Numbers 7:89

7:89 Now when Moses went into ¹  the tent of meeting to speak with the Lord, ²  he heard the voice speaking to him from above the atonement lid ³  that was on the ark of the testimony, from between the two cherubim. ⁴  Thus he spoke to him.

Numbers 14:14

14:14 then they will tell it to the inhabitants ⁵  of this land. They have heard that you, Lord, are among this people, that you, Lord, are seen face to face, ⁶  that your cloud stands over them, and that you go before them by day in a pillar of cloud and in a pillar of fire by night.

Numbers 14:22

14:22 For all the people have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have tempted ⁷  me now these ten times, ⁸  and have not obeyed me, ⁹ 

Numbers 20:10

20:10 Then Moses and Aaron gathered the community together in front of the rock, and he said to them, “Listen, you rebels, ¹⁰  must we bring ¹¹  water out of this rock for you?”

Numbers 30:4-5

30:4 and her father hears of her vow or the obligation to which she has pledged herself, and her father remains silent about her, ¹²  then all her vows will stand, ¹³  and every obligation to which she has pledged herself will stand. 30:5 But if her father overrules her when he hears ¹⁴  about it, then none ¹⁵  of her vows or her obligations which she has pledged for herself will stand. And the Lord will release ¹⁶  her from it, because her father overruled her.

Numbers 30:8

30:8 But if when her husband hears it he overrules her, then he will nullify ¹⁷  the vow she has taken, ¹⁸  and whatever she uttered impulsively which she has pledged for herself. And the Lord will release her from it.

Numbers 30:12

30:12 But if her husband clearly nullifies ¹⁹  them when he hears them, then whatever she says ²⁰  by way of vows or obligations will not stand. Her husband has made them void, and the Lord will release her from them.

Numbers 30:14

30:14 But if her husband remains completely silent ²¹  about her from day to day, he thus confirms all her vows or all her obligations which she is under; he confirms them because he remained silent about when he heard them.

¹ tn The adverbial clause of time is constructed with the infinitive construct of the verb “to enter” (בּוֹא, bo’) with the preposition and with the subjective genitive that follows serving as the subject of the clause. The verse is strategic in the structure of the book: At the completion of the dedication with the offerings Moses received more revelation from the Lord in the tent. This verse therefore lays the foundation for what follows.

² tc The MT is obscure here, simply giving the purpose infinitive and the prepositional phrase (“with him”). But the following clause using the Hitpael of the same verb, introducing a reflexive sense: “then he heard the voice speaking with him.” The Greek clarified it by inserting “Lord” after the word “voice.” The editor of BHS favors emendation of the form to a Piel participle rather than the Hitpael of the MT (reading מְדַבֵּר [mÿdabber] instead of מִדַּבֵּר [middabber], the Hitpael with assimilation). Most commentators agree with the change, assuming there was a mistaken pointing in the MT.

³ tn The Hebrew word כַּפֹּרֶת (kapporet) has been traditionally rendered “mercy seat,” but since the ark is the footstool (see Ps 132), this translation is somewhat misleading. The word is etymologically connected to the verb “to make atonement.” A technical translation would be “place of atonement” or “propitiatory”; a more common translation would be “cover, lid” – provided that the definition “to cover” does not get transferred to the verb “to atone,” for that idea belongs to a homonym. See also Exod 25:17.

⁴ tn The cherubim are the carved forms of the angels attached to the ark. They indicate the guarding role of this order of angels in the holy of holies. They were also embroidered on the curtains. For basic material see ZPEB 1:788-90, and R. K. Harrison, ISBE 1:642-43.

⁵ tn The singular participle is to be taken here as a collective, representing all the inhabitants of the land.

⁶ tn “Face to face” is literally “eye to eye.” It only occurs elsewhere in Isa 52:8. This expresses the closest communication possible.

⁹ tn The verb נָסָה (nasah) means “to test, to tempt, to prove.” It can be used to indicate things are tried or proven, or for testing in a good sense, or tempting in the bad sense, i.e., putting God to the test. In all uses there is uncertainty or doubt about the outcome. Some uses of the verb are positive: If God tests Abraham in Genesis 22:1, it is because there is uncertainty whether he fears the Lord or not; if people like Gideon put out the fleece and test the Lord, it is done by faith but in order to be certain of the Lord’s presence. But here, when these people put God to the test ten times, it was because they doubted the goodness and ability of God, and this was a major weakness. They had proof to the contrary, but chose to challenge God.

¹⁰ tn “Ten” is here a round figure, emphasizing the complete testing. But see F. V. Winnett, The Mosaic Tradition, 121-54.

¹¹ tn Heb “listened to my voice.”

¹³ tn The word is הַמֹּרִים (hammorim, “the rebels”), but here as a vocative: “you rebels.” It was a harsh address, although well-earned.

¹⁴ tn The word order and the emphasis of the tense are important to this passage. The word order is “from this rock must we bring out to you water?” The emphasis is clearly on “from this rock!” The verb is the imperfect tense; it has one of the modal nuances here, probably obligatory – “must we do this?”

¹⁷ tn The intent of this expression is that he does not object to the vow.

¹⁸ tn The verb קוּם (qum) is best translated “stand” here, but the idea with it is that what she vows is established as a genuine oath with the father’s approval (or acquiescence).

²¹ tn The idiom is “in the day of,” but it is used in place of a preposition before the infinitive construct with its suffixed subjective genitive. The clause is temporal.

²² tn The Hebrew “all will not stand” is best rendered “none will stand.”

²³ tn The verb has often been translated “forgive” (cf. KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV, NLT), but that would suggest a sin that needed forgiving. The idea of “release from obligation” is better; the idea is like that of having a debt “forgiven” or “retired.” In other words, she is free from the vow she had made. The Lord will not hold the woman responsible to do what she vowed.

²⁵ tn The verb is the Hiphil perfect with a vav (ו) consecutive from the verb פָּרַר (parar, “to annul”). The verb functions here as the equivalent of an imperfect tense; here it is the apodosis following the conditional clause – if this is the case, then this is what will happen.

²⁶ tn Heb “which [she is] under it.”

²⁹ tn The verb is the imperfect tense in the conditional clause. It is intensified with the infinitive absolute, which would have the force of saying that he nullified them unequivocally, or he made them null and void.

³⁰ tn Heb whatever proceeds from her lips.”

³³ tn The sentence uses the infinitive absolute to strengthen the idea.