Deuteronomy 34:7

34:7 Moses was 120 years old when he died, but his eye was not dull ¹  nor had his vitality ²  departed.

Numbers 27:17

27:17 who will go out before them, and who will come in before them, ³  and who will lead them out, and who will bring them in, so that ⁴  the community of the Lord may not be like sheep that have no shepherd.”

Numbers 27:2

27:2 And they stood before Moses and Eleazar the priest and the leaders of the whole assembly at the entrance to the tent of meeting and said,

Numbers 21:17

21:17 Then Israel sang ⁵  this song:

“Spring up, O well, sing to it!

Numbers 21:1

Victory at Hormah

21:1 ⁶ When the Canaanite king of Arad ⁷  who lived in the Negev ⁸  heard that Israel was approaching along the road to Atharim, he fought against Israel and took some of them prisoner.

Numbers 3:7

3:7 They are responsible for his needs ⁹  and the needs of the whole community before the tent of meeting, by attending ¹⁰  to the service of the tabernacle.

¹ tn Or “dimmed.” The term could refer to dull appearance or to dimness caused by some loss of visual acuity.

² tn Heb “sap.” That is, he was still in possession of his faculties or liveliness.

³ sn This is probably technical terminology for a military leader (Josh 14:11; 1 Sam 18:13-16; 1 Kgs 3:7; 2 Kgs 11:9). The image of a shepherd can also be military in nature (1 Kgs 22:17).

⁴ tn The Hebrew text has the conjunction with the negated imperfect tense, “and it will not be.” This clause should be subordinated to the preceding to form a result clause, and the imperfect then function as a final imperfect.

⁵ tn After the adverb “then” the prefixed conjugation has the preterite force. For the archaic constructions, see D. N. Freedman, “Archaic Forms in Early Hebrew Poetry,” ZAW 72 (1960): 101-7. The poem shows all the marks of being ancient.

⁶ sn This chapter has several events in it: the victory over Arad (vv. 1-3), the plague of serpents (vv. 4-9), the approach to Moab (vv. 10-20), and the victory over Sihon and Og (vv. 21-35). For information, see D. M. Gunn, “The ‘Battle Report’: Oral or Scribal Convention.” JBL 93 (1974): 513-18; and of the extensive literature on the archaeological site, see EAEHL 1:74-89.

⁷ sn The name Arad probably refers to a place a number of miles away from Tel Arad in southern Israel. The name could also refer to the whole region (like Edom).

⁸ tn Or “the south”; “Negev” has become a technical name for the southern desert region and is still in use in modern times.

⁹ tn The Hebrew text uses the perfect tense of שָׁמַר(shamar) with a vav (ו) consecutive to continue the instruction of the preceding verse. It may be translated “and they shall keep” or “they must/are to keep,” but in this context it refers to their appointed duties. The verb is followed by its cognate accusative – “they are to keep his keeping,” or as it is often translated, “his charge.” This would mean whatever Aaron needed them to do. But the noun is also used for the people in the next phrase, and so “charge” cannot be the meaning here. The verse is explaining that the Levites will have duties to perform to meet the needs of Aaron and the congregation.

¹⁰ tn The form is the Qal infinitive construct from עָבַד (’avad, “to serve, to work”); it is taken here as a verbal noun and means “by (or in) serving” (see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 36, §195). This explains the verb “keep [his charge].” Here too the form is followed by a cognate accusative; they will be there to “serve the service” or “work the work.”