Jeremiah 26:17

26:17 Then some of the elders of Judah ¹  stepped forward and spoke to all the people gathered there. They said,

Numbers 11:16

The Response of God

11:16 ² The Lord said to Moses, “Gather to me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know are elders of the people and officials ³  over them, and bring them to the tent of meeting; let them take their position there with you.

Numbers 11:1

The Israelites Complain

11:1 ⁴ When the people complained, ⁵  it displeased ⁶  the Lord. When the Lord heard ⁷  it, his anger burned, ⁸  and so ⁹  the fire of the Lord ¹⁰  burned among them and consumed some of the outer parts of the camp.

Numbers 24:4-6

24:4 the oracle of the one who hears the words of God,

who sees a vision from the Almighty,

although falling flat on the ground ¹¹  with eyes open: ¹² 

24:5 ‘How ¹³  beautiful are your tents, O Jacob,

and your dwelling places, O Israel!

24:6 They are like ¹⁴  valleys ¹⁵  stretched forth,

like gardens by the river’s side,

like aloes ¹⁶  that the Lord has planted,

and like cedar trees beside the waters.

Ezekiel 8:11-12

8:11 Seventy men from the elders of the house of Israel ¹⁷  (with Jaazaniah son of Shaphan standing among them) were standing in front of them, each with a censer in his hand, and fragrant ¹⁸  vapors from a cloud of incense were swirling upward.

8:12 He said to me, “Do you see, son of man, what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, each in the chamber of his idolatrous images? ¹⁹  For they think, ‘The Lord does not see us! The Lord has abandoned the land!’”

Ezekiel 9:6

9:6 Old men, young men, young women, little children, and women – wipe them out! But do not touch anyone who has the mark. Begin at my sanctuary!” So they began with the elders who were at the front of the temple.

Matthew 26:3

26:3 Then the chief priests and the elders of the people met together in the palace of the high priest, who was named Caiaphas.

Matthew 27:1

Jesus Brought Before Pilate

27:1 When ²⁰  it was early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people plotted against Jesus to execute him.

Matthew 27:41-42

27:41 In ²¹  the same way even the chief priests – together with the experts in the law ²²  and elders ²³  – were mocking him: ²⁴  27:42 “He saved others, but he cannot save himself! He is the king of Israel! If he comes down ²⁵  now from the cross, we will believe in him!

Acts 4:5-6

4:5 On the next day, ²⁶  their rulers, elders, and experts in the law ²⁷  came together ²⁸  in Jerusalem. ²⁹  4:6 Annas the high priest was there, and Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and others who were members of the high priest’s family. ³⁰ 

[26:17]  ¹ tn Heb “elders of the land.”

[11:16]  ² sn The Lord provides Spirit-empowered assistance for Moses. Here is another variation on the theme of Moses’ faith. Just as he refused to lead alone and was given Aaron to share the work, so here he protests the burden and will share it with seventy elders. If God’s servant will not trust wholeheartedly, that individual will not be used by God as he or she might have been. Others will share in the power and the work. Probably one could say that it was God’s will for others to share this leadership – but not to receive it through these circumstances.

[11:16]  ³ tn The “officials” (שֹׁטְּרִים, shottÿrim) were a group of the elders who seem to have had some administrative capacities. The LXX used the word “scribes.” For further discussion, see R. de Vaux, Ancient Israel, 69-70.

[11:1]  ³ sn The chapter includes the initial general complaints (vv. 1-3), the complaints about food (vv. 4-9), Moses’ own complaint to the Lord (vv. 10-15), God’s response to Moses (vv. 16-25), Eldad and Medad (vv. 26-29), and the quail (vv. 30-35). The first part records the burning of the camp, named Taberah. Here is one of the several naming narratives in the wilderness experience. The occasion for divine judgment is the complaining of the people. The passages serve to warn believers of all ages not to murmur as the Israelites did, for such complaining reveals a lack of faith in the power and goodness of God. For additional literature, see W. Brueggemann, “From Hurt to Joy, from Death to Life,” Int 28 (1974): 3-19; B. S. Childs, “The Etiological Tale Re-examined,” VT 24 (1974): 387-97; G. W. Coats, Rebellion in the Wilderness; and A. C. Tunyogi, “The Rebellions of Israel,” JBL 81 (1962): 385-90.

