Numbers 16:41

16:41 But on the next day the whole community of Israelites murmured against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You have killed the Lord’s people!” ¹ 

Numbers 16:1

The Rebellion of Korah

16:1 ² 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, ³  took men ⁴ 

Numbers 6:9

Contingencies for Defilement

6:9 “‘If anyone dies very suddenly ⁵  beside him and he defiles ⁶  his consecrated head, ⁷  then he must shave his head on the day of his purification – on the seventh day he must shave it.

Isaiah 26:11

26:11 O Lord, you are ready to act, ⁸ 

but they don’t even notice.

They will see and be put to shame by your angry judgment against humankind, ⁹ 

yes, fire will consume your enemies. ¹⁰ 

Jeremiah 5:3

5:3 Lord, I know you look for faithfulness. ¹¹ 

But even when you punish these people, they feel no remorse. ¹² 

Even when you nearly destroy them, they refuse to be corrected.

They have become as hardheaded as a rock. ¹³ 

They refuse to change their ways. ¹⁴ 

John 18:5-12

18:5 They replied, ¹⁵  “Jesus the Nazarene.” He told them, “I am he.” (Now Judas, the one who betrayed him, was standing there with them.) ¹⁶  18:6 So when Jesus ¹⁷  said to them, “I am he,” they retreated ¹⁸  and fell to the ground. ¹⁹  18:7 Then Jesus ²⁰  asked them again, “Who are you looking for?” And they said, “Jesus the Nazarene.” 18:8 Jesus replied, ²¹  “I told you that I am he. If you are looking for ²²  me, let these men ²³  go.” ²⁴  18:9 He said this ²⁵  to fulfill the word he had spoken, ²⁶  “I have not lost a single one of those whom you gave me.” ²⁷ 

18:10 Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, pulled it out and struck the high priest’s slave, ²⁸  cutting off his right ear. ²⁹  (Now the slave’s name was Malchus.) ³⁰  18:11 But Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword back into its sheath! Am I not to drink the cup that the Father has given me?” ³¹ 

Jesus Before Annas

18:12 Then the squad of soldiers ³²  with their commanding officer ³³  and the officers of the Jewish leaders ³⁴  arrested ³⁵  Jesus and tied him up. ³⁶ 

Acts 4:16-17

4:16 saying, “What should we do with these men? For it is plain ³⁷  to all who live in Jerusalem that a notable miraculous sign ³⁸  has come about through them, ³⁹  and we cannot deny it. 4:17 But to keep this matter from spreading any further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more ⁴⁰  to anyone in this name.”

[16:41]  ¹ sn The whole congregation here is trying to project its guilt on Moses and Aaron. It was they and their rebellion that brought about the deaths, not Moses and Aaron. The Lord had punished the sinners. The fact that the leaders had organized a rebellion against the Lord was forgotten by these people. The point here is that the Israelites had learned nothing of spiritual value from the event.

[16:1]  ² 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]  ³ tc The MT reading is plural (“the sons of Reuben”); the Smr and LXX have the singular (“the son of Reuben”).

[16:1]  ⁴ 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.”

[6:9]  ⁵ tn The construction uses the imperfect tense followed by the infinitive absolute, יָמוּת מֵת (yamut met). Because the verb is in a conditional clause, the emphasis that is to be given through the infinitive must stress the contingency. The point is “if someone dies – unexpectedly.” The next words underscore the suddenness of this.

[6:9]  ⁶ tn The verb is the Piel perfect with a vav (ו) consecutive; it continues the idea within the conditional clause.

[6:9]  ⁷ sn The expression is figurative for the vow that he took; the figure is the metonymy because the reference to the head is a reference to the long hair that symbolizes the oath.

[26:11]  ⁸ tn Heb “O Lord, your hand is lifted up.”

[26:11]  ⁹ tn Heb “They will see and be ashamed of zeal of people.” Some take the prefixed verbs as jussives and translate the statement as a prayer, “Let them see and be put to shame.” The meaning of the phrase קִנְאַת־עָם (qin’at-’am, “zeal of people”) is unclear. The translation assumes that this refers to God’s angry judgment upon people. Another option is to understand the phrase as referring to God’s zealous, protective love of his covenant people. In this case one might translate, “by your zealous devotion to your people.”

[26:11]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “yes, fire, your enemies, will consume them.” Many understand the prefixed verb form to be jussive and translate, “let [fire] consume” (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV). The mem suffixed to the verb may be enclitic; if a pronominal suffix, it refers back to “your enemies.”

[5:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “O Lord, are your eyes not to faithfulness?” The question is rhetorical and expects a positive answer.

[5:3]  ¹² tn Commentaries and lexicons debate the meaning of the verb here. The MT is pointed as though from a verb meaning “to writhe in anguish or contrition” (חוּל [khul]; see, e.g., BDB 297 s.v. חוּל 2.c), but some commentaries and lexicons repoint the text as though from a verb meaning “to be sick,” thus “to feel pain” (חָלָה [khalah]; see, e.g., HALOT 304 s.v. חָלָה 3). The former appears more appropriate to the context.

[5:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “They made their faces as hard as a rock.”

[5:3]  ¹⁴ tn Or “to repent”; Heb “to turn back.”

[18:5]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “They answered.”

