Numbers 20:20

20:20 But he said, “You may not pass through.” Then Edom came out against them ¹  with a large and powerful force. ² 

Numbers 21:23

21:23 But Sihon did not permit Israel to pass through his border; he ³  gathered all his forces ⁴  together and went out against Israel into the wilderness. When ⁵  he came to Jahaz, he fought against Israel.

Numbers 21:2

21:2 So Israel made a vow ⁶  to the Lord and said, “If you will indeed deliver ⁷  this people into our ⁸  hand, then we will utterly destroy ⁹  their cities.”

Numbers 13:13

13:13 from the tribe of Asher, Sethur son of Michael;

Job 15:25-26

15:25 for he stretches out his hand against God, ¹⁰ 

and vaunts himself ¹¹  against the Almighty,

15:26 defiantly charging against him ¹² 

with a thick, strong shield! ¹³ 

[20:20]  ¹ tn Heb “to meet him.”

[20:20]  ² tn Heb “with many [heavy] people and with a strong hand.” The translation presented above is interpretive, but that is what the line means. It was a show of force, numbers and weapons, to intimidate the Israelites.

[21:23]  ³ tn Heb “Sihon.”

[21:23]  ⁴ tn Heb “people.”

[21:23]  ⁵ tn The clause begins with a preterite with vav (ו) consecutive, but may be subordinated to the next preterite as a temporal clause.

[21:2]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew text uses a cognate accusative with the verb: They vowed a vow. The Israelites were therefore determined with God’s help to defeat Arad.

[21:2]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew text has the infinitive absolute and the imperfect tense of נָתַן (natan) to stress the point – if you will surely/indeed give.”

[21:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “my.”

[21:2]  ⁹ tn On the surface this does not sound like much of a vow. But the key is in the use of the verb for “utterly destroy” – חָרַם (kharam). Whatever was put to this “ban” or “devotion” belonged to God, either for his use, or for destruction. The oath was in fact saying that they would take nothing from this for themselves. It would simply be the removal of what was alien to the faith, or to God’s program.

[15:25]  ¹⁰ sn The symbol of the outstretched hand is the picture of attempting to strike someone, or shaking a fist at someone; it is a symbol of a challenge or threat (see Isa 5:25; 9:21; 10:4).

[15:25]  ¹¹ tn The Hitpael of גָּבַר (gavar) means “to act with might” or “to behave like a hero.” The idea is that the wicked boldly vaunts himself before the Lord.

[15:26]  ¹² tn Heb “he runs against [or upon] him with the neck.” The RSV takes this to mean “with a stiff neck.” Several commentators, influenced by the LXX’s “insolently,” have attempted to harmonize with some idiom for neck (“outstretched neck,” for example). Others have made more extensive changes. Pope and Anderson follow Tur-Sinai in accepting “with full battle armor.” But the main idea seems to be that of a headlong assault on God.

[15:26]  ¹³ tn Heb “with the thickness of the bosses of his shield.” The bosses are the convex sides of the bucklers, turned against the foe. This is a defiant attack on God.