Bilangan 34:3

34:3 your southern border ¹  will extend from the wilderness of Zin along the Edomite border, and your southern border will run eastward to the extremity of the Salt Sea,

Bilangan 22:41

22:41 Then on the next morning Balak took Balaam, and brought him up to Bamoth Baal. ²  From there he saw the extent of the nation.

Bilangan 23:13

23:13 Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place from which you can observe them. You will see only a part of them, but you will not see all of them. Curse them for me from there.”

Bilangan 34:5

34:5 There the border will turn from Azmon to the Brook of Egypt, and then its direction is to the sea. ³ 

Bilangan 33:6

33:6 They traveled from Succoth, and camped in Etham, which is on the edge of the wilderness.

Bilangan 22:36

Balaam Meets Balak

22:36 When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him at a city of Moab which was on the border of the Arnon at the boundary of his territory.

Bilangan 34:9

34:9 The border will continue to Ziphron, and its direction will be to Hazar Enan. This will be your northern border.

Bilangan 11:1

The Israelites Complain

11:1 ⁴ When the people complained, ⁵  it displeased ⁶  the Lord. When the Lord heard ⁷  it, his anger burned, ⁸  and so ⁹  the fire of the Lord ¹⁰  burned among them and consumed some of the outer parts of the camp.

Bilangan 15:38

15:38 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them to make ¹¹  tassels ¹²  for themselves on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and put a blue thread ¹³  on the tassel of the corners.

Bilangan 34:10

The Eastern Border of the Land

34:10 “‘For your eastern border you will draw a line from Hazar Enan to Shepham.

Bilangan 34:12

34:12 Then the border will continue down the Jordan River ¹⁴  and its direction will be to the Salt Sea. This will be your land by its borders that surround it.’”

Bilangan 24:17

24:17 ‘I see him, but not now;

I behold him, but not close at hand. ¹⁵ 

A star ¹⁶  will march forth ¹⁷  out of Jacob,

and a scepter ¹⁸  will rise out of Israel.

He will crush the skulls ¹⁹  of Moab,

and the heads ²⁰  of all the sons of Sheth. ²¹ 

Bilangan 20:16

20:16 So when we cried to the Lord, he heard our voice and sent a messenger, ²²  and has brought us up out of Egypt. Now ²³  we are here in Kadesh, a town on the edge of your country. ²⁴ 

Bilangan 21:8-9

21:8 The Lord said to Moses, “Make a poisonous snake and set it on a pole. When anyone who is bitten looks ²⁵  at it, he will live.” 21:9 So Moses made a bronze snake and put it on a pole, so that if a snake had bitten someone, when he looked at the bronze snake he lived. ²⁶ 

[34:3]  ¹ tn The expression refers to the corner or extremity of the Negev, the South.

[22:41]  ² sn The name Bamoth Baal means “the high places of Baal.”

[34:5]  ³ sn That is, the Mediterranean.

[11:1]  ⁴ sn The chapter includes the initial general complaints (vv. 1-3), the complaints about food (vv. 4-9), Moses’ own complaint to the Lord (vv. 10-15), God’s response to Moses (vv. 16-25), Eldad and Medad (vv. 26-29), and the quail (vv. 30-35). The first part records the burning of the camp, named Taberah. Here is one of the several naming narratives in the wilderness experience. The occasion for divine judgment is the complaining of the people. The passages serve to warn believers of all ages not to murmur as the Israelites did, for such complaining reveals a lack of faith in the power and goodness of God. For additional literature, see W. Brueggemann, “From Hurt to Joy, from Death to Life,” Int 28 (1974): 3-19; B. S. Childs, “The Etiological Tale Re-examined,” VT 24 (1974): 387-97; G. W. Coats, Rebellion in the Wilderness; and A. C. Tunyogi, “The Rebellions of Israel,” JBL 81 (1962): 385-90.

[11:1]  ⁵ tn The temporal clause uses the Hitpoel infinitive construct from אָנַן (’anan). It is a rare word, occurring in Lam 3:39. With this blunt introduction the constant emphasis of obedience to the word of the Lord found throughout the first ten chapters suddenly comes to an end. It is probable that the people were tired of moving for several days, the excitement of the new beginning died out quickly in the “great and terrible wilderness.” Resentment, frustration, discomfort – whatever it all involved – led to complaining and not gratitude.

[11:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “it was evil in the ears of the Lord.” The word רַע (ra’) is a much stronger word than “displeased” would suggest. The bold anthropomorphism shows that what the Lord heard was painful to him.

[11:1]  ⁷ tn The preterite with vav (ו) consecutive is here subordinated to the next verb as a temporal clause.

