Numbers 21:6

21:6 So the Lord sent poisonous ¹  snakes ²  among the people, and they bit the people; many people of Israel died.

Numbers 24:14

24:14 And now, I am about to go ³  back to my own people. Come now, and I will advise you as to what this people will do to your people in the future.” ⁴ 

¹ tn Heb “fiery.”

² 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.

³ tn The construction is the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) suffixed followed by the active participle. This is the futur instans use of the participle, to express something that is about to happen: “I am about to go.”

⁴ tn Heb “in the latter days.” For more on this expression, see E. Lipinski, “באחרית הימים dans les textes préexiliques,” VT 20 (1970): 445-50.