Bilangan 8:7

8:7 And do this ¹  to them to purify them: Sprinkle water of purification ²  on them; then have them shave ³  all their body ⁴  and wash ⁵  their clothes, and so purify themselves. ⁶ 

Bilangan 13:27

13:27 They told Moses, ⁷  “We went to the land where you sent us. ⁸  It is indeed flowing with milk and honey, ⁹  and this is its fruit.

Bilangan 16:37

16:37 “Tell ¹⁰  Eleazar son of Aaron the priest to pick up ¹¹  the censers out of the flame, for they are holy, and then scatter the coals of fire ¹²  at a distance.

[8:7]  ¹ tn Or, more literally, “and thus you shall do.” The verb is the imperfect tense of instruction or legislation. Here it introduces the procedures to be followed.

[8:7]  ² tn The genitive in this expression indicates the purpose of the water – it is for their purification. The expression is literally “the waters of sin.” The word “purification” is the same as for the “sin/purification offering” – חַטָּאת (khatta’at). This water seems to have been taken from the main laver and is contrasted with the complete washing of the priests in Lev 8:6.

[8:7]  ³ tn The verb is the Hiphil perfect with a vav (ו) of sequence. This verb, and those to follow, has the force of a jussive since it comes after the imperative. Here the instruction is for them to remove the hair from their bodies (“flesh”). There is no indication that this was repeated (as the Egyptian priests did every few days). It seems to have been for this special occasion only. A similar requirement was for the leper (Lev 14:7-9).

[8:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “flesh.”

[8:7]  ⁵ tn Or “let/have them wash”; the priests were given new clothes (Lev 8:13), but the Levites simply washed their own.

[8:7]  ⁶ tn The verb is a reflexive (or possibly passive) in this verse, indicating the summary of the process. The ritual steps that have been prescribed will lead to this conclusion. The verb could be treated as a final imperfect (being a perfect with vav [ו] consecutive), and so translated “that they may….” The major difference here is that the ritual made the Levites “clean,” whereas the ritual for the priests made them “holy” or “sanctified” (Lev 8:12).

[13:27]  ⁷ tn Heb “told him and said.” The referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:27]  ⁸ tn The relative clause modifies “the land.” It is constructed with the relative and the verb: “where you sent us.”

[13:27]  ⁹ sn This is the common expression for the material abundance of the land (see further, F. C. Fensham, “An Ancient Tradition of the Fertility of Palestine,” PEQ 98 [1966]: 166-67).

[16:37]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “say to.”

[16:37]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² 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.