Numbers 2:34

2:34 So the Israelites did according to all that the Lord commanded Moses; that is the way ¹  they camped under their standards, and that is the way they traveled, each with his clan and family.

Numbers 4:15

4:15 “When Aaron and his sons have finished ²  covering ³  the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, when the camp is ready to journey, then ⁴  the Kohathites will come to carry them; ⁵  but they must not touch ⁶  any ⁷  holy thing, or they will die. ⁸  These are the responsibilities ⁹  of the Kohathites with the tent of meeting.

Numbers 9:17

9:17 Whenever the cloud was taken up ¹⁰  from the tabernacle, then after that the Israelites would begin their journey; and in whatever place ¹¹  the cloud settled, there the Israelites would make camp.

Numbers 10:29

The Appeal to Hobab

10:29 ¹² Moses said to Hobab son of Reuel, the Midianite, Moses’ father-in-law, ¹³  “We are journeying to the place about which the Lord said, ‘I will give it to you.’ Come with us and we will treat you well, ¹⁴  for the Lord has promised good things ¹⁵  for Israel.”

Numbers 11:31

Provision of Quail

11:31 Now a wind ¹⁶  went out ¹⁷  from the Lord and brought quail ¹⁸  from the sea, and let them fall ¹⁹  near the camp, about a day’s journey on this side, and about a day’s journey on the other side, all around the camp, and about three feet ²⁰  high on the surface of the ground.

Numbers 33:3

33:3 They departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the day ²¹  after the Passover the Israelites went out defiantly ²²  in plain sight ²³  of all the Egyptians.

[2:34]  ¹ tn The Hebrew word is כֵּן (ken, “thus, so”).

[4:15]  ² 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]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Heb “after this.”

[4:15]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn The imperfect tense may be given the nuance of negated instruction (“they are not to”) or negated obligation (“they must not”).

[4:15]  ⁷ tn Here the article expresses the generic idea of any holy thing (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 19, §92).

[4:15]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ 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.

[9:17]  ³ tn The verb in this initial temporal clause is the Niphal infinitive construct.

[9:17]  ⁴ tn Heb “in the place where it settled there”; the relative clause modifies the noun “place,” and the resumptive adverb completes the related idea – “which it settled there” means “where it settled.”

[10:29]  ⁴ sn For additional bibliography for this short section, see W. F. Albright, “Jethro, Hobab, and Reuel in Early Hebrew Tradition,” CBQ 25 (1963): 1-11; G. W. Coats, “Moses in Midian,” JBL 92 (1973): 3-10; B. Mazar, “The Sanctuary of Arad and the Family of Hobab the Kenite,” JNES 24 (1965): 297-303; and T. C. Mitchell, “The Meaning of the Noun h£tn in the Old Testament,” VT 19 (1969): 93-112.

[10:29]  ⁵ sn There is a problem with the identity of Hobab. The MT says that he is the son of Reuel, making him the brother-in-law of Moses. But Judg 4:11 says he is the father-in-law. In Judg 1:16; 4:11 Hobab is traced to the Kenites, but in Exod 3:1 and 18:1 Jethro (Reuel) is priest of Midian. Jethro is identified with Reuel on the basis of Exod 2:18 and 3:1, and so Hobab becomes Moses’ חֹתֵן (khoten), a relative by marriage and perhaps brother-in-law. There is not enough information to decide on the identity and relationships involved here. Some suggest that there is one person with the three names (G. B. Gray, Numbers [ICC], 93); others suggest Hobab is a family name (R. F. Johnson, IDB 2:615), and some suggest that the expression “the son of Reuel the Midianite” had dropped out of the genealogy of Judges, leading to the conflict (J. Crichton, ISBE 2:1055). If Hobab is the same as Jethro, then Exod 18:27 does not make much sense, for Jethro did go home. On this basis many conclude Hobab is a brother-in-law. This would mean that after Jethro returned home, Moses conversed with Hobab, his brother-in-law. For more discussion, see the articles and the commentaries.

[10:29]  ⁶ tn The verb is the Hiphil of the root “to be good” (יָטַב, yatav); it may be translated “treat well, deal favorably, generously with.” Here it is a perfect tense with vav (ו) following the imperative, showing a sequence in the verbal ideas.

[10:29]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew text simply has “has spoken good” for Israel.

[11:31]  ⁵ sn The irony in this chapter is expressed in part by the use of the word רוּחַ (ruakh). In the last episode it clearly meant the Spirit of the Lord that empowered the men for their spiritual service. But here the word is “wind.” Both the spiritual service and the judgment come from God.

[11:31]  ⁶ tn The verb means “burst forth” or “sprang up.” See the ways it is used in Gen 33:12, Judg 16:3, 14; Isa 33:20.

[11:31]  ⁷ sn The “quail” ordinarily cross the Sinai at various times of the year, but what is described here is not the natural phenomenon. Biblical scholars looking for natural explanations usually note that these birds fly at a low height and can be swatted down easily. But the description here is more of a supernatural supply and provision. See J. Gray, “The Desert Sojourn of the Hebrews and the Sinai Horeb Tradition,” VT 4 (1954): 148-54.

[11:31]  ⁸ tn Or “left them fluttering.”

[11:31]  ⁹ tn Heb “two cubits.” The standard cubit in the OT is assumed by most authorities to be about eighteen inches (45 cm) in length.

[33:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “morrow.”

[33:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “with a high hand”; the expression means “defiantly; boldly” or “with confidence.” The phrase is usually used for arrogant sin and pride, the defiant fist, as it were. The image of the high hand can also mean the hand raised to deliver the blow (Job 38:15).

[33:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “in the eyes.”