Numbers 32:6-15

Moses’ Response

32:6 Moses said to the Gadites and the Reubenites, “Must your brothers go to war while you ¹  remain here? 32:7 Why do you frustrate the intent ²  of the Israelites to cross over into the land which the Lord has given them? 32:8 Your fathers did the same thing when I sent them from Kadesh Barnea to see the land. 32:9 When ³  they went up to the Eshcol Valley and saw the land, they frustrated the intent of the Israelites so that they did not enter ⁴  the land that the Lord had given ⁵  them. 32:10 So the anger of the Lord was kindled that day, and he swore, 32:11 ‘Because they have not followed me wholeheartedly, ⁶  not ⁷  one of the men twenty years old and upward ⁸  who came from Egypt will see the land that I swore to give ⁹  to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, 32:12 except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, and Joshua son of Nun, for they followed the Lord wholeheartedly.’ 32:13 So the Lord’s anger was kindled against the Israelites, and he made them wander in the wilderness for forty years, until all that generation that had done wickedly before ¹⁰  the Lord was finished. ¹¹  32:14 Now look, you are standing in your fathers’ place, a brood of sinners, to increase still further the fierce wrath of the Lord against the Israelites. 32:15 For if you turn away from following him, he will once again abandon ¹²  them in the wilderness, and you will be the reason for their destruction.” ¹³ 

[32:6]  ¹ tn The vav (ו) is a vav disjunctive prefixed to the pronoun; it fits best here as a circumstantial clause, “while you stay here.”

[32:7]  ² tn Heb “heart.” So also in v. 9.

[32:9]  ³ tn The preterite with vav (ו) consecutive is here subordinated to the parallel yet chronologically later verb in the next clause.

[32:9]  ⁴ tn The infinitive construct here with lamed (ל) is functioning as a result clause.

[32:9]  ⁵ tn The Lord had not given it yet, but was going to give it. Hence, the perfect should be classified as a perfect of resolve.

[32:11]  ⁶ tn The clause is difficult; it means essentially that “they have not made full [their coming] after” the Lord.

[32:11]  ⁷ tn The sentence begins with “if they see….” This is the normal way for Hebrew to express a negative oath – “they will by no means see….” The sentence is elliptical; it is saying something like “[May God do so to me] if they see,” meaning they won’t see. Of course here God is taking the oath, which is an anthropomorphic act. He does not need to take an oath, and certainly could not swear by anyone greater, but it communicates to people his resolve.

[32:11]  ⁸ tc The LXX adds “those knowing bad and good.”

[32:11]  ⁹ tn The words “to give” are not in the Hebrew text but have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[32:13]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “in the eyes of.”

[32:13]  ¹¹ tn The verb is difficult to translate, since it has the idea of “complete, finish” (תָּמָם, tamam). It could be translated “consumed” in this passage (so KJV, ASV); NASB “was destroyed.”

[32:15]  ¹² tn The construction uses a verbal hendiadys with the verb “to add” serving to modify the main verb.

[32:15]  ¹³ tn Heb “and you will destroy all this people.”