[11:1]  ⁸ tn The common Hebrew expression uses the verb חָרָה (harah, “to be hot, to burn, to be kindled”). The subject is אַפּוֹ (’appo), “his anger” or more literally, his nose, which in this anthropomorphic expression flares in rage. The emphasis is superlative – “his anger raged.”

[11:1]  ⁹ tn The vav (ו) consecutive does not simply show sequence in the verbs, but here expresses the result of the anger of the Lord for their complaining. With such a response to the complaining, one must conclude that it was unreasonable. There had been no long deprivation or endured suffering; the complaining was early and showed a rebellious spirit.

[11:1]  ¹⁰ sn The “fire of the Lord” is supernatural, for it is said to come from the Lord and not from a natural source. God gave them something to complain about – something to fear. The other significant place where this “fire of the Lord” destroyed was in the case of Nadab and Abihu who brought strange fire to the altar (Lev 10:2).

[15:38]  ¹¹ tn The construction uses the imperative followed by perfect tenses with vav (ו) consecutives. The first perfect tense may be translated as the imperative, but the second, being a third common plural form, has to be subordinated as a purpose clause, or as the object of the preceding verb: “speak…and say…that they make.”

[15:38]  ¹² sn This is a reference to the צִיצִת (tsitsit), the fringes on the borders of the robes. They were meant to hang from the corners of the upper garment (Deut 22:12), which was worn on top of the clothing. The tassel was probably made by twisting the overhanging threads of the garment into a knot that would hang down. This was a reminder of the covenant. The tassels were retained down through history, and today more elaborate prayer shawls with tassels are worn during prayer. For more information, see F. J. Stephens, “The Ancient Significance of Sisith,” JBL 50 (1931): 59-70; and S. Bertman, “Tasselled Garments in the Ancient East Mediterranean,” BA 24 (1961): 119-28.

[15:38]  ¹³ sn The blue color may represent the heavenly origin of the Law, or perhaps, since it is a royal color, the majesty of the Lord.

[34:12]  ¹⁴ tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[24:17]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “near.”

[24:17]  ¹⁶ sn This is a figure for a king (see also Isa 14:12) not only in the Bible but in the ancient Near Eastern literature as a whole. The immediate reference of the prophecy seems to be to David, but the eschatological theme goes beyond him. There is to be a connection made between this passage and the sighting of a star in its ascendancy by the magi, who then traveled to Bethlehem to see the one born King of the Jews (Matt 2:2). The expression “son of a star” (Aram Bar Kochba) became a title for a later claimant to kingship, but he was doomed by the Romans in a.d. 135.

[24:17]  ¹⁷ tn The verb is the perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive; it is equal to the imperfect expressing the future. The verb דָּרַךְ (darakh), related to the noun “way, road,” seems to mean something like tread on, walk, march.”

[24:17]  ¹⁸ sn The “scepter” is metonymical for a king who will rise to power. NEB strangely rendered this as “comet” to make a parallel with “star.”

[24:17]  ¹⁹ tn The word is literally “corners,” but may refer to the corners of the head, and so “skull.”

[24:17]  ²⁰ tc The MT reads “shatter, devastate.” Smr reads קֹדְקֹד (qodqod, “head; crown; pate”). Smr follows Jer 48:45 which appears to reflect Num 24:17.

[24:17]  ²¹ sn The prophecy begins to be fulfilled when David defeated Moab and Edom and established an empire including them. But the Messianic promise extends far beyond that to the end of the age and the inclusion of these defeated people in the program of the coming King.

[20:16]  ²² tn The word could be rendered “angel” or “messenger.” Some ambiguity may be intended in this report.

[20:16]  ²³ tn The Hebrew text uses הִנֵּה (hinneh) to emphasize the “here and now” aspect of the report to Edom.

[20:16]  ²⁴ tn Heb “your border.”

[21:8]  ²⁵ tn The word order is slightly different in Hebrew: “and it shall be anyone who is bitten when he looks at it he shall live.”

[21:9]  ²⁶ sn The image of the snake was to be a symbol of the curse that the Israelites were experiencing; by lifting the snake up on a pole Moses was indicating that the curse would be drawn away from the people – if they looked to it, which was a sign of faith. This symbol was later stored in the temple, until it became an object of worship and had to be removed (2 Kgs 18:4). Jesus, of course, alluded to it and used it as an illustration of his own mission. He would become the curse, and be lifted up, so that people who looked by faith to him would live (John 3:14). For further material, see D. J. Wiseman, “Flying Serpents,” TynBul 23 (1972): 108-10; and K. R. Joines, “The Bronze Serpent in the Israelite Cult,” JBL 87 (1968): 245-56.