will all die?”
[20:5] 58 tn Here also the infinitive construct (Hiphil) forms the subordinate clause of the preceding interrogative clause.
[21:5] 60 tn The Israelites’ opinion about the manna was clear enough – “worthless.” The word used is קְלֹקֵל (qÿloqel, “good for nothing, worthless, miserable”).
[21:1] 61 sn This chapter has several events in it: the victory over Arad (vv. 1-3), the plague of serpents (vv. 4-9), the approach to Moab (vv. 10-20), and the victory over Sihon and Og (vv. 21-35). For information, see D. M. Gunn, “The ‘Battle Report’: Oral or Scribal Convention.” JBL 93 (1974): 513-18; and of the extensive literature on the archaeological site, see EAEHL 1:74-89.
[21:1] 62 sn The name Arad probably refers to a place a number of miles away from Tel Arad in southern Israel. The name could also refer to the whole region (like Edom).
[21:1] 63 tn Or “the south”; “Negev” has become a technical name for the southern desert region and is still in use in modern times.
[1:10] 64 tn The infinitive περιπατῆσαι (peripathsai, “to walk, to live, to live one’s life”) is best taken as an infinitive of purpose related to “praying” (προσευχόμενοι, proseucomenoi) and “asking” (αἰτούμενοι, aitoumenoi) in v. 9 and is thus translated as “that you may live.”
[1:10] 65 tn BDAG 129 s.v. ἀρεσκεία states that ἀρεσκείαν (areskeian) refers to a “desire to please εἰς πᾶσαν ἀ. to please (the Lord) in all respects Col 1:10.”
[1:16] 66 tn “And” is not in Greek, but is supplied for the sake of English style.
[1:16] 67 tn Or “going.” Though the participle is anarthrous, so also is the subject. Thus, the participle could be either adverbial or adjectival.
[1:16] 68 tn Grk “(who go/going) according to their own lusts.”
[1:16] 69 tn Grk “and their mouth speaks bombastic things.”
[1:16] sn They give bombastic speeches. The idiom of opening one’s mouth in the NT often implied a public oration from a teacher or one in authority. Cf. Matt 5:2; Luke 4:22; Acts 1:16; 3:18; 10:34; Eph 6:19; Rev 13:5-6.
[1:16] 70 sn Enchanting folks (Grk “awing faces”) refers to the fact that the speeches of these false teachers are powerful and seductive.
