Numbers 23:22

23:22 God brought them ¹  out of Egypt.

They have, as it were, the strength of a wild bull. ² 

Deuteronomy 33:17

33:17 May the firstborn of his bull bring him honor,

and may his horns be those of a wild ox;

with them may he gore all peoples,

all the far reaches of the earth.

They are the ten thousands of Ephraim, ³ 

and they are the thousands of Manasseh.

Job 39:9-10

39:9 Is the wild ox willing to be your servant?

Will it spend the night at your feeding trough?

39:10 Can you bind the wild ox ⁴  to a furrow with its rope,

will it till the valleys, following after you?

Isaiah 34:7

34:7 Wild oxen will be slaughtered ⁵  along with them,

as well as strong bulls. ⁶ 

Their land is drenched with blood,

their soil is covered with fat.

John 8:59

8:59 Then they picked up ⁷  stones to throw at him, ⁸  but Jesus hid himself and went out from the temple area. ⁹ 

Acts 4:27

4:27 “For indeed both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, assembled together in this city against ¹⁰  your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, ¹¹ 

Acts 5:30-32

5:30 The God of our forefathers ¹²  raised up Jesus, whom you seized and killed by hanging him on a tree. ¹³  5:31 God exalted him ¹⁴  to his right hand as Leader ¹⁵  and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. ¹⁶  5:32 And we are witnesses of these events, ¹⁷  and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey ¹⁸  him.”

[23:22]  ¹ tn The form is the Hiphil participle from יָצַא (yatsa’) with the object suffix. He is the one who brought them out.

[23:22]  ² sn The expression is “the horns of the wild ox” (KJV “unicorn”). The point of the image is strength or power. Horns are also used in the Bible to represent kingship (see Pss 89 and 132).

[33:17]  ³ sn Ephraim and Manasseh were the sons of Joseph who became founders of the two tribes into which Joseph’s descendants were split (Gen 48:19-20). Jacob’s blessing granted favored status to Ephraim; this is probably why Ephraim is viewed here as more numerous than Manasseh.

[39:10]  ⁴ tn Some commentators think that the addition of the “wild ox” here is a copyist’s error, making the stich too long. They therefore delete it. Also, binding an animal to the furrow with ropes is unusual. So with a slight emendation Kissane came up with “Will you bind him with a halter of cord?” While the MT is unusual, the sense is understandable, and no changes, even slight ones, are absolutely necessary.

[34:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “will go down”; NAB “shall be struck down.”

[34:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “and bulls along with strong ones.” Perhaps this refers to the leaders.

[8:59]  ⁷ tn Grk “they took up.”

[8:59]  ⁸ sn Jesus’ Jewish listeners understood his claim to deity, rejected it, and picked up stones to throw at him for what they considered blasphemy.

[8:59]  ⁹ tc Most later witnesses (A Θ^c Ë^1,13 Ï) have at the end of the verse “passing through their midst, he went away in this manner” (διελθὼν διὰ μέσου καὶ παρῆγεν οὕτως, dielqwn dia mesou kai parhgen {outw"), while many others have similar permutations (so א^1,2 C L N Ψ 070 33 579 892 1241 al). The wording is similar to two other texts: Luke 4:30 (διελθὼν διὰ μέσου; in several mss αὐτῶν ἐπορεύετο καί [autwn eporeueto kai] is found between this phrase and παρῆγεν, strengthening the parallel with Luke 4:30) and John 9:1 (παρῆγεν; cf. παράγων [paragwn] there). The effect is to signal Jesus’ departure as a miraculous cloaking. As such, the additional statement has all the earmarks of scribal amplification. Further, the best and earliest witnesses (Ì^66,75 א* B D W Θ* lat sa) lack these words, rendering the shorter text virtually certain.

[4:27]  ¹⁰ sn The application of Ps 2:1-2 is that Jews and Gentiles are opposing Jesus. The surprise of the application is that Jews are now found among the enemies of God’s plan.

[4:27]  ¹¹ sn A wordplay on “Christ,” v. 26, which means “one who has been anointed.”

[5:30]  ¹² tn Or “ancestors”; Grk “fathers.”

[5:30]  ¹³ tn Or “by crucifying him” (“hang on a tree” is by the time of the first century an idiom for crucifixion). The allusion is to the judgment against Jesus as a rebellious figure, appealing to the language of Deut 21:23. The Jewish leadership has badly “misjudged” Jesus.

[5:31]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “This one God exalted” (emphatic).

[5:31]  ¹⁵ tn Or “Founder” (of a movement).

[5:31]  ¹⁶ tn Or “to give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.”

[5:32]  ¹⁷ tn Or “things.” They are preaching these things even to the hostile leadership.

[5:32]  ¹⁸ sn Those who obey. The implication, of course, is that the leadership is disobeying God.