Bilangan 10:9

10:9 If you go to war in your land against an adversary who opposes ¹  you, then you must sound an alarm with the trumpets, and you will be remembered before the Lord your God, and you will be saved ²  from your enemies.

Bilangan 20:16

20:16 So when we cried to the Lord, he heard our voice and sent a messenger, ³  and has brought us up out of Egypt. Now ⁴  we are here in Kadesh, a town on the edge of your country. ⁵ 

Bilangan 21:2-3

21:2 So Israel made a vow ⁶  to the Lord and said, “If you will indeed deliver ⁷  this people into our ⁸  hand, then we will utterly destroy ⁹  their cities.” 21:3 The Lord listened to the voice of Israel and delivered up the Canaanites, ¹⁰  and they utterly destroyed them and their cities. So the name of the place was called ¹¹  Hormah.

[10:9]  ¹ tn Both the “adversary” and “opposes” come from the same root: צָרַר (tsarar), “to hem in, oppress, harass,” or basically, “be an adversary.”

[10:9]  ² tn The Niphal perfect in this passage has the passive nuance and not a reflexive idea – the Israelites would be spared because God remembered them.

[20:16]  ³ tn The word could be rendered “angel” or “messenger.” Some ambiguity may be intended in this report.

[20:16]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew text uses הִנֵּה (hinneh) to emphasize the “here and now” aspect of the report to Edom.

[20:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “your border.”

[21:2]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew text uses a cognate accusative with the verb: They vowed a vow. The Israelites were therefore determined with God’s help to defeat Arad.

[21:2]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew text has the infinitive absolute and the imperfect tense of נָתַן (natan) to stress the point – if you will surely/indeed give.”

[21:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “my.”

[21:2]  ⁹ tn On the surface this does not sound like much of a vow. But the key is in the use of the verb for “utterly destroy” – חָרַם (kharam). Whatever was put to this “ban” or “devotion” belonged to God, either for his use, or for destruction. The oath was in fact saying that they would take nothing from this for themselves. It would simply be the removal of what was alien to the faith, or to God’s program.

[21:3]  ¹⁰ tc Smr, Greek, and Syriac add “into his hand.”

[21:3]  ¹¹ tn In the Hebrew text the verb has no expressed subject, and so here too is made passive. The name “Hormah” is etymologically connected to the verb “utterly destroy,” forming the popular etymology (or paronomasia, a phonetic wordplay capturing the significance of the event).