Numbers 2:32

Summary

2:32 These are the Israelites, numbered according to their families. ¹  All those numbered in the camps, by their divisions, are 603,550.

Numbers 23:10

23:10 Who ²  can count ³  the dust ⁴  of Jacob,

Or number ⁵  the fourth part of Israel?

Let me ⁶  die the death of the upright, ⁷ 

and let the end of my life ⁸  be like theirs.” ⁹ 

Numbers 26:51

Total Number and Division of the Land

26:51 These were those numbered of the Israelites, 601,730. ¹⁰ 

Genesis 12:2

12:2 Then I will make you ¹¹  into a great nation, and I will bless you, ¹² 

and I will make your name great, ¹³ 

so that you will exemplify divine blessing. ¹⁴ 

Genesis 13:16

13:16 And I will make your descendants like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone is able to count the dust of the earth, then your descendants also can be counted. ¹⁵ 

Genesis 15:5

15:5 The Lord ¹⁶  took him outside and said, “Gaze into the sky and count the stars – if you are able to count them!” Then he said to him, “So will your descendants be.”

Genesis 17:6

17:6 I will make you ¹⁷  extremely ¹⁸  fruitful. I will make nations of you, and kings will descend from you. ¹⁹ 

Genesis 22:17

22:17 I will indeed bless you, ²⁰  and I will greatly multiply ²¹  your descendants ²²  so that they will be as countless as the stars in the sky or the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession ²³  of the strongholds ²⁴  of their enemies.

Genesis 26:3

26:3 Stay ²⁵  in this land. Then I will be with you and will bless you, ²⁶  for I will give all these lands to you and to your descendants, ²⁷  and I will fulfill ²⁸  the solemn promise I made ²⁹  to your father Abraham.

Genesis 28:14

28:14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, ³⁰  and you will spread out ³¹  to the west, east, north, and south. All the families of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another ³²  using your name and that of your descendants. ³³ 

Genesis 46:3-4

46:3 He said, “I am God, ³⁴  the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. 46:4 I will go down with you to Egypt and I myself will certainly bring you back from there. ³⁵  Joseph will close your eyes.” ³⁶ 

Exodus 12:37

12:37 The Israelites journeyed ³⁷  from Rameses ³⁸  to Sukkoth. There were about 600,000 men ³⁹  on foot, plus their dependants. ⁴⁰ 

Exodus 38:26

38:26 one beka per person, that is, a half shekel, ⁴¹  according to the sanctuary shekel, for everyone who crossed over to those numbered, from twenty years old or older, ⁴²  603,550 in all. ⁴³ 

Deuteronomy 10:22

10:22 When your ancestors went down to Egypt, they numbered only seventy, but now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars of the sky. ⁴⁴ 

Deuteronomy 10:1

The Opportunity to Begin Again

10:1 At that same time the Lord said to me, “Carve out for yourself two stone tablets like the first ones and come up the mountain to me; also make for yourself a wooden ark. ⁴⁵ 

Deuteronomy 4:20

4:20 You, however, the Lord has selected and brought from Egypt, that iron-smelting furnace, ⁴⁶  to be his special people ⁴⁷  as you are today.

Deuteronomy 4:2

4:2 Do not add a thing to what I command you nor subtract from it, so that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I am delivering to ⁴⁸  you.

Deuteronomy 24:9

24:9 Remember what the Lord your God did to Miriam ⁴⁹  along the way after you left Egypt.

Deuteronomy 24:1

24:1 If a man marries a woman and she does not please him because he has found something offensive ⁵⁰  in her, then he may draw up a divorce document, give it to her, and evict her from his house.

