Numbers 11:33

11:33 But while the meat was still between their teeth, before they chewed it, ¹  the anger of the Lord burned against the people, and the Lord struck the people with a very great plague.

Numbers 20:20

20:20 But he said, “You may not pass through.” Then Edom came out against them ²  with a large and powerful force. ³ 

Numbers 21:6

21:6 So the Lord sent poisonous ⁴  snakes ⁵  among the people, and they bit the people; many people of Israel died.

Numbers 16:47

16:47 So Aaron did ⁶  as Moses commanded ⁷  and ran into the middle of the assembly, where the plague was just beginning among the people. So he placed incense on the coals and made atonement for the people.

¹ tn The verb is a prefixed conjugation, normally an imperfect tense. But coming after the adverb טֶּרֶם (terem) it is treated as a preterite.

² tn Heb “to meet him.”

³ tn Heb “with many [heavy] people and with a strong hand.” The translation presented above is interpretive, but that is what the line means. It was a show of force, numbers and weapons, to intimidate the Israelites.

³ tn Heb “fiery.”

⁴ tn The designation of the serpents/ snakes is נְחָשִׁים (nÿkhashim), which is similar to the word for “bronze” (נְחֹשֶׁת, nÿkhoshet). This has led some scholars to describe the serpents as bronze in color. The description of them as fiery indicates they were poisonous. Perhaps the snake in question is a species of adder.

⁴ tn Heb “took.”

⁵ tn Or “had spoken” (NASB); NRSV “had ordered.”