Numbers 9:21

9:21 And when ¹  the cloud remained only ²  from evening until morning, when the cloud was taken up ³  the following morning, then they traveled on. Whether by day or by night, when the cloud was taken up they traveled.

Numbers 22:8

22:8 He replied to them, “Stay ⁴  here tonight, and I will bring back to you whatever word the Lord may speak to me.” So the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam.

Numbers 22:19

22:19 Now therefore, please stay ⁵  the night here also, that I may know what more the Lord might say to me.” ⁶ 

¹ tn The construction is the same in the preceding verse.

² tn “Only” is supplied to reflect the contrast between the two verses.

³ tn The construction in this half of the verse uses two vav (ו) consecutive clauses. The first is subordinated to the second as a temporal clause: “when…then….”

⁴ tn The verb לִין (lin) means “to lodge, spend the night.” The related noun is “a lodge” – a hotel of sorts. Balaam needed to consider the offer. And after darkness was considered the best time for diviners to consult with their deities. Balaam apparently knows of the Lord; he testifies to this effect in 22:18.

⁷ tn In this case “lodge” is not used, but “remain, reside” (שְׁבוּ, shÿvu).

⁸ tn This clause is also a verbal hendiadys: “what the Lord might add to speak,” meaning, “what more the Lord might say.”