Numbers 14:23

14:23 they will by no means ¹  see the land that I swore to their fathers, nor will any of them who despised me see it.

Deuteronomy 9:7-8

The History of Israel’s Stubbornness

9:7 Remember – don’t ever forget ²  – how you provoked the Lord your God in the desert; from the time you left the land of Egypt until you came to this place you were constantly rebelling against him. ³  9:8 At Horeb you provoked him and he was angry enough with you to destroy you.

Deuteronomy 9:22-23

9:22 Moreover, you continued to provoke the Lord at Taberah, ⁴  Massah, ⁵  and Kibroth-Hattaavah. ⁶  9:23 And when he ⁷  sent you from Kadesh-Barnea and told you, “Go up and possess the land I have given you,” you rebelled against the Lord your God ⁸  and would neither believe nor obey him.

Psalms 95:8

95:8 He says, ⁹  “Do not be stubborn like they were at Meribah, ¹⁰ 

like they were that day at Massah ¹¹  in the wilderness, ¹² 

Hebrews 3:8

3:8 “Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of testing in the wilderness.

Hebrews 3:16

3:16 For which ones heard and rebelled? Was it not all who came out of Egypt under Moses’ leadership? ¹³ 

¹ tn The word אִם (’im) indicates a negative oath formula: “if” means “they will not.” It is elliptical. In a human oath one would be saying: “The Lord do to me if they see…,” meaning “they will by no means see.” Here God is swearing that they will not see the land.

² tn By juxtaposing the positive זְכֹר (zekhor, “remember”) with the negative אַל־תִּשְׁכַּח (’al-tishÿkakh, “do not forget”), Moses makes a most emphatic plea.

³ tn Heb “the Lord” (likewise in the following verse with both “him” and “he”). See note on “he” in 9:3.

⁴ sn Taberah. By popular etymology this derives from the Hebrew verb בָעַר (ba’ar, “to burn”), thus, here, “burning.” The reference is to the Lord’s fiery wrath against Israel because of their constant complaints against him (Num 11:1-3).

⁵ sn Massah. See note on this term in Deut 6:16.

⁶ sn Kibroth-Hattaavah. This place name means in Hebrew “burial places of appetite,” that is, graves that resulted from overindulgence. The reference is to the Israelites stuffing themselves with the quail God had provided and doing so with thanklessness (Num 11:31-35).

⁷ tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in 9:3.

⁸ tn Heb “the mouth of the Lord your God,” that is, against the commandment that he had spoken.

⁹ tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation to clarify that the following words are spoken by the Lord (see vv. 9-11).

¹⁰ sn The name Meribah means “strife.” Two separate but similar incidents at Meribah are recorded in the Pentateuch (Exod 17:1-7; Num 20:1-13, see also Pss 81:7; 106:32). In both cases the Israelites complained about lack of water and the Lord miraculously provided for them.

¹¹ sn The name Massah means “testing.” This was another name (along with Meribah) given to the place where Israel complained following the Red Sea Crossing (see Exod 17:1-7, as well as Deut 6:16; 9:22; 33:8).

¹² tn Heb “do not harden your heart[s] as [at] Meribah, as [in] the day of Massah in the wilderness.”

¹³ tn Grk “through Moses.”