8:18 Then he presented the burnt offering ram and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram,
8:20 Noah built an altar to the Lord. He then took some of every kind of clean animal and clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 10
22:13 Abraham looked up 17 and saw 18 behind him 19 a ram caught in the bushes by its horns. So he 20 went over and got the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.
29:42 “This will be a regular 27 burnt offering throughout your generations at the entrance of the tent of meeting before the Lord, where I will meet 28 with you to speak to you there.
38:1 He made the altar for the burnt offering of acacia wood seven feet six inches long and seven feet six inches wide – it was square – and its height was four feet six inches.
23:10 Who 35 can count 36 the dust 37 of Jacob,
Or number 38 the fourth part of Israel?
Let me 39 die the death of the upright, 40
and let the end of my life 41 be like theirs.” 42
23:11 Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but on the contrary 43 you have only blessed them!” 44
23:19 God is not a man, that he should lie,
nor a human being, 45 that he should change his mind.
Has he said, and will he not do it?
Or has he spoken, and will he not make it happen? 46
23:23 For there is no spell against 47 Jacob,
nor is there any divination against Israel.
At this time 48 it must be said 49 of Jacob
and of Israel, ‘Look at 50 what God has done!’
23:24 Indeed, the people will rise up like a lioness,
and like a lion raises himself up;
they will not lie down until they eat their 51 prey,
and drink the blood of the slain.” 52
23:27 Balak said to Balaam, “Come, please; I will take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God 53 to let you curse them for me from there.” 54
1:11 “Of what importance to me are your many sacrifices?” 56
says the Lord.
“I am stuffed with 57 burnt sacrifices
of rams and the fat from steers.
The blood of bulls, lambs, and goats
I do not want. 58
10:8 When he says above, “Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and sin-offerings you did not desire nor did you take delight in them” 59 (which are offered according to the law), 10:9 then he says, “Here I am: I have come to do your will.” 60 He does away with 61 the first to establish the second. 10:10 By his will 62 we have been made holy through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
1 tn Heb “It is the burnt offering on the hearth.”
2 tn Heb “in it.” In this context “in it” apparently refers to the “hearth” which was on top of the altar.
3 tn The exact nature of this article of the priest’s clothing is difficult to determine. Cf. KJV, ASV “breeches”; NAB “drawers”; NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT “undergarments”; NCV “underclothes”; CEV “underwear”; TEV “shorts.”
4 tn Heb “he shall lift up the fatty ashes which the fire shall consume the burnt offering on the altar.”
5 tn Heb “it,” referring the “fatty ashes” as a single unit.
6 tn The word “ceremonially” has been supplied in the translation to clarify that the uncleanness of the place involved is ritual or ceremonial in nature.
7 tn Heb “in it,” apparently referring to the “hearth” which was on top of the altar (cf. the note on v. 9).
8 tn Again, Aaron probably did the washing (v. 21a), but Moses presented the portions on the altar (v. 21b; cf. the note on v. 15 above).
9 tn See Lev 1:9, 13.
10 sn Offered burnt offerings on the altar. F. D. Maurice includes a chapter on the sacrifice of Noah in The Doctrine of Sacrifice. The whole burnt offering, according to Leviticus 1, represented the worshiper’s complete surrender and dedication to the
11 tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
12 sn Take your son…Isaac. The instructions are very clear, but the details are deliberate. With every additional description the commandment becomes more challenging.
13 sn There has been much debate over the location of Moriah; 2 Chr 3:1 suggests it may be the site where the temple was later built in Jerusalem.
14 sn A whole burnt offering signified the complete surrender of the worshiper and complete acceptance by God. The demand for a human sacrifice was certainly radical and may have seemed to Abraham out of character for God. Abraham would have to obey without fully understanding what God was about.
15 tn Heb “which I will say to.”
16 tn Heb “will see for himself.” The construction means “to look out for; to see to it; to provide.”
17 tn Heb “lifted his eyes.”
18 tn Heb “and saw, and look.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) draws attention to what Abraham saw and invites the audience to view the scene through his eyes.
19 tc The translation follows the reading of the MT; a number of Hebrew
20 tn Heb “Abraham”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
21 tn The construct has “young men of the Israelites,” and so “Israelite” is a genitive that describes them.
22 tn The verbs and their respective accusatives are cognates. First, they offered up burnt offerings (see Lev 1), which is וַיַּעֲלוּ עֹלֹת (vayya’alu ’olot); then they sacrificed young bulls as peace sacrifices (Lev 3), which is in Hebrew וַיִּזְבְּחוּ זְבָחִים (vayyizbÿkhu zÿvakhim). In the first case the cognate accusative is the direct object; in the second it is an adverbial accusative of product. See on this covenant ritual H. M. Kamsler, “The Blood Covenant in the Bible,” Dor le Dor 6 (1977): 94-98; E. W. Nicholson, “The Covenant Ritual in Exodus 24:3-8,” VT 32 (1982): 74-86.
23 tn Heb “turn to sweet smoke.”
24 sn According to Lev 1 the burnt offering (often called whole burnt offering, except that the skins were usually given to the priests for income) was an atoning sacrifice. By consuming the entire animal, God was indicating that he had completely accepted the worshiper, and as it was a sweet smelling fire sacrifice, he was indicating that he was pleased to accept it. By offering the entire animal, the worshiper was indicating on his part a complete surrender to God.
25 tn The word אִשֶּׁה (’isheh) has traditionally been translated “an offering made with fire” or the like, because it appears so obviously connected with fire. But further evidence from Ugaritic suggests that it might only mean “a gift” (see Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, 161).
26 sn These sections show that the priest had to be purified or cleansed from defilement of sin and also be atoned for and accepted by the
27 tn The translation has “regular” instead of “continually,” because they will be preparing this twice a day.
