Numbers 12:6

12:6 The Lord ¹  said, “Hear now my words: If there is a prophet among you, ²  I the Lord ³  will make myself known to him in a vision; I will speak with him in a dream.

Numbers 12:2

12:2 They ⁴  said, “Has the Lord only ⁵  spoken through Moses? Has he not also spoken through us?” ⁶  And the Lord heard it. ⁷ 

Numbers 20:1-5

The Israelites Complain Again

20:1 ⁸ Then the entire community of Israel ⁹  entered the wilderness of Zin in the first month, ¹⁰  and the people stayed in Kadesh. ¹¹  Miriam died and was buried there. ¹² 

20:2 And there was no water for the community, and so they gathered themselves together against Moses and Aaron. 20:3 The people contended ¹³  with Moses, saying, ¹⁴  “If only ¹⁵  we had died when our brothers died before the Lord! 20:4 Why ¹⁶  have you brought up the Lord’s community into this wilderness? So that ¹⁷  we and our cattle should die here? 20:5 Why ¹⁸  have you brought us up from Egypt only to bring us to ¹⁹  this dreadful place? It is no place for grain, or figs, or vines, or pomegranates; nor is there any water to drink!”

Isaiah 30:21

30:21 You ²⁰  will hear a word spoken behind you, saying,

“This is the correct ²¹  way, walk in it,”

whether you are heading to the right or the left.

Amos 3:7

3:7 Certainly the sovereign Lord does nothing without first revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.

[12:6]  ¹ tn Heb “he.”

[12:6]  ² tn The form of this construction is rare: נְבִיאֲכֶם (nÿvi’akhem) would normally be rendered “your prophet.” The singular noun is suffixed with a plural pronominal suffix. Some commentators think the MT has condensed “a prophet” with “to you.”

[12:6]  ³ tn The Hebrew syntax is difficult here. “The Lord” is separated from the verb by two intervening prepositional phrases. Some scholars conclude that this word belongs with the verb at the beginning of v. 6 (“And the Lord spoke”).

[12:2]  ⁴ tn Now the text changes to use a plural form of the verb. The indication is that Miriam criticized the marriage, and then the two of them raised questions about his sole leadership of the nation.

[12:2]  ⁵ tn The use of both רַק and אַךְ (raq and ’akh) underscore the point that the issue is Moses’ uniqueness.

[12:2]  ⁶ tn There is irony in the construction in the text. The expression “speak through us” also uses דִּבֵּר + בְּ(dibber + bÿ). They ask if God has not also spoken through them, after they have spoken against Moses. Shortly God will speak against them – their words are prophetic, but not as they imagined.

[12:2]  ⁷ sn The statement is striking. Obviously the Lord knows all things. But the statement of the obvious here is meant to indicate that the Lord was about to do something about this.

[20:1]  ⁸ sn This chapter is the account of how Moses struck the rock in disobedience to the Lord, and thereby was prohibited from entering the land. For additional literature on this part, see E. Arden, “How Moses Failed God,” JBL 76 (1957): 50-52; J. Gray, “The Desert Sojourn of the Hebrews and the Sinai Horeb Tradition,” VT 4 (1954): 148-54; T. W. Mann, “Theological Reflections on the Denial of Moses,” JBL 98 (1979): 481-94; and J. R. Porter, “The Role of Kadesh-Barnea in the Narrative of the Exodus,” JTS 44 (1943): 130-43.

[20:1]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew text stresses this idea by use of apposition: “the Israelites entered, the entire community, the wilderness.”

[20:1]  ¹⁰ sn The text does not indicate here what year this was, but from comparing the other passages about the itinerary, this is probably the end of the wanderings, the fortieth year, for Aaron died some forty years after the exodus. So in that year the people come through the wilderness of Zin and prepare for a journey through the Moabite plains.

[20:1]  ¹¹ sn The Israelites stayed in Kadesh for some time during the wandering; here the stop at Kadesh Barnea may have lasted several months. See the commentaries for the general itinerary.

[20:1]  ¹² sn The death of Miriam is recorded without any qualifications or epitaph. In her older age she had been self-willed and rebellious, and so no doubt humbled by the vivid rebuke from God. But she had made her contribution from the beginning.

[20:3]  ¹³ tn The verb is רִיב (riv); it is often used in the Bible for a legal complaint, a law suit, at least in form. But it can also describe a quarrel, or strife, like that between Abram’s men and Lot’s men in Genesis 13. It will be the main verb behind the commemorative name Meribah, the place where the people strove with God. It is a far more serious thing than grumbling – it is directed, intentional, and well-argued. For further discussion, see J. Limburg, “The Root ‘rib’ and the Prophetic Lawsuit Speeches,” JBL 88 (1969): 291-304.

[20:3]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and they said, saying.”

[20:3]  ¹⁵ tn The particle לוּ (lu) indicates the optative nuance of the line – the wishing or longing for death. It is certainly an absurdity to want to have died, but God took them at their word and they died in the wilderness.

[20:4]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and why….” The conjunction seems to be recording another thing that the people said in their complaint against Moses.

[20:4]  ¹⁷ tn The clause uses the infinitive construct with the lamed (ל) preposition. The clause would be a result clause in this sentence: “Why have you brought us here…with the result that we will all die?”

[20:5]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and why.”

[20:5]  ¹⁹ tn Here also the infinitive construct (Hiphil) forms the subordinate clause of the preceding interrogative clause.

[30:21]  ²⁰ tn Heb “your ears” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[30:21]  ²¹ tn The word “correct’ is supplied in the translation for clarification.