Deuteronomy 1:38

1:38 However, Joshua son of Nun, your assistant, ¹  will go. Encourage him, because he will enable Israel to inherit the land. ² 

Deuteronomy 31:3

31:3 As for the Lord your God, he is about to cross over before you; he will destroy these nations before you and dispossess them. As for Joshua, he is about to cross before you just as the Lord has said.

Deuteronomy 31:7

31:7 Then Moses called out to Joshua ³  in the presence of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you will accompany these people to the land that the Lord promised to give their ancestors, ⁴  and you will enable them to inherit it.

Deuteronomy 31:23

31:23 and the Lord ⁵  commissioned Joshua son of Nun, “Be strong and courageous, for you will take the Israelites to the land I have promised them, and I will be with you.” ⁶ 

Numbers 27:18-23

27:18 The Lord replied ⁷  to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom is such a spirit, ⁸  and lay your hand on him; ⁹  27:19 set him ¹⁰  before Eleazar the priest and before the whole community, and commission ¹¹  him publicly. ¹²  27:20 Then you must delegate ¹³  some of your authority ¹⁴  to him, so that the whole community of the Israelites will be obedient. ¹⁵  27:21 And he will stand before Eleazar the priest, who ¹⁶  will seek counsel ¹⁷  for him before the Lord by the decision of the Urim. ¹⁸  At his command ¹⁹  they will go out, and at his command they will come in, he and all the Israelites with him, the whole community.”

27:22 So Moses did as the Lord commanded him; he took Joshua and set ²⁰  him before Eleazar the priest and before the whole community. 27:23 He laid his hands on him and commissioned him, just as the Lord commanded, ²¹  by the authority ²²  of Moses.

Numbers 27:1

Special Inheritance Laws

27:1 ²³ Then the daughters of Zelophehad son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh of the families of Manasseh, ²⁴  the son Joseph came forward. Now these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.

Numbers 22:6

22:6 So ²⁵  now, please come and curse this nation ²⁶  for me, for they are too powerful for me. Perhaps I will prevail so that we may conquer them ²⁷  and drive them out of the land. For I know that whoever you bless is blessed, ²⁸  and whoever you curse is cursed.”

Numbers 22:11-16

22:11 “Look, a nation has come out ²⁹  of Egypt, and it covers the face of the earth. Come now and put a curse on them for me; perhaps I will be able to defeat them ³⁰  and drive them out.” ³¹  22:12 But God said to Balaam, “You must not go with them; you must not curse the people, ³²  for they are blessed.” ³³ 

22:13 So Balaam got up in the morning, and said to the princes of Balak, “Go to your land, ³⁴  for the Lord has refused to permit me to go ³⁵  with you.” 22:14 So the princes of Moab departed ³⁶  and went back to Balak and said, “Balaam refused to come with us.”

Balaam Accompanies the Moabite Princes

22:15 Balak again sent princes, ³⁷  more numerous and more distinguished than the first. ³⁸  22:16 And they came to Balaam and said to him, “Thus says Balak son of Zippor: ‘Please do not let anything hinder you from coming ³⁹  to me.

Numbers 28:9-10

Weekly Offerings

28:9 “‘On the Sabbath day, you must offer ⁴⁰  two unblemished lambs a year old, and two-tenths of an ephah ⁴¹  of finely ground flour as a grain offering, mixed with olive oil, along with its drink offering. 28:10 This is the burnt offering for every Sabbath, ⁴²  besides the continual burnt offering and its drink offering.

Numbers 28:20

28:20 And their grain offering is to be of finely ground flour mixed with olive oil. For each bull you must offer three-tenths of an ephah, and two-tenths for the ram.