28 tn The relative clause identifies the place in front of the Tent as the place that Yahweh would meet Moses. The main verb of the clause is אִוָּעֵד (’ivva’ed), a Niphal imperfect of the verb יָעַד (ya’ad), the verb that is cognate to the name “tent of meeting” – hence the name. This clause leads into the next four verses.
29 tn The second infinitive is an infinitive absolute. The first is an infinitive construct with a lamed (ל) preposition, expressing the purpose of their sitting down. The infinitive absolute that follows cannot take the preposition, but with the conjunction follows the force of the form before it (see GKC 340 §113.e).
30 tn The form is לְצַחֵק (lÿtsakheq), a Piel infinitive construct, giving the purpose of their rising up after the festal meal. On the surface it would seem that with the festival there would be singing and dancing, so that the people were celebrating even though they did not know the reason. W. C. Kaiser says the word means “drunken immoral orgies and sexual play” (“Exodus,” EBC 2:478). That is quite an assumption for this word, but is reflected in some recent English versions (e.g., NCV “got up and sinned sexually”; TEV “an orgy of drinking and sex”). The word means “to play, trifle.” It can have other meanings, depending on its contexts. It is used of Lot when he warned his sons-in-law and appeared as one who “mocked” them; it is also used of Ishmael “playing” with Isaac, which Paul interprets as mocking; it is used of Isaac “playing” with his wife in a manner that revealed to Abimelech that they were not brother and sister, and it is used by Potiphar’s wife to say that her husband brought this slave Joseph in to “mock” them. The most that can be gathered from these is that it is playful teasing, serious mocking, or playful caresses. It might fit with wild orgies, but there is no indication of that in this passage, and the word does not mean it. The fact that they were festive and playing before an idol was sufficient.
31 tn The verb הִתְיַצֵּב (hityatsev) means “to take a stand, station oneself.” It is more intentional than simply standing by something. He was to position himself by the sacrifice as Balaam withdrew to seek the oracle.
32 tn Heb “and the word of what he shows me.” The noun is in construct, and so the clause that follows functions as a noun clause in the genitive. The point is that the word will consist of divine revelation.
33 tn The verb is the perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive. This clause is dependent on the clause that precedes it.
34 sn He went up to a bald spot, to a barren height. The statement underscores the general belief that such tops were the closest things to the gods. On such heights people built their shrines and temples.
35 tn The question is again rhetorical; it means no one can count them – they are innumerable.
36 tn The perfect tense can also be classified as a potential nuance. It does not occur very often, but does occur several times.
37 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.
38 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.
39 tn The use of נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) for the subject of the verb stresses the personal nature – me.
40 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.
41 tn Heb “my latter end.”
42 tn Heb “his.”
43 tn The Hebrew text uses הִנֵּה (hinneh) here to stress the contrast.
44 tn The construction is emphatic, using the perfect tense and the infinitive absolute to give it the emphasis. It would have the force of “you have done nothing but bless,” or “you have indeed blessed.” The construction is reminiscent of the call of Abram and the promise of the blessing in such elaborate terms.
45 tn Heb “son of man.”
46 tn The verb is the Hiphil of קוּם (qum, “to cause to rise; to make stand”). The meaning here is more of the sense of fulfilling the promises made.
47 tn Or “in Jacob.” But given the context the meaning “against” is preferable. The words describe two techniques of consulting God; the first has to do with observing omens in general (“enchantments”), and the second with casting lots or arrows of the like (“divinations” [Ezek 21:26]). See N. H. Snaith, Leviticus and Numbers (NCB), 295-96.
48 tn The form is the preposition “like, as” and the word for “time” – according to the time, about this time, now.
49 tn The Niphal imperfect here carries the nuance of obligation – one has to say in amazement that God has done something marvelous or “it must be said.”
50 tn The words “look at” are not in the Hebrew text but have been added in the translation for clarity.
51 tn The pronoun “their” has been supplied for clarity; it is not present in the Hebrew text.
52 sn The oracle compares Israel first to a lion, or better, lioness, because she does the tracking and hunting of food while the lion moves up and down roaring and distracting the prey. But the lion is also the traditional emblem of Judah, Dan and Gad, as well as the symbol of royalty. So this also supports the motif of royalty as well as power for Israel.
53 tn Heb “be pleasing in the eyes of God.”
54 sn Balak is stubborn, as indeed Balaam is persistent. But Balak still thinks that if another location were used it just might work. Balaam had actually told Balak in the prophecy that other attempts would fail. But Balak refuses to give up so easily. So he insists they perform the ritual and try again. This time, however, Balaam will change his approach, and this will result in a dramatic outpouring of power on him.
55 tn Heb “they shall be to you without blemish.”
56 tn Heb “Why to me the multitude of your sacrifices?” The sarcastic rhetorical question suggests that their many sacrifices are of no importance to the Lord. This phrase answers the possible objection that an Israelite could raise in response to God’s indictment: “But we are offering the sacrifices you commanded!”
57 tn The verb שָׂבַע (sava’, “be satisfied, full”) is often used of eating and/or drinking one’s fill. See BDB 959 s.v. שָׂבַע. Here sacrifices are viewed, in typical ancient Near Eastern fashion, as food for the deity. God here declares that he has eaten and drunk, as it were, his fill.
58 sn In the chiastic structure of the verse, the verbs at the beginning and end highlight God’s displeasure, while the heaping up of references to animals, fat, and blood in the middle lines hints at why God wants no more of their sacrifices. They have, as it were, piled the food on his table and he needs no more.
59 sn Various phrases from the quotation of Ps 40:6 in Heb 10:5-6 are repeated in Heb 10:8.
60 tc The majority of
61 tn Or “abolishes.”
62 tn Grk “by which will.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.