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 6