Numbers 1:17

1:17 So Moses and Aaron took these men who had been mentioned specifically by name,

Numbers 3:24

3:24 Now the leader ¹  of the clan ²  of the Gershonites was Eliasaph son of Lael.

Numbers 8:6

8:6 “Take the Levites from among the Israelites and purify ³  them.

Numbers 9:2

9:2 “The Israelites are to observe ⁴  the Passover ⁵  at its appointed time. ⁶ 

Numbers 11:26

Eldad and Medad

11:26 But two men remained in the camp; one’s name was Eldad, and the other’s name was Medad. And the spirit rested on them. (Now they were among those in the registration, ⁷  but had not gone to the tabernacle.) So they prophesied in the camp.

Numbers 20:25

20:25 Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and bring them up on Mount Hor.

Numbers 21:21

The Victory over Sihon and Og

21:21 ⁸ Then Israel sent messengers to King Sihon of the Amorites, saying, ⁹ 

Numbers 26:36

26:36 Now these were the Shuthelahites: from Eran, the family of the Eranites.

Numbers 33:39

33:39 Now Aaron was 123 years old when he died in Mount Hor.

Numbers 36:3

36:3 Now if they should be married to one of the men ¹⁰  from another Israelite tribe, their inheritance would be taken from the inheritance of our fathers and added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they marry. ¹¹  As a result, it will be taken from the lot of our inheritance.

¹ tn The vav (ו) disjunctive on the noun at the beginning of the verse here signals a greater emphasis on the individual rather than another item in the numbering of the clans.

² tn Heb “a father’s house.” So also in vv. 30,35.

¹ tn The verb טָהַר (tahar) means that Moses was “to purify” or “to make ceremonially clean” the Levites so that they could enter the sanctuary and do the work prescribed for them. Whatever is “unclean” is not permitted in the sanctuary at all.

¹ tn The verb is simply “to do; to make” (עָשָׂה [’asah] in the jussive). It must have the idea here of “to perform; to keep; to observe” the ritual of the Passover.

² sn For a detailed study note on the Passover, see the discussion with the original institution in Exod 12. The word פֶּסַח (pesakh) – here in pause and with the article – has become the technical name for the spring festival of Israel. In Exod 12 the name is explained by the use of the verb “to pass over” (עָבַר, ’avar), indicating that the angel of death would pass over the house with the blood applied. Many scholarly attempts have been made to supply the etymology of the word, but none has been compelling enough to be accepted by a large number of biblical scholars. For general literature on the Passover, see J. B. Segal, The Hebrew Passover, as well as the Bible dictionaries and encyclopedias.

³ tc The Greek text uses a plural here but the singular in vv. 7 and 13; the Smr uses the plural in all three places.

¹ tn The form of the word is the passive participle כְּתֻבִים (kÿtuvim, “written”). It is normally taken to mean “among those registered,” but it is not clear if that means they were to be among the seventy or not. That seems unlikely since there is no mention of the seventy being registered, and vv. 24-25 says all seventy went out and prophesied. The registration may be to eldership, or the role of the officer.

¹ sn For this section, see further J. R. Bartlett, “Sihon and Og of the Amorites,” VT 20 (1970): 257-77, and “The Moabites and the Edomites,” Peoples of Old Testament Times, 229-58; S. H. Horn, “The Excavations at Tell Hesban, 1973,” ADAJ 18 (1973): 87-88.

² tc Smr and the LXX have “words of peace.”

¹ tn “Men” is understood; it says “to one from the sons of the tribes of the Israelites for a wife,” or if he has her for a wife.

² tn Heb “which they will be to them,” meaning, to those who have them, i.e., the marriages.