Deuteronomy 21:5

21:5 Then the Levitical priests ⁵¹  will approach (for the Lord your God has chosen them to serve him and to pronounce blessings in his name, ⁵²  and to decide ⁵³  every judicial verdict ⁵⁴ )

Deuteronomy 21:2

21:2 your elders and judges must go out and measure how far it is to the cities in the vicinity of the corpse. ⁵⁵ 

Deuteronomy 13:3

13:3 You must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer, ⁵⁶  for the Lord your God will be testing you to see if you love him ⁵⁷  with all your mind and being. ⁵⁸ 

Deuteronomy 17:14-19

Provision for Kingship

17:14 When you come to the land the Lord your God is giving you and take it over and live in it and then say, “I will select a king like all the nations surrounding me,” 17:15 you must select without fail ⁵⁹  a king whom the Lord your God chooses. From among your fellow citizens ⁶⁰  you must appoint a king – you may not designate a foreigner who is not one of your fellow Israelites. ⁶¹  17:16 Moreover, he must not accumulate horses for himself or allow the people to return to Egypt to do so, ⁶²  for the Lord has said you must never again return that way. 17:17 Furthermore, he must not marry many ⁶³  wives lest his affections turn aside, and he must not accumulate much silver and gold. 17:18 When he sits on his royal throne he must make a copy of this law ⁶⁴  on a scroll ⁶⁵  given to him by the Levitical priests. 17:19 It must be with him constantly and he must read it as long as he lives, so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and observe all the words of this law and these statutes and carry them out.

Hebrews 11:11-12

11:11 By faith, even though Sarah herself was barren and he was too old, ⁶⁶  he received the ability to procreate, ⁶⁷  because he regarded the one who had given the promise to be trustworthy. 11:12 So in fact children ⁶⁸  were fathered by one man – and this one as good as dead – like the number of stars in the sky and like the innumerable grains of sand ⁶⁹  on the seashore. ⁷⁰ 

Revelation 7:4-9

7:4 Now ⁷¹  I heard the number of those who were marked with the seal, ⁷²  one hundred and forty-four thousand, sealed from all ⁷³  the tribes of the people of Israel: ⁷⁴ 

7:5 From the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand were sealed,

from the tribe of Reuben, twelve thousand,

from the tribe of Gad, twelve thousand,

7:6 from the tribe of Asher, twelve thousand,

from the tribe of Naphtali, twelve thousand,

from the tribe of Manasseh, twelve thousand,

7:7 from the tribe of Simeon, twelve thousand,

from the tribe of Levi, twelve thousand,

from the tribe of Issachar, twelve thousand,

7:8 from the tribe of Zebulun, twelve thousand,

from the tribe of Joseph, twelve thousand,

from the tribe of Benjamin, twelve thousand were sealed.

7:9 After these things I looked, and here was ⁷⁵  an enormous crowd that no one could count, made up of persons from every nation, tribe, ⁷⁶  people, and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb dressed in long white robes, and with palm branches in their hands.

[2:32]  ¹ tn Heb “the house of their fathers.” So also in v. 34.

[23:10]  ² tn The question is again rhetorical; it means no one can count them – they are innumerable.

[23:10]  ³ tn The perfect tense can also be classified as a potential nuance. It does not occur very often, but does occur several times.

[23:10]  ⁴ sn The reference in the oracle is back to Gen 13:16, which would not be clear to Balaam. But God had described their growth like the dust of the earth. Here it is part of the description of the vast numbers.

[23:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “and as a number, the fourth part of Israel.” The noun in the MT is not in the construct state, and so it should be taken as an adverbial accusative, forming a parallel with the verb “count.” The second object of the verse then follows, “the fourth part of Israel.” Smr and the LXX have “and who has numbered” (וּמִסְפָּר, umispar), making this colon more parallel to the preceding one. The editor of BHS prefers this reading.

[23:10]  ⁶ tn The use of נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) for the subject of the verb stresses the personal nature – me.

[23:10]  ⁷ sn Here the seer’s words link with the promise of Gen 12:3, that whoever blesses Israel will be blessed. Since the blessing belongs to them, the upright (and not Balak), Balaam would like his lot to be with them.

[23:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “my latter end.”

[23:10]  ⁹ tn Heb “his.”

[26:51]  ¹⁰ sn This number shows only a slightly smaller total in the second census; the first was 603,550.

