3:31 Their responsibilities included the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, and the utensils of the sanctuary with which they ministered, 1 the curtain, and all their service. 2
3:36 The appointed responsibilities of the Merarites included the frames of the tabernacle, its crossbars, its posts, its sockets, its utensils, plus all the service connected with these things, 3
13:26 They came back 10 to Moses and Aaron and to the whole community of the Israelites in the wilderness of Paran at Kadesh. 11 They reported 12 to the whole community and showed the fruit of the land.
14:40 And early 13 in the morning they went up to the crest of the hill country, 14 saying, “Here we are, and we will go up to the place that the Lord commanded, 15 for we have sinned.” 16
24:10 Then Balak became very angry at Balaam, and he struck his hands together. 18 Balak said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, and look, you have done nothing but bless 19 them these three times!
1 tn The verb is יְשָׁרְתוּ (yÿsharÿtu, “they will serve/minister”). The imperfect tense in this place, however, probably describes what the priests would do, what they used to do. The verb is in a relative clause: “which they would serve with them,” which should be changed to read “with which they would serve.”
2 tn The word is literally “its [their] service.” It describes all the implements that were there for the maintenance of these things.
3 tn Heb “and all their service.” This could possibly be a hendiadys: “and all their working tools.” However, the parallel with v. 26 suggests this is a separate phrase.
5 tn The clause begins with a vav (ו) on the noun “the Levites,” indicating a disjunctive clause. Here it is clearly a subordinate clause prior to the instruction for Moses, and so translated as a circumstantial clause of time.
6 tn The imperative is from the verb “to do; to make,” but in the sentence it clearly means to sacrifice the animals.
7 sn The “purification offering” cleansed the tabernacle from impurity, and the burnt offering atoned by nullifying and removing the effects of sin in the Levites.
7 tn This sense is conveyed by the repetition of “man” – “if a man, a man becomes unclean.”
8 tn The perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive functions as the equivalent of an imperfect tense. In the apodosis of this conditional sentence, the permission nuance fits well.
9 tn The word is related etymologically to the verb for “slip, slide, bend, totter.” This would fit the use very well. A pole that would not bend would be hard to use to carry things, but a pole or stave that was flexible would serve well.
11 tn The construction literally has “and they went and they entered,” which may be smoothed out as a verbal hendiadys, the one verb modifying the other.
12 sn Kadesh is Ain Qadeis, about 50 miles (83 km) south of Beer Sheba. It is called Kadesh-barnea in Num 32:8.
13 tn Heb “They brought back word”; the verb is the Hiphil preterite of שׁוּב (shuv).
13 tn The verb וַיַּשְׁכִּמוּ (vayyashkimu) is often found in a verbal hendiadys construction: “They rose early…and they went up” means “they went up early.”
14 tn The Hebrew text says literally “the top of the hill,” but judging from the location and the terrain it probably means the heights of the hill country.
15 tn The verb is simply “said,” but it means the place that the
16 sn Their sin was unbelief. They could have gone and conquered the area if they had trusted the
15 sn There is a justice, always, in the divine plan for the conquest of the land. Modern students of the Bible often think that the conquest passages are crude and unjust. But an understanding of the ancient Near East is critical here. This Sihon was not a part of the original population of the land. He himself invaded the territory and destroyed the population of Moab that was indigenous there and established his own kingdom. The ancient history is filled with such events; it is the way of life they chose – conquer or be conquered. For Israel to defeat them was in part a turning of their own devices back on their heads – “those that live by the sword will die by the sword.” Sihon knew this, and he did not wait, but took the war to Israel. Israel wanted to pass through, not fight. But now they would either fight or be pushed into the gorge. So God used Israel to defeat Sihon, who had no claim to the land, as part of divine judgment.
17 sn This is apparently a sign of contempt or derision (see Job 27:23; and Lam 2:15).
18 tn The construction is emphatic, using the infinitive absolute with the perfect tense for “bless.”
19 tn The sentence uses the infinitive absolute to strengthen the idea.