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 7:1

The Leader’s Offerings

7:1 ³ When Moses had completed setting up the tabernacle, ⁴  he anointed it and consecrated it and all its furnishings, and he anointed and consecrated the altar and all its utensils.

Numbers 11:21

11:21 Moses said, “The people around me ⁵  are 600,000 on foot; ⁶  but you say, ‘I will give them meat, ⁷  that they may eat ⁸  for a whole month.’

Numbers 17:8

17:8 On the next day Moses went into the tent of the testimony – and ⁹  the staff of Aaron for the house of Levi had sprouted, and brought forth buds, and produced blossoms, and yielded almonds! ¹⁰ 

Numbers 20:6

Moses Responds

20:6 So Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the entrance to the tent of meeting. They then threw themselves down with their faces to the ground, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them.

Numbers 22:22

God Opposes Balaam

22:22 Then God’s anger was kindled ¹¹  because he went, and the angel of the Lord stood in the road to oppose ¹²  him. Now he was riding on his donkey and his two servants were with him.

Numbers 22:31

22:31 Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way with his sword drawn in his hand; so he bowed his head and threw himself down with his face to the ground. ¹³ 

Numbers 30:8

30:8 But if when her husband hears it he overrules her, then he will nullify ¹⁴  the vow she has taken, ¹⁵  and whatever she uttered impulsively which she has pledged for herself. And the Lord will release her from it.

Numbers 30:12

30:12 But if her husband clearly nullifies ¹⁶  them when he hears them, then whatever she says ¹⁷  by way of vows or obligations will not stand. Her husband has made them void, and the Lord will release her from them.

[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.

[7:1]  ³ sn This long and repetitious chapter has several parts to it: the introduction (vv. 1-3), the assigning of gifts (vv. 4-9), the time of presentation (vv. 10-11), and then the tribes (vv. 12-83), and then a summary (vv. 84-89).

[7:1]  ⁴ tn The construction of this line begins with the temporal indicator (traditionally translated “and it came to pass”) and then after the idiomatic “in the day of” (= “when”) uses the Piel infinitive construct from כָּלָה (kalah). The infinitive is governed by the subjective genitive, “Moses,” the formal subject of the clause. The object of the infinitive is the second infinitive, “to set up” (לְהָקִים, lÿhaqim). This infinitive, the Hiphil, serves as the direct object, answering the question of what it was that Moses completed. The entire clause is an adverbial clause of time.

[11:21]  ⁵ tn Heb “the people who I am in their midst,” i.e., among whom I am.

[11:21]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew sentence stresses the number. The sentence begins “600,000….”

[11:21]  ⁷ tn The word order places the object first here: “Meat I will give them.” This adds to the contrast between the number and the statement of the Lord.

[11:21]  ⁸ tn The verb is the perfect tense with a vav (ו) consecutive, carrying the sequence from the preceding imperfect tense. However, this verb may be subordinated to the preceding to express a purpose clause.

[17:8]  ⁷ tn Here too the deictic particle (“and behold”) is added to draw attention to the sight in a vivid way.

[17:8]  ⁸ sn There is no clear answer why the tribe of Levi had used an almond staff. The almond tree is one of the first to bud in the spring, and its white blossoms are a beautiful sign that winter is over. Its name became a name for “watcher”; Jeremiah plays on this name for God’s watching over his people (1:11-12).

[22:22]  ⁹ sn God’s anger now seems to contradict the permission he gave Balaam just before this. Some commentators argue that God’s anger is a response to Balaam’s character in setting out – which the Bible does not explain. God saw in him greed and pleasure for the riches, which is why he was so willing to go.

[22:22]  ¹⁰ tn The word is שָׂטָן (satan, “to be an adversary, to oppose”).

[22:31]  ¹¹ tn The Hishtaphel verb חָוָה (khavah) – שָׁחָה (shakhah) with metathesis – has a basic idea of “bow oneself low to the ground,” and perhaps in some cases the idea of “coil up.” This is the normal posture of prayer and of deep humility in the ancient religious world.

[30:8]  ¹³ tn The verb is the Hiphil perfect with a vav (ו) consecutive from the verb פָּרַר (parar, “to annul”). The verb functions here as the equivalent of an imperfect tense; here it is the apodosis following the conditional clause – if this is the case, then this is what will happen.

[30:8]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “which [she is] under it.”

[30:12]  ¹⁵ tn The verb is the imperfect tense in the conditional clause. It is intensified with the infinitive absolute, which would have the force of saying that he nullified them unequivocally, or he made them null and void.

[30:12]  ¹⁶ tn Heb whatever proceeds from her lips.”