[12:2]  ¹¹ tn The three first person verbs in v. 2a should be classified as cohortatives. The first two have pronominal suffixes, so the form itself does not indicate a cohortative. The third verb form is clearly cohortative.

[12:2]  ¹² sn I will bless you. The blessing of creation is now carried forward to the patriarch. In the garden God blessed Adam and Eve; in that blessing he gave them (1) a fruitful place, (2) endowed them with fertility to multiply, and (3) made them rulers over creation. That was all ruined at the fall. Now God begins to build his covenant people; in Gen 12-22 he promises to give Abram (1) a land flowing with milk and honey, (2) a great nation without number, and (3) kingship.

[12:2]  ¹³ tn Or “I will make you famous.”

[12:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and be a blessing.” The verb form הְיֵה (hÿyeh) is the Qal imperative of the verb הָיָה (hayah). The vav (ו) with the imperative after the cohortatives indicates purpose or consequence. What does it mean for Abram to “be a blessing”? Will he be a channel or source of blessing for others, or a prime example of divine blessing? A similar statement occurs in Zech 8:13, where God assures his people, “You will be a blessing,” in contrast to the past when they “were a curse.” Certainly “curse” here does not refer to Israel being a source of a curse, but rather to the fact that they became a curse-word or byword among the nations, who regarded them as the epitome of an accursed people (see 2 Kgs 22:19; Jer 42:18; 44:8, 12, 22). Therefore the statement “be a blessing” seems to refer to Israel being transformed into a prime example of a blessed people, whose name will be used in blessing formulae, rather than in curses. If the statement “be a blessing” is understood in the same way in Gen 12:2, then it means that God would so bless Abram that other nations would hear of his fame and hold him up as a paradigm of divine blessing in their blessing formulae.

[13:16]  ¹⁵ tn The translation “can be counted” (potential imperfect) is suggested by the use of יוּכַל (yukhal, “is able”) in the preceding clause.

[15:5]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[17:6]  ¹⁷ tn This verb starts a series of perfect verbal forms with vav (ו) consecutive to express God’s intentions.

[17:6]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.

[17:6]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and I will make you into nations, and kings will come out from you.”

[22:17]  ²⁰ tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the finite verbal form (either an imperfect or cohortative) emphasizes the certainty of the blessing.

[22:17]  ²¹ tn Here too the infinitive absolute is used for emphasis before the following finite verb (either an imperfect or cohortative).

[22:17]  ²² tn The Hebrew term זֶרַע (zera’) occurring here and in v. 18 may mean “seed” (for planting), “offspring” (occasionally of animals, but usually of people), or “descendants” depending on the context.

[22:17]  ²³ tn Or “inherit.”

[22:17]  ²⁴ tn Heb “gate,” which here stands for a walled city. To break through the gate complex would be to conquer the city, for the gate complex was the main area of defense (hence the translation “stronghold”).

[26:3]  ²⁵ tn The Hebrew verb גּוּר (gur) means “to live temporarily without ownership of land.” Abraham’s family will not actually possess the land of Canaan until the Israelite conquest hundreds of years later.

[26:3]  ²⁶ tn After the imperative “stay” the two prefixed verb forms with prefixed conjunction here indicate consequence.

[26:3]  ²⁷ tn The Hebrew term זֶרַע (zera’) occurring here and in v. 18 may mean “seed” (for planting), “offspring” (occasionally of animals, but usually of people), or “descendants” depending on the context.

[26:3]  ²⁸ tn The Hiphil stem of the verb קוּם (qum) here means “to fulfill, to bring to realization.” For other examples of this use of this verb form, see Lev 26:9; Num 23:19; Deut 8:18; 9:5; 1 Sam 1:23; 1 Kgs 6:12; Jer 11:5.

[26:3]  ²⁹ tn Heb “the oath which I swore.”

[28:14]  ³⁰ tn This is the same Hebrew word translated “ground” in the preceding verse.

[28:14]  ³¹ tn The verb is singular in the Hebrew; Jacob is addressed as the representative of his descendants.

