Numbers 14:14

14:14 then they will tell it to the inhabitants ¹  of this land. They have heard that you, Lord, are among this people, that you, Lord, are seen face to face, ²  that your cloud stands over them, and that you go before them by day in a pillar of cloud and in a pillar of fire by night.

Numbers 16:30

16:30 But if the Lord does something entirely new, ³  and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them up ⁴  along with all that they have, and they ⁵  go down alive to the grave, ⁶  then you will know that these men have despised the Lord!”

Numbers 27:21

27:21 And he will stand before Eleazar the priest, who ⁷  will seek counsel ⁸  for him before the Lord by the decision of the Urim. ⁹  At his command ¹⁰  they will go out, and at his command they will come in, he and all the Israelites with him, the whole community.”

¹ tn The singular participle is to be taken here as a collective, representing all the inhabitants of the land.

² tn “Face to face” is literally “eye to eye.” It only occurs elsewhere in Isa 52:8. This expresses the closest communication possible.

³ tn The verb בָּרָא (bara’) is normally translated “create” in the Bible. More specifically it means to fashion or make or do something new and fresh. Here the verb is joined with its cognate accusative to underscore that this will be so different everyone will know it is of God.

⁴ tn The figures are personifications. But they vividly describe the catastrophe to follow – which was very much like a mouth swallowing them.

⁵ tn The word is “life” or “lifetime”; it certainly means their lives – they themselves. But the presence of this word suggest more. It is an accusative specifying the state of the subject – they will go down alive to Sheol.

⁶ tn The word “Sheol” in the Bible can be used four different ways: the grave, the realm of the departed [wicked] spirits or Hell, death in general, or a place of extreme danger (one that will lead to the grave if God does not intervene). The usage here is certainly the first, and very likely the second as well. A translation of “pit” would not be inappropriate. Since they will go down there alive, it is likely that they will sense the deprivation and the separation from the land above. See H. W. Robinson, Inspiration and Revelation in the Old Testament; N. J. Tromp, Primitive Conceptions of Death and the Netherworld in the Old Testament (BibOr 21), 21-23; and A. Heidel, The Gilgamesh Epic, especially ch. 3.

⁵ tn The passage simply has “and he will ask,” but Eleazar is clearly the subject now.

⁶ tn Heb “ask.”

⁷ sn The new leader would not have the privilege that Moses had in speaking to God face to face. Rather, he would have to inquire of the Lord through the priest, and the priest would seek a decision by means of the Urim. The Urim and the Thummim were the sacred lots that the priest had in his pouch, the “breastplate” as it has traditionally been called. Since the Law had now been fully established, there would be fewer cases that the leader would need further rulings. Now it would simply be seeking the Lord’s word for matters such as whether to advance or not. The size, shape or substance of these objects is uncertain. See further C. Van Dam, The Urim and Thummim.

⁸ tn Heb “mouth,” meaning what he will say.