Numbers 3:1

The Sons of Aaron

3:1 ¹ Now these are the records ²  of Aaron and Moses when ³  the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai.

Numbers 11:6

11:6 But now we ⁴  are dried up, ⁵  and there is nothing at all before us ⁶  except this manna!”

Numbers 28:10

28:10 This is the burnt offering for every Sabbath, ⁷  besides the continual burnt offering and its drink offering.

[3:1]  ¹ sn For significant literature for this chapter, see M. Aberbach and L. Smolar, “Aaron, Jeroboam, and their Golden Calves,” JBL 86 (1967): 129-40; G. Brin, “The First-born in Israel in the Biblical Period” (Ph.D. diss., University of Tel Aviv, 1971); S. H. Hooke, “Theory and Practice of Substitution,” VT 2 (1952): 2-17; and J. Morgenstern, “A Chapter in the History of the High Priesthood,” AJSL 55 (1938): 1-24.

[3:1]  ² tn The construction is וְאֵלֶּה תּוֹלְדֹת (vÿ’elleh tolÿdot), which was traditionally translated “now these are the generations,” much as it was translated throughout the book of Genesis. The noun can refer to records, stories, genealogies, names, and accounts of people. Here it is the recorded genealogical list with assigned posts included. Like Genesis, it is a heading of a section, and not a colophon as some have suggested. It is here similar to Exodus: “these are the names of.” R. K. Harrison, Numbers (WEC), 62, insists that it is a colophon and should end chapter 2, but if that is followed in the Pentateuch, it creates difficulty throughout the narratives. See the discussion by A. P. Ross, Creation and Blessing, 69-74.

[3:1]  ³ tn The expression in the Hebrew text (“in the day of”) is idiomatic for “when.”

[11:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “our souls.”

[11:6]  ⁵ sn The Hebrews were complaining both about the bland taste of the manna and dehydration – they were parched in the wilderness.

[11:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “before our eyes,” meaning that “we see nothing except this manna.”

[28:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “the burnt offering of the Sabbath by its Sabbath.”