24:6 They are like 1 valleys 2 stretched forth,
like gardens by the river’s side,
like aloes 3 that the Lord has planted,
and like cedar trees beside the waters.
19:1 5 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron:
92:12 The godly 6 grow like a palm tree;
they grow high like a cedar in Lebanon. 7
1 tn Heb “as valleys they spread forth.”
2 tn Or “rows of palms.”
3 sn The language seems to be more poetic than precise. N. H. Snaith notes that cedars do not grow beside water; he also connects “aloes” to the eaglewood that is more exotic, and capable of giving off an aroma (Leviticus and Numbers [NCB], 298).
4 tn Heb “living according to their tribes.”
5 sn In the last chapter the needs of the priests and Levites were addressed. Now the concern is for the people. This provision from the sacrifice of the red heifer is a precaution to ensure that the purity of the tabernacle was not violated by pollutions of impurity or death. This chapter has two main parts, both dealing with ceremonial purity: the ritual of the red heifer (vv. 1-10), and the purification from uncleanness (vv. 11-22). For further study see J. Milgrom, “The Paradox of the Red Cow (Num 19),” VT 31 (1981): 62-72.
6 tn The singular is used in a representative sense, with the typical godly person being in view.
7 sn The cedars of the Lebanon forest were well-known in ancient Israel for their immense size.