Numbers 14:14

14:14 then they will tell it to the inhabitants ¹  of this land. They have heard that you, Lord, are among this people, that you, Lord, are seen face to face, ²  that your cloud stands over them, and that you go before them by day in a pillar of cloud and in a pillar of fire by night.

Numbers 14:22

14:22 For all the people have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have tempted ³  me now these ten times, ⁴  and have not obeyed me, ⁵ 

Numbers 20:10

20:10 Then Moses and Aaron gathered the community together in front of the rock, and he said to them, “Listen, you rebels, ⁶  must we bring ⁷  water out of this rock for you?”

Numbers 30:5

30:5 But if her father overrules her when he hears ⁸  about it, then none ⁹  of her vows or her obligations which she has pledged for herself will stand. And the Lord will release ¹⁰  her from it, because her father overruled her.

Numbers 30:12

30:12 But if her husband clearly nullifies ¹¹  them when he hears them, then whatever she says ¹²  by way of vows or obligations will not stand. Her husband has made them void, and the Lord will release her from them.

Numbers 30:14

30:14 But if her husband remains completely silent ¹³  about her from day to day, he thus confirms all her vows or all her obligations which she is under; he confirms them because he remained silent about when he heard them.

[14:14]  ¹ tn The singular participle is to be taken here as a collective, representing all the inhabitants of the land.

[14:14]  ² tn “Face to face” is literally “eye to eye.” It only occurs elsewhere in Isa 52:8. This expresses the closest communication possible.

[14:22]  ³ tn The verb נָסָה (nasah) means “to test, to tempt, to prove.” It can be used to indicate things are tried or proven, or for testing in a good sense, or tempting in the bad sense, i.e., putting God to the test. In all uses there is uncertainty or doubt about the outcome. Some uses of the verb are positive: If God tests Abraham in Genesis 22:1, it is because there is uncertainty whether he fears the Lord or not; if people like Gideon put out the fleece and test the Lord, it is done by faith but in order to be certain of the Lord’s presence. But here, when these people put God to the test ten times, it was because they doubted the goodness and ability of God, and this was a major weakness. They had proof to the contrary, but chose to challenge God.

[14:22]  ⁴ tn “Ten” is here a round figure, emphasizing the complete testing. But see F. V. Winnett, The Mosaic Tradition, 121-54.

[14:22]  ⁵ tn Heb “listened to my voice.”

[20:10]  ⁵ tn The word is הַמֹּרִים (hammorim, “the rebels”), but here as a vocative: “you rebels.” It was a harsh address, although well-earned.

[20:10]  ⁶ tn The word order and the emphasis of the tense are important to this passage. The word order is “from this rock must we bring out to you water?” The emphasis is clearly on “from this rock!” The verb is the imperfect tense; it has one of the modal nuances here, probably obligatory – “must we do this?”

[30:5]  ⁷ tn The idiom is “in the day of,” but it is used in place of a preposition before the infinitive construct with its suffixed subjective genitive. The clause is temporal.

[30:5]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew “all will not stand” is best rendered “none will stand.”

[30:5]  ⁹ tn The verb has often been translated “forgive” (cf. KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV, NLT), but that would suggest a sin that needed forgiving. The idea of “release from obligation” is better; the idea is like that of having a debt “forgiven” or “retired.” In other words, she is free from the vow she had made. The Lord will not hold the woman responsible to do what she vowed.

[30:12]  ⁹ tn The verb is the imperfect tense in the conditional clause. It is intensified with the infinitive absolute, which would have the force of saying that he nullified them unequivocally, or he made them null and void.

[30:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb whatever proceeds from her lips.”

[30:14]  ¹¹ tn The sentence uses the infinitive absolute to strengthen the idea.