Discovery BoxExodus 6:21
Context6:21 The sons of Izhar were Korah, Nepheg, and Zikri.
Numbers 16:1
Context16:1 1 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, 2 took men 3
Numbers 16:32
Context16:32 and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, along with their households, and all Korah’s men, and all their goods.
Numbers 26:9-11
Context26:9 Eliab’s descendants were Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram. It was Dathan and Abiram who as leaders of the community rebelled against Moses and Aaron with the followers 4 of Korah when they rebelled against the Lord. 26:10 The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and Korah at the time that company died, when the fire consumed 250 men. So they became a warning. 26:11 But the descendants of Korah did not die.
Numbers 26:1
Context26:1 5 After the plague the Lord said to Moses and to Eleazar son of Aaron the priest, 6
Numbers 6:22
Context6:22 7 The Lord spoke to Moses:
Numbers 6:1
Context6:1 8 Then the Lord spoke to Moses:
Numbers 6:1
Context6:1 9 Then the Lord spoke to Moses:
Numbers 6:1
Context6:1 10 Then the Lord spoke to Moses:
Psalms 84:1--85:1
ContextFor the music director; according to the gittith style; 12 written by the Korahites, a psalm.
84:1 How lovely is the place where you live, 13
O Lord who rules over all! 14
84:2 I desperately want to be 15
in the courts of the Lord’s temple. 16
My heart and my entire being 17 shout for joy
to the living God.
84:3 Even the birds find a home there,
and the swallow 18 builds a nest,
where she can protect her young 19
near your altars, O Lord who rules over all,
my king and my God.
84:4 How blessed 20 are those who live in your temple
and praise you continually! (Selah)
84:5 How blessed are those who 21 find their strength in you,
and long to travel the roads that lead to your temple! 22
84:6 As they pass through the Baca Valley, 23
he provides a spring for them. 24
The rain 25 even covers it with pools of water. 26
84:7 They are sustained as they travel along; 27
each one appears 28 before God in Zion.
84:8 O Lord, sovereign God, 29
hear my prayer!
Listen, O God of Jacob! (Selah)
84:9 O God, take notice of our shield! 30
Show concern for your chosen king! 31
84:10 Certainly 32 spending just one day in your temple courts is better
than spending a thousand elsewhere. 33
I would rather stand at the entrance 34 to the temple of my God
than live 35 in the tents of the wicked.
84:11 For the Lord God is our sovereign protector. 36
The Lord bestows favor 37 and honor;
he withholds no good thing from those who have integrity. 38
84:12 O Lord who rules over all, 39
how blessed are those who trust in you! 40
For the music director; written by the Korahites, a psalm.
85:1 O Lord, you showed favor to your land;
you restored the well-being of Jacob. 42
[16:1] 1 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] 2 tc The MT reading is plural (“the sons of Reuben”); the Smr and LXX have the singular (“the son of Reuben”).
[16:1] 3 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.”
[26:9] 4 tn Or “company” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV); Heb “congregation.”
[26:1] 5 sn The breakdown of ch. 26 for outlining purposes will be essentially according to the tribes of Israel. The format and structure is similar to the first census, and so less comment is necessary here.
[26:1] 6 tc The MT has also “saying.”
[6:22] 7 sn This brief section records the blessing of the priest, especially the high priest after he emerges from the holy of holies to bless the people (see Lev 9:22). The two main elements in the oracle are “grace and peace.” It is probable that the Apostle Paul based his salutations on this oracle. For additional information, see L. J. Liebreich, “The Songs of Ascent and the Priestly Blessing,” JBL 74 (1955): 33-36; P. D. Miller, “The Blessing of God: An Interpretation of Num 6:22-27,” Int 29 (1975): 240-51; and A. Murtonen, “The Use and Meaning of the Words lébarek and bérakah in the Old Testament,” VT 9 (1959): 158-77.
[6:1] 8 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.
[6:1] 9 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.
[6:1] 10 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.
[84:1] 11 sn Psalm 84. The psalmist expresses his desire to be in God’s presence in the Jerusalem temple, for the Lord is the protector of his people.
[84:1] 12 tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew term הַגִּתִּית (haggittit) is uncertain; it probably refers to a musical style or instrument.
[84:1] 13 tn Or “your dwelling place[s].” The plural form of the noun may indicate degree or quality; this is the
[84:1] 14 tn Traditionally, “
[84:2] 15 tn Heb “my soul longs, it even pines for.”
[84:2] 16 tn Heb “the courts of the
[84:2] 17 tn Heb “my flesh,” which stands for his whole person and being.
[84:3] 18 tn The word translated “swallow” occurs only here and in Prov 26:2.
[84:3] 19 tn Heb “even a bird finds a home, and a swallow a nest for herself, [in] which she places her young.”
