Bilangan 3:13

3:13 because all the firstborn are mine. When I destroyed ¹  all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I set apart for myself all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast. They belong to me. I am the Lord.” ² 

Bilangan 6:9

Contingencies for Defilement

6:9 “‘If anyone dies very suddenly ³  beside him and he defiles ⁴  his consecrated head, ⁵  then he must shave his head on the day of his purification – on the seventh day he must shave it.

Bilangan 6:14

6:14 and he must present his offering ⁶  to the Lord: one male lamb in its first year without blemish for a burnt offering, one ewe lamb in its first year without blemish for a purification offering, one ram without blemish for a peace offering, ⁷ 

Bilangan 14:22

14:22 For all the people have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have tempted ⁸  me now these ten times, ⁹  and have not obeyed me, ¹⁰ 

Bilangan 14:36

14:36 The men whom Moses sent to investigate the land, who returned and made the whole community murmur against him by producing ¹¹  an evil report about the land,

Bilangan 19:9

19:9 “‘Then a man who is ceremonially clean must gather up the ashes of the red heifer and put them in a ceremonially clean place outside the camp. They must be kept ¹²  for the community of the Israelites for use in the water of purification ¹³  – it is a purification for sin. ¹⁴ 

Bilangan 21:5

21:5 And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness, for there is no bread or water, and we ¹⁵  detest this worthless ¹⁶  food.”

Bilangan 27:21

27:21 And he will stand before Eleazar the priest, who ¹⁷  will seek counsel ¹⁸  for him before the Lord by the decision of the Urim. ¹⁹  At his command ²⁰  they will go out, and at his command they will come in, he and all the Israelites with him, the whole community.”

Bilangan 31:50

31:50 So we have brought as an offering for the Lord what each man found: gold ornaments, armlets, bracelets, signet rings, earrings, and necklaces, to make atonement for ourselves ²¹  before the Lord.” ²² 

[3:13]  ¹ tn The form הַכֹּתִי (hakkoti) is the Hiphil infinitive construct of the verb נָכָה (nakhah, “to strike, smite, attack”). Here, after the idiomatic “in the day of,” the form functions in an adverbial clause of time – “when I destroyed.”

[3:13]  ² sn In the Exodus event of the Passover night the principle of substitution was presented. The firstborn child was redeemed by the blood of the Lamb and so belonged to God, but then God chose the Levites to serve in the place of the firstborn. The ritual of consecrating the firstborn son to the Lord was nevertheless carried out, even with Jesus, the firstborn son of Mary (Luke 2:22-23).

[6:9]  ³ tn The construction uses the imperfect tense followed by the infinitive absolute, יָמוּת מֵת (yamut met). Because the verb is in a conditional clause, the emphasis that is to be given through the infinitive must stress the contingency. The point is “if someone dies – unexpectedly.” The next words underscore the suddenness of this.

[6:9]  ⁴ tn The verb is the Piel perfect with a vav (ו) consecutive; it continues the idea within the conditional clause.

[6:9]  ⁵ sn The expression is figurative for the vow that he took; the figure is the metonymy because the reference to the head is a reference to the long hair that symbolizes the oath.

[6:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “he shall offer his offering” – the object is a cognate accusative.

[6:14]  ⁷ sn The peace offering שְׁלָמִים (shÿlamim) is instructed in Lev 3 and 7. The form is always in the plural. It was a sacrifice that celebrated the fact that the worshiper was at peace with God, and was not offered in order to make peace with God. The peace offering was essentially a communal meal in the presence of God. Some have tried to equate this offering with similar sounding names in Akkadian and Ugaritic (see B. A. Levine, In the Presence of the Lord [SJLA], 3-52), but the unique features of the Israelite sacrifice make this connection untenable.

[14:22]  ⁸ tn The verb נָסָה (nasah) means “to test, to tempt, to prove.” It can be used to indicate things are tried or proven, or for testing in a good sense, or tempting in the bad sense, i.e., putting God to the test. In all uses there is uncertainty or doubt about the outcome. Some uses of the verb are positive: If God tests Abraham in Genesis 22:1, it is because there is uncertainty whether he fears the Lord or not; if people like Gideon put out the fleece and test the Lord, it is done by faith but in order to be certain of the Lord’s presence. But here, when these people put God to the test ten times, it was because they doubted the goodness and ability of God, and this was a major weakness. They had proof to the contrary, but chose to challenge God.

[14:22]  ⁹ tn “Ten” is here a round figure, emphasizing the complete testing. But see F. V. Winnett, The Mosaic Tradition, 121-54.

[14:22]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “listened to my voice.”

[14:36]  ¹¹ tn The verb is the Hiphil infinitive construct with a lamed (ל) preposition from the root יָצָא (yatsa’, “to bring out”). The use of the infinitive here is epexegetical, that is, explaining how they caused the people to murmur.

[19:9]  ¹² tn Heb “it will be.”

[19:9]  ¹³ tn The expression לְמֵי נִדָּה (lÿme niddah) is “for waters of impurity.” The genitive must designate the purpose of the waters – they are for cases of impurity, and so serve for cleansing or purifying, thus “water of purification.” The word “impurity” can also mean “abhorrent” because it refers to so many kinds of impurities. It is also called a purification offering; Milgrom notes that this is fitting because the sacrificial ritual involved transfers impurity from the purified to the purifier (pp. 62-72).

[19:9]  ¹⁴ sn The ashes were to be stored somewhere outside the camp to be used in a water portion for cleansing someone who was defiled. This is a ritual that was enacted in the wilderness; it is something of a restoring rite for people alienated from community.

[21:5]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “our souls.”

[21:5]  ¹⁶ tn The Israelites’ opinion about the manna was clear enough – “worthless.” The word used is קְלֹקֵל (qÿloqel, “good for nothing, worthless, miserable”).

[27:21]  ¹⁷ tn The passage simply has “and he will ask,” but Eleazar is clearly the subject now.

[27:21]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “ask.”

[27:21]  ¹⁹ sn The new leader would not have the privilege that Moses had in speaking to God face to face. Rather, he would have to inquire of the Lord through the priest, and the priest would seek a decision by means of the Urim. The Urim and the Thummim were the sacred lots that the priest had in his pouch, the “breastplate” as it has traditionally been called. Since the Law had now been fully established, there would be fewer cases that the leader would need further rulings. Now it would simply be seeking the Lord’s word for matters such as whether to advance or not. The size, shape or substance of these objects is uncertain. See further C. Van Dam, The Urim and Thummim.

[27:21]  ²⁰ tn Heb “mouth,” meaning what he will say.

[31:50]  ²¹ tn Heb “our souls.”

[31:50]  ²² sn The expression here may include the idea of finding protection from divine wrath, which is so common to Leviticus, but it may also be a thank offering for the fact that their lives had been spared.