Numbers 14:3-4

14:3 Why has the Lord brought us into this land only to be killed by the sword, that our wives and our children should become plunder? Wouldn’t it be better for us to return to Egypt?” 14:4 So they said to one another, ¹  “Let’s appoint ²  a leader ³  and return ⁴  to Egypt.”

Numbers 14:11

The Punishment from God

14:11 The Lord said to Moses, “How long will this people despise ⁵  me, and how long will they not believe ⁶  in me, in spite of the signs that I have done among them?

Numbers 14:41

14:41 But Moses said, “Why ⁷  are you now transgressing the commandment ⁸  of the Lord? It will not succeed!

Numbers 16:14

16:14 Moreover, ⁹  you have not brought us into a land that flows with milk and honey, nor given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Do you think you can blind ¹⁰  these men? We will not come up.”

Psalms 106:24-25

106:24 They rejected the fruitful land; ¹¹ 

they did not believe his promise. ¹² 

106:25 They grumbled in their tents; ¹³ 

they did not obey ¹⁴  the Lord.

Proverbs 1:24

1:24 However, ¹⁵  because ¹⁶  I called but you refused to listen, ¹⁷ 

because ¹⁸  I stretched out my hand ¹⁹  but no one paid attention,

Hebrews 12:25

12:25 Take care not to refuse the one who is speaking! For if they did not escape when they refused the one who warned them on earth, how much less shall we, if we reject the one who warns from heaven?

[14:4]  ¹ tn Heb “a man to his brother.”

[14:4]  ² tn The verb is נָתַן (natan, “to give”), but this verb has quite a wide range of meanings in the Bible. Here it must mean “to make,” “to choose,” “to designate” or the like.

[14:4]  ³ tn The word “head” (רֹאשׁ, ro’sh) probably refers to a tribal chief who was capable to judge and to lead to war (see J. R. Bartlett, “The Use of the Word רֹאשׁ as a Title in the Old Testament,” VT 19 [1969]: 1-10).

[14:4]  ⁴ tn The form is a cohortative with a vav (ו) prefixed. After the preceding cohortative this could also be interpreted as a purpose or result clause – in order that we may return.

[14:11]  ⁵ tn The verb נָאַץ (na’ats) means “to condemn, spurn” (BDB 610 s.v.). Coats suggests that in some contexts the word means actual rejection or renunciation (Rebellion in the Wilderness, 146, 7). This would include the idea of distaste.

[14:11]  ⁶ tn The verb “to believe” (root אָמַן, ’aman) has the basic idea of support, dependability for the root. The Hiphil has a declarative sense, namely, to consider something reliable or dependable and to act on it. The people did not trust what the Lord said.

[14:41]  ⁷ tn The line literally has, “Why is this [that] you are transgressing….” The demonstrative pronoun is enclitic; it brings the force of “why in the world are you doing this now?”

[14:41]  ⁸ tn Heb “mouth.”

[16:14]  ⁹ tn Here אַף (’af) has the sense of “in addition.” It is not a common use.

[16:14]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “will you bore out the eyes of these men?” The question is “Will you continue to mislead them?” (or “hoodwink” them). In Deut 16:19 it is used for taking a bribe; something like that kind of deception is intended here. They are simply stating that Moses is a deceiver who is misleading the people with false promises.

[106:24]  ¹¹ tn Heb “a land of delight” (see also Jer 3:19; Zech 7:14).

[106:24]  ¹² tn Heb “his word.”

[106:25]  ¹³ sn They grumbled in their tents. See Deut 1:27.

[106:25]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “did not listen to the voice of.”

[1:24]  ¹⁵ tn The term “however” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the contrast between the offer in 1:23 and the accusation in 1:24-25. It is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[1:24]  ¹⁶ tn The particle יַעַן (ya’an, “because”) introduces a causal clause which forms part of an extended protasis; the apodosis is 1:26.

[1:24]  ¹⁷ tn The phrase “to listen” does not appear in the Hebrew but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[1:24]  ¹⁸ tn The term “because” does not appear in this line but is implied by the parallelism; it is supplied in the translation for clarity and smoothness.

[1:24]  ¹⁹ sn This expression is a metonymy of adjunct; it is a gesture that goes with the appeal for some to approach.