[28:14]  ³² tn Theoretically the Niphal stem can be translated either as passive or reflexive/reciprocal. (The Niphal of “bless” is only used in formulations of the Abrahamic covenant. See Gen 12:2; 18:18; 28:14.) Traditionally the verb is taken as passive here, as if Jacob were going to be a channel or source of blessing. But in other formulations of the Abrahamic covenant (see Gen 22:18; 26:4) the Hitpael replaces this Niphal form, suggesting a translation “will bless (i.e., pronounce blessings upon) themselves/one another.” The Hitpael of “bless” is used with a reflexive/reciprocal sense in Deut 29:18; Ps 72:17; Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2. Gen 28:14 predicts that Jacob will be held up as a paradigm of divine blessing and that people will use his name in their blessing formulae (see Gen 12:2 and 18:18 as well, where Abram/Abraham receives this promise). For examples of blessing formulae utilizing an individual as an example of blessing see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11.

[28:14]  ³³ tn Heb “and they will pronounce blessings by you, all the families of the earth, and by your offspring.”

[46:3]  ³⁴ tn Heb “the God.”

[46:4]  ³⁵ tn Heb “and I, I will bring you up, also bringing up.” The independent personal pronoun before the first person imperfect verbal form draws attention to the speaker/subject, while the infinitive absolute after the imperfect strongly emphasizes the statement: “I myself will certainly bring you up.”

[46:4]  ³⁶ tn Heb “and Joseph will put his hand upon your eyes.” This is a promise of peaceful death in Egypt with Joseph present to close his eyes.

[12:37]  ³⁷ tn Heb “and the sons of Israel journeyed.”

[12:37]  ³⁸ sn The wilderness itinerary begins here. W. C. Kaiser records the identification of these two places as follows: The name Rameses probably refers to Qantir rather than Tanis, which is more remote, because Qantir was by the water; Sukkoth is identified as Tell el Maskhuta in the Wadi Tumilat near modern Ismailia – or the region around the city (“Exodus,” EBC 2:379). Of the extensive bibliography, see G. W. Coats, “The Wilderness Itinerary,” CBQ 34 (1972): 135-52; G. I. Davies, “The Wilderness Itineraries: A Comparative Study,” TynBul 25 (1974): 46-81; and J. T. Walsh, “From Egypt to Moab. A Source Critical Analysis of the Wilderness Itinerary,” CBQ 39 (1977): 20-33.

[12:37]  ³⁹ tn The word for “men” (הַגְּבָרִים, haggÿvarim) stresses their hardiness and capability – strong men, potential soldiers – in contrast with the word that follows and designates noncombatants.

[12:37]  ⁴⁰ tn For more on this word see 10:10 and 24.

[38:26]  ⁴¹ sn The weight would be about half an ounce.

[38:26]  ⁴² tn Heb “upward.”

[38:26]  ⁴³ tn The phrase “in all” has been supplied.

[10:22]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.

[10:1]  ⁴⁵ tn Or “chest” (so NIV, CEV); NLT “sacred chest”; TEV “wooden box.” This chest was made of acacia wood; it is later known as the ark of the covenant.

[4:20]  ⁴⁶ tn A כּוּר (kur) was not a source of heat but a crucible (“iron-smelting furnace”) in which precious metals were melted down and their impurities burned away (see I. Cornelius, NIDOTTE 2:618-19); cf. NAB “that iron foundry, Egypt.” The term is a metaphor for intense heat. Here it refers to the oppression and suffering Israel endured in Egypt. Since a crucible was used to burn away impurities, it is possible that the metaphor views Egypt as a place of refinement to bring Israel to a place of submission to divine sovereignty.

[4:20]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “to be his people of inheritance.” The Lord compares his people to valued property inherited from one’s ancestors and passed on to one’s descendants.

[4:2]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “commanding.”

