24:5 “You must take choice wheat flour 1 and bake twelve loaves; 2 there must be two tenths of an ephah of flour in 3 each loaf, 24:6 and you must set them in two rows, six in a row, 4 on the ceremonially pure table before the Lord.
4:7 “On the table of the presence 5 they must spread a blue 6 cloth, and put on it the dishes, the pans, the bowls, and the pitchers for pouring, and the Bread of the Presence must be on it continually.
4:1 7 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron:
21:6 So the Lord sent poisonous 8 snakes 9 among the people, and they bit the people; many people of Israel died.
21:1 10 When the Canaanite king of Arad 11 who lived in the Negev 12 heard that Israel was approaching along the road to Atharim, he fought against Israel and took some of them prisoner.
9:1 13 The Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they had come out 14 of the land of Egypt:
1 sn See the note on Lev 2:1.
2 tn Heb “and bake it twelve loaves”; KJV, NAB, NASB “cakes.”
3 tn The words “of flour” are supplied in the translation for clarity.
4 tn Heb “six of the row.”
5 sn The Hebrew actually has the “table of faces,” and this has been traditionally rendered “table of shewbread.”
6 tn The Greek has “violet” instead of blue. This is also the case in vv. 8, 10, and 14.
7 sn The chapter has four main parts to it: Kohathites (1-20), Gershonites (21-28), Merarites (29-33) and the census of the Levites (34-49).
8 tn Heb “fiery.”
9 tn The designation of the serpents/ snakes is נְחָשִׁים (nÿkhashim), which is similar to the word for “bronze” (נְחֹשֶׁת, nÿkhoshet). This has led some scholars to describe the serpents as bronze in color. The description of them as fiery indicates they were poisonous. Perhaps the snake in question is a species of adder.
10 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.
11 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).
12 tn Or “the south”; “Negev” has become a technical name for the southern desert region and is still in use in modern times.
13 sn The chapter has just the two sections, the observance of the Passover (vv. 1-14) and the cloud that led the Israelites in the wilderness (vv. 15-23). It must be remembered that the material in vv. 7-9 is chronologically earlier than vv. 1-6, as the notices in the text will make clear. The two main discussions here are the last major issues to be reiterated before dealing with the commencement of the journey.
14 tn The temporal clause is formed with the infinitive construct of יָצָא (yatsa’, “to go out; to leave”). This verse indicates that a full year had passed since the exodus and the original Passover; now a second ruling on the Passover is included at the beginning of the second year. This would have occurred immediately after the consecration of the tabernacle, in the month before the census at Sinai.
15 tn The Hebrew text has “on the altar,” but since there were seven of each animal and seven altars, the implication is that this means on each altar.
16 tc Some scholars emend “tribe” to “sons.” Cf. Num 1:10.
17 sn The word table, here a synonym for “altar,” has overtones of covenant imagery in which a feast shared by the covenant partners was an important element (see Exod 24:11). It also draws attention to the analogy of sitting down at a common meal with the governor (v. 8).
18 tn Heb “fruit.” The following word “food” in the Hebrew text (אָכְלוֹ, ’okhlo) appears to be an explanatory gloss to clarify the meaning of the rare word נִיב (niv, “fruit”; see Isa 57:19 Qere; נוֹב, nov, “fruit,” in Kethib). Cf. ASV “the fruit thereof, even its food.” In this cultic context the reference is to the offerings on the altar.
19 tc The Greek verb ἔφαγεν (efagen, “he ate”) is found in a majority of witnesses (Ì70 C D L W Θ Ë1,13 33 Ï latt sy co) in place of ἔφαγον (efagon, “they ate”), the wording found in א B pc. ἔφαγεν is most likely motivated by the parallels in Mark and Luke (both of which have the singular).
20 tn Grk “the bread of presentation.”
21 sn Jesus’ response to the charge that what his disciples were doing was against the law is one of analogy: “If David did it for his troops in a time of need, then so can I with my disciples.” Jesus is clear that on the surface there was a violation here. What is not as clear is whether he is arguing a “greater need” makes this permissible or that this was within the intention of the law all along.
22 sn See 1 Sam 21:1-6.