Numbers 17:8

17:8 On the next day Moses went into the tent of the testimony – and ¹  the staff of Aaron for the house of Levi had sprouted, and brought forth buds, and produced blossoms, and yielded almonds! ² 

Isaiah 5:24

5:24 Therefore, as flaming fire ³  devours straw,

and dry grass disintegrates in the flames,

so their root will rot,

and their flower will blow away like dust. ⁴ 

For they have rejected the law of the Lord who commands armies,

they have spurned the commands ⁵  of the Holy One of Israel. ⁶ 

Isaiah 11:1

An Ideal King Establishes a Kingdom of Peace

11:1 A shoot will grow out of Jesse’s ⁷  root stock,

a bud will sprout ⁸  from his roots.

Isaiah 27:6

27:6 The time is coming when Jacob will take root; ⁹ 

Israel will blossom and grow branches.

The produce ¹⁰  will fill the surface of the world. ¹¹ 

Isaiah 35:1-2

The Land and Its People Are Transformed

35:1 Let the desert and dry region be happy; ¹² 

let the wilderness ¹³  rejoice and bloom like a lily!

35:2 Let it richly bloom; ¹⁴ 

let it rejoice and shout with delight! ¹⁵ 

It is given the grandeur ¹⁶  of Lebanon,

the splendor of Carmel and Sharon.

They will see the grandeur of the Lord,

the splendor of our God.

Hosea 14:5

14:5 I will be like the dew to Israel;

he will blossom like a lily,

he will send down his roots like a cedar of ¹⁷  Lebanon.

[17:8]  ¹ tn Here too the deictic particle (“and behold”) is added to draw attention to the sight in a vivid way.

[17:8]  ² sn There is no clear answer why the tribe of Levi had used an almond staff. The almond tree is one of the first to bud in the spring, and its white blossoms are a beautiful sign that winter is over. Its name became a name for “watcher”; Jeremiah plays on this name for God’s watching over his people (1:11-12).

[5:24]  ³ tn Heb “a tongue of fire” (so NASB), referring to a tongue-shaped flame.

[5:24]  ⁴ sn They are compared to a flowering plant that withers quickly in a hot, arid climate.

[5:24]  ⁵ tn Heb “the word.”

[5:24]  ⁶ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[11:1]  ⁷ sn The text mentions David’s father Jesse, instead of the great king himself. Perhaps this is done for rhetorical reasons to suggest that a new David, not just another disappointing Davidic descendant, will arise. Other prophets call the coming ideal Davidic king “David” or picture him as the second coming of David, as it were. See Jer 30:9; Ezek 34:23-24; 37:24-25; Hos 3:5; and Mic 5:2 (as well as the note there).

[11:1]  ⁸ tc The Hebrew text has יִפְרֶה (yifreh, “will bear fruit,” from פָּרָה, parah), but the ancient versions, as well as the parallelism suggest that יִפְרַח (yifrakh, “will sprout”, from פָּרַח, parakh) is the better reading here. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:276, n. 2.

[27:6]  ⁹ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “the coming ones, let Jacob take root.” הַבָּאִים (habba’im, “the coming ones”) should probably be emended to יָמִים בָאִים (yamim va’im, “days [are] coming”) or בְּיָמִים הַבָּאִים (biyamim habba’im, “in the coming days”).

[27:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “fruit” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[27:6]  ¹¹ sn This apparently refers to a future population explosion. See 26:18.

[35:1]  ¹² tn The final mem (ם) on the verb יְשֻׂשׂוּם (yÿsusum) is dittographic (note the initial mem on the following noun מִדְבָּר [midbar]). The ambiguous verbal form is translated as a jussive because it is parallel to the jussive form תָגֵל (tagel). The jussive is used rhetorically here, not as a literal command or prayer.

[35:1]  ¹³ tn Or “Arabah” (NASB); NAB, NIV, TEV “desert.”

[35:2]  ¹⁴ tn The ambiguous verb form תִּפְרַח (tifrakh) is translated as a jussive because it is parallel to the jussive form תָגֵל (tagel).

[35:2]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and let it rejoice, yes [with] rejoicing and shouting.” גִּילַת (gilat) may be an archaic feminine nominal form (see GKC 421 §130.b).

[35:2]  ¹⁶ tn Or “glory” (KJV, NIV, NRSV); also a second time later in this verse.

[14:5]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “like Lebanon” (so KJV; also in the following verse). The phrase “a cedar of” does not appear in the Hebrew text; it is supplied in translation for clarity. Cf. TEV “the trees of Lebanon”; NRSV “the forests of Lebanon.”