Numbers 11:34

11:34 So the name of that place was called Kibroth Hattaavah, ¹  because there they buried the people that craved different food. ² 

Numbers 13:24

13:24 That place was called ³  the Eshcol Valley, ⁴  because of the cluster ⁵  of grapes that the Israelites cut from there.

Numbers 14:40

14:40 And early ⁶  in the morning they went up to the crest of the hill country, ⁷  saying, “Here we are, and we will go up to the place that the Lord commanded, ⁸  for we have sinned.” ⁹ 

Numbers 18:31

18:31 And you may ¹⁰  eat it in any place, you and your household, because it is your wages for your service in the tent of meeting.

Numbers 21:3

21:3 The Lord listened to the voice of Israel and delivered up the Canaanites, ¹¹  and they utterly destroyed them and their cities. So the name of the place was called ¹²  Hormah.

Numbers 22:26

22:26 Then the angel of the Lord went farther, and stood in a narrow place, where there was no way to turn either to the right or to the left.

Numbers 23:27

23:27 Balak said to Balaam, “Come, please; I will take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God ¹³  to let you curse them for me from there.” ¹⁴ 

[11:34]  ¹ sn The name “the graves of the ones who craved” is again explained by a wordplay, a popular etymology. In Hebrew קִבְרוֹת הַתַּאֲוָה (qivrot hatta’avah) is the technical name. It is the place that the people craved the meat, longing for the meat of Egypt, and basically rebelled against God. The naming marks another station in the wilderness where the people failed to accept God’s good gifts with grace and to pray for their other needs to be met.

[11:34]  ² tn The words “different food” are implied, and are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[13:24]  ³ tn The verb is rendered as a passive because there is no expressed subject.

[13:24]  ⁴ tn Or “Wadi Eshcol.” The translation “brook” is too generous; the Hebrew term refers to a river bed, a ravine or valley through which torrents of rain would rush in the rainy season; at other times it might be completely dry.

[13:24]  ⁵ tn The word “Eshcol” is drawn from the Hebrew expression concerning the “cluster of grapes.” The word is probably retained in the name Burj Haskeh, two miles north of Damascus.

[14:40]  ⁵ tn The verb וַיַּשְׁכִּמוּ (vayyashkimu) is often found in a verbal hendiadys construction: “They rose early…and they went up” means “they went up early.”

[14:40]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew text says literally “the top of the hill,” but judging from the location and the terrain it probably means the heights of the hill country.

[14:40]  ⁷ tn The verb is simply “said,” but it means the place that the Lord said to go up to in order to fight.

[14:40]  ⁸ sn Their sin was unbelief. They could have gone and conquered the area if they had trusted the Lord for their victory. They did not, and so they were condemned to perish in the wilderness. Now, thinking that by going they can undo all that, they plan to go. But this is also disobedience, for the Lord said they would not now take the land, and yet they think they can. Here is their second sin, presumption.

[18:31]  ⁷ tn The verb is the perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive; it functions as the equivalent of the imperfect of permission.

[21:3]  ⁹ tc Smr, Greek, and Syriac add “into his hand.”

[21:3]  ¹⁰ tn In the Hebrew text the verb has no expressed subject, and so here too is made passive. The name “Hormah” is etymologically connected to the verb “utterly destroy,” forming the popular etymology (or paronomasia, a phonetic wordplay capturing the significance of the event).

[23:27]  ¹¹ tn Heb “be pleasing in the eyes of God.”

[23:27]  ¹² sn Balak is stubborn, as indeed Balaam is persistent. But Balak still thinks that if another location were used it just might work. Balaam had actually told Balak in the prophecy that other attempts would fail. But Balak refuses to give up so easily. So he insists they perform the ritual and try again. This time, however, Balaam will change his approach, and this will result in a dramatic outpouring of power on him.