Numbers 28:1

Daily Offerings

28:1 ⁴³ The Lord spoke to Moses:

Numbers 6:13

Fulfilling the Vows

6:13 “‘Now this is the law of the Nazirite: When the days of his separation are fulfilled, he must be brought ⁴⁴  to the entrance of the tent of meeting,

Numbers 6:1

The Nazirite Vow

6:1 ⁴⁵ Then the Lord spoke to Moses:

Numbers 6:14

6:14 and he must present his offering ⁴⁶  to the Lord: one male lamb in its first year without blemish for a burnt offering, one ewe lamb in its first year without blemish for a purification offering, one ram without blemish for a peace offering, ⁴⁷ 

Numbers 6:2

6:2 “Speak to the Israelites, and tell them, ‘When either a man or a woman ⁴⁸  takes a special vow, ⁴⁹  to take a vow ⁵⁰  as a Nazirite, ⁵¹  to separate ⁵²  himself to the Lord,

Numbers 2:1-3

The Arrangement of the Tribes

2:1 ⁵³ The Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron: 2:2 “Every one ⁵⁴  of the Israelites must camp ⁵⁵  under his standard with the emblems of his family; ⁵⁶  they must camp at some distance ⁵⁷  around the tent of meeting. ⁵⁸ 

The Tribes on the East

2:3 “Now those who will be camping ⁵⁹  on the east, toward the sunrise, ⁶⁰  are the divisions ⁶¹  of the camp of Judah under their standard. The leader of the people of Judah is ⁶²  Nahshon son of Amminadab.

Numbers 4:1-6

The Service of the Kohathites

4:1 ⁶³ Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: 4:2 “Take a census ⁶⁴  of the Kohathites from among the Levites, by their families and by their clans, 4:3 from thirty years old and upward to fifty years old, all who enter the company ⁶⁵  to do the work in the tent of meeting. 4:4 This is the service of the Kohathites in the tent of meeting, relating to the most holy things. ⁶⁶  4:5 When it is time for the camp to journey, ⁶⁷  Aaron and his sons must come and take down the screening curtain and cover the ark of the testimony with it. 4:6 Then they must put over it a covering of fine leather ⁶⁸  and spread over that a cloth entirely of blue, and then they must insert its poles.

[1:38]  ¹ tn Heb “the one who stands before you”; NAB “your aide”; TEV “your helper.”

[1:38]  ² tn Heb “it”; the referent (the land) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[31:7]  ³ tn The Hebrew text includes “and said to him.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[31:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 20).

[31:23]  ⁵ tn Heb “he.” Since the pronoun could be taken to refer to Moses, the referent has been specified as “the Lord” in the translation for clarity. See also the note on the word “you” later in this verse.

[31:23]  ⁶ tc The LXX reads, “as the Lord promised them, and he will be with you.” This relieves the problem of Moses apparently promising to be with Joshua as the MT reads on the surface (“I will be with you”). However, the reading of the LXX is clearly an attempt to clarify an existing obscurity and therefore is unlikely to reflect the original.

[27:18]  ⁷ tn Or “said.”

[27:18]  ⁸ sn The word “spirit” probably refers to the Holy Spirit, in which case it would be rendered “in whom is the Spirit.” This would likely be a permanent endowment for Joshua. But it is also possible to take it to refer to a proper spirit to do all the things required of such a leader (which ultimately is a gift from the Spirit of God). The Hebrew text simply says “in whom is a spirit.”

[27:18]  ⁹ sn This symbolic act would indicate the transfer of leadership to Joshua.

[27:19]  ¹⁰ tn This could be translated “position him,” or “have him stand,” since it is the causative stem of the verb “to stand.”

[27:19]  ¹¹ tn The verb is the Piel perfect of צִוָּה (tsivvah, literally “to command”). The verb has a wide range of meanings, and so here in this context the idea of instructing gives way to a more general sense of commissioning for duty. The verb in sequence is equal to the imperfect of instruction.

[27:19]  ¹² tn Heb “in their eyes.”

[27:20]  ¹³ tn The verb is simply “give,” but in this context giving some of Moses’ honor to Joshua in the presence of the people is essentially passing the leadership to him, or delegating the authority to him with the result that people would follow him.

