Bible Reading February 14 
Numbers 31:1--33:49
Context31:1 1 The Lord spoke to Moses: 31:2 “Exact vengeance 2 for the Israelites on the Midianites 3 – after that you will be gathered to your people.” 4
31:3 So Moses spoke to the people: “Arm 5 men from among you for the war, to attack the Midianites and to execute 6 the Lord’s vengeance on Midian. 31:4 You must send to the battle a thousand men from every tribe throughout all the tribes of Israel.” 7 31:5 So a thousand from every tribe, twelve thousand armed for battle in all, were provided out of the thousands of Israel.
31:6 So Moses sent them to the war, one thousand from every tribe, with Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest, who was in charge 8 of the holy articles 9 and the signal trumpets. 31:7 They fought against the Midianites, as the Lord commanded Moses, and they killed every male. 10 31:8 They killed the kings of Midian in addition to those slain – Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba – five Midianite kings. 11 They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword. 12
31:9 The Israelites took the women of Midian captives along with their little ones, and took all their herds, all their flocks, and all their goods as plunder. 31:10 They burned 13 all their towns 14 where they lived and all their encampments. 31:11 They took all the plunder and all the spoils, both people and animals. 31:12 They brought the captives and the spoils and the plunder to Moses, to Eleazar the priest, and to the Israelite community, to the camp on the plains 15 of Moab, along the Jordan River 16 across from Jericho. 17 31:13 Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the community went out to meet them outside the camp.
31:14 But Moses was furious with the officers of the army, the commanders over thousands and commanders over hundreds, who had come from service in the war. 31:15 Moses said to them, “Have you allowed all the women to live? 18 31:16 Look, these people through the counsel of Balaam caused the Israelites to act treacherously against the Lord in the matter of Peor – which resulted in the plague among the community of the Lord! 31:17 Now therefore kill every boy, 19 and kill every woman who has had sexual intercourse with a man. 20 31:18 But all the young women 21 who have not had sexual intercourse with a man 22 will be yours. 23
31:19 “Any of you who has killed anyone or touched any of the dead, remain outside the camp for seven days; purify yourselves and your captives on the third day, and on the seventh day. 31:20 You must purify each garment and everything that is made of skin, everything made of goat’s hair, and everything made of wood.” 24
31:21 Then Eleazar the priest said to the men of war who had gone into the battle, “This is the ordinance of the law that the Lord commanded Moses: 31:22 ‘Only the gold, the silver, the bronze, the iron, the tin, and the lead, 31:23 everything that may stand the fire, you are to pass through the fire, 25 and it will be ceremonially clean, but it must still be purified with the water of purification. Anything that cannot withstand the fire you must pass through the water. 31:24 You must wash your clothes on the seventh day, and you will be ceremonially clean, and afterward you may enter the camp.’”
31:25 Then the Lord spoke to Moses: 31:26 “You and Eleazar the priest, and all the family leaders of the community, take the sum 26 of the plunder that was captured, both people and animals. 31:27 Divide the plunder into two parts, one for those who took part in the war – who went out to battle – and the other for all the community.
31:28 “You must exact 27 a tribute for the Lord from the fighting men who went out to battle: one life out of five hundred, from the people, the cattle, and from the donkeys and the sheep. 31:29 You are to take it from their half-share and give it to Eleazar the priest for a raised offering to the Lord. 31:30 From the Israelites’ half-share you are to take one portion out of fifty of the people, the cattle, the donkeys, and the sheep – from every kind of animal – and you are to give them to the Levites, who are responsible for the care of the Lord’s tabernacle.”
31:31 So Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the Lord commanded Moses. 31:32 The spoil that remained of the plunder which the fighting men 28 had gathered 29 was 675,000 sheep, 31:33 72,000 cattle, 31:34 61,000 donkeys, 31:35 and 32,000 young women who had never had sexual intercourse with a man. 30
31:36 The half-portion of those who went to war numbered 337,500 sheep; 31:37 the Lord’s tribute from the sheep was 675. 31:38 The cattle numbered 31 36,000; the Lord’s tribute was 72. 31:39 The donkeys were 30,500, of which the Lord’s tribute was 61. 31:40 The people were 16,000, of which the Lord’s tribute was 32 people. 32
31:41 So Moses gave the tribute, which was the Lord’s raised offering, to Eleazar the priest, as the Lord commanded Moses.
