Numbers 24:6

24:6 They are like ¹  valleys ²  stretched forth,

like gardens by the river’s side,

like aloes ³  that the Lord has planted,

and like cedar trees beside the waters.

Numbers 24:2

24:2 When Balaam lifted up his eyes, he saw Israel camped tribe by tribe; ⁴  and the Spirit of God came upon him.

Numbers 19:1

The Red Heifer Ritual

19:1 ⁵ The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron:

Psalms 92:12

92:12 The godly ⁶  grow like a palm tree;

they grow high like a cedar in Lebanon. ⁷ 

[24:6]  ¹ tn Heb “as valleys they spread forth.”

[24:6]  ² tn Or “rows of palms.”

[24:6]  ³ sn The language seems to be more poetic than precise. N. H. Snaith notes that cedars do not grow beside water; he also connects “aloes” to the eaglewood that is more exotic, and capable of giving off an aroma (Leviticus and Numbers [NCB], 298).

[24:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “living according to their tribes.”

[19:1]  ⁵ sn In the last chapter the needs of the priests and Levites were addressed. Now the concern is for the people. This provision from the sacrifice of the red heifer is a precaution to ensure that the purity of the tabernacle was not violated by pollutions of impurity or death. This chapter has two main parts, both dealing with ceremonial purity: the ritual of the red heifer (vv. 1-10), and the purification from uncleanness (vv. 11-22). For further study see J. Milgrom, “The Paradox of the Red Cow (Num 19),” VT 31 (1981): 62-72.

[92:12]  ⁶ tn The singular is used in a representative sense, with the typical godly person being in view.

[92:12]  ⁷ sn The cedars of the Lebanon forest were well-known in ancient Israel for their immense size.