13:26 They came back 12 to Moses and Aaron and to the whole community of the Israelites in the wilderness of Paran at Kadesh. 13 They reported 14 to the whole community and showed the fruit of the land.
25:4 The Lord said to Moses, “Arrest all the leaders 15 of the people, and hang them up 16 before the Lord in broad daylight, 17 so that the fierce anger of the Lord may be turned away from Israel.”
1 tn The word order is different in the Hebrew text: Do this…and they will live. Consequently, the verb “and they will live” is a perfect tense with a vav (ו) consecutive to express the future consequence of “doing this” for them.
2 tn The perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive continues the instruction for Aaron.
3 tn The distributive sense is obtained by the repetition, “a man” and “a man.”
1 tn The verb is the simple perfect tense – “he numbered them.” There is no expressed subject; therefore, the verb can be rendered as a passive.
2 tn Or “his burden.”
3 tn The passive form simply reads “those numbered by him.” Because of the cryptic nature of the word, some suggest reading a preterite, “and they were numbered.” This is supported by the Greek, Syriac, Targum, and Vulgate. It would follow in the emendation that the relative pronoun be changed to “just as” (כַּאֲשֶׁר, ka’asher). The MT is impossible the way it stands; it can only be rendered into smooth English by adding something that is missing.
1 sn The ritual of lifting the hands filled with the offering and waving them in the presence of the
2 sn The “wave offering” may be interpreted as a “special gift” to be transferred to the
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 Heb “and they brought.”
2 sn For a discussion and drawings, see W. S. McCullough, IDB 1:540. But see also D. J. Wiseman, IBD 1:254.
1 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.
2 sn Kadesh is Ain Qadeis, about 50 miles (83 km) south of Beer Sheba. It is called Kadesh-barnea in Num 32:8.
3 tn Heb “They brought back word”; the verb is the Hiphil preterite of שׁוּב (shuv).
1 sn The meaning must be the leaders behind the apostasy, for they would now be arrested. They were responsible for the tribes’ conformity to the Law, but here they had not only failed in their duty, but had participated. The leaders were executed; the rest of the guilty died by the plague.
2 sn The leaders who were guilty were commanded by God to be publicly exposed by hanging, probably a reference to impaling, but possibly some other form of harsh punishment. The point was that the swaying of their executed bodies would be a startling warning for any who so blatantly set the Law aside and indulged in apostasy through pagan sexual orgies.
3 tn Heb “in the sun.” This means in broad daylight.