Bilangan 3:15

3:15 “Number the Levites by their clans ¹  and their families; every male from a month old and upward you are to number.” ² 

Bilangan 3:22

3:22 Those of them who were numbered, counting every male from a month old and upward, were 7,500.

Bilangan 3:28

3:28 Counting every male from a month old and upward, there were 8,600. They were responsible for the care ³  of the sanctuary.

Bilangan 5:13

5:13 and a man has sexual relations ⁴  with her ⁵  without her husband knowing it, ⁶  and it is hidden that she has defiled herself, since ⁷  there was no witness against her, nor was she caught –

Bilangan 5:31

5:31 Then the man will be free from iniquity, but that woman will bear the consequences ⁸  of her iniquity.’” ⁹ 

[3:15]  ¹ tn Heb “the house of their fathers.” So also in v. 20.

[3:15]  ² tn Heb “you are to/shall number them.”

[3:28]  ³ tn The construction here is a little different. The Hebrew text uses the participle in construct plural: שֹׁמְרֵי (shomÿrey, literally “keepers of”). The form specifies the duties of the 8,600 Kohathites. The genitive that follows this participle is the cognate מִשְׁמֶרֶת (mishmeret) that has been used before. So the expression indicates that they were responsible for the care of this part of the cult center. There is no reason to delete one of the forms (as does J. A. Paterson, Numbers, 42), for the repetition stresses the central importance of their work.

[5:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “and a man lies with her with the emission of semen.” This makes it clear that there was adultery involved, so that the going astray is going astray morally. The indication in the text is that if she had never behaved suspiciously the sin might not have been detected.

[5:13]  ⁵ tc The sign of the accusative אֹתָהּ (’otah) is probably to be repointed to the preposition with the suffix, אִתָּהּ (’ittah).

[5:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “and it is concealed from the eyes of her husband.”

[5:13]  ⁷ tn The noun clause beginning with the simple conjunction is here a circumstantial clause, explaining that there was no witness to the sin.

[5:31]  ⁸ sn The text does not say what the consequences are. Presumably the punishment would come from God, and not from those administering the test.

[5:31]  ⁹ tn The word “iniquity” can also mean the guilt for the iniquity as well as the punishment of consequences for the iniquity. These categories of meanings grew up through figurative usage (metonymies). Here the idea is that if she is guilty then she must “bear the consequences.”