Numbers 13:2

13:2 “Send out men to investigate ¹  the land of Canaan, which I am giving ²  to the Israelites. You are to send one man from each ancestral tribe, ³  each one a leader among them.”

Numbers 14:34

14:34 According to the number of the days you have investigated this land, forty days – one day for a year – you will suffer for ⁴  your iniquities, forty years, and you will know what it means to thwart me. ⁵ 

Numbers 15:39

15:39 You must have this tassel so that you may look at it and remember all the commandments of the Lord and obey them and so that you do not follow ⁶  after your own heart and your own eyes that lead you to unfaithfulness. ⁷ 

[13:2]  ¹ tn The imperfect tense with the conjunction is here subordinated to the preceding imperative to form the purpose clause. It can thus be translated “send…to investigate.”

[13:2]  ² tn The participle here should be given a future interpretation, meaning “which I am about to give” or “which I am going to give.”

[13:2]  ³ tn Heb “one man one man of the tribe of his fathers.”

[14:34]  ⁴ tn Heb “you shall bear.”

[14:34]  ⁵ tn The phrase refers to the consequences of open hostility to God, or perhaps abandonment of God. The noun תְּנוּאָה (tÿnu’ah) occurs in Job 33:10 (perhaps). The related verb occurs in Num 30:6 HT (30:5 ET) and 32:7 with the sense of “disallow, discourage.” The sense of the expression adopted in this translation comes from the meticulous study of R. Loewe, “Divine Frustration Exegetically Frustrated,” Words and Meanings, 137-58.

[15:39]  ⁷ tn Heb “seek out, look into.”

[15:39]  ⁸ tn This last clause is a relative clause explaining the influence of the human heart and physical sight. It literally says, “which you go whoring after them.” The verb for “whoring” may be interpreted to mean “act unfaithfully.” So, the idea is these influences lead to unfaithful activity: “after which you act unfaithfully.”