31:42 From the Israelites’ half-share that Moses had separated from the fighting men, 33 31:43 there were 337,500 sheep from the portion belonging to the community, 31:44 36,000 cattle, 31:45 30,500 donkeys, 31:46 and 16,000 people.
31:47 From the Israelites’ share Moses took one of every fifty people and animals and gave them to the Levites who were responsible for the care of the Lord’s tabernacle, just as the Lord commanded Moses.
31:48 Then the officers who were over the thousands of the army, the commanders over thousands and the commanders over hundreds, approached Moses 31:49 and said to him, 34 “Your servants have taken a count 35 of the men who were in the battle, who were under our authority, 36 and not one is missing. 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 37 before the Lord.” 38 31:51 Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold from them, all of it in the form of ornaments. 31:52 All the gold of the offering they offered up to the Lord from the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds weighed 16,750 shekels. 39 31:53 Each soldier had taken plunder for himself. 31:54 So Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from the commanders of thousands and commanders 40 of hundreds and brought it into the tent of meeting as a memorial 41 for the Israelites before the Lord.
32:1 42 Now the Reubenites and the Gadites possessed a very large number of cattle. When they saw that the lands of Jazer and Gilead were ideal for cattle, 43 32:2 the Gadites and the Reubenites came and addressed Moses, Eleazar the priest, and the leaders of the community. They said, 32:3 “Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, 44 Nebo, and Beon, 45 32:4 the land that the Lord subdued 46 before the community of Israel, is ideal for cattle, and your servants have cattle.” 32:5 So they said, “If we have found favor in your sight, 47 let this land be given to your servants for our inheritance. Do not have us cross 48 the Jordan River.” 49
32:6 Moses said to the Gadites and the Reubenites, “Must your brothers go to war while you 50 remain here? 32:7 Why do you frustrate the intent 51 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 52 they went up to the Eshcol Valley and saw the land, they frustrated the intent of the Israelites so that they did not enter 53 the land that the Lord had given 54 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, 55 not 56 one of the men twenty years old and upward 57 who came from Egypt will see the land that I swore to give 58 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 59 the Lord was finished. 60 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 61 them in the wilderness, and you will be the reason for their destruction.” 62
32:16 Then they came very close to him and said, “We will build sheep folds here for our flocks and cities for our families, 63 32:17 but we will maintain ourselves in armed readiness 64 and go before the Israelites until whenever we have brought them to their place. Our descendants will be living in fortified towns as a protection against 65 the inhabitants of the land. 32:18 We will not return to our homes until every Israelite has his inheritance. 32:19 For we will not accept any inheritance on the other side of the Jordan River 66 and beyond, because our inheritance has come to us on this eastern side of the Jordan.”
32:20 Then Moses replied, 67 “If you will do this thing, and if you will arm yourselves for battle before the Lord, 32:21 and if all your armed men cross the Jordan before the Lord until he drives out his enemies from his presence 32:22 and the land is subdued before the Lord, then afterward you may return and be free of your obligation to the Lord and to Israel. This land will then be your possession in the Lord’s sight.
32:23 “But if you do not do this, then look, you will have sinned 68 against the Lord. And know that your sin will find you out. 32:24 So build cities for your descendants and pens for your sheep, but do what you have said 69 you would do.”
32:25 So the Gadites and the Reubenites replied to Moses, “Your servants will do as my lord commands. 32:26 Our children, our wives, our flocks, and all our livestock will be there in the cities of Gilead, 32:27 but your servants will cross over, every man armed for war, to do battle in the Lord’s presence, just as my lord says.”
