Numbers 1:49

1:49 “Only the tribe of Levi ¹  you must not number ²  or count ³  with ⁴  the other Israelites.

Numbers 9:12

9:12 They must not leave any of it until morning, nor break any of its bones; they must observe it in accordance with every statute of the Passover.

Numbers 12:8

12:8 With him I will speak face to face, ⁵  openly, ⁶  and not in riddles; and he will see the form ⁷  of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?”

Numbers 18:20

Duties of the Levites

18:20 The Lord spoke to Aaron, “You will have no inheritance in their land, nor will you have any portion of property ⁸  among them – I am your portion and your inheritance among the Israelites.

Numbers 19:12

19:12 He must purify himself ⁹  with water on the third day and on the seventh day, and so will be clean. But if he does not purify himself on the third day and the seventh day, then he will not be clean.

Numbers 21:22

21:22 “Let us ¹⁰  pass through your land; ¹¹  we will not turn aside into the fields or into the vineyards, nor will we drink water from any well, but we will go along the King’s Highway until we pass your borders.”

Numbers 22:12

22:12 But God said to Balaam, “You must not go with them; you must not curse the people, ¹²  for they are blessed.” ¹³ 

Numbers 23:21

23:21 He ¹⁴  has not looked on iniquity in Jacob, ¹⁵ 

nor has he seen trouble ¹⁶  in Israel.

The Lord their God is with them;

his acclamation ¹⁷  as king is among them.

Numbers 23:23

23:23 For there is no spell against ¹⁸  Jacob,

nor is there any divination against Israel.

At this time ¹⁹  it must be said ²⁰  of Jacob

and of Israel, ‘Look at ²¹  what God has done!’

[1:49]  ¹ 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]  ² 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]  ³ tn Heb “lift up their head.”

[1:49]  ⁴ tn Heb “in the midst of the sons of Israel.”

[12:8]  ⁵ tn The emphasis of the line is clear enough – it begins literally “mouth to mouth” I will speak with him. In human communication this would mean equality of rank, but Moses is certainly not equal in rank with the Lord. And yet God is here stating that Moses has an immediacy and directness with communication with God. It goes beyond the idea of friendship, almost to that of a king’s confidant.

[12:8]  ⁶ tn The word מַרְאֶה (mar’eh) refers to what is seen, a vision, an appearance. Here it would have the idea of that which is clearly visible, open, obvious.

[12:8]  ⁷ tn The word “form” (תְּמוּנָה, tÿmunah) means “shape, image, form.” The Greek text took it metaphorically and rendered it “the glory of the Lord.” This line expresses even more the uniqueness of Moses. The elders saw God on one special occasion (Exod 24:10), and the people never (Deut 4:12, 15), but Moses has direct and familiar contact with God.

[18:20]  ⁹ tn The phrase “of property” is supplied as a clarification.

[19:12]  ¹³ tn The verb is the Hitpael of חָטָא (khata’), a verb that normally means “to sin.” But the Piel idea in many places is “to cleanse; to purify.” This may be explained as a privative use (“to un-sin” someone, meaning cleanse) or denominative (“make a sin offering for someone”). It is surely connected to the purification offering, and so a sense of purify is what is wanted here.

[21:22]  ¹⁷ tn The Hebrew text uses the singular in these verses to match the reference to “Israel.”

[21:22]  ¹⁸ tc Smr has “by the King’s way I will go. I will not turn aside to the right or the left.”

[22:12]  ²¹ tn The two verbs are negated imperfects; they have the nuance of prohibition: You must not go and you must not curse.

[22:12]  ²² tn The word בָּרוּךְ (barukh) is the Qal passive participle, serving here as the predicate adjective after the supplied verb “to be.” The verb means “enrich,” in any way, materially, spiritually, physically. But the indication here is that the blessing includes the promised blessing of the patriarchs, a blessing that gave Israel the land. See further, C. Westermann, Blessing in the Bible and the Life of the Church (OBT).

[23:21]  ²⁵ tn These could be understood as impersonal and so rendered “no one has discovered.”

[23:21]  ²⁶ sn The line could mean that God has regarded Israel as the ideal congregation without any blemish or flaw. But it could also mean that God has not looked on their iniquity, meaning, held it against them.

[23:21]  ²⁷ tn The word means “wrong, misery, trouble.” It can mean the idea of “disaster” as well, for that too is trouble. Here it is parallel to “iniquity” and so has the connotation of something that would give God reason to curse them.

[23:21]  ²⁸ tn The people are blessed because God is their king. In fact, the shout of acclamation is among them – they are proclaiming the Lord God as their king. The word is used normally for the sound of the trumpet, but also of battle shouts, and then here acclamation. This would represent their conviction that Yahweh is king. On the usage of this Hebrew word see further BDB 929-30 s.v. תְּרוּעָה; HALOT 1790-91 s.v.

[23:23]  ²⁹ tn Or “in Jacob.” But given the context the meaning “against” is preferable. The words describe two techniques of consulting God; the first has to do with observing omens in general (“enchantments”), and the second with casting lots or arrows of the like (“divinations” [Ezek 21:26]). See N. H. Snaith, Leviticus and Numbers (NCB), 295-96.

[23:23]  ³⁰ tn The form is the preposition “like, as” and the word for “time” – according to the time, about this time, now.

[23:23]  ³¹ tn The Niphal imperfect here carries the nuance of obligation – one has to say in amazement that God has done something marvelous or “it must be said.”

[23:23]  ³² tn The words “look at” are not in the Hebrew text but have been added in the translation for clarity.