Numbers 14:9

14:9 Only do not rebel against the Lord, and do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. ¹  Their protection ²  has turned aside from them, but the Lord is with us. Do not fear them!”

Numbers 22:3

22:3 And the Moabites were greatly afraid of the people, because they were so numerous. The Moabites were sick with fear because of the Israelites.

Numbers 21:34

21:34 And the Lord said to Moses, “Do not fear him, for I have delivered him and all his people and his land into your hand. You will do to him what you did to King Sihon of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon.

Numbers 16:34

16:34 All the Israelites ³  who were around them fled at their cry, ⁴  for they said, “What if ⁵  the earth swallows us too?”

Numbers 4:20

4:20 But the Kohathites ⁶  are not to go in to watch while the holy things are being covered, or they will die.”

Numbers 24:7

24:7 He will pour the water out of his buckets, ⁷ 

and their descendants will be like abundant ⁸  water; ⁹ 

their king will be greater than Agag, ¹⁰ 

and their kingdom will be exalted.

Numbers 12:8

12:8 With him I will speak face to face, ¹¹  openly, ¹²  and not in riddles; and he will see the form ¹³  of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?”

Numbers 4:15

4:15 “When Aaron and his sons have finished ¹⁴  covering ¹⁵  the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, when the camp is ready to journey, then ¹⁶  the Kohathites will come to carry them; ¹⁷  but they must not touch ¹⁸  any ¹⁹  holy thing, or they will die. ²⁰  These are the responsibilities ²¹  of the Kohathites with the tent of meeting.

[14:9]  ¹ sn The expression must indicate that they could destroy the enemies as easily as they could eat bread.

[14:9]  ² tn Heb “their shade.” The figure compares the shade from the sun with the protection from the enemy. It is also possible that the text is alluding to their deities here.

[16:34]  ³ tn Heb “all Israel.”

[16:34]  ⁴ tn Heb “voice.”

[16:34]  ⁵ tn Heb “lest.”

[4:20]  ⁵ tn In the Hebrew text the verse has as the subject “they,” but to avoid confusion the antecedent has been clarified in the translation.

[24:7]  ⁷ tc For this colon the LXX has “a man shall come out of his seed.” Cf. the Syriac Peshitta and Targum.

[24:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “many.”

[24:7]  ⁹ sn These two lines are difficult, but the general sense is that of irrigation buckets and a well-watered land. The point is that Israel will be prosperous and fruitful.

[24:7]  ¹⁰ sn Many commentators see this as a reference to Agag of 1 Sam 15:32-33, the Amalekite king slain by Samuel, for that is the one we know. But that is by no means clear, for this text does not identify this Agag. If it is that king, then this poem, or this line in this poem, would have to be later, unless one were to try to argue for a specific prophecy. Whoever this Agag is, he is a symbol of power.

[12:8]  ⁹ tn The emphasis of the line is clear enough – it begins literally “mouth to mouth” I will speak with him. In human communication this would mean equality of rank, but Moses is certainly not equal in rank with the Lord. And yet God is here stating that Moses has an immediacy and directness with communication with God. It goes beyond the idea of friendship, almost to that of a king’s confidant.

[12:8]  ¹⁰ tn The word מַרְאֶה (mar’eh) refers to what is seen, a vision, an appearance. Here it would have the idea of that which is clearly visible, open, obvious.

[12:8]  ¹¹ tn The word “form” (תְּמוּנָה, tÿmunah) means “shape, image, form.” The Greek text took it metaphorically and rendered it “the glory of the Lord.” This line expresses even more the uniqueness of Moses. The elders saw God on one special occasion (Exod 24:10), and the people never (Deut 4:12, 15), but Moses has direct and familiar contact with God.

[4:15]  ¹¹ tn The verb form is the Piel perfect with a vav (ו) consecutive; it continues the future sequence, but in this verse forms a subordinate clause to the parallel sequential verb to follow.

[4:15]  ¹² tn The Piel infinitive construct with the preposition serves as the direct object of the preceding verbal form, answering the question of what it was that they finished.

[4:15]  ¹³ tn Heb “after this.”

[4:15]  ¹⁴ tn The form is the Qal infinitive construct from נָשָׂא (nasa’, “to lift, carry”); here it indicates the purpose clause after the verb “come.”

[4:15]  ¹⁵ tn The imperfect tense may be given the nuance of negated instruction (“they are not to”) or negated obligation (“they must not”).

[4:15]  ¹⁶ tn Here the article expresses the generic idea of any holy thing (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 19, §92).

[4:15]  ¹⁷ tn The verb is the perfect tense with a vav (ו) consecutive, following the imperfect tense warning against touching the holy thing. The form shows the consequence of touching the holy thing, and so could be translated “or they will die” or “lest they die.” The first is stronger.

[4:15]  ¹⁸ tn The word מַשָּׂא (massa’) is normally rendered “burden,” especially in prophetic literature. It indicates the load that one must carry, whether an oracle, or here the physical responsibility.