Genesis 41:20

41:20 The lean, bad-looking cows ate up the seven ¹  fat cows.

Numbers 22:15

Balaam Accompanies the Moabite Princes

22:15 Balak again sent princes, ²  more numerous and more distinguished than the first. ³ 

Numbers 22:1

Balaam Refuses to Curse Israel

22:1 ⁴ The Israelites traveled on ⁵  and camped in the plains of Moab on the side of the Jordan River ⁶  across from Jericho. ⁷ 

Numbers 22:14

22:14 So the princes of Moab departed ⁸  and went back to Balak and said, “Balaam refused to come with us.”

Numbers 22:2

22:2 Balak son of Zippor saw all that the Israelites had done to the Amorites.

Numbers 5:1

Separation of the Unclean

5:1 ⁹ Then the Lord spoke to Moses:

Numbers 5:1

Separation of the Unclean

5:1 ¹⁰ Then the Lord spoke to Moses:

Numbers 4:9

4:9 “They must take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand of the light, with its lamps, its wick-trimmers, its trays, and all its oil vessels, with which they service it.

Isaiah 3:3-5

3:3 captains of groups of fifty,

the respected citizens, ¹¹ 

advisers and those skilled in magical arts, ¹² 

and those who know incantations.

3:4 The Lord says, ¹³  “I will make youths their officials;

malicious young men ¹⁴  will rule over them.

3:5 The people will treat each other harshly;

men will oppose each other;

neighbors will fight. ¹⁵ 

Youths will proudly defy the elderly

and riffraff will challenge those who were once respected. ¹⁶ 

Isaiah 5:13

5:13 Therefore my ¹⁷  people will be deported ¹⁸ 

because of their lack of understanding.

Their ¹⁹  leaders will have nothing to eat, ²⁰ 

their ²¹  masses will have nothing to drink. ²² 

Isaiah 23:8-9

23:8 Who planned this for royal Tyre, ²³ 

whose merchants are princes,

whose traders are the dignitaries ²⁴  of the earth?

23:9 The Lord who commands armies planned it –

to dishonor the pride that comes from all her beauty, ²⁵ 

to humiliate all the dignitaries of the earth.

Acts 13:50

13:50 But the Jews incited ²⁶  the God-fearing women of high social standing and the prominent men of the city, stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and threw them out ²⁷  of their region.

Acts 17:12

17:12 Therefore many of them believed, along with quite a few ²⁸  prominent ²⁹  Greek women and men.

[41:20]  ¹ tn Heb “the seven first fat cows.”

[22:15]  ² 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]  ³ tn Heb “than these.”

[22:1]  ⁴ sn The fifth section of the book (22:1-33:56) traces the Israelite activities in Transjordan. It is hard to determine how long they were in Transjordan, but a good amount of time must have elapsed for the number of moves they made and the wars they fought. There is a considerable amount of information available on this section of the book. Some of the most helpful works include: H. C. Brichto, The Problem of “Curse” in the Hebrew Bible (JBLMS); E. Burrows, The Oracles of Jacob and Balaam; G. W. Coats, “Balaam, Sinner or Saint?” BR 18 (1973): 21-29; P. C. Craigie, “The Conquest and Early Hebrew Poetry,” TynBul 20 (1969): 76-94; I. Parker, “The Way of God and the Way of Balaam,” ExpTim 17 (1905): 45; and J. A. Wharton, “The Command to Bless: An Exposition of Numbers 22:41–23:25,” Int 13 (1959): 37-48. This first part introduces the characters and sets the stage for the oracles. It can be divided into four sections: the invitation declined (vv. 1-14), the second invitation extended (vv. 15-21), God opposes Balaam (vv. 22-35), and Balaam meets Balak (vv. 36-41).

[22:1]  ⁵ tn The verse begins with the vav (ו) consecutive.

[22:1]  ⁶ tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[22:1]  ⁷ map For the location of Jericho see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.

[22:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “rose up.”

[5:1]  ⁹ sn The fifth chapter falls into four main parts: separation of the unclean (vv. 1-4), restitution for sin (vv. 5-10), the jealousy ordeal (vv. 11-28), and the summary (vv. 29-31). There is a good deal of literature on the biblical theme of holiness (for which see the notes on Leviticus primarily). But with regard to this chapter, see (with caution), Mary Douglas, Purity and Danger; J. Neusner, The Idea of Purity in Ancient Judaism; and K. Milgrom, “Two Kinds of h£at£t£a„át,” VT 26 (1976): 333-37.