32:28 So Moses gave orders about them to Eleazar the priest, to Joshua son of Nun, and to the heads of the families of the Israelite tribes. 32:29 Moses said to them: “If the Gadites and the Reubenites cross the Jordan with you, each one equipped for battle in the Lord’s presence, and you conquer the land, 70 then you must allot them the territory of Gilead as their possession. 32:30 But if they do not cross over with you armed, they must receive possessions among you in Canaan.” 32:31 Then the Gadites and the Reubenites answered, “Your servants will do what the Lord has spoken. 71 32:32 We will cross armed in the Lord’s presence into the land of Canaan, and then the possession of our inheritance that we inherit will be ours on this side of the Jordan River.” 72
32:33 So Moses gave to the Gadites, the Reubenites, and to half the tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph the realm of King Sihon of the Amorites, and the realm of King Og of Bashan, the entire land with its cities and the territory surrounding them. 73 32:34 The Gadites rebuilt Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer, 32:35 Atroth Shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah, 32:36 Beth Nimrah, and Beth Haran as fortified cities, and constructed pens for their flocks. 32:37 The Reubenites rebuilt Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim, 32:38 Nebo, Baal Meon (with a change of name), and Sibmah. They renamed 74 the cities they built.
32:39 The descendants of Machir son of Manasseh went to Gilead, took it, and dispossessed the Amorites who were in it. 32:40 So Moses gave Gilead to Machir, son of Manasseh, and he lived there. 75 32:41 Now Jair son of Manasseh went and captured their small towns and named them Havvoth Jair. 32:42 Then Nobah went and captured Kenath and its villages and called it Nobah after his own name.
33:1 76 These are the journeys of the Israelites, who went out of the land of Egypt by their divisions under the authority 77 of Moses and Aaron. 33:2 Moses recorded their departures 78 according to their journeys, by the commandment 79 of the Lord; now these are their journeys according to their departures. 33:3 They departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the day 80 after the Passover the Israelites went out defiantly 81 in plain sight 82 of all the Egyptians. 33:4 Now the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn, whom the Lord had killed among them; the Lord also executed judgments on their gods.
33:5 The Israelites traveled from Rameses and camped in Succoth.
33:6 They traveled from Succoth, and camped in Etham, which is on the edge of the wilderness. 33:7 They traveled from Etham, and turned again to Pi-hahiroth, which is before Baal-Zephon; and they camped before Migdal. 33:8 They traveled from Pi-hahiroth, 83 and passed through the middle of the sea into the wilderness, and went three days’ journey in the wilderness of Etham, and camped in Marah. 33:9 They traveled from Marah and came to Elim; in Elim there are twelve fountains of water and seventy palm trees, so they camped there.
33:10 They traveled from Elim, and camped by the Red Sea. 33:11 They traveled from the Red Sea and camped in the wilderness of Zin. 33:12 They traveled from the wilderness of Zin and camped in Dophkah. 33:13 And they traveled from Dophkah, and camped in Alush.
33:14 They traveled from Alush and camped at Rephidim, where there was no water for the people to drink. 33:15 They traveled from Rephidim and camped in the wilderness of Sinai.
33:16 They traveled from the desert of Sinai and camped at Kibroth Hattaavah. 33:17 They traveled from Kibroth Hattaavah and camped at Hazeroth. 33:18 They traveled from Hazeroth and camped in Rithmah. 33:19 They traveled from Rithmah and camped at Rimmon-perez. 33:20 They traveled from Rimmon-perez and camped in Libnah. 33:21 They traveled from Libnah and camped at Rissah. 33:22 They traveled from Rissah and camped in Kehelathah. 33:23 They traveled from Kehelathah and camped at Mount Shepher. 33:24 They traveled from Mount Shepher and camped in Haradah. 33:25 They traveled from Haradah and camped in Makheloth. 33:26 They traveled from Makheloth and camped at Tahath. 33:27 They traveled from Tahath and camped at Terah. 33:28 They traveled from Terah and camped in Mithcah. 33:29 They traveled from Mithcah and camped in Hashmonah. 33:30 They traveled from Hashmonah and camped in Moseroth. 33:31 They traveled from Moseroth and camped in Bene-jaakan. 33:32 They traveled from Bene-jaakan and camped at Hor-haggidgad. 33:33 They traveled from Hor-haggidgad and camped in Jotbathah. 33:34 They traveled from Jotbathah and camped in Abronah. 33:35 They traveled from Abronah and camped at Ezion-geber. 33:36 They traveled from Ezion-geber and camped in the wilderness of Zin, which is Kadesh.
