Numbers 13:31

13:31 But the men ¹  who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against these people, because they are stronger than we are!”

Numbers 14:44

14:44 But they dared ²  to go up to the crest of the hill, although ³  neither the ark of the covenant of the Lord nor Moses departed from the camp.

[13:31]  ¹ tn The vav (ו) disjunctive on the noun at the beginning of the clause forms a strong adversative clause here.

[14:44]  ² tn N. H. Snaith compares Arabic ’afala (“to swell”) and gafala (“reckless, headstrong”; Leviticus and Numbers [NCB], 248). The wordעֹפֶל (’ofel) means a “rounded hill” or a “tumor.” The idea behind the verb may be that of “swelling,” and so “act presumptuously.”

[14:44]  ³ tn The disjunctive vav (ו) here introduces a circumstantial clause; the most appropriate one here would be the concessive “although.”