Keluaran 10:16

10:16 ¹ Then Pharaoh quickly ²  summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned ³  against the Lord your God and against you!

Bilangan 22:34

22:34 Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, “I have sinned, for I did not know that you stood against me in the road. ⁴  So now, if it is evil in your sight, ⁵  I will go back home.” ⁶ 

Bilangan 22:1

Balaam Refuses to Curse Israel

22:1 ⁷ The Israelites traveled on ⁸  and camped in the plains of Moab on the side of the Jordan River ⁹  across from Jericho. ¹⁰ 

1 Samuel 15:24

15:24 Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have disobeyed what the Lord commanded ¹¹  and what you said as well. ¹²  For I was afraid of the army, and I followed their wishes. ¹³ 

1 Samuel 15:30

15:30 Saul ¹⁴  again replied, “I have sinned. But please honor me before the elders of my people and before Israel. Go back with me so I may worship the Lord your God.”

1 Samuel 26:21

26:21 Saul replied, “I have sinned. Come back, my son David. I won’t harm you, for you treated my life with value ¹⁵  this day. I have behaved foolishly and have made a very terrible mistake!” ¹⁶ 

Matius 27:4

27:4 saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood!” But they said, “What is that to us? You take care of it yourself!”

[10:16]  ¹ sn The third part of the passage now begins, the confrontation that resulted from the onslaught of the plague. Pharaoh goes a step further here – he confesses he has sinned and adds a request for forgiveness. But his acknowledgment does not go far enough, for this is not genuine confession. Since his heart was not yet submissive, his confession was vain.

[10:16]  ² tn The Piel preterite וַיְמַהֵר (vaymaher) could be translated “and he hastened,” but here it is joined with the following infinitive construct to form the hendiadys. “He hurried to summon” means “He summoned quickly.”

[10:16]  ³ sn The severity of the plague prompted Pharaoh to confess his sin against Yahweh and them, now in much stronger terms than before. He also wants forgiveness – but in all probability what he wants is relief from the consequences of his sin. He pretended to convey to Moses that this was it, that he was through sinning, so he asked for forgiveness “only this time.”

[22:34]  ⁴ sn Balaam is not here making a general confession of sin. What he is admitting to is a procedural mistake. The basic meaning of the word is “to miss the mark.” He now knows he took the wrong way, i.e., in coming to curse Israel.

[22:34]  ⁵ sn The reference is to Balaam’s way. He is saying that if what he is doing is so perverse, so evil, he will turn around and go home. Of course, it did not appear that he had much of a chance of going forward.

[22:34]  ⁶ tn The verb is the cohortative from “return”: I will return [me].

[22:1]  ⁷ sn The fifth section of the book (22:1-33:56) traces the Israelite activities in Transjordan. It is hard to determine how long they were in Transjordan, but a good amount of time must have elapsed for the number of moves they made and the wars they fought. There is a considerable amount of information available on this section of the book. Some of the most helpful works include: H. C. Brichto, The Problem of “Curse” in the Hebrew Bible (JBLMS); E. Burrows, The Oracles of Jacob and Balaam; G. W. Coats, “Balaam, Sinner or Saint?” BR 18 (1973): 21-29; P. C. Craigie, “The Conquest and Early Hebrew Poetry,” TynBul 20 (1969): 76-94; I. Parker, “The Way of God and the Way of Balaam,” ExpTim 17 (1905): 45; and J. A. Wharton, “The Command to Bless: An Exposition of Numbers 22:41–23:25,” Int 13 (1959): 37-48. This first part introduces the characters and sets the stage for the oracles. It can be divided into four sections: the invitation declined (vv. 1-14), the second invitation extended (vv. 15-21), God opposes Balaam (vv. 22-35), and Balaam meets Balak (vv. 36-41).

[22:1]  ⁸ tn The verse begins with the vav (ו) consecutive.

[22:1]  ⁹ tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[22:1]  ¹⁰ map For the location of Jericho see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.

[15:24]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the mouth of the Lord.”

[15:24]  ¹² tn Heb “and your words.”

[15:24]  ¹³ tn Heb “and I listened to their voice.”

[15:30]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:21]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “my life was valuable in your eyes.”

[26:21]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and I have erred very greatly.”