Numbers 15:23

15:23 all that the Lord has commanded you by the authority ¹  of Moses, from the day that the Lord commanded Moses and continuing through your future generations –

Numbers 15:31

15:31 Because he has despised ²  the word of the Lord and has broken ³  his commandment, that person ⁴  must be completely cut off. ⁵  His iniquity will be on him.’” ⁶ 

Numbers 21:18

21:18 The well which the princes ⁷  dug,

which the leaders of the people opened

with their scepters and their staffs.”

And from the wilderness they traveled to Mattanah;

Numbers 36:13

36:13 These are the commandments and the decisions that the Lord commanded the Israelites through the authority ⁸  of Moses, on the plains of Moab by the Jordan River ⁹  opposite Jericho. ¹⁰ 

[15:23]  ¹ tn Heb “hand.”

[15:31]  ² tn The verb בָּזָה (bazah, “to despise”) means to treat something as worthless, to treat it with contempt, to look down the nose at something as it were.

[15:31]  ³ tn The verb פָּרַר (parar, “to break”) can mean to nullify, break, or violate a covenant.

[15:31]  ⁴ tn Heb “soul.”

[15:31]  ⁵ tn The construction uses the Niphal imperfect with the modifying Niphal infinitive absolute. The infinitive makes the sentence more emphatic. If the imperfect tense is taken as an instruction imperfect, then the infinitive makes the instruction more binding. If it is a simple future, then the future is certain. In either case, there is no exclusion from being cut off.

[15:31]  ⁶ sn The point is that the person’s iniquity remains with him – he must pay for his sin. The judgment of God in such a case is both appropriate and unavoidable.

[21:18]  ³ sn The brief song is supposed to be an old workers’ song, and so the mention of leaders and princes is unusual. Some think they are given credit because they directed where the workers were to dig. The scepter and staff might have served some symbolic or divining custom.

[36:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “by the hand.”

[36:13]  ⁵ tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[36:13]  ⁶ map For the location of Jericho see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.