Bilangan 1:47

The Exemption of the Levites

1:47 But ¹  the Levites, according to the tribe of their fathers, ²  were not numbered ³  among them.

Bilangan 1:52

1:52 “The Israelites will camp according to their divisions, each man in his camp, and each man by his standard.

Bilangan 5:6

5:6 “Tell the Israelites, ‘When ⁴  a man or a woman commits any sin that people commit, ⁵  thereby breaking faith ⁶  with the Lord, and that person is found guilty, ⁷ 

Bilangan 9:23

9:23 At the commandment of the Lord they camped, and at the commandment of the Lord they traveled on; they kept the instructions of the Lord according to the commandment of the Lord, by the authority ⁸  of Moses.

Bilangan 10:5

10:5 When you blow an alarm, ⁹  then the camps that are located ¹⁰  on the east side must begin to travel. ¹¹ 

Bilangan 12:7

12:7 My servant ¹²  Moses is not like this; he is faithful ¹³  in all my house.

Bilangan 14:44

14:44 But they dared ¹⁴  to go up to the crest of the hill, although ¹⁵  neither the ark of the covenant of the Lord nor Moses departed from the camp.

Bilangan 15:33

15:33 Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron and to the whole community.

Bilangan 16:29

16:29 If these men die a natural death, ¹⁶  or if they share the fate ¹⁷  of all men, then the Lord has not sent me.

Bilangan 17:9

17:9 So Moses brought out all the staffs from before the Lord to all the Israelites. They looked at them, ¹⁸  and each man took his staff.

Bilangan 18:4

18:4 They must join ¹⁹  with you, and they will be responsible for the care of the tent of meeting, for all the service of the tent, but no unauthorized person ²⁰  may approach you.

Bilangan 18:22

18:22 No longer may the Israelites approach the tent of meeting, or else they will bear their sin ²¹  and die.

Bilangan 19:1

The Red Heifer Ritual

19:1 ²² The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron:

Bilangan 19:22

19:22 And whatever the unclean person touches will be unclean, and the person who touches it will be unclean until evening.’”

Bilangan 20:18

20:18 But Edom said to him, “You will not pass through me, ²³  or I will come out against ²⁴  you with the sword.”

Bilangan 20:21

20:21 So Edom refused to give Israel passage through his border; therefore Israel turned away from him.

Bilangan 25:2

25:2 These women invited ²⁵  the people to the sacrifices of their gods; then the people ate and bowed down to their gods. ²⁶ 

Bilangan 29:18

29:18 and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, according to their number as prescribed,

Bilangan 29:21

29:21 and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, according to their number as prescribed,

Bilangan 29:24

29:24 and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, according to their number as prescribed,

Bilangan 29:27

29:27 and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, according to their number as prescribed,

Bilangan 29:30

29:30 and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, according to their number as prescribed,

Bilangan 29:33

29:33 and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, according to their number as prescribed,

Bilangan 29:37

29:37 and with their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bull, for the ram, and for the lambs, according to their number as prescribed,

Bilangan 31:13

31:13 Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the community went out to meet them outside the camp.

Bilangan 31:22

31:22 ‘Only the gold, the silver, the bronze, the iron, the tin, and the lead,

Bilangan 31:26-27

31:26 “You and Eleazar the priest, and all the family leaders of the community, take the sum ²⁷  of the plunder that was captured, both people and animals. 31:27 Divide the plunder into two parts, one for those who took part in the war – who went out to battle – and the other for all the community.

Bilangan 32:7

32:7 Why do you frustrate the intent ²⁸  of the Israelites to cross over into the land which the Lord has given them?

Bilangan 32:12

32:12 except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, and Joshua son of Nun, for they followed the Lord wholeheartedly.’

[1:47]  ¹ tn The vav (ו) on this word indicates a disjunction with the previous sequence of reports. It may be taken as a contrastive clause, translated “but” or “however.”

[1:47]  ² tn The construction is unexpected, for Levites would be from the tribe of Levi. The note seems more likely to express that all these people were organized by tribal lineage, and so too the Levites, according to the tribe of their fathers – individual families of Levites.

[1:47]  ³ tc The form in the text is הָתְפָּקְדוּ (hotpaqÿdu); if this is correct, then it is an isolated instance of the reflexive of the Qal of פָּקַד (paqad). Some, however, explain the form as the Hitpael without the doubling of the middle letter and with a compensatory lengthening of the vowel before it (G. B. Gray, Numbers [ICC], 10).

[5:6]  ⁴ sn This type of law is known as casuistic. The law is introduced with “when/if” and then the procedure to be adopted follows it. The type of law was common in the Law Code of Hammurabi.

