Numbers 11:27

11:27 And a ¹  young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp!”

Numbers 20:3

20:3 The people contended ²  with Moses, saying, ³  “If only ⁴  we had died when our brothers died before the Lord!

Numbers 25:3

25:3 When Israel joined themselves to Baal-peor, ⁵  the anger of the Lord flared up against Israel.

[11:27]  ¹ tn The article indicates that the “young man” was definite in the mind of the writer, but indefinite in English.

[20:3]  ² tn The verb is רִיב (riv); it is often used in the Bible for a legal complaint, a law suit, at least in form. But it can also describe a quarrel, or strife, like that between Abram’s men and Lot’s men in Genesis 13. It will be the main verb behind the commemorative name Meribah, the place where the people strove with God. It is a far more serious thing than grumbling – it is directed, intentional, and well-argued. For further discussion, see J. Limburg, “The Root ‘rib’ and the Prophetic Lawsuit Speeches,” JBL 88 (1969): 291-304.

[20:3]  ³ tn Heb “and they said, saying.”

[20:3]  ⁴ tn The particle לוּ (lu) indicates the optative nuance of the line – the wishing or longing for death. It is certainly an absurdity to want to have died, but God took them at their word and they died in the wilderness.

[25:3]  ³ tn The verb is “yoked” to Baal-peor. The word is unusual, and may suggest the physical, ritual participation described below. It certainly shows that they acknowledge the reality of the local god.