4:15 “When Aaron and his sons have finished 1 covering 2 the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, when the camp is ready to journey, then 3 the Kohathites will come to carry them; 4 but they must not touch 5 any 6 holy thing, or they will die. 7 These are the responsibilities 8 of the Kohathites with the tent of meeting.
3:1 Bright and early the next morning Joshua and the Israelites left Shittim and came to the Jordan. 14 They camped there before crossing the river. 15
1 tn The verb form is the Piel perfect with a vav (ו) consecutive; it continues the future sequence, but in this verse forms a subordinate clause to the parallel sequential verb to follow.
2 tn The Piel infinitive construct with the preposition serves as the direct object of the preceding verbal form, answering the question of what it was that they finished.
3 tn Heb “after this.”
4 tn The form is the Qal infinitive construct from נָשָׂא (nasa’, “to lift, carry”); here it indicates the purpose clause after the verb “come.”
5 tn The imperfect tense may be given the nuance of negated instruction (“they are not to”) or negated obligation (“they must not”).
6 tn Here the article expresses the generic idea of any holy thing (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 19, §92).
7 tn The verb is the perfect tense with a vav (ו) consecutive, following the imperfect tense warning against touching the holy thing. The form shows the consequence of touching the holy thing, and so could be translated “or they will die” or “lest they die.” The first is stronger.
8 tn The word מַשָּׂא (massa’) is normally rendered “burden,” especially in prophetic literature. It indicates the load that one must carry, whether an oracle, or here the physical responsibility.
9 tn The verb is the imperfect tense, but it describes their customary activity – they had to carry, they used to carry.
10 tn Heb “upon them,” meaning “their duty.”
11 sn The ark of the covenant refers to the wooden chest that symbolized God’s presence among his covenant people.
12 tn Heb “set out from your place.”
13 tn Or “march.”
14 tn Heb “And Joshua arose early in the morning and he and the Israelites left Shittim and came to the Jordan.”
15 tn The words “the river,” though not in the Hebrew text, have been supplied in the translation for clarity.
16 tn Heb “Their southern border was from the end of the Salt Sea, from the tongue that faces to the south.”
17 tn Heb “he went up against the inhabitants of Debir.”