Numbers 14:1

The Israelites Respond in Unbelief

14:1 ¹ Then all the community raised a loud cry, ²  and the people wept ³  that night.

Numbers 16:34

16:34 All the Israelites ⁴  who were around them fled at their cry, ⁵  for they said, “What if ⁶  the earth swallows us too?”

[14:1]  ¹ sn This chapter forms part of the story already begun. There are three major sections here: dissatisfaction with the reports (vv. 1-10), the threat of divine punishment (vv. 11-38), and the defeat of the Israelites (vv. 39-45). See K. D. Sakenfeld, “The Problem of Divine Forgiveness in Num 14,” CBQ 37 (1975): 317-30; also J. R. Bartlett, “The Use of the Word רֹאשׁ as a Title in the Old Testament,” VT 19 (1969): 1-10.

[14:1]  ² tn The two verbs “lifted up their voice and cried” form a hendiadys; the idiom of raising the voice means that they cried aloud.

[14:1]  ³ tn There are a number of things that the verb “to weep” or “wail” can connote. It could reflect joy, grief, lamentation, or repentance, but here it reflects fear, hopelessness, or vexation at the thought of coming all this way and being defeated by the Canaanite armies. See Judg 20:23, 26.

[16:34]  ⁴ tn Heb “all Israel.”

[16:34]  ⁵ tn Heb “voice.”

[16:34]  ⁶ tn Heb “lest.”