[27:20]  ¹⁴ tc The Greek, Syriac, and Vulgate read “glory” for this form that occurs only here in the Pentateuch. Elsewhere it is rendered “majesty, splendor” (see Ps 96:6). It could even be “vitality” here. The authority being transferred here is both spiritual and civil.

[27:20]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “hear.”

[27:21]  ¹⁶ tn The passage simply has “and he will ask,” but Eleazar is clearly the subject now.

[27:21]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “ask.”

[27:21]  ¹⁸ sn The new leader would not have the privilege that Moses had in speaking to God face to face. Rather, he would have to inquire of the Lord through the priest, and the priest would seek a decision by means of the Urim. The Urim and the Thummim were the sacred lots that the priest had in his pouch, the “breastplate” as it has traditionally been called. Since the Law had now been fully established, there would be fewer cases that the leader would need further rulings. Now it would simply be seeking the Lord’s word for matters such as whether to advance or not. The size, shape or substance of these objects is uncertain. See further C. Van Dam, The Urim and Thummim.

[27:21]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “mouth,” meaning what he will say.

[27:22]  ²⁰ tn Heb “stood.”

[27:23]  ²¹ tn Heb “spoke.”

[27:23]  ²² tn Heb “hand.”

[27:1]  ²³ sn For additional information on this section, see N. H. Snaith, “The Daughters of Zelophehad,” VT 16 (1966): 124-27; and J. Weingreen, “The Case of the Daughters of Zelophehad,” VT 16 (1966): 518-22.

[27:1]  ²⁴ tc The phrase “of the families of Manasseh” is absent from the Latin Vulgate.

[22:6]  ²⁵ tn The two lines before this verse begin with the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh), and so they lay the foundation for these imperatives. In view of those circumstances, this is what should happen.

[22:6]  ²⁶ tn Heb “people.” So also in vv. 10, 17, 41.

[22:6]  ²⁷ tn The construction uses the imperfect tense אוּכַל (’ukhal, “I will be able”) followed by the imperfect tense נַכֶּה (nakkeh, “we will smite/attack/defeat”). The second verb is clearly the purpose or the result of the first, even though there is no conjunction or particle.

[22:6]  ²⁸ tn The verb is the Piel imperfect of בָּרַךְ (barakh), with the nuance of possibility: “whomever you may bless.” The Pual participle מְבֹרָךְ (mÿvorakh) serves as the predicate.

[22:11]  ²⁹ tn In this passage the text differs slightly; here it is “the nation that comes out,” using the article on the noun, and the active participle in the attributive adjective usage.

[22:11]  ³⁰ tn Here the infinitive construct is used to express the object or complement of the verb “to be able” (it answers the question of what he will be able to do).

[22:11]  ³¹ tn The verb is the Piel perfect with vav (ו) consecutive. It either carries the force of an imperfect tense, or it may be subordinated to the preceding verbs.

[22:12]  ³² tn The two verbs are negated imperfects; they have the nuance of prohibition: You must not go and you must not curse.

[22:12]  ³³ tn The word בָּרוּךְ (barukh) is the Qal passive participle, serving here as the predicate adjective after the supplied verb “to be.” The verb means “enrich,” in any way, materially, spiritually, physically. But the indication here is that the blessing includes the promised blessing of the patriarchs, a blessing that gave Israel the land. See further, C. Westermann, Blessing in the Bible and the Life of the Church (OBT).

[22:13]  ³⁴ tc The LXX adds “to your lord.”

[22:13]  ³⁵ tn The main verb is the Piel perfect, “he has refused.” This is followed by two infinitives. The first (לְתִתִּי, lÿtitti) serves as a complement or direct object of the verb, answering the question of what he refused to do – “to give me.” The second infinitive (לַהֲלֹךְ, lahalokh) provides the object for the preceding infinitive: “to grant me to go.”

