Bilangan 13:27

13:27 They told Moses, ¹  “We went to the land where you sent us. ²  It is indeed flowing with milk and honey, ³  and this is its fruit.

Bilangan 16:26

16:26 And he said to the community, “Move away from the tents of these wicked ⁴  men, and do not touch anything they have, lest you be destroyed because ⁵  of all their sins.” ⁶ 

Bilangan 20:15

20:15 how our ancestors went down into Egypt, and we lived in Egypt a long time, ⁷  and the Egyptians treated us and our ancestors badly. ⁸ 

[13:27]  ¹ tn Heb “told him and said.” The referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:27]  ² tn The relative clause modifies “the land.” It is constructed with the relative and the verb: “where you sent us.”

[13:27]  ³ 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).

[16:26]  ⁴ tn The word רָשָׁע (rasha’) has the sense of a guilty criminal. The word “wicked” sometimes gives the wrong connotation. These men were opposing the Lord, and so were condemned as criminals – they were guilty. The idea of “wickedness” therefore applies in that sense.

[16:26]  ⁵ tn The preposition bet (בְּ) in this line is causal – “on account of their sins.”

[16:26]  ⁶ sn The impression is that the people did not hear what the Lord said to Moses, but only what Moses said to the people as a result. They saw the brilliant cloud, and perhaps heard the sound of his voice, but the relaying of the instructions indicates they did not hear the actual instruction from the Lord himself.

[20:15]  ⁷ tn Heb “many days.”

[20:15]  ⁸ tn The verb רָעַע (ra’a’) means “to act or do evil.” Evil here is in the sense of causing pain or trouble. So the causative stem in our passage means “to treat wickedly.”