Bilangan 11:2
Konteks11:2 When the people cried to Moses, he 1 prayed to the Lord, and the fire died out. 2
Bilangan 14:13-20
Konteks14:13 Moses said to the Lord, “When the Egyptians hear 3 it – for you brought up this people by your power from among them – 14:14 then they will tell it to the inhabitants 4 of this land. They have heard that you, Lord, are among this people, that you, Lord, are seen face to face, 5 that your cloud stands over them, and that you go before them by day in a pillar of cloud and in a pillar of fire by night. 14:15 If you kill 6 this entire people at once, 7 then the nations that have heard of your fame will say, 14:16 ‘Because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land that he swore to them, he killed them in the wilderness.’ 14:17 So now, let the power of my Lord 8 be great, just as you have said, 14:18 ‘The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in loyal love, 9 forgiving iniquity and transgression, 10 but by no means clearing 11 the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children until the third and fourth generations.’ 12 14:19 Please forgive 13 the iniquity of this people according to your great loyal love, 14 just as you have forgiven this people from Egypt even until now.”
14:20 Then the Lord said, “I have forgiven them as you asked. 15
Bilangan 21:7-9
Konteks21:7 Then the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord that he would take away 16 the snakes from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.
21:8 The Lord said to Moses, “Make a poisonous snake and set it on a pole. When anyone who is bitten looks 17 at it, he will live.” 21:9 So Moses made a bronze snake and put it on a pole, so that if a snake had bitten someone, when he looked at the bronze snake he lived. 18
[11:2] 2 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
[14:13] 3 tn The construction is unusual in that we have here a perfect tense with a vav (ו) consecutive with no verb before it to establish the time sequence. The context requires that this be taken as a vav (ו) consecutive. It actually forms the protasis for the next verse, and would best be rendered “when…then they will say.”
[14:14] 4 tn The singular participle is to be taken here as a collective, representing all the inhabitants of the land.
[14:14] 5 tn “Face to face” is literally “eye to eye.” It only occurs elsewhere in Isa 52:8. This expresses the closest communication possible.
[14:15] 6 tn The verb is the Hiphil perfect of מוּת (mut), וְהֵמַתָּה (vÿhemattah). The vav (ו) consecutive makes this also a future time sequence verb, but again in a conditional clause.
[14:15] 7 tn Heb “as one man.”
[14:17] 8 tc The form in the text is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay), the word that is usually used in place of the tetragrammaton. It is the plural form with the pronominal suffix, and so must refer to God.
[14:18] 9 tn The expression is רַב־חֶסֶד (rav khesed) means “much of loyal love,” or “faithful love.” Some have it “totally faithful,” but that omits the aspect of his love.
[14:18] 11 tn The infinitive absolute emphasizes the verbal activity of the imperfect tense, which here serves as a habitual imperfect. Negated it states what God does not do; and the infinitive makes that certain.
[14:18] 12 sn The Decalogue adds “to those who hate me.” The point of the line is that the effects of sin, if not the sinful traits themselves, are passed on to the next generation.
[14:19] 13 tn The verb סְלַח־נָא (selakh-na’), the imperative form, means “forgive” (see Ps 130:4), “pardon,” “excuse.” The imperative is of course a prayer, a desire, and not a command.
[14:19] 14 tn The construct unit is “the greatness of your loyal love.” This is the genitive of specification, the first word being the modifier.
[14:20] 15 tn Heb “forgiven according to your word.” The direct object, “them,” is implied.
[21:7] 16 tn The verb is the Hiphil jussive with a vav (ו) consecutive from the verb סוּר (sur); after the imperative this form may be subordinated to become a purpose clause.
[21:8] 17 tn The word order is slightly different in Hebrew: “and it shall be anyone who is bitten when he looks at it he shall live.”
[21:9] 18 sn The image of the snake was to be a symbol of the curse that the Israelites were experiencing; by lifting the snake up on a pole Moses was indicating that the curse would be drawn away from the people – if they looked to it, which was a sign of faith. This symbol was later stored in the temple, until it became an object of worship and had to be removed (2 Kgs 18:4). Jesus, of course, alluded to it and used it as an illustration of his own mission. He would become the curse, and be lifted up, so that people who looked by faith to him would live (John 3:14). For further material, see D. J. Wiseman, “Flying Serpents,” TynBul 23 (1972): 108-10; and K. R. Joines, “The Bronze Serpent in the Israelite Cult,” JBL 87 (1968): 245-56.