[22:14]  ³⁶ tn Heb “rose up.”

[22:15]  ³⁷ tn The construction is a verbal hendiadys. It uses the Hiphil preterite of the verb “to add” followed by the Qal infinitive “to send.” The infinitive becomes the main verb, and the preterite an adverb: “he added to send” means “he sent again.”

[22:15]  ³⁸ tn Heb “than these.”

[22:16]  ³⁹ tn The infinitive construct is the object of the preposition.

[28:9]  ⁴⁰ tn The words “you must offer” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied. They have been supplied in the translation to make a complete English sentence.

[28:9]  ⁴¹ sn That is, about 4 quarts.

[28:10]  ⁴² tn Heb “the burnt offering of the Sabbath by its Sabbath.”

[28:1]  ⁴³ sn For additional reading on these chapters, see G. B. Gray, Sacrifice in the Old Testament; A. F. Rainey, “The Order of Sacrifices in the Old Testament Ritual Texts,” Bib 51 (1970): 485-98; N. H. Snaith, The Jewish New Year Festival.

[6:13]  ⁴⁴ tn The Hebrew text has “he/one shall bring him”; since there is no expressed subject, this verb should be taken in the passive sense – “he shall be brought.” Since the context suggests an obligatory nuance, the translation “he must be brought” has been used. Some scholars solve the problem by emending the Hebrew text here, but there is no manuscript evidence to support the emendation.

[6:1]  ⁴⁵ sn This chapter can be divided into five sections: The vow is described in vv. 1-8, then the contingencies for defilement are enumerated in vv. 9-12, then there is a discussion of discharging the vows in vv. 13-20, and then a summary in v. 21; after this is the high priestly blessing (vv. 22-27). For information on the vow, see G. B. Gray, “The Nazirite,” JTS 1 (1899-1900): 201-11; Z. Weisman, “The Biblical Nazirite, Its Types and Roots,” Tarbiz 36 (1967): 207-20; and W. Eichrodt, Theology of the Old Testament (OTL), 1:303-6.

[6:14]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “he shall offer his offering” – the object is a cognate accusative.

[6:14]  ⁴⁷ sn The peace offering שְׁלָמִים (shÿlamim) is instructed in Lev 3 and 7. The form is always in the plural. It was a sacrifice that celebrated the fact that the worshiper was at peace with God, and was not offered in order to make peace with God. The peace offering was essentially a communal meal in the presence of God. Some have tried to equate this offering with similar sounding names in Akkadian and Ugaritic (see B. A. Levine, In the Presence of the Lord [SJLA], 3-52), but the unique features of the Israelite sacrifice make this connection untenable.

[6:2]  ⁴⁸ tn The formula is used here again: “a man or a woman – when he takes.” The vow is open to both men and women.

[6:2]  ⁴⁹ tn The vow is considered special in view of the use of the verb יַפְלִא (yafli’), the Hiphil imperfect of the verb “to be wonderful, extraordinary.”

[6:2]  ⁵⁰ tn The construction uses the infinitive construct followed by the cognate accusative: “to vow a vow.” This intensifies the idea that the vow is being taken carefully.

[6:2]  ⁵¹ tn The name of the vow is taken from the verb that follows; נָזַר (nazar) means “to consecrate oneself,” and so the Nazirite is a consecrated one. These are folks who would make a decision to take an oath for a time or for a lifetime to be committed to the Lord and show signs of separation from the world. Samuel was to be a Nazirite, as the fragment of the text from Qumran confirms – “he will be a נָזִיר (nazir) forever” (1 Sam 1:22).

[6:2]  ⁵² tn The form of the verb is an Hiphil infinitive construct, forming the wordplay and explanation for the name Nazirite. The Hiphil is here an internal causative, having the meaning of “consecrate oneself” or just “consecrate to the Lord.”

