Numbers 11:23

11:23 And the Lord said to Moses, “Is the Lord’s hand shortened? ¹  Now you will see whether my word to you will come true ²  or not!”

Numbers 22:11

22:11 “Look, a nation has come out ³  of Egypt, and it covers the face of the earth. Come now and put a curse on them for me; perhaps I will be able to defeat them ⁴  and drive them out.” ⁵ 

Numbers 22:29

22:29 And Balaam said to the donkey, “You have made me look stupid; I wish ⁶  there were a sword in my hand, for I would kill you right now.”

Numbers 22:33

22:33 The donkey saw me and turned from me these three times. If ⁷  she had not turned from me, I would have killed you but saved her alive.”

¹ sn This anthropomorphic expression concerns the power of God. The “hand of the Lord” is idiomatic for his power, what he is able to do. The question is rhetorical; it is affirming that his hand is not shortened, i.e., that his power is not limited. Moses should have known this, and so this is a rebuke for him at this point. God had provided the manna, among all the other powerful acts they had witnessed. Meat would be no problem. But the lack of faith by the people was infectious.

² tn Or “will happen” (TEV); KJV “shall come to pass unto thee.”

³ tn In this passage the text differs slightly; here it is “the nation that comes out,” using the article on the noun, and the active participle in the attributive adjective usage.

⁴ tn Here the infinitive construct is used to express the object or complement of the verb “to be able” (it answers the question of what he will be able to do).

⁵ tn The verb is the Piel perfect with vav (ו) consecutive. It either carries the force of an imperfect tense, or it may be subordinated to the preceding verbs.

⁵ tn The optative clause is introduced with the particle לוּ (lu).

⁷ tc Many commentators consider אוּלַי (’ulay, “perhaps”) to be a misspelling in the MT in place of לוּלֵי (luley, “if not”).