Numbers 1:2

1:2 “Take a census ¹  of the entire ²  Israelite community ³  by their clans and families, ⁴  counting the name of every individual male. ⁵ 

Numbers 1:49

1:49 “Only the tribe of Levi ⁶  you must not number ⁷  or count ⁸  with ⁹  the other Israelites.

Numbers 3:40

The Substitution for the Firstborn

3:40 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Number all the firstborn males of the Israelites from a month old and upward, and take ¹⁰  the number of their names.

Numbers 4:25

4:25 They must carry the curtains for the tabernacle and the tent of meeting with its covering, the covering of fine leather that is over it, the curtains for the entrance of the tent of meeting,

Numbers 13:23

13:23 When they came to the valley of Eshcol, they cut down from there a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they carried it on a staff ¹¹  between two men, as well as some of the pomegranates and the figs.

Numbers 14:19

14:19 Please forgive ¹²  the iniquity of this people according to your great loyal love, ¹³  just as you have forgiven this people from Egypt even until now.”

Numbers 14:33

14:33 and your children will wander ¹⁴  in the wilderness forty years and suffer for your unfaithfulness, ¹⁵  until your dead bodies lie finished ¹⁶  in the wilderness.

Numbers 18:32

18:32 And you will bear no sin concerning it when you offer up the best of it. And you must not profane the holy things of the Israelites, or else you will die.’” ¹⁷ 

Numbers 23:7

23:7 Then Balaam ¹⁸  uttered ¹⁹  his oracle, saying,

“Balak, the king of Moab, brought me ²⁰  from Aram,

out of the mountains of the east, saying,

‘Come, pronounce a curse on Jacob for me;

come, denounce Israel.’ ²¹ 

Numbers 23:24

23:24 Indeed, the people will rise up like a lioness,

and like a lion raises himself up;

they will not lie down until they eat their ²²  prey,

and drink the blood of the slain.” ²³ 

Numbers 24:2

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

Numbers 26:2

26:2 “Take a census of the whole community of Israelites, from twenty years old and upward, by their clans, ²⁵  everyone who can serve in the army of Israel.” ²⁶ 

Numbers 31:26

31:26 “You and Eleazar the priest, and all the family leaders of the community, take the sum ²⁷  of the plunder that was captured, both people and animals.

Numbers 31:49

31:49 and said to him, ²⁸  “Your servants have taken a count ²⁹  of the men who were in the battle, who were under our authority, ³⁰  and not one is missing.

[1:2]  ¹ tn The construction is literally “lift up the head[s],” (שְׂאוּ אֶת־רֹאשׁ, sÿ’u ’et-ro’sh). This idiom for taking a census occurs elsewhere (Exod 30:12; Lev 5:24; Num 1:24; etc.). The idea is simply that of counting heads to arrive at the base for the standing army. This is a different event than the one recorded in Exod 30:11-16, which was taken for a different purpose altogether. The verb is plural, indicating that Moses had help in taking the census.

[1:2]  ² tc Smr lacks the Hebrew word “all” here.

[1:2]  ³ tn Heb “the congregation of Israel.”

[1:2]  ⁴ tn The tribe (מַטֶּה, matteh or שֵׁבֶט, shevet) is the main category. The family groups or clans (מִשְׁפְּחֹת, mishpÿkhot) and the households or families (בֵּית אֲבֹת, bet ’avot) were sub-divisions of the tribe.

[1:2]  ⁵ tn This clause simply has “in/with the number of the names of every male with respect to their skulls [individually].” Counting heads, or every skull, simply meant that each person was to be numbered in the census. Except for the Levites, no male was exempt from the count.

[1:49]  ⁶ sn From the giving of the Law on the priesthood comes the prerogative of the tribe of Levi. There were, however, members of other tribes who served as priests from time to time (see Judg 17:5).

[1:49]  ⁷ tn The construction has literally, “only the tribe of Levi you shall not number.” The Greek text rendered the particle אַךְ (’akh) forcefully with “see to it that” or “take care that.” For the uses of this form, see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 65, §388-89.

[1:49]  ⁸ tn Heb “lift up their head.”

[1:49]  ⁹ tn Heb “in the midst of the sons of Israel.”

[3:40]  ¹¹ tn The verb נָשָׂא (nasa’, “take”) has here the sense of collect, take a census, or register the names.

[13:23]  ¹⁶ tn The word is related etymologically to the verb for “slip, slide, bend, totter.” This would fit the use very well. A pole that would not bend would be hard to use to carry things, but a pole or stave that was flexible would serve well.

[14:19]  ²¹ tn The verb סְלַח־נָא (selakh-na’), the imperative form, means “forgive” (see Ps 130:4), “pardon,” “excuse.” The imperative is of course a prayer, a desire, and not a command.

[14:19]  ²² tn The construct unit is “the greatness of your loyal love.” This is the genitive of specification, the first word being the modifier.

[14:33]  ²⁶ tn The word is “shepherds.” It means that the people would be wilderness nomads, grazing their flock on available land.

[14:33]  ²⁷ tn Heb “you shall bear your whoredoms.” The imagery of prostitution is used throughout the Bible to reflect spiritual unfaithfulness, leaving the covenant relationship and following after false gods. Here it is used generally for their rebellion in the wilderness, but not for following other gods.

[14:33]  ²⁸ tn The infinitive is from תָּמַם (tamam), which means “to be complete.” The word is often used to express completeness in a good sense – whole, blameless, or the like. Here and in v. 35 it seems to mean “until your deaths have been completed.” See also Gen 47:15; Deut 2:15.

[18:32]  ³¹ tn The final clause could also be rendered “in order that you do not die.” The larger section can also be interpreted differently; rather than take it as a warning, it could be taken as an assurance that when they do all of this they will not be profaning it and so will not die (R. K. Harrison, Numbers [WEC], 253).

[23:7]  ³⁶ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Balaam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[23:7]  ³⁷ tn Heb “took up.”

[23:7]  ³⁸ tn The passage calls for a past tense translation; since the verb form is a prefixed conjugation, this tense should be classified as a preterite without the vav (ו). Such forms do occur, especially in the ancient poetic passages.

[23:7]  ³⁹ sn The opening lines seem to be a formula for the seer to identify himself and the occasion for the oracle. The tension is laid out early; Balaam knows that God has intended to bless Israel, but he has been paid to curse them.

[23:24]  ⁴¹ tn The pronoun “their” has been supplied for clarity; it is not present in the Hebrew text.

[23:24]  ⁴² sn The oracle compares Israel first to a lion, or better, lioness, because she does the tracking and hunting of food while the lion moves up and down roaring and distracting the prey. But the lion is also the traditional emblem of Judah, Dan and Gad, as well as the symbol of royalty. So this also supports the motif of royalty as well as power for Israel.

[24:2]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “living according to their tribes.”

[26:2]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “house of their fathers.”

[26:2]  ⁵² tn Heb “everyone who goes out in the army in Israel.”

[31:26]  ⁵⁶ tn The idiom here is “take up the head,” meaning take a census, or count the totals.

[31:49]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “to Moses”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[31:49]  ⁶² tn Heb “lifted up the head.”

[31:49]  ⁶³ tn Heb “in our hand.”