Bilangan 11:3

11:3 So he called the name of that place Taberah ¹  because there the fire of the Lord burned among them.

Bilangan 16:2

16:2 and rebelled against Moses, along with some of the Israelites, 250 leaders ²  of the community, chosen from the assembly, ³  famous men. ⁴ 

[11:3]  ¹ 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.

[16:2]  ² tn Heb “princes” (so KJV, ASV).

[16:2]  ³ tn These men must have been counselors or judges of some kind.

[16:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “men of name,” or “men of renown.”