Numbers 1:53

1:53 But the Levites must camp around the tabernacle of the testimony, so that the Lord’s anger ¹  will not fall on the Israelite community. The Levites are responsible for the care ²  of the tabernacle of the testimony.”

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 9:19

9:19 When the cloud remained over the tabernacle many days, then the Israelites obeyed the instructions ⁴  of the Lord and did not journey.

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 14:43

14:43 For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and you will fall by the sword. Because you have turned away from the Lord, the Lord will not be with you.”

Numbers 15:22

Rules for Unintentional Offenses

15:22 ⁸ “‘If you ⁹  sin unintentionally and do not observe all these commandments that the Lord has spoken to Moses –

Numbers 18:5

18:5 You will be responsible for the care of the sanctuary and the care of the altar, so that there will be ¹⁰  no more wrath on the Israelites.

Numbers 23:21

23:21 He ¹¹  has not looked on iniquity in Jacob, ¹² 

nor has he seen trouble ¹³  in Israel.

The Lord their God is with them;

his acclamation ¹⁴  as king is among them.

Numbers 23:23

23:23 For there is no spell against ¹⁵  Jacob,

nor is there any divination against Israel.

At this time ¹⁶  it must be said ¹⁷  of Jacob

and of Israel, ‘Look at ¹⁸  what God has done!’

Numbers 31:49

31:49 and said to him, ¹⁹  “Your servants have taken a count ²⁰  of the men who were in the battle, who were under our authority, ²¹  and not one is missing.

Numbers 35:12

35:12 And they must stand as your towns of refuge from the avenger in order that the killer may not die until he has stood trial before the community.

Numbers 35:23

35:23 or with any stone large enough that a man could die, without seeing him, and throws it at him, and he dies, even though he was not his enemy nor sought his harm,

Numbers 35:32

35:32 And you must not accept a ransom for anyone who has fled to a town of refuge, to allow him to return home and live on his own land before the death of the high priest. ²² 

Numbers 36:7

36:7 In this way the inheritance of the Israelites will not be transferred ²³  from tribe to tribe. But every one of the Israelites must retain the ancestral heritage.

Numbers 36:9

36:9 No inheritance may pass from tribe to tribe. But every one of the tribes of the Israelites must retain its inheritance.”

[1:53]  ¹ tc Instead of “wrath” the Greek text has “sin,” focusing the emphasis on the human error and not on the wrath of God. This may have been a conscious change to explain the divine wrath.

[1:53]  ² tn The main verb of the clause is the perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive, וְשָׁמְרוּ (vÿshamÿru) meaning they “shall guard, protect, watch over, care for.” It may carry the same obligatory nuance as the preceding verbs because of the sequence. The object used with this is the cognate noun מִשְׁמֶרֶת (mishmeret): “The Levites must care for the care of the tabernacle.” The cognate intensifies the construction to stress that they are responsible for this care.

[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.

[9:19]  ⁵ tn This is the same Hebrew expression that was used earlier for the Levites “keeping their charge” or more clearly, “fulfilling their obligations” to take care of the needs of the people and the sanctuary. It is a general expression using שָׁמַר (shamar) followed by its cognate noun מִשְׁמֶרֶת (mishmeret).

[12:8]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ 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.

[15:22]  ⁹ sn These regulations supplement what was already ruled on in the Levitical code for the purification and reparation offerings. See those rulings in Lev 4-7 for all the details. Some biblical scholars view the rules in Leviticus as more elaborate and therefore later. However, this probably represents a misunderstanding of the purpose of each collection.

[15:22]  ¹⁰ tn The verb is the plural imperfect; the sin discussed here is a sin committed by the community, or the larger part of the community.

[18:5]  ¹¹ tn The clause is a purpose clause, and the imperfect tense a final imperfect.

[23:21]  ¹³ tn These could be understood as impersonal and so rendered “no one has discovered.”

[23:21]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ tn The form is the preposition “like, as” and the word for “time” – according to the time, about this time, now.

[23:23]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ tn The words “look at” are not in the Hebrew text but have been added in the translation for clarity.

[31:49]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “to Moses”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[31:49]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “lifted up the head.”

[31:49]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “in our hand.”

[35:32]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “the priest.” The Greek and the Syriac have “high priest.” The present translation, along with many English versions, uses “high priest” as a clarification.

[36:7]  ²¹ tn Heb “turned aside.”