Discovery BoxExodus 16:7
Context16:7 and in the morning you will see 1 the glory of the Lord, because he has heard 2 your murmurings against the Lord. As for us, what are we, 3 that you should murmur against us?”
Numbers 14:2
Context14:2 And all the Israelites murmured 4 against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, “If only we had died 5 in the land of Egypt, or if only we had perished 6 in this wilderness!
Numbers 14:11
Context14:11 The Lord said to Moses, “How long will this people despise 7 me, and how long will they not believe 8 in me, in spite of the signs that I have done among them?
Numbers 16:11
Context16:11 Therefore you and all your company have assembled together against the Lord! And Aaron – what is he that you murmur against him?” 9
Acts 5:4
Context5:4 Before it was sold, 10 did it not 11 belong to you? And when it was sold, was the money 12 not at your disposal? How have you thought up this deed in your heart? 13 You have not lied to people 14 but to God!”
[16:7] 1 tn Heb “morning, and you will see.”
[16:7] 2 tn The form is a Qal infinitive construct with a preposition and a suffix. It forms an adverbial clause, usually of time, but here a causal clause.
[16:7] 3 tn The words “as for us” attempt to convey the force of the Hebrew word order, which puts emphasis on the pronoun: “and we – what?” The implied answer to the question is that Moses and Aaron are nothing, merely the messengers. The next verse repeats the question to further press the seriousness of what the Israelites are doing.
[14:2] 4 tn The Hebrew verb “to murmur” is לוּן (lun). It is a strong word, signifying far more than complaining or grumbling, as some of the modern translations have it. The word is most often connected to the wilderness experience. It is paralleled in the literature with the word “to rebel.” The murmuring is like a parliamentary vote of no confidence, for they no longer trusted their leaders and wished to choose a new leader and return. This “return to Egypt” becomes a symbol of their lack of faith in the
[14:2] 5 tn The optative is expressed by לוּ (lu) and then the verb, here the perfect tense מַתְנוּ (matnu) – “O that we had died….” Had they wanted to die in Egypt they should not have cried out to the
[14:11] 7 tn The verb נָאַץ (na’ats) means “to condemn, spurn” (BDB 610 s.v.). Coats suggests that in some contexts the word means actual rejection or renunciation (Rebellion in the Wilderness, 146, 7). This would include the idea of distaste.
[14:11] 8 tn The verb “to believe” (root אָמַן, ’aman) has the basic idea of support, dependability for the root. The Hiphil has a declarative sense, namely, to consider something reliable or dependable and to act on it. The people did not trust what the
[16:11] 9 sn The question indicates that they had been murmuring against Aaron, that is, expressing disloyalty and challenging his leadership. But it is actually against the
[5:4] 10 tn Grk “Remaining to you.”
[5:4] 11 tn The negative interrogative particle οὐχί (ouci) expects a positive reply to this question and the following one (“And when it was sold, was it not at your disposal?”).
[5:4] 12 tn Grk “it”; the referent of the pronoun (the money generated from the sale of the land) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[5:4] 13 tn Grk “How is it that you have [or Why have you] placed this deed in your heart?” Both of these literal translations differ from the normal way of expressing the thought in English.
[5:4] 14 tn Grk “to men.” If Peter’s remark refers only to the apostles, the translation “to men” would be appropriate. But if (as is likely) the action was taken to impress the entire congregation (who would presumably have witnessed the donation or been aware of it) then the more general “to people” is more appropriate, since the audience would have included both men and women.