[84:4] 20 tn The Hebrew noun is an abstract plural. The word often refers metonymically to the happiness that God-given security and prosperity produce (see v. 12 and Pss 1:1; 2:12; 34:9; 41:1; 65:4; 89:15; 106:3; 112:1; 127:5; 128:1; 144:15).
[84:5] 21 tn Heb “[Oh] the happiness [of] the man.” Hebrew literature often assumes and reflects the male-oriented perspective of ancient Israelite society. The principle stated here was certainly applicable to all people, regardless of their gender or age. To facilitate modern application, we translate the gender and age specific “man” with the plural “those.” The individual referred to in v. 5a is representative of followers of God, as the use of plural forms in vv. 5b-7 indicates.
[84:5] 22 tn Heb “roads [are] in their heart[s].” The roads are here those that lead to Zion (see v. 7).
[84:6] 23 tn The translation assumes that the Hebrew phrase עֵמֶק הַבָּכָא (’emeq habbakha’) is the name of an otherwise unknown arid valley through which pilgrims to Jerusalem passed. The term בָּכָא (bakha’) may be the name of a particular type of plant or shrub that grew in this valley. O. Borowski (Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 130) suggests it is the black mulberry. Some take the phrase as purely metaphorical and relate בָּכָא to the root בָּכָה (bakhah, “to weep”). In this case one might translate, “the valley of weeping” or “the valley of affliction.”
[84:6] 24 tc The MT reads “a spring they make it,” but this makes little sense. Many medieval Hebrew
[84:6] 25 tn This rare word may refer to the early (or autumn) rains (see Joel 2:23).
[84:6] 26 tc The MT reads בְּרָכוֹת (bÿrakhot, “blessings”) but the preceding reference to a “spring” favors an emendation to בְּרֵכוֹת (bÿrekhot, “pools”).
[84:7] 27 tn Heb “they go from strength to strength.” The phrase “from strength to strength” occurs only here in the OT. With a verb of motion, the expression “from [common noun] to [same common noun]” normally suggests movement from one point to another or through successive points (see Num 36:7; 1 Chr 16:20; 17:5; Ps 105:13; Jer 25:32). Ps 84:7 may be emphasizing that the pilgrims move successively from one “place of strength” to another as they travel toward Jerusalem. All along the way they find adequate provisions and renewed energy for the trip.
[84:7] 28 tn The psalmist returns to the singular (see v. 5a), which he uses in either a representative or distributive (“each one” ) sense.
[84:8] 29 tn Heb “
[84:9] 30 tn The phrase “our shield” refers metaphorically to the Davidic king, who, as God’s vice-regent, was the human protector of the people. Note the parallelism with “your anointed one” here and with “our king” in Ps 89:18.
[84:9] 31 tn Heb “look [on] the face of your anointed one.” The Hebrew phrase מְשִׁיחֶךָ (mÿshikhekha, “your anointed one”) refers here to the Davidic king (see Pss 2:2; 18:50; 20:6; 28:8; 89:38, 51; 132:10, 17).
[84:10] 33 tn Heb “better is a day in your courts than a thousand [spent elsewhere].”
[84:10] 34 tn Heb “I choose being at the entrance of the house of my God over living in the tents of the wicked.” The verb סָפַף (safaf) appears only here in the OT; it is derived from the noun סַף (saf, “threshold”). Traditionally some have interpreted this as a reference to being a doorkeeper at the temple, though some understand it to mean “lie as a beggar at the entrance to the temple” (see HALOT 765 s.v. ספף).
[84:10] 35 tn The verb דּוּר (dur, “to live”) occurs only here in the OT.
[84:11] 36 tn Heb “[is] a sun and a shield.” The epithet “sun,” though rarely used of Israel’s God in the OT, was a well-attested royal title in the ancient Near East. For several examples from Ugaritic texts, the Amarna letters, and Assyrian royal inscriptions, see R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 131, n. 2.
[84:11] 38 tn Heb “he does not withhold good to those walking in integrity.”
[84:12] 39 tn Traditionally “
[84:12] 40 tn Heb “[Oh] the happiness [of] the man [who] trusts in you.” Hebrew literature often assumes and reflects the male-oriented perspective of ancient Israelite society. The principle stated here is certainly applicable to all people, regardless of their gender or age. To facilitate modern application, we translate the gender and age specific “man” with the plural “those.” The individual referred to here is representative of all followers of God, as the use of the plural form in v. 12b indicates.
[85:1] 41 sn Psalm 85. God’s people recall how he forgave their sins in the past, pray that he might now restore them to his favor, and anticipate renewed blessings.
[85:1] 42 tn Heb “you turned with a turning [toward] Jacob.” The Hebrew term שְׁבוּת (shÿvut) is apparently a cognate accusative of שׁוּב (shuv). See Pss 14:7; 53:6.