[2:1]  ⁵³ sn For this chapter, see C. E. Douglas, “The Twelve Houses of Israel,” JTS 37 (1936): 49-56; C. C. Roach, “The Camp in the Wilderness: A Sermon on Numbers 2:2,” Int 13 (1959): 49-54; and G. St. Clair, “Israel in Camp: A Study,” JTS 8 (1907): 185-217.

[2:2]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “a man by his own standard.”

[2:2]  ⁵⁵ tn The imperfect tense is to be taken in the nuance of instruction.

[2:2]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “of/for the house of their fathers.”

[2:2]  ⁵⁷ tn The Hebrew expression מִנֶּגֶד (minneged) means “from before” or “opposite; facing” and “at some distance” or “away from the front of” (see BDB 617 s.v. נֶגֶד 2.c.a; DCH 5:603-4 s.v. 3.b).

[2:2]  ⁵⁸ sn The Israelites were camping as a military camp, each tribe with the standards and emblems of the family. The standard was the symbol fastened to the end of a pole and carried to battle. It served to rally the tribe to the battle. The Bible nowhere describes these, although the serpent emblem of Numbers 21:8-9 may give a clue. But they probably did not have shapes of animals in view of the prohibition in the Decalogue. The standards may have been smaller for the families than the ones for the tribes. See further K. A. Kitchen, “Some Egyptian Background to the Old Testament,” TynBul 5 (1960): 11; and T. W. Mann, Divine Presence and Guidance in Israelite Tradition, 169-73.

[2:3]  ⁵⁹ tn The sentence begins with a vav (ו) on a word that is not a finite verb, indicating a new section begins here. The verbal form is a participle with the article used substantivally, with the meaning “and/now those camping.” Many English versions employ a finite verb; cf. KJV “on the east side…shall they of the standard of the camp of Judah pitch.”

[2:3]  ⁶⁰ tc The two synonyms might seem to be tautological, but this is fairly common and therefore acceptable in Hebrew prose (cf. Exod 26:18; 38:13; etc.).

[2:3]  ⁶¹ tn The sentence actually has “[those camping…are] the standard of the camp of Judah according to their divisions.”

[2:3]  ⁶² tn Or “will be.”

[4:1]  ⁶³ sn The chapter has four main parts to it: Kohathites (1-20), Gershonites (21-28), Merarites (29-33) and the census of the Levites (34-49).

[4:2]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “lift up the head.” The form נָשֹׂא (naso’) is the Qal infinitive absolute functioning here as a pure verb form. This serves to emphasize the basic verbal root idea (see GKC 346 §113.bb).

[4:3]  ⁶⁵ tn The word “company” is literally “host, army” (צָבָא, tsava’). The repetition of similar expressions makes the translation difficult: Heb “all [who] come to the host to do work in the tent.”

[4:4]  ⁶⁶ tn The Hebrew text simply has “the holy of holies,” or “the holy of the holy things” (קֹדֶשׁ הַקֳּדָשִׁים, qodesh haqqodashim). The context indicates that this refers to all the sacred furnishings.

[4:5]  ⁶⁷ tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive construct in an adverbial clause of time; literally it says “in the journeying of the camp.” The genitive in such constructions is usually the subject. Here the implication is that people would be preparing to transport the camp and its equipment.

[4:6]  ⁶⁸ tn The exact meaning of the Hebrew word here is difficult to determine. The term תַּחַשׁ (takhash) has been translated “badgers’ [skins]” by KJV. ASV has “sealskin” while RSV uses “goatskin”; NEB and NASB have “porpoise skin,” and NIV has “hides of sea cows.” This is close to “porpoise,” and seems influenced by the Arabic. The evidence is not strong for any of these meanings, and some of the suggestions would be problematic. It is possible the word is simply used for “fine leather,” based on the Egyptian ths. This has been followed by NRSV (“fine leather”) and NLT (“fine goatskin leather”) along with the present translation. See further HALOT 1720-21 s.v. תַּחַשׁ.