Numbers 33:14

33:14 They traveled from Alush and camped at Rephidim, where there was no water for the people to drink.

Numbers 6:3

6:3 he must separate ¹  himself from wine and strong drink, he must drink neither vinegar ²  made from wine nor vinegar made from strong drink, nor may he drink any juice ³  of grapes, nor eat fresh grapes or raisins. ⁴ 

Numbers 20:5

20:5 Why ⁵  have you brought us up from Egypt only to bring us to ⁶  this dreadful place? It is no place for grain, or figs, or vines, or pomegranates; nor is there any water to drink!”

Numbers 20:11

20:11 Then Moses raised his hand, and struck the rock twice with his staff. And water came out abundantly. So the community drank, and their beasts drank too.

Numbers 20:19

20:19 Then the Israelites said to him, “We will go along the highway, and if we ⁷  or our cattle drink any of your water, we will pay for it. We will only pass through on our feet, without doing anything else.”

Numbers 21:22

21:22 “Let us ⁸  pass through your land; ⁹  we will not turn aside into the fields or into the vineyards, nor will we drink water from any well, but we will go along the King’s Highway until we pass your borders.”

Numbers 23:24

23:24 Indeed, the people will rise up like a lioness,

and like a lion raises himself up;

they will not lie down until they eat their ¹⁰  prey,

and drink the blood of the slain.” ¹¹ 

Numbers 6:20

6:20 then the priest must wave them as a wave offering ¹²  before the Lord; it is a holy portion for the priest, together with the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the raised offering. ¹³  After this the Nazirite may drink ¹⁴  wine.’

Numbers 20:17

20:17 Please let us pass through ¹⁵  your country. We will not pass through the fields or through the vineyards, nor will we drink water from any well. We will go by the King’s Highway; ¹⁶  we will not turn to the right or the left until we have passed through your region.’” ¹⁷ 

¹ tn The operative verb now will be the Hiphil of נָזַר (nazar); the consecration to the Lord meant separation from certain things in the world. The first will be wine and strong drink – barley beer (from Akkadian sikaru, a fermented beer). But the second word may be somewhat wider in its application than beer. The Nazirite, then, was to avoid all intoxicants as a sign of his commitment to the Lord. The restriction may have proved a hardship in the daily diet of the one taking the vow, but it spoke a protest to the corrupt religious and social world that used alcohol to excess.

² tn The “vinegar” (חֹמֶץ, homets) is some kind of drink preparation that has been allowed to go sour.

³ tn This word occurs only here. It may come from the word “to water, to be moist,” and so refer to juice.

⁴ tn Heb “dried” (so KJV, ASV, NRSV).

¹ tn Heb “and why.”

² tn Here also the infinitive construct (Hiphil) forms the subordinate clause of the preceding interrogative clause.

¹ tn The Hebrew text uses singular pronouns, “I” and “my,” but it is the people of Israel that are intended, and so it may be rendered in the plural. Similarly, Edom speaks in the first person, probably from the king. But it too could be rendered “we.”

¹ tn The Hebrew text uses the singular in these verses to match the reference to “Israel.”

² tc Smr has “by the King’s way I will go. I will not turn aside to the right or the left.”

¹ tn The pronoun “their” has been supplied for clarity; it is not present in the Hebrew text.

² sn The oracle compares Israel first to a lion, or better, lioness, because she does the tracking and hunting of food while the lion moves up and down roaring and distracting the prey. But the lion is also the traditional emblem of Judah, Dan and Gad, as well as the symbol of royalty. So this also supports the motif of royalty as well as power for Israel.

¹ sn The ritual of lifting the hands filled with the offering and waving them in the presence of the Lord was designed to symbolize the transfer of the offering to God in the sight of all. This concludes the worshiper’s part; the offering now becomes the property of the priest – his priest’s due (or “raised/heave offering”).

² sn The “wave offering” may be interpreted as a “special gift” to be transferred to the Lord, and the “heave offering” as a “special contribution” to God – the priest’s due. These two offerings have also inspired a good deal of study.

³ tn The imperfect tense here would then have the nuance of permission. It is not an instruction at this point; rather, the prohibition has been lifted and the person is free to drink wine.

¹ tn The request is expressed by the use of the cohortative, “let us pass through.” It is the proper way to seek permission.

² sn This a main highway running from Damascus in the north to the Gulf of Aqaba, along the ridge of the land. Some scholars suggest that the name may have been given by the later Assyrians (see B. Obed, “Observations on Methods of Assyrian Rule in Transjordan after the Palestinian Campaign of Tiglathpileser III,” JNES 29 [1970]: 177-86). Bronze Age fortresses have been discovered along this highway, attesting to its existence in the time of Moses. The original name came from the king who developed the highway, probably as a trading road (see S. Cohen, IDB 3:35-36).

³ tn Heb “borders.”