Numbers 3:32

3:32 Now the head of all the Levitical leaders ¹  was Eleazar son of Aaron the priest. He was appointed over those who were responsible ²  for the sanctuary.

Numbers 3:1

The Sons of Aaron

3:1 ³ Now these are the records ⁴  of Aaron and Moses when ⁵  the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai.

Numbers 9:1-2

Passover Regulations

9:1 ⁶ The Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they had come out ⁷  of the land of Egypt:

9:2 “The Israelites are to observe ⁸  the Passover ⁹  at its appointed time. ¹⁰ 

Numbers 19:11

Purification from Uncleanness

19:11 “‘Whoever touches ¹¹  the corpse ¹²  of any person ¹³  will be ceremonially unclean ¹⁴  seven days.

Numbers 31:13

31:13 Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the community went out to meet them outside the camp.

Acts 5:24

5:24 Now when the commander ¹⁵  of the temple guard ¹⁶  and the chief priests heard this report, ¹⁷  they were greatly puzzled concerning it, ¹⁸  wondering what this could ¹⁹  be.

[3:32]  ¹ tn The Hebrew construction has “the leader of the leaders of” (וּנְשִׂיא נְשִׂיאֵי, unÿsi’ nÿsi’ey).

[3:32]  ² tn Heb “the keepers of the responsibility” (שֹׁמְרֵי מִשְׁמֶרֶת, shomÿrey mishmeret). The participle is a genitive specifying the duty to which he was appointed (thing possessed); its cognate genitive emphasizes that their responsibility was over the holy place.

[3:1]  ³ sn For significant literature for this chapter, see M. Aberbach and L. Smolar, “Aaron, Jeroboam, and their Golden Calves,” JBL 86 (1967): 129-40; G. Brin, “The First-born in Israel in the Biblical Period” (Ph.D. diss., University of Tel Aviv, 1971); S. H. Hooke, “Theory and Practice of Substitution,” VT 2 (1952): 2-17; and J. Morgenstern, “A Chapter in the History of the High Priesthood,” AJSL 55 (1938): 1-24.

[3:1]  ⁴ tn The construction is וְאֵלֶּה תּוֹלְדֹת (vÿ’elleh tolÿdot), which was traditionally translated “now these are the generations,” much as it was translated throughout the book of Genesis. The noun can refer to records, stories, genealogies, names, and accounts of people. Here it is the recorded genealogical list with assigned posts included. Like Genesis, it is a heading of a section, and not a colophon as some have suggested. It is here similar to Exodus: “these are the names of.” R. K. Harrison, Numbers (WEC), 62, insists that it is a colophon and should end chapter 2, but if that is followed in the Pentateuch, it creates difficulty throughout the narratives. See the discussion by A. P. Ross, Creation and Blessing, 69-74.

[3:1]  ⁵ tn The expression in the Hebrew text (“in the day of”) is idiomatic for “when.”

[9:1]  ⁶ sn The chapter has just the two sections, the observance of the Passover (vv. 1-14) and the cloud that led the Israelites in the wilderness (vv. 15-23). It must be remembered that the material in vv. 7-9 is chronologically earlier than vv. 1-6, as the notices in the text will make clear. The two main discussions here are the last major issues to be reiterated before dealing with the commencement of the journey.

[9:1]  ⁷ tn The temporal clause is formed with the infinitive construct of יָצָא (yatsa’, “to go out; to leave”). This verse indicates that a full year had passed since the exodus and the original Passover; now a second ruling on the Passover is included at the beginning of the second year. This would have occurred immediately after the consecration of the tabernacle, in the month before the census at Sinai.

[9:2]  ⁸ tn The verb is simply “to do; to make” (עָשָׂה [’asah] in the jussive). It must have the idea here of “to perform; to keep; to observe” the ritual of the Passover.

[9:2]  ⁹ sn For a detailed study note on the Passover, see the discussion with the original institution in Exod 12. The word פֶּסַח (pesakh) – here in pause and with the article – has become the technical name for the spring festival of Israel. In Exod 12 the name is explained by the use of the verb “to pass over” (עָבַר, ’avar), indicating that the angel of death would pass over the house with the blood applied. Many scholarly attempts have been made to supply the etymology of the word, but none has been compelling enough to be accepted by a large number of biblical scholars. For general literature on the Passover, see J. B. Segal, The Hebrew Passover, as well as the Bible dictionaries and encyclopedias.

[9:2]  ¹⁰ tc The Greek text uses a plural here but the singular in vv. 7 and 13; the Smr uses the plural in all three places.

[19:11]  ¹¹ tn The form is the participle with the article functioning as a substantive: “the one who touches.”

[19:11]  ¹² tn Heb “the dead.”

[19:11]  ¹³ tn The expression is full: לְכָל־נֶפֶשׁ אָדָם (lÿkhol-nefesh ’adam) – of any life of a man, i.e., of any person.

[19:11]  ¹⁴ tn The verb is a perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive; it follows only the participle used as the subject, but since the case is hypothetical and therefore future, this picks up the future time. The adjective “ceremonially” is supplied in the translation as a clarification.

[5:24]  ¹⁵ tn Or “captain.”

[5:24]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “the official of the temple,” a title for the commander of the Jewish soldiers guarding the temple (thus the translation, “the commander of the temple guard”). See L&N 37.91.

[5:24]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “heard these words.”

[5:24]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “concerning them,” agreeing with the plural antecedent “these words.” Since the phrase “these words” was translated as the singular “this report,” the singular “concerning it” is used here.

[5:24]  ¹⁹ tn The optative verb here expresses confused uncertainty.