Exodus 13:21-22

13:21 Now the Lord was going before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them in the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, ¹  so that they could ²  travel day or night. ³  13:22 He did not remove the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night from before the people. ⁴ 

Exodus 40:34-38

40:34 Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 40:35 Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 40:36 But when the cloud was lifted up ⁵  from the tabernacle, the Israelites would set out ⁶  on all their journeys; 40:37 but if the cloud was not lifted up, then they would not journey further until the day it was lifted up. ⁷  40:38 For the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, but fire would be ⁸  on it at night, in plain view ⁹  of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.

Leviticus 9:6

9:6 Then Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded you to do ¹⁰  so that the glory of the Lord may appear ¹¹  to you.”

Numbers 16:42

16:42 When the community assembled ¹²  against Moses and Aaron, they turned toward the tent of meeting – and ¹³  the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord appeared.

Numbers 16:1

The Rebellion of Korah

16:1 ¹⁴ Now Korah son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth, who were Reubenites, ¹⁵  took men ¹⁶ 

Numbers 8:10-11

8:10 Then you are to bring the Levites before the Lord, and the Israelites are to lay their hands on the Levites; ¹⁷  8:11 and Aaron is to offer ¹⁸  the Levites before the Lord as a wave offering from the Israelites, that they may do the work ¹⁹  of the Lord.

Matthew 17:5

17:5 While he was still speaking, a ²⁰  bright cloud ²¹  overshadowed ²²  them, and a voice from the cloud said, ²³  “This is my one dear Son, ²⁴  in whom I take great delight. Listen to him!” ²⁵ 

[13:21]  ¹ sn God chose to guide the people with a pillar of cloud in the day and one of fire at night, or, as a pillar of cloud and fire, since they represented his presence. God had already appeared to Moses in the fire of the bush, and so here again is revelation with fire. Whatever the exact nature of these things, they formed direct, visible revelations from God, who was guiding the people in a clear and unambiguous way. Both clouds and fire would again and again represent the presence of God in his power and majesty, guiding and protecting his people, by judging their enemies.

[13:21]  ² tn The infinitive construct here indicates the result of these manifestations – “so that they went” or “could go.”

[13:21]  ³ tn These are adverbial accusatives of time.

[13:22]  ⁴ sn See T. W. Mann, “The Pillar of Cloud in the Reed Sea Narrative,” JBL 90 (1971): 15-30.

[40:36]  ⁵ tn The construction uses the Niphal infinitive construct to form the temporal clause.

[40:36]  ⁶ tn The imperfect tense in this context describes a customary action.

[40:37]  ⁷ tn The clause uses the Niphal infinitive construct in the temporal clause: “until the day of its being taken up.”

[40:38]  ⁸ tn Here is another imperfect tense of the customary nuance.

[40:38]  ⁹ tn Heb “to the eyes of all”; KJV, ASV, NASB “in the sight of all”; NRSV “before the eyes of all.”

[9:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “which the Lord commanded you shall/should do.”

[9:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and the glory of the Lord will appear,” but the construction with the simple vav (ו) plus the imperfect/jussive (וְיֵרָא, vÿyera’; literally, “and he will appear”) suggests purpose in this context, not just succession of events (i.e., “so that he might appear”).

[16:42]  ¹² tn The temporal clause is constructed with the temporal indicator (“and it was”) followed by the Niphal infinitive construct and preposition.

[16:42]  ¹³ tn The verse uses וְהִנֵּה (vÿhinneh, “and behold”). This is the deictic particle – it is used to point things out, suddenly calling attention to them, as if the reader were there. The people turned to look toward the tent – and there is the cloud!

[16:1]  ¹⁴ sn There are three main movements in the story of ch. 16. The first is the rebellion itself (vv. 1-19). The second is the judgment (vv. 20-35). Third is the atonement for the rebels (vv. 36-50). The whole chapter is a marvelous account of a massive rebellion against the leaders that concludes with reconciliation. For further study see G. Hort, “The Death of Qorah,” ABR 7 (1959): 2-26; and J. Liver, “Korah, Dathan and Abiram,” Studies in the Bible (ScrHier 8), 189-217.

[16:1]  ¹⁵ tc The MT reading is plural (“the sons of Reuben”); the Smr and LXX have the singular (“the son of Reuben”).

[16:1]  ¹⁶ tn In the Hebrew text there is no object for the verb “took.” The translation presented above supplies the word “men.” However, it is possible that the MT has suffered damage here. The LXX has “and he spoke.” The Syriac and Targum have “and he was divided.” The editor of BHS suggests that perhaps the MT should be emended to “and he arose.”

[8:10]  ¹⁷ sn The consecration ceremony was to be done in full view of the assembled people. In all probability the laying on of the hands was done through representatives of the tribes, and not all the people. This ritual of the imposition of hands showed that the people were taking part in the consecration, and that the Levites represented them in the service of the Lord.

[8:11]  ¹⁸ tn The Hebrew text actually has “wave the Levites as a wave offering.” The wave offering was part of the ritual of the peace offering and indicated the priest’s portion being presented to God in a lifted, waving motion for all to see. The Levites were going to be in the sanctuary to serve the Lord and assist the priests. It is unclear how Moses would have presented them as wave offerings, but the intent is that they would be living sacrifices, as Paul would later say in Rom 12:1 for all Christians.

[8:11]  ¹⁹ tn The construction emphasizes the spiritual service of the Levites, using the infinitive construct of עָבַד (’avad) followed by its cognate accusative.

[17:5]  ²⁰ tn Grk “behold, a.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated here or in the following clause because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[17:5]  ²¹ sn This cloud is the cloud of God’s presence and the voice is his as well.

[17:5]  ²² tn Or “surrounded.”

[17:5]  ²³ tn Grk “behold, a voice from the cloud, saying.” This is an incomplete sentence in Greek which portrays intensity and emotion. The participle λέγουσα (legousa) was translated as a finite verb in keeping with English style.

[17:5]  ²⁴ tn Grk “my beloved Son,” or “my Son, the beloved [one].” The force of ἀγαπητός (agaphtos) is often “pertaining to one who is the only one of his or her class, but at the same time is particularly loved and cherished” (L&N 58.53; cf. also BDAG 7 s.v. 1).

[17:5]  ²⁵ sn The expression listen to him comes from Deut 18:15 and makes two points: 1) Jesus is a prophet like Moses, a leader-prophet, and 2) they have much yet to learn from him.