33:37 They traveled from Kadesh and camped in Mount Hor at the edge of the land of Edom. 33:38 Aaron the priest ascended Mount Hor at the command 84 of the Lord, and he died there in the fortieth year after the Israelites had come out of the land of Egypt on the first day of the fifth month. 33:39 Now Aaron was 123 years old when he died in Mount Hor. 33:40 The king of Arad, the Canaanite king who lived in the south of the land of Canaan, heard about the approach of the Israelites.
33:41 They traveled from Mount Hor and camped in Zalmonah. 33:42 They traveled from Zalmonah and camped in Punon. 33:43 They traveled from Punon and camped in Oboth. 33:44 They traveled from Oboth and camped in Iye-abarim, on the border of Moab. 33:45 They traveled from Iim 85 and camped in Dibon-gad. 33:46 They traveled from Dibon-gad and camped in Almon-diblathaim. 33:47 They traveled from Almon-diblathaim and camped in the mountains of Abarim before Nebo. 33:48 They traveled from the mountains of Abarim and camped in the plains of Moab by the Jordan River 86 across from Jericho. 87 33:49 They camped by the Jordan, from Beth-jeshimoth as far as Abel-shittim in the plains of Moab.
[31:1] 1 sn This lengthy chapter records the mobilization of the troops (vv. 1-5), the war itself (vv. 6-13), the death of the captive women (vv. 14-18), the purification of the nations (vv. 19-24), and the distribution of the spoils (vv. 25-54). For more detail, see G. W. Coats, “Moses in Midian,” JBL 92 (1973): 3-10; and W. J. Dumbrell, “Midian – a Land or a League?” VT 25 (1975): 323-37.
[31:2] 2 tn The imperative is followed by its cognate accusative to stress this vengeance. The Midianites had attempted to destroy Israel with their corrupt pagan practices, and now will be judged. The accounts indicate that the effort by Midian was calculated and evil.
[31:2] 3 sn The war was commanded by the
[31:2] 4 sn This would be the last major enterprise that Moses would have to undertake. He would soon die and “be gathered to his people” as Aaron was.
[31:3] 5 tn The Niphal imperative, literally “arm yourselves,” is the call to mobilize the nation for war. It is followed by the jussive, “and they will be,” which would then be subordinated to say “that they may be.” The versions changed the verb to a Hiphil, but that is unnecessary: “arm some of yourselves.”
[31:4] 7 sn Some commentators argue that given the size of the nation (which they reject) the small number for the army is a sign of the unrealistic character of the story. The number is a round number, but it is also a holy war, and God would give them the victory. They are beginning to learn here, and at Jericho, and later against these Midianites under Gideon, that God does not want or need a large army in order to obtain victory.
[31:6] 8 tn The Hebrew text uses the idiom that these “were in his hand,” meaning that he had the responsibility over them.
[31:6] 9 sn It is not clear what articles from the sanctuary were included. Tg. Ps.-J. adds (interpretively) “the Urim and Thummim.”
[31:7] 10 sn Many modern biblical scholars assume that this passage is fictitious. The text says that they killed every male, but Judges accounts for the Midianites. The texts can be harmonized rather simply – they killed every Midianite who was in the battle. Midianite tribes and cities dotted the whole region, but that does not mean Israel went and killed every single one of them. There apparently was a core of Midianites whom Balaam had influenced to pervert Israel.
