Numbers 33:4

33:4 Now the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn, whom the Lord had killed among them; the Lord also executed judgments on their gods.

Numbers 33:1

Wanderings from Egypt to Sinai

33:1 ¹ These are the journeys of the Israelites, who went out of the land of Egypt by their divisions under the authority ²  of Moses and Aaron.

Numbers 5:3

5:3 You must expel both men and women; you must put them outside the camp, so that ³  they will not defile their camps, among which I live.”

Numbers 6:5

6:5 “‘All the days of the vow ⁴  of his separation no razor may be used on his head ⁵  until the time ⁶  is fulfilled for which he separated himself to the Lord. He will be holy, ⁷  and he must let ⁸  the locks of hair on his head grow long.

Numbers 6:1

The Nazirite Vow

6:1 ⁹ Then the Lord spoke to Moses:

Numbers 14:12

14:12 I will strike them with the pestilence, ¹⁰  and I will disinherit them; I will make you into a nation that is greater and mightier than they!”

Isaiah 19:1

The Lord Will Judge Egypt

19:1 Here is a message about Egypt:

Look, the Lord rides on a swift-moving cloud

and approaches Egypt.

The idols of Egypt tremble before him;

the Egyptians lose their courage. ¹¹ 

Jeremiah 43:13

43:13 He will demolish the sacred pillars in the temple of the sun ¹²  in Egypt and will burn down the temples of the gods of Egypt.”’”

Zephaniah 2:11

2:11 The Lord will terrify them, ¹³ 

for ¹⁴  he will weaken ¹⁵  all the gods of the earth.

All the distant nations will worship the Lord in their own lands. ¹⁶ 

[33:1]  ¹ sn This material can be arranged into four sections: from Egypt to Sinai (vv. 1-15), the wilderness wanderings (vv. 16-36), from Kadesh to Moab (vv. 37-49), and final orders for Canaan (vv. 50-56).

[33:1]  ² tn Heb “hand.”

[5:3]  ³ tn The imperfect tense functions here as a final imperfect, expressing the purpose of putting such folks outside the camp. The two preceding imperfects (repeated for emphasis) are taken here as instruction or legislation.

[6:5]  ⁴ tc The parallel expression in v. 8 (“all the days of his separation”) lacks the word “vow.” This word is also absent in v. 5 in a few medieval Hebrew manuscripts. The presence of the word in v. 5 may be due to dittography.

[6:5]  ⁵ sn There is an interesting parallel between this prohibition and the planting of trees. They could not be pruned or trimmed for three years, but allowed to grow free (Lev 20:23). Only then could the tree be cut and the fruit eaten. The natural condition was to be a sign that it was the Lord’s. It was to be undisturbed by humans. Since the Nazirite was to be consecrated to the Lord, that meant his whole person, hair included. In the pagan world the trimming of the beard and the cutting of the hair was often a sign of devotion to some deity.

[6:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “days.”

[6:5]  ⁷ tn The word “holy” here has the sense of distinct, different, set apart.

[6:5]  ⁸ tn The Piel infinitive absolute functions as a verb in this passage; the Piel carries the sense of “grow lengthy” or “let grow long.”

[6:1]  ⁹ sn This chapter can be divided into five sections: The vow is described in vv. 1-8, then the contingencies for defilement are enumerated in vv. 9-12, then there is a discussion of discharging the vows in vv. 13-20, and then a summary in v. 21; after this is the high priestly blessing (vv. 22-27). For information on the vow, see G. B. Gray, “The Nazirite,” JTS 1 (1899-1900): 201-11; Z. Weisman, “The Biblical Nazirite, Its Types and Roots,” Tarbiz 36 (1967): 207-20; and W. Eichrodt, Theology of the Old Testament (OTL), 1:303-6.

[14:12]  ¹⁰ tc The Greek version has “death.”

[19:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and the heart of Egypt melts within it.”

[43:13]  ¹² sn It is generally agreed that the temple of the sun was located in Heliopolis, which is elsewhere referred to as On (cf. Gen 41:45). It was the center for the worship of Amon-Re, the Egyptian sun god, and was famous for its obelisks (conical shaped pillars) dedicated to that god. It was located about 6 miles (10 km) northeast of modern-day Cairo.

[2:11]  ¹³ tn Heb “will be awesome over [or, “against”] them.”

[2:11]  ¹⁴ tn Or “certainly.”

[2:11]  ¹⁵ tn The meaning of this rare Hebrew word is unclear. If the meaning is indeed “weaken,” then this line may be referring to the reduction of these gods’ territory through conquest (see Adele Berlin, Zephaniah [AB 25A], 110-11). Cf. NEB “reduce to beggary”; NASB “starve”; NIV “when he destroys”; NRSV “shrivel.”

[2:11]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and all the coastlands of the nations will worship [or, “bow down”] to him, each from his own place.”