[5:6]  ⁵ tn The verse simply says “any sin of a man,” but the genitive could mean that it is any sin that a man would commit (subjective genitive), or one committed against a man (objective genitive). Because of the similarity with Lev 5:22, the subjective is better. The sin is essentially “missing the mark” which is the standard of the Law of the Lord. The sin is not in this case accidental or inadvertent. It means here simply failing to live up to the standard of the Lord. Since both men and women are mentioned in the preceding clause, the translation uses “people” here.

[5:6]  ⁶ tn The verb is מַעַל (ma’al), which means to “defraud, violate, trespass against,” or “to deal treacherously, do an act of treachery.” In doing any sin that people do, the guilty have been unfaithful to the Lord, and therefore must bring him a sacrifice.

[5:6]  ⁷ tn The word used here for this violation is אָשָׁם (’asham). It can be translated “guilt, to be guilty”; it can also be used for the reparation offering. The basic assumption here is that the individual is in a state of sin – is guilty. In that state he or she feels remorse for the sin and seeks forgiveness through repentance. See further P. P. Saydon, “Sin Offering and Trespass Offering,” CBQ 8 (1946): 393-98; H. C. Thompson, “The Significance of the Term ’Asham in the Old Testament,” TGUOS 14 (1953): 20-26.

[9:23]  ⁸ tn Heb “hand.”

[10:5]  ⁹ tn The word for an alarm is תְּרוּעָה (tÿru’ah). The root verb of this word means “to give a blast on the trumpet.” It may also on occasion mean “give a shout” in battle (Josh 6:10). In this passage it must refer to the sound of the trumpet.

[10:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the camps that are camping.”

[10:5]  ¹¹ tn The perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive functions as the equivalent of the imperfect tense. Here the emphasis is on the start of the journey.

[12:7]  ¹² sn The title “my servant” or “servant of the Lord” is reserved in the Bible for distinguished personages, people who are truly spiritual leaders, like Moses, David, Hezekiah, and also the Messiah. Here it underscores Moses’ obedience.

[12:7]  ¹³ tn The word “faithful” is נֶאֱמָן (ne’eman), the Niphal participle of the verb אָמַן (’aman). This basic word has the sense of “support, be firm.” In the Niphal it describes something that is firm, reliable, dependable – what can be counted on. It could actually be translated “trustworthy.”

[14:44]  ¹⁴ tn N. H. Snaith compares Arabic ’afala (“to swell”) and gafala (“reckless, headstrong”; Leviticus and Numbers [NCB], 248). The wordעֹפֶל (’ofel) means a “rounded hill” or a “tumor.” The idea behind the verb may be that of “swelling,” and so “act presumptuously.”

[14:44]  ¹⁵ tn The disjunctive vav (ו) here introduces a circumstantial clause; the most appropriate one here would be the concessive “although.”

[16:29]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “if like the death of every man they die.”

[16:29]  ¹⁷ tn The noun is פְּקֻדָּה (pÿquddah, “appointment, visitation”). The expression refers to a natural death, parallel to the first expression.

[17:9]  ¹⁸ tn The words “at them” are not in the Hebrew text, but they have been added in the translation for clarity.

[18:4]  ¹⁹ tn Now the sentence uses the Niphal perfect with a vav (ו) consecutive from the same root לָוָה (lavah).

[18:4]  ²⁰ tn The word is “stranger, alien,” but it can also mean Israelites here.

[18:22]  ²¹ tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive construct of the verb “to bear” with the lamed (ל) preposition to express the result of such an action. “To bear their sin” would mean that they would have to suffer the consequences of their sin.

[19:1]  ²² sn In the last chapter the needs of the priests and Levites were addressed. Now the concern is for the people. This provision from the sacrifice of the red heifer is a precaution to ensure that the purity of the tabernacle was not violated by pollutions of impurity or death. This chapter has two main parts, both dealing with ceremonial purity: the ritual of the red heifer (vv. 1-10), and the purification from uncleanness (vv. 11-22). For further study see J. Milgrom, “The Paradox of the Red Cow (Num 19),” VT 31 (1981): 62-72.

[20:18]  ²³ tn The imperfect tense here has the nuance of prohibition.

[20:18]  ²⁴ tn Heb “to meet.”

[25:2]  ²⁵ tn The verb simply says “they called,” but it is a feminine plural. And so the women who engaged in immoral acts with Hebrew men invited them to their temple ritual.

[25:2]  ²⁶ sn What Israel experienced here was some of the debased ritual practices of the Canaanite people. The act of prostrating themselves before the pagan deities was probably participation in a fertility ritual, nothing short of cultic prostitution. This was a blatant disregard of the covenant and the Law. If something were not done, the nation would have destroyed itself.

[31:26]  ²⁷ tn The idiom here is “take up the head,” meaning take a census, or count the totals.

[32:7]  ²⁸ tn Heb “heart.” So also in v. 9.