[11:1]  ⁴ tn The temporal clause uses the Hitpoel infinitive construct from אָנַן (’anan). It is a rare word, occurring in Lam 3:39. With this blunt introduction the constant emphasis of obedience to the word of the Lord found throughout the first ten chapters suddenly comes to an end. It is probable that the people were tired of moving for several days, the excitement of the new beginning died out quickly in the “great and terrible wilderness.” Resentment, frustration, discomfort – whatever it all involved – led to complaining and not gratitude.

[11:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “it was evil in the ears of the Lord.” The word רַע (ra’) is a much stronger word than “displeased” would suggest. The bold anthropomorphism shows that what the Lord heard was painful to him.

[11:1]  ⁶ tn The preterite with vav (ו) consecutive is here subordinated to the next verb as a temporal clause.

[11:1]  ⁷ tn The common Hebrew expression uses the verb חָרָה (harah, “to be hot, to burn, to be kindled”). The subject is אַפּוֹ (’appo), “his anger” or more literally, his nose, which in this anthropomorphic expression flares in rage. The emphasis is superlative – “his anger raged.”

[11:1]  ⁸ tn The vav (ו) consecutive does not simply show sequence in the verbs, but here expresses the result of the anger of the Lord for their complaining. With such a response to the complaining, one must conclude that it was unreasonable. There had been no long deprivation or endured suffering; the complaining was early and showed a rebellious spirit.

[11:1]  ⁹ sn The “fire of the Lord” is supernatural, for it is said to come from the Lord and not from a natural source. God gave them something to complain about – something to fear. The other significant place where this “fire of the Lord” destroyed was in the case of Nadab and Abihu who brought strange fire to the altar (Lev 10:2).

[24:4]  ⁴ tn The phrase “flat on the ground” is supplied in the translation for clarity. The Greek version interprets the line to mean “falling asleep.” It may mean falling into a trance.

[24:4]  ⁵ tn The last colon simply has “falling, but opened eyes.” The falling may simply refer to lying prone; and the opened eyes may refer to his receiving a vision. See H. E. Freeman, An Introduction to the Old Testament Prophets, 37-41.

[24:5]  ⁵ tn Here מָה (mah) has an exclamatory sense: “How!” (see Gen 28:17).

[24:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “as valleys they spread forth.”

[24:6]  ⁷ tn Or “rows of palms.”

[24:6]  ⁸ sn The language seems to be more poetic than precise. N. H. Snaith notes that cedars do not grow beside water; he also connects “aloes” to the eaglewood that is more exotic, and capable of giving off an aroma (Leviticus and Numbers [NCB], 298).

[8:11]  ⁷ sn Note the contrast between these seventy men who represented Israel and the seventy elders who ate the covenant meal before God, inaugurating the covenant relationship (Exod 24:1, 9).

[8:11]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew word occurs only here in the OT.

[8:12]  ⁸ tn Heb “the room of his images.” The adjective “idolatrous” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[27:1]  ⁹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[27:41]  ¹⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[27:41]  ¹¹ tn Or “with the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[27:41]  ¹² tn Only “chief priests” is in the nominative case; this sentence structure attempts to capture this emphasis.

[27:41]  ¹³ tn Grk “Mocking him, the chief priests…said.”

[27:42]  ¹¹ tn Here the aorist imperative καταβάτω (katabatw) has been translated as a conditional imperative. This fits the pattern of other conditional imperatives (imperative + καί + future indicative) outlined by ExSyn 489.

[4:5]  ¹² tn Grk “It happened that on the next day.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[4:5]  ¹³ tn Or “and scribes.” The traditional rendering of γραμματεύς (grammateu") as “scribe” does not communicate much to the modern English reader, for whom the term might mean “professional copyist,” if it means anything at all. The people referred to here were recognized experts in the law of Moses and in traditional laws and regulations. Thus “expert in the law” comes closer to the meaning for the modern reader.

[4:5]  ¹⁴ tn Or “law assembled,” “law met together.”

[4:5]  ¹⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[4:6]  ¹³ sn The high priest’s family. This family controlled the high priesthood as far back as a.d. 6. Annas, Caiaphas, and Alexander were all high priests at one time (though Alexander held that office after this event).