Bilangan 4:5

4:5 When it is time for the camp to journey, ¹  Aaron and his sons must come and take down the screening curtain and cover the ark of the testimony with it.

Bilangan 4:16

4:16 “The appointed responsibility of Eleazar son of Aaron the priest is for the oil for the light, and the spiced incense, and the daily grain offering, and the anointing oil; he also has ²  the appointed responsibility over all the tabernacle with ³  all that is in it, over the sanctuary and over all its furnishings.” ⁴ 

Bilangan 4:32

4:32 and the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their sockets, tent pegs, and ropes, along with all their furnishings and everything for their service. You are to assign by names the items that each man is responsible to carry. ⁵ 

Bilangan 7:17

7:17 and for the sacrifice of peace offerings: two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year. This was the offering of Nahshon son of Amminadab.

Bilangan 11:4

Complaints about Food

11:4 ⁶ Now the mixed multitude ⁷  who were among them craved more desirable foods, ⁸  and so the Israelites wept again ⁹  and said, “If only we had meat to eat! ¹⁰ 

Bilangan 14:40

14:40 And early ¹¹  in the morning they went up to the crest of the hill country, ¹²  saying, “Here we are, and we will go up to the place that the Lord commanded, ¹³  for we have sinned.” ¹⁴ 

Bilangan 15:6

15:6 Or for a ram, you must prepare as a grain offering two-tenths of an ephah of finely ground flour mixed with one-third of a hin of olive oil,

Bilangan 15:14

15:14 If a resident foreigner is living ¹⁵  with you – or whoever is among you ¹⁶  in future generations ¹⁷  – and prepares an offering made by fire as a pleasing aroma to the Lord, he must do it the same way you are to do it. ¹⁸ 

Bilangan 15:22

Rules for Unintentional Offenses

15:22 ¹⁹ “‘If you ²⁰  sin unintentionally and do not observe all these commandments that the Lord has spoken to Moses –

Bilangan 18:16

18:16 And those that must be redeemed you are to redeem when they are a month old, according to your estimation, for five shekels of silver according to the sanctuary shekel (which is twenty gerahs).

Bilangan 18:21

18:21 See, I have given the Levites all the tithes in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they perform – the service of the tent of meeting.

Bilangan 19:21

19:21 “‘So this will be a perpetual ordinance for them: The one who sprinkles ²¹  the water of purification must wash his clothes, and the one who touches the water of purification will be unclean until evening. ²² 

Bilangan 20:10

20:10 Then Moses and Aaron gathered the community together in front of the rock, and he said to them, “Listen, you rebels, ²³  must we bring ²⁴  water out of this rock for you?”

Bilangan 20:14

Rejection by the Edomites

20:14 ²⁵ Moses ²⁶  sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom: ²⁷  “Thus says your brother Israel: ‘You know all the hardships we have experienced, ²⁸ 

Bilangan 22:11

22:11 “Look, a nation has come out ²⁹  of Egypt, and it covers the face of the earth. Come now and put a curse on them for me; perhaps I will be able to defeat them ³⁰  and drive them out.” ³¹ 

Bilangan 22:32

22:32 The angel of the Lord said to him, “Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? Look, I came out to oppose you because what you are doing ³²  is perverse before me. ³³ 

Bilangan 23:1

Balaam Blesses Israel

23:1 ³⁴ Balaam said to Balak, “Build me seven altars here, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.”

Bilangan 28:7

28:7 “‘And its drink offering must be one quarter of a hin for each lamb. ³⁵  You must pour out the strong drink ³⁶  as a drink offering to the Lord in the holy place.

Bilangan 28:13

28:13 and one-tenth of an ephah of finely ground flour mixed with olive oil as a grain offering for each lamb, as a burnt offering for a pleasing aroma, an offering made by fire to the Lord.

Bilangan 28:15

28:15 And one male goat ³⁷  must be offered to the Lord as a purification offering, in addition to the continual burnt offering and its drink offering.

Bilangan 29:11

29:11 along with one male goat for a purification offering, in addition to the purification offering for atonement and the continual burnt offering with its grain offering and their drink offerings.

Bilangan 31:42

31:42 From the Israelites’ half-share that Moses had separated from the fighting men, ³⁸ 

Bilangan 31:54

31:54 So Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from the commanders of thousands and commanders ³⁹  of hundreds and brought it into the tent of meeting as a memorial ⁴⁰  for the Israelites before the Lord.

Bilangan 35:30

35:30 “Whoever kills any person, the murderer must be put to death by the testimony ⁴¹  of witnesses; but one witness cannot ⁴²  testify against any person to cause him to be put to death.

Bilangan 35:32

35:32 And you must not accept a ransom for anyone who has fled to a town of refuge, to allow him to return home and live on his own land before the death of the high priest. ⁴³ 

[4:5]  ¹ tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive construct in an adverbial clause of time; literally it says “in the journeying of the camp.” The genitive in such constructions is usually the subject. Here the implication is that people would be preparing to transport the camp and its equipment.

[4:16]  ² tn This is supplied to the line to clarify “appointed.”

[4:16]  ³ tn Heb “and.”

[4:16]  ⁴ sn One would assume that he would prepare and wrap these items, but that the Kohathites would carry them to the next place.

[4:32]  ⁵ tn Heb “you shall assign by names the vessels of the responsibility of their burden.”

[11:4]  ⁶ 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 Lord for salvation, but now they forget, as they remember things they used to have. God will give them what they crave, but it will not do for them what they desire. For more information on this story, see B. J. Malina, The Palestinian Manna Tradition. For the attempt to explain manna and the other foods by natural phenomena, see F. W. Bodenheimer, “The Manna of Sinai,” BA 10 (1947): 1-6.

[11:4]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ 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.

