Numbers 10:11-12

The Journey From Sinai to Kadesh

10:11 ¹ On the twentieth day of the second month, in the second year, the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle of the testimony. ²  10:12 So the Israelites set out ³  on their journeys from the wilderness of Sinai; and the cloud settled in the wilderness of Paran.

Exodus 19:1

Israel at Sinai

19:1 ⁴ In the third month after the Israelites went out ⁵  from the land of Egypt, on the very day, ⁶  they came to the Desert of Sinai.

Leviticus 27:34

Final Colophon

27:34 These are the commandments which the Lord commanded Moses to tell the Israelites ⁷  at Mount Sinai.

[10:11]  ¹ sn This section is somewhat mechanical: It begins with an introduction (vv. 11, 12), and then begins with Judah (vv. 13-17), followed by the rest of the tribes (vv. 18-27), and finally closes with a summary (v. 28). The last few verses (vv. 29-36) treat the departure of Hobab.

[10:11]  ² tc Smr inserts a lengthy portion from Deut 1:6-8, expressing the command for Israel to take the land from the Amorites.

[10:12]  ³ sn The verb is the same as the noun: “they journeyed on their journeyings.” This underscores the point of their continual traveling.

[19:1]  ⁴ sn This chapter is essentially about mediation. The people are getting ready to meet with God, receive the Law from him, and enter into a covenant with him. All of this required mediation and preparation. Through it all, Israel will become God’s unique possession, a kingdom of priests on earth – if they comply with his Law. The chapter can be divided as follows: vv. 1-8 tell how God, Israel’s great deliverer promised to make them a kingdom of priests; this is followed by God’s declaration that Moses would be the mediator (v. 9); vv. 10-22 record instructions for Israel to prepare themselves to worship Yahweh and an account of the manifestation of Yahweh with all the phenomena; and the chapter closes with the mediation of Moses on behalf of the people (vv. 23-25). Having been redeemed from Egypt, the people will now be granted a covenant with God. See also R. E. Bee, “A Statistical Study of the Sinai Pericope,” Journal of the Royal Statistical Society 135 (1972): 406-21.

[19:1]  ⁵ tn The construction uses the infinitive construct followed by the subjective genitive to form a temporal clause.

[19:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “on this day.”

[27:34]  ⁷ tn Most of the commentaries and English versions translate, “which the Lord commanded Moses for the children of Israel.” The preposition אֶל (’el), however, does not usually mean “for.” In this book it is commonly used when the Lord commands Moses “to speak [un]to” a person or group of persons (see, e.g., Lev 1:2; 4:2, etc.). The translation “to tell” here reflects this pattern in the book of Leviticus.