[5:1]  ¹⁰ sn The fifth chapter falls into four main parts: separation of the unclean (vv. 1-4), restitution for sin (vv. 5-10), the jealousy ordeal (vv. 11-28), and the summary (vv. 29-31). There is a good deal of literature on the biblical theme of holiness (for which see the notes on Leviticus primarily). But with regard to this chapter, see (with caution), Mary Douglas, Purity and Danger; J. Neusner, The Idea of Purity in Ancient Judaism; and K. Milgrom, “Two Kinds of h£at£t£a„át,” VT 26 (1976): 333-37.

[3:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the ones lifted up with respect to the face.” For another example of the Hebrew idiom, see 2 Kgs 5:1.

[3:3]  ¹² tn Heb “and the wise with respect to magic.” On the meaning of חֲרָשִׁים (kharashim, “magic”), see HALOT 358 s.v. III חרשׁ. Some understand here a homonym, meaning “craftsmen.” In this case, one could translate, “skilled craftsmen” (cf. NIV, NASB).

[3:4]  ¹³ tn The words “the Lord says” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The prophet speaks in vv. 1-3 (note the third person reference to the Lord in v. 1), but here the Lord himself announces that he will intervene in judgment. It is unclear where the Lord’s words end and the prophet’s pick up again. The prophet is apparently speaking again by v. 8, where the Lord is referred to in the third person. Since vv. 4-7 comprise a thematic unity, the quotation probably extends through v. 7.

[3:4]  ¹⁴ tn תַעֲלוּלִים (ta’alulim) is often understood as an abstract plural meaning “wantonness, cruelty” (cf. NLT). In this case the chief characteristic of these leaders is substituted for the leaders themselves. However, several translations make the parallelism tighter by emending the form to עוֹלְלִים (’olÿlim, “children”; cf. ESV, NASB, NCV, NIV, NKJV, NRSV). This emendation is unnecessary for at least two reasons. The word in the MT highlights the cruelty or malice of the “leaders” who are left behind in the wake of God’s judgment. The immediate context makes clear the fact that they are mere youths. The coming judgment will sweep away the leaders, leaving a vacuum which will be filled by incompetent, inexperienced youths.

[3:5]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “man against man, and a man against his neighbor.”

[3:5]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and those lightly esteemed those who are respected.” The verb רָהַב (rahav) does double duty in the parallelism.

[5:13]  ¹⁷ sn It is not certain if the prophet or the Lord is speaking at this point.

[5:13]  ¹⁸ tn The suffixed (perfect) form of the verb is used; in this way the coming event is described for rhetorical effect as occurring or as already completed.

[5:13]  ¹⁹ tn The third masculine singular suffix refers back to “my people.”

[5:13]  ²⁰ tn Heb “Their glory will be men of hunger.” כָּבוֹד (kavod, “glory”) is in opposition to הָמוֹן (hamon, “masses”) and refers here to the rich and prominent members of the nation. Some prefer to repoint מְתֵי (mÿtey, “men of”) as מִתֵי (mitey, “dead ones of”).

[5:13]  ²¹ tn The third masculine singular suffix refers back to “my people.”

[5:13]  ²² tn Heb “and their masses will be parched [by] thirst.”

[23:8]  ²³ tn The precise meaning of הַמַּעֲטִירָה (hamma’atirah) is uncertain. The form is a Hiphil participle from עָטַר (’atar), a denominative verb derived from עֲטָרָה (’atarah, “crown, wreath”). The participle may mean “one who wears a crown” or “one who distributes crowns.” In either case, Tyre’s prominence in the international political arena is in view.

[23:8]  ²⁴ tn Heb “the honored” (so NASB, NRSV); NIV “renowned.”

[23:9]  ²⁵ tn Heb “the pride of all the beauty.”

[13:50]  ²⁶ tn For the translation of παρώτρυναν (parwtrunan) as “incited” see BDAG 780 s.v. παροτρύνω.

[13:50]  ²⁷ tn BDAG 299 s.v. ἐκβάλλω 1 has “throw out.” Once again, many Jews reacted to the message (Acts 5:17, 33; 6:11; 13:45).

[17:12]  ²⁸ tn Grk “not a few”; this use of negation could be misleading to the modern English reader, however, and so has been translated as “quite a few” (which is the actual meaning of the expression).

[17:12]  ²⁹ tn Or “respected.”