[31:8] 11 sn Here again we see that there was no unified empire, but Midianite tribal groups.
[31:8] 12 sn And what was Balaam doing among the Midianites? The implication is strong. This pagan diviner had to submit to the revealed will of God in the oracles, but he nonetheless could be hired. He had been a part of the attempt to destroy Israel that failed; he then apparently became part of the plan, if not the adviser, to destroy them with sexual immorality and pagan ritual.
[31:10] 13 tn Heb “burned with fire.”
[31:10] 14 tn The ban applied to the encampments and forts of this group of Midianite tribes living in the region of Moab.
[31:12] 16 tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[31:12] 17 tn Again this expression, “the Jordan of Jericho,” is used. It describes the intended location along the Jordan River, the Jordan next to or across from Jericho.
[31:15] 18 tn The verb is the Piel perfect of the word חָיָה (khayah, “to live”). In the Piel stem it must here mean “preserve alive,” or “allow to live,” rather than make alive.
[31:17] 19 tn Heb “every male among the little ones.”
[31:17] 20 tn Heb “every woman who has known [a] man by lying with a man.”
[31:18] 21 tn Or “girls.” The Hebrew indicates they would be female children, making the selection easy.
[31:18] 22 tn Heb “who have not known [a] man by lying with a man.”
[31:18] 23 sn Many contemporary scholars see this story as fictitious, composed by the Jews during the captivity. According to this interpretation, the spoils of war here indicate the wealth of the Jews in captivity, which was to be given to the Levites and priests for the restoration of the sanctuary in Jerusalem. The conclusion drawn from this interpretation is that returning Jews had the same problem as the earlier ones: to gain a foothold in the land. Against this interpretation of the account is a lack of hard evidence, a lack which makes this interpretation appear contrived and subjective. If this was the intent of a later writer, he surely could have stated this more clearly than by making up such a story.
[31:20] 24 sn These verses are a reminder that taking a life, even if justified through holy war, still separates one from the holiness of God. It is part of the violation of the fallen world, and only through the ritual of purification can one be once again made fit for the presence of the
[31:23] 25 sn Purification by fire is unique to this event. Making these metallic objects “pass through the fire” was not only a way of purifying (burning off impurities), but it seems to be a dedicatory rite as well to the
[31:26] 26 tn The idiom here is “take up the head,” meaning take a census, or count the totals.
[31:28] 27 tn The verb is the Hiphil, “you shall cause to be taken up.” The perfect with vav (ו) continues the sequence of the instructions. This raised offering was to be a tax of one-fifth of one percent for the
[31:32] 29 tn Heb “had plundered.”
[31:35] 30 sn Here again we encounter one of the difficulties of the book, the use of the large numbers. Only twelve thousand soldiers fought the Midianites, but they brought back this amount of plunder, including 32,000 girls. Until a solution for numbers in the book can be found, or the current translation confirmed, one must remain cautious in interpretation.
[31:38] 31 tn The word “numbered” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[31:42] 33 tn Heb “the men who were fighting.”
[31:49] 34 tn Heb “to Moses”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[31:49] 35 tn Heb “lifted up the head.”
[31:49] 36 tn Heb “in our hand.”
[31:50] 37 tn Heb “our souls.”
[31:50] 38 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.
[31:52] 39 sn Or about 420 imperial pounds.
[31:54] 40 tn The Hebrew text does not repeat the word “commanders” here, but it is implied.
[31:54] 41 tn The purpose of the offering was to remind the
[32:1] 42 sn While the tribes are on the other side of Jordan, the matter of which tribes would settle there has to be discussed. This chapter begins the settlement of Israel into the tribal territories, something to be continued in Joshua. The chapter has the petitions (vv. 1-5), the response by Moses (vv. 6-15), the proposal (vv. 16-27), and the conclusion of the matter (vv. 28-42). For literature on this subject, both critical and conservative, see S. E. Loewenstein, “The Relation of the Settlement of Gad and Reuben in Numbers 32:1-38, Its Background and Its Composition,” Tarbiz 42 (1972): 12-26; J. Mauchline, “Gilead and Gilgal, Some Reflections on the Israelite Occupation of Palestine,” VT 6 (1956): 19-33; and A. Bergmann, “The Israelite Tribe of Half-Manasseh,” JPOS 16 (1936): 224-54.
