Numbers 20:3

20:3 The people contended ¹  with Moses, saying, ²  “If only ³  we had died when our brothers died before the Lord!

Numbers 30:1

Vows Made by Men

30:1 ⁴ Moses told the leaders ⁵  of the tribes concerning the Israelites, “This is what ⁶  the Lord has commanded:

Numbers 32:2

32:2 the Gadites and the Reubenites came and addressed Moses, Eleazar the priest, and the leaders of the community. They said,

Numbers 32:25

32:25 So the Gadites and the Reubenites replied to Moses, “Your servants will do as my lord commands.

[20:3]  ¹ tn The verb is רִיב (riv); it is often used in the Bible for a legal complaint, a law suit, at least in form. But it can also describe a quarrel, or strife, like that between Abram’s men and Lot’s men in Genesis 13. It will be the main verb behind the commemorative name Meribah, the place where the people strove with God. It is a far more serious thing than grumbling – it is directed, intentional, and well-argued. For further discussion, see J. Limburg, “The Root ‘rib’ and the Prophetic Lawsuit Speeches,” JBL 88 (1969): 291-304.

[20:3]  ² tn Heb “and they said, saying.”

[20:3]  ³ tn The particle לוּ (lu) indicates the optative nuance of the line – the wishing or longing for death. It is certainly an absurdity to want to have died, but God took them at their word and they died in the wilderness.

[30:1]  ⁴ sn Num 30 deals with vows that are different than the vows discussed in Lev 27 and Num 6. The material is placed here after all the rulings of the offerings, but it could have been revealed to Moses at any time, such as the Nazirite vows, or the question of the daughters’ inheritance. The logic of placing it here may be that a festival was the ideal place for discharging a vow. For additional material on vows, see R. de Vaux, Ancient Israel, 465-66.

[30:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “heads.”

[30:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “This is the word which.”