Exodus 17:4

17:4 Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What will I do with ¹  this people? – a little more ²  and they will stone me!” ³ 

Numbers 14:10

14:10 However, the whole community threatened to stone them. ⁴  But ⁵  the glory ⁶  of the Lord appeared to all the Israelites at the tent ⁷  of meeting.

Numbers 14:2

14:2 And all the Israelites murmured ⁸  against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, “If only we had died ⁹  in the land of Egypt, or if only we had perished ¹⁰  in this wilderness!

Numbers 24:21

24:21 Then he looked on the Kenites and uttered this oracle:

“Your dwelling place seems strong,

and your nest ¹¹  is set on a rocky cliff.

Acts 5:26

5:26 Then the commander ¹²  of the temple guard ¹³  went with the officers ¹⁴  and brought the apostles ¹⁵  without the use of force ¹⁶  (for they were afraid of being stoned by the people). ¹⁷ 

Acts 7:57-58

7:57 But they covered their ears, ¹⁸  shouting out with a loud voice, and rushed at him with one intent. 7:58 When ¹⁹  they had driven him out of the city, they began to stone him, ²⁰  and the witnesses laid their cloaks ²¹  at the feet of a young man named Saul.

¹ tn The preposition lamed (ל) is here specification, meaning “with respect to” (see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 49, §273).

² tn Or “they are almost ready to stone me.”

³ tn The perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive almost develops an independent force; this is true in sentences where it follows an expression of time, as here (see GKC 334 §112.x).

⁴ tn Heb “said to stone them with stones.” The verb and the object are not from the same root, but the combination nonetheless forms an emphasis equal to the cognate accusative.

⁵ tn The vav (ו) on the noun “glory” indicates a strong contrast, one that interrupts their threatened attack.

⁶ sn The glory of the Lord refers to the reality of the Lord’s presence in a manifestation of his power and splendor. It showed to all that God was a living God. The appearance of the glory indicated blessing for the obedient, but disaster for the disobedient.

⁷ tc The Greek, Syriac, and Tg. Ps.-J. have “in the cloud over the tent.”

⁸ tn The Hebrew verb “to murmur” is לוּן (lun). It is a strong word, signifying far more than complaining or grumbling, as some of the modern translations have it. The word is most often connected to the wilderness experience. It is paralleled in the literature with the word “to rebel.” The murmuring is like a parliamentary vote of no confidence, for they no longer trusted their leaders and wished to choose a new leader and return. This “return to Egypt” becomes a symbol of their lack of faith in the Lord.

⁹ tn The optative is expressed by לוּ (lu) and then the verb, here the perfect tense מַתְנוּ (matnu) – “O that we had died….” Had they wanted to die in Egypt they should not have cried out to the Lord to deliver them from bondage. Here the people became consumed with the fear and worry of what lay ahead, and in their panic they revealed a lack of trust in God.

¹⁰ tn Heb “died.”

¹¹ sn A pun is made on the name Kenite by using the word “your nest” (קִנֶּךָ, qinnekha); the location may be the rocky cliffs overlooking Petra.

¹² tn Or “captain.”

¹³ tn Grk “the official [of the temple],” a title for the commander of the Jewish soldiers guarding the temple (thus the translation, “the commander of the temple guard”). See L&N 37.91.

¹⁴ tn The Greek term ὑπηρέτης (Juphreth") generally means “servant,” but in the NT is used for many different types of servants. See the note on the word “officers” in v. 22.

¹⁵ tn Grk “brought them”; the referent (the apostles) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁶ tn Or “without violence.” It is clear, as well, that the apostles did not resist arrest.

¹⁷ tn Grk “for they feared lest they be stoned by the people.” The translation uses a less awkward English equivalent. This is an explanatory note by the author.

¹⁸ sn They covered their ears to avoid hearing what they considered to be blasphemy.

¹⁹ tn Grk “And when.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence and the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences, καί (kai) has not been translated here; a new sentence is begun instead.

²⁰ sn They began to stone him. The irony of the scene is that the people do exactly what the speech complains about in v. 52.

²¹ tn Or “outer garments.”