[32:1] 43 tn Heb “the place was a place of/for cattle.”
[32:3] 44 tc Smr and the LXX have Sibmah. Cf. v. 38.
[32:3] 45 tn Cf. Baal-meon in v. 38.
[32:4] 46 tn The verb is the Hiphil perfect of נָכָה (nakhah), a term that can mean “smite, strike, attack, destroy.”
[32:5] 48 tn The verb is the Hiphil jussive from עָבַר (’avar, “to cross over”). The idea of “cause to cross” or “make us cross” might be too harsh, but “take across” with the rest of the nation is what they are trying to avoid.
[32:5] 49 tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[32:6] 50 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] 51 tn Heb “heart.” So also in v. 9.
[32:9] 52 tn The preterite with vav (ו) consecutive is here subordinated to the parallel yet chronologically later verb in the next clause.
[32:9] 53 tn The infinitive construct here with lamed (ל) is functioning as a result clause.
[32:9] 54 tn The
[32:11] 55 tn The clause is difficult; it means essentially that “they have not made full [their coming] after” the
[32:11] 56 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] 57 tc The LXX adds “those knowing bad and good.”
[32:11] 58 tn The words “to give” are not in the Hebrew text but have been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[32:13] 59 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
[32:13] 60 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] 61 tn The construction uses a verbal hendiadys with the verb “to add” serving to modify the main verb.
[32:15] 62 tn Heb “and you will destroy all this people.”
[32:16] 63 tn Heb “our little ones.”
[32:17] 64 tn The MT has חֻשִׁים (khushim); the verbal root is חוּשׁ (khush, “to make haste” or “hurry”). But in light of the Greek and Latin Vulgate the Hebrew should probably be emended to חֲמֻשִׁים (hamushim), a qal passive participle meaning “in battle array.” See further BDB 301 s.v. I חוּשׁ, BDB 332 s.v. חֲמֻשִׁים; HALOT 300 s.v. I חושׁ, חישׁ; HALOT 331 s.v. I חמשׁ.
[32:17] 65 tn Heb “from before.”
[32:19] 66 tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[32:20] 67 tn Heb “said to them.”
[32:23] 68 tn The nuance of the perfect tense here has to be the future perfect.
[32:24] 69 tn Heb “that which goes out/has gone out of your mouth.”
[32:29] 70 tn Heb “and the land is subdued before you.”
[32:31] 71 tn Heb “that which the Lord has spoken to your servants, thus we will do.”
[32:32] 72 tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[32:33] 73 tn Heb “the land with its cities in the borders of the cities of the land all around.”
[32:38] 74 tn Heb “called names.”
[33:1] 76 sn This material can be arranged into four sections: from Egypt to Sinai (vv. 1-15), the wilderness wanderings (vv. 16-36), from Kadesh to Moab (vv. 37-49), and final orders for Canaan (vv. 50-56).
[33:2] 78 tn Heb “their goings out.”
[33:3] 81 tn Heb “with a high hand”; the expression means “defiantly; boldly” or “with confidence.” The phrase is usually used for arrogant sin and pride, the defiant fist, as it were. The image of the high hand can also mean the hand raised to deliver the blow (Job 38:15).
[33:3] 82 tn Heb “in the eyes.”
[33:8] 83 tc So many medieval Hebrew manuscripts, Smr, Syriac, and Latin Vulgate. Other witnesses have “from before Hahiroth.”
[33:45] 85 tn Iim is a shortened form of the name Iye-abarim mentioned in v. 44.
[33:48] 86 tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.
[33:48] 87 map For the location of Jericho see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.