[24:9]  ⁴⁹ sn What the Lord your God did to Miriam. The reference is to Miriam’s having contracted leprosy because of her intemperate challenge to Moses’ leadership (Num 12:1-15). The purpose for the allusion here appears to be the assertion of the theocratic leadership of the priests who, like Moses, should not be despised.

[24:1]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “nakedness of a thing.” The Hebrew phrase עֶרְוַת דָּבָר (’ervat davar) refers here to some gross sexual impropriety (see note on “indecent” in Deut 23:14). Though the term usually has to do only with indecent exposure of the genitals, it can also include such behavior as adultery (cf. Lev 18:6-18; 20:11, 17, 20-21; Ezek 22:10; 23:29; Hos 2:10).

[21:5]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “the priests, the sons of Levi.”

[21:5]  ⁵² tn Heb “in the name of the Lord.” See note on Deut 10:8. The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

[21:5]  ⁵³ tn Heb “by their mouth.”

[21:5]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “every controversy and every blow.”

[21:2]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “surrounding the slain [one].”

[13:3]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “or dreamer of dreams.” See note on this expression in v. 1.

[13:3]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

[13:3]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “all your heart and soul” (so NRSV, CEV, NLT); or “heart and being” (NCV “your whole being”). See note on the word “being” in Deut 6:5.

[17:15]  ⁵⁹ tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, indicated in the translation by the words “without fail.”

[17:15]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “your brothers,” but not referring to siblings (cf. NIV “your brother Israelites”; NLT “a fellow Israelite”). The same phrase also occurs in v. 20.

[17:15]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “your brothers.” See the preceding note on “fellow citizens.”

[17:16]  ⁶² tn Heb “in order to multiply horses.” The translation uses “do so” in place of “multiply horses” to avoid redundancy (cf. NAB, NIV).

[17:17]  ⁶³ tn Heb “must not multiply” (cf. KJV, NASB); NLT “must not take many.”

[17:18]  ⁶⁴ tn Or “instruction.” The LXX reads here τὸ δευτερονόμιον τοῦτο (to deuteronomion touto, “this second law”). From this Greek phrase the present name of the book, “Deuteronomy” or “second law” (i.e., the second giving of the law), is derived. However, the MT’s expression מִשְׁנֶה הַתּוֹרָה הַזֹּאת (mishneh hattorah hazzo’t) is better rendered “copy of this law.” Here the term תּוֹרָה (torah) probably refers only to the book of Deuteronomy and not to the whole Pentateuch.

[17:18]  ⁶⁵ tn The Hebrew term סֵפֶר (sefer) means a “writing” or “document” and could be translated “book” (so KJV, ASV, TEV). However, since “book” carries the connotation of a modern bound book with pages (an obvious anachronism) it is preferable to render the Hebrew term “scroll” here and elsewhere.

[11:11]  ⁶⁶ tn Grk “past the time of maturity.”

[11:11]  ⁶⁷ tn Grk “power to deposit seed.” Though it is not as likely, some construe this phrase to mean “power to conceive seed,” making the whole verse about Sarah: “by faith, even though Sarah herself was barren and too old, she received ability to conceive, because she regarded the one who had given the promise to be trustworthy.”

[11:12]  ⁶⁸ tn Grk “these”; in the translation the referent (children) has been specified for clarity.

[11:12]  ⁶⁹ tn Grk a collective “the sand.”

[11:12]  ⁷⁰ sn An allusion to Gen 22:17 (which itself goes back to Gen 15:5).

[7:4]  ⁷¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the introduction of new but related material.

[7:4]  ⁷² tn Grk “who were sealed.”

[7:4]  ⁷³ tn Normally, “every,” but since 144,000 is the total number, “all” is clearer here.

[7:4]  ⁷⁴ tn Grk “the sons of Israel,” normally an idiom for the Israelites as an ethnic entity (L&N 11.58). However, many scholars understand the expression in this context to refer to Christians rather than ethnic Israelites.

[7:9]  ⁷⁵ tn The phrase “and here was” expresses the sense of καὶ ἰδού (kai idou).

[7:9]  ⁷⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated before each of the following categories, since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.