[14:40]  ¹¹ tn The verb וַיַּשְׁכִּמוּ (vayyashkimu) is often found in a verbal hendiadys construction: “They rose early…and they went up” means “they went up early.”

[14:40]  ¹² tn The Hebrew text says literally “the top of the hill,” but judging from the location and the terrain it probably means the heights of the hill country.

[14:40]  ¹³ tn The verb is simply “said,” but it means the place that the Lord said to go up to in order to fight.

[14:40]  ¹⁴ sn Their sin was unbelief. They could have gone and conquered the area if they had trusted the Lord for their victory. They did not, and so they were condemned to perish in the wilderness. Now, thinking that by going they can undo all that, they plan to go. But this is also disobedience, for the Lord said they would not now take the land, and yet they think they can. Here is their second sin, presumption.

[15:14]  ¹⁵ tn The word גּוּר (gur) was traditionally translated “to sojourn,” i.e., to live temporarily in a land. Here the two words are from the root: “if a sojourner sojourns.”

[15:14]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “in your midst.”

[15:14]  ¹⁷ tn The Hebrew text just has “to your generations,” but it means in the future.

[15:14]  ¹⁸ tn The imperfect tenses must reflect the responsibility to comply with the law, and so the classifications of instruction or obligation may be applied.

[15:22]  ¹⁹ sn These regulations supplement what was already ruled on in the Levitical code for the purification and reparation offerings. See those rulings in Lev 4-7 for all the details. Some biblical scholars view the rules in Leviticus as more elaborate and therefore later. However, this probably represents a misunderstanding of the purpose of each collection.

[15:22]  ²⁰ tn The verb is the plural imperfect; the sin discussed here is a sin committed by the community, or the larger part of the community.

[19:21]  ²¹ tn The form has the conjunction with it: וּמַזֵּה (umazzeh). The conjunction subordinates the following as the special law. It could literally be translated “and this shall be…that the one who sprinkles.”

[19:21]  ²² sn This gives the indication of the weight of the matter, for “until the evening” is the shortest period of ritual uncleanness in the Law. The problem of contamination had to be taken seriously, but this was a relatively simple matter to deal with – if one were willing to obey the Law.

[20:10]  ²³ tn The word is הַמֹּרִים (hammorim, “the rebels”), but here as a vocative: “you rebels.” It was a harsh address, although well-earned.

[20:10]  ²⁴ tn The word order and the emphasis of the tense are important to this passage. The word order is “from this rock must we bring out to you water?” The emphasis is clearly on “from this rock!” The verb is the imperfect tense; it has one of the modal nuances here, probably obligatory – “must we do this?”

[20:14]  ²⁵ sn For this particular section, see W. F. Albright, “From the Patriarchs to Moses: 2. Moses out of Egypt,” BA 36 (1973): 57-58; J. R. Bartlett, “The Land of Seir and the Brotherhood of Edom,” JTS 20 (1969): 1-20, and “The Rise and Fall of the Kingdom of Edom,” PEQ 104 (1972): 22-37, and “The Brotherhood of Edom,” JSOT 4 (1977): 2-7.

[20:14]  ²⁶ tn Heb “And Moses sent.”

[20:14]  ²⁷ sn Some modern biblical scholars are convinced, largely through arguments from silence, that there were no unified kingdoms in Edom until the 9th century, and no settlements there before the 12th century, and so the story must be late and largely fabricated. The evidence is beginning to point to the contrary. But the cities and residents of the region would largely be Bedouin, and so leave no real remains.

[20:14]  ²⁸ tn Heb “found.”

[22:11]  ²⁹ tn In this passage the text differs slightly; here it is “the nation that comes out,” using the article on the noun, and the active participle in the attributive adjective usage.

[22:11]  ³⁰ tn Here the infinitive construct is used to express the object or complement of the verb “to be able” (it answers the question of what he will be able to do).

[22:11]  ³¹ tn The verb is the Piel perfect with vav (ו) consecutive. It either carries the force of an imperfect tense, or it may be subordinated to the preceding verbs.

[22:32]  ³² tn Heb “your way.”

[22:32]  ³³ tn The verb יָרַט (yarat) occurs only here and in Job 16:11. Balaam is embarking on a foolish mission with base motives. The old rendering “perverse” is still acceptable.

[23:1]  ³⁴ sn The first part of Balaam’s activity ends in disaster for Balak – he blesses Israel. The chapter falls into four units: the first prophecy (vv. 1-10), the relocation (vv. 11-17), the second prophecy (vv. 18-24), and a further location (vv. 25-30).

[28:7]  ³⁵ tn Heb “the one lamb,” but it is meant to indicate for “each lamb.”

[28:7]  ³⁶ tn The word שֵׁכָר (shekhar) is often translated “strong drink.” It can mean “barley beer” in the Akkadian cognate, and also in the Hebrew Bible when joined with the word for wine. English versions here read “wine” (NAB, TEV, CEV); “strong wine” (KJV); “fermented drink” (NIV, NLT); “strong drink” (ASV, NASB, NRSV).

[28:15]  ³⁷ tn Heb “one kid of the goats.”

[31:42]  ³⁸ tn Heb “the men who were fighting.”

[31:54]  ³⁹ tn The Hebrew text does not repeat the word “commanders” here, but it is implied.

[31:54]  ⁴⁰ tn The purpose of the offering was to remind the Lord to remember Israel. But it would also be an encouragement for Israel as they remembered the great victory.

[35:30]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “ at the mouth of”; the metonymy stresses it is at their report.

[35:30]  ⁴² tn The verb should be given the nuance of imperfect of potentiality.

[35:32]  ⁴³ tn Heb “the priest.” The Greek and the Syriac have “high priest.” The present translation, along with many English versions, uses “high priest” as a clarification.