Bilangan 16:37

16:37 “Tell ¹  Eleazar son of Aaron the priest to pick up ²  the censers out of the flame, for they are holy, and then scatter the coals of fire ³  at a distance.

Bilangan 22:38

22:38 Balaam said to Balak, “Look, I have come to you. Now, am I able ⁴  to speak ⁵  just anything? I must speak ⁶  only the word that God puts in my mouth.”

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; ⁷  you must not do any work on it.

[16:37]  ¹ tn Heb “say to.”

[16:37]  ² tn The verb is the jussive with a vav (ו) coming after the imperative; it may be subordinated to form a purpose clause (“that he may pick up”) or the object of the imperative.

[16:37]  ³ tn The Hebrew text just has “fire,” but it would be hard to conceive of this action apart from the idea of coals of fire.

[22:38]  ⁴ tn The verb is אוּכַל (’ukhal) in a question – “am I able?” But emphasizing this is the infinitive absolute before it. So Balaam is saying something like, “Can I really say anything?”

[22:38]  ⁵ tn The Piel infinitive construct (without the preposition) serves as the object of the verb “to be able.” The whole question is rhetorical – he is saying that he will not be able to say anything God does not allow him to say.

[22:38]  ⁶ tn The imperfect tense is here taken as an obligatory imperfect.

[29:7]  ⁷ 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.