23:10 Who 10 can count 11 the dust 12 of Jacob,
Or number 13 the fourth part of Israel?
Let me 14 die the death of the upright, 15
and let the end of my life 16 be like theirs.” 17
7:9 After these things I looked, and here was 26 an enormous crowd that no one could count, made up of persons from every nation, tribe, 27 people, and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb dressed in long white robes, and with palm branches in their hands.
1 tn The translation “can be counted” (potential imperfect) is suggested by the use of יוּכַל (yukhal, “is able”) in the preceding clause.
2 tn Heb “But you, you said.” One of the occurrences of the pronoun “you” has been left untranslated for stylistic reasons.
3 tn Or “will certainly deal well with you.” The infinitive absolute appears before the imperfect, underscoring God’s promise to bless. The statement is more emphatic than in v. 9.
4 tn The form is the perfect tense with a vav (ו) consecutive, carrying the nuance of the preceding verb forward.
5 tn Heb “which cannot be counted because of abundance.” The imperfect verbal form indicates potential here.
6 tn The name אֵל שַׁדַּי (’el shadday, “El Shaddai”) has often been translated “God Almighty,” primarily because Jerome translated it omnipotens (“all powerful”) in the Latin Vulgate. There has been much debate over the meaning of the name. For discussion see W. F. Albright, “The Names Shaddai and Abram,” JBL 54 (1935): 173-210; R. Gordis, “The Biblical Root sdy-sd,” JTS 41 (1940): 34-43; and especially T. N. D. Mettinger, In Search of God, 69-72. Shaddai/El Shaddai is the sovereign king of the world who grants, blesses, and judges. In the Book of Genesis he blesses the patriarchs with fertility and promises numerous descendants. Outside Genesis he both blesses/protects and takes away life/happiness. The patriarchs knew God primarily as El Shaddai (Exod 6:3). While the origin and meaning of this name are uncertain its significance is clear. The name is used in contexts where God appears as the source of fertility and life. For a fuller discussion see the note on “sovereign God” in Gen 17:1.
7 tn Heb “A nation and a company of nations will be from you and kings from your loins will come out.”
8 tn The Hebrew verb translated “gave” refers to the Abrahamic promise of the land. However, the actual possession of that land lay in the future. The decree of the
9 tn Heb “and to your offspring after you.”
10 tn The question is again rhetorical; it means no one can count them – they are innumerable.
11 tn The perfect tense can also be classified as a potential nuance. It does not occur very often, but does occur several times.
12 sn The reference in the oracle is back to Gen 13:16, which would not be clear to Balaam. But God had described their growth like the dust of the earth. Here it is part of the description of the vast numbers.
13 tn Heb “and as a number, the fourth part of Israel.” The noun in the MT is not in the construct state, and so it should be taken as an adverbial accusative, forming a parallel with the verb “count.” The second object of the verse then follows, “the fourth part of Israel.” Smr and the LXX have “and who has numbered” (וּמִסְפָּר, umispar), making this colon more parallel to the preceding one. The editor of BHS prefers this reading.
14 tn The use of נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) for the subject of the verb stresses the personal nature – me.
15 sn Here the seer’s words link with the promise of Gen 12:3, that whoever blesses Israel will be blessed. Since the blessing belongs to them, the upright (and not Balak), Balaam would like his lot to be with them.
16 tn Heb “my latter end.”
17 tn Heb “his.”
18 tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”
19 tn Or “in your offspring”; Grk “in your seed.”
20 tn Or “families.” The Greek word πατριά (patria) can indicate persons of succeeding generations who are related by birth (“lineage,” “family”) but it can also indicate a relatively large unit of people who make up a sociopolitical group and who share a presumed biological descent. In many contexts πατριά is very similar to ἔθνος (eqnos) and λαός (laos). In light of the context of the OT quotation, it is better to translate πατριά as “nations” here.
21 sn A quotation from Gen 22:18.
22 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the introduction of new but related material.
23 tn Grk “who were sealed.”
24 tn Normally, “every,” but since 144,000 is the total number, “all” is clearer here.
25 tn Grk “the sons of Israel,” normally an idiom for the Israelites as an ethnic entity (L&N 11.58). However, many scholars understand the expression in this context to refer to Christians rather than ethnic Israelites.
26 tn The phrase “and here was” expresses the sense of καὶ ἰδού (kai idou).
27 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated before each of the following categories, since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.