Discovery BoxNumbers 24:23
Context24:23 Then he uttered this oracle:
“O, who will survive when God does this! 1
Numbers 22:9
Context22:9 And God came to Balaam and said, “Who are these men with you?”
Numbers 24:9
Context24:9 They crouch and lie down like a lion,
and as a lioness, 2 who can stir him?
Blessed is the one who blesses you,
and cursed is the one who curses you!’”
Numbers 11:4
Context11:4 3 Now the mixed multitude 4 who were among them craved more desirable foods, 5 and so the Israelites wept again 6 and said, “If only we had meat to eat! 7
Numbers 11:29
Context11:29 Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for me? 8 I wish that 9 all the Lord’s people were prophets, that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!”
Numbers 23:10
Context23:10 Who 10 can count 11 the dust 12 of Jacob,
Or number 13 the fourth part of Israel?
Let me 14 die the death of the upright, 15
and let the end of my life 16 be like theirs.” 17
Numbers 11:18
Context11:18 “And say to the people, ‘Sanctify yourselves 18 for tomorrow, and you will eat meat, for you have wept in the hearing 19 of the Lord, saying, “Who will give us meat to eat, 20 for life 21 was good for us in Egypt?” Therefore the Lord will give you meat, and you will eat.
[24:23] 1 tc Because there is no parallel line, some have thought that it dropped out (see de Vaulx, Les Nombres, 296).
[24:9] 2 tn On the usage of this word see HALOT 517 s.v. לָבִיא.
[11:4] 3 sn The story of the sending of the quail is a good example of poetic justice, or talionic justice. God had provided for the people, but even in that provision they were not satisfied, for they remembered other foods they had in Egypt. No doubt there was not the variety of foods in the Sinai that might have been available in Egypt, but their life had been bitter bondage there as well. They had cried to the
[11:4] 4 tn The mixed multitude (or “rabble,” so NASB, NIV, NRSV; NLT “foreign rabble”) is the translation of an unusual word, הֲָאסַפְסֻף (ha’safsuf). It occurs in the Hebrew Bible only here. It may mean “a gathering of people” from the verb אָסַף (’asaf), yielding the idea of a mixed multitude (in line with Exod 12:38). But the root is different, and so no clear connection can be established. Many commentators therefore think the word is stronger, showing contempt through a word that would be equivalent to “riff-raff.”
[11:4] 5 tn The Hebrew simply uses the cognate accusative, saying “they craved a craving” (הִתְאַוּוּ תַּאֲוָה, hit’avvu ta’vah), but the context shows that they had this strong craving for food. The verb describes a strong desire, which is not always negative (Ps 132:13-14). But the word is a significant one in the Torah; it was used in the garden story for Eve’s desire for the tree, and it is used in the Decalogue in the warning against coveting (Deut 5:21).
[11:4] 6 tc The Greek and the Latin versions read “and they sat down” for “and they returned,” involving just a change in vocalization (which they did not have). This may reflect the same expression in Judg 20:26. But the change does not improve this verse.
[11:4] 7 tn The Hebrew expresses the strong wish or longing idiomatically: “Who will give us flesh to eat?” It is a rhetorical expression not intended to be taken literally, but merely to give expression to the longing they had. See GKC 476 §151.a.1.
[11:29] 4 tn The Piel participle מְקַנֵּא (mÿqanne’) serves as a verb here in this interrogative sentence. The word means “to be jealous; to be envious.” That can be in a good sense, such as with the translation “zeal,” or it can be in a negative sense as here. Joshua’s apparent “zeal” is questioned by Moses – was he zealous/envious for Moses sake, or for some other reason?
[11:29] 5 tn The optative is expressed by the interrogative clause in Hebrew, “who will give….” Moses expresses here the wish that the whole nation would have that portion of the Spirit. The new covenant, of course, would turn Moses’ wish into a certainty.
[23:10] 5 tn The question is again rhetorical; it means no one can count them – they are innumerable.
[23:10] 6 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] 7 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] 8 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] 9 tn The use of נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) for the subject of the verb stresses the personal nature – me.
[23:10] 10 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] 11 tn Heb “my latter end.”
[11:18] 6 tn The Hitpael is used to stress that they are to prepare for a holy appearance. The day was going to be special and so required their being set apart for it. But it is a holy day in the sense of the judgment that was to follow.
[11:18] 7 tn Heb “in the ears.”
[11:18] 8 tn Possibly this could be given an optative translation, to reflect the earlier one: “O that someone would give….” But the verb is not the same; here it is the Hiphil of the verb “to eat” – “who will make us eat” (i.e., provide meat for us to eat).
[11:18] 9 tn The word “life” is not in the text. The expression is simply “it was for us,” or “we had good,” meaning “we had it good,” or “life was good.”