[18:5]  ¹⁶ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author. Before he states the response to Jesus’ identification of himself, the author inserts a parenthetical note that Judas, again identified as the one who betrayed him (cf. 18:2), was standing with the group of soldiers and officers of the chief priests. Many commentators have considered this to be an awkward insertion, but in fact it heightens considerably the dramatic effect of the response to Jesus’ self-identification in the following verse, and has the added effect of informing the reader that along with the others the betrayer himself ironically falls down at Jesus’ feet (18:6).

[18:6]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:6]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “moved back” (but here a fairly rapid movement is implied).

[18:6]  ¹⁹ sn When Jesus said to those who came to arrest him “I am,” they retreated and fell to the ground. L. Morris says that “it is possible that those in front recoiled from Jesus’ unexpected advance, so that they bumped those behind them, causing them to stumble and fall” (John [NICNT], 743-44). Perhaps this is what in fact happened on the scene; but the theological significance given to this event by the author implies that more is involved. The reaction on the part of those who came to arrest Jesus comes in response to his affirmation that he is indeed the one they are seeking, Jesus the Nazarene. But Jesus makes this affirmation of his identity using a formula which the reader has encountered before in the Fourth Gospel, e.g., 8:24, 28, 58. Jesus has applied to himself the divine Name of Exod 3:14, “I AM.” Therefore this amounts to something of a theophany which causes even his enemies to recoil and prostrate themselves, so that Jesus has to ask a second time, “Who are you looking for?” This is a vivid reminder to the reader of the Gospel that even in this dark hour, Jesus holds ultimate power over his enemies and the powers of darkness, because he is the one who bears the divine Name.

[18:7]  ²⁰ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:8]  ²¹ tn Grk “Jesus answered.”

[18:8]  ²² tn Grk “if you are seeking.”

[18:8]  ²³ tn The word “men” is not in the Greek text but is implied. The translation uses the word “men” here rather than a more generic word like “people” because in context Jesus referred only to the eleven remaining disciples who were loyal to him and were present at his arrest.

[18:8]  ²⁴ sn A second time Jesus replied, “I told you that I am he,” identifying himself as the one they are seeking. Jesus also added, “If you are looking for me, let these men go.” Jesus successfully diverted attention from his disciples by getting the soldiers and officers of the chief priests to admit (twice) that it is only him they were after. Even in this hour Jesus still protected and cared for his own, giving himself up on their behalf. By handing himself over to his enemies, Jesus ensured that his disciples went free. From the perspective of the author, this is acting out beforehand what Jesus will actually do for his followers when he goes to the cross.

[18:9]  ²⁵ tn The words “He said this” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. There is an ellipsis in the Greek text that must be supplied for the modern English reader at this point.

[18:9]  ²⁶ sn This expression is similar to John 6:39 and John 17:12.

[18:9]  ²⁷ tn Grk “Of the ones whom you gave me, I did not lose one of them.” The order of the clauses has been rearranged to reflect contemporary English style.

[18:10]  ²⁸ tn See the note on the word “slaves” in 4:51.

[18:10]  ²⁹ sn The account of the attack on the high priest’s slave contains details which suggest eyewitness testimony. It is also mentioned in all three synoptic gospels, but only John records that the disciple involved was Peter, whose impulsive behavior has already been alluded to (John 13:37). Likewise only John gives the name of the victim, Malchus, who is described as the high priest’s slave. John and Mark (14:47) both use the word ὠτάριον (wtarion, a double diminutive) to describe what was cut off, and this may indicate only part of the right ear (for example, the earlobe).

[18:10]  ³⁰ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[18:11]  ³¹ tn Grk “The cup that the Father has given me to drink, shall I not drink it?” The order of the clauses has been rearranged to reflect contemporary English style.

[18:12]  ³² tn Grk “a cohort” (but since this was a unit of 600 soldiers, a smaller detachment is almost certainly intended).

[18:12]  ³³ tn Grk “their chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). In Greek the term χιλίαρχος (ciliarco") literally described the “commander of a thousand,” but it was used as the standard translation for the Latin tribunus militum or tribunus militaris, the military tribune who commanded a cohort of 600 men.

[18:12]  ³⁴ tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” In NT usage the term ᾿Ιουδαῖοι (Ioudaioi) may refer to the entire Jewish people, the residents of Jerusalem and surrounding territory, the authorities in Jerusalem, or merely those who were hostile to Jesus. (For further information see R. G. Bratcher, “‘The Jews’ in the Gospel of John,” BT 26 [1975]: 401-9.) Here the phrase refers to the Jewish leaders, who were named as “chief priests and Pharisees” in John 18:3.

[18:12]  ³⁵ tn Or “seized.”

[18:12]  ³⁶ tn Or “bound him.”

[4:16]  ³⁷ tn Or “evident.”

[4:16]  ³⁸ tn Here σημεῖον (shmeion) has been translated as “miraculous sign” rather than simply “sign” or “miracle” since both components appear to be present in the context. It is clear that the healing of the lame man was a miracle, but for the Sanhedrin it was the value of the miraculous healing as a sign that concerned them because it gave attestation to the message of Peter and John. The sign “speaks” as Peter claimed in 3:11-16.

[4:16]  ³⁹ tn Or “has been done by them.”

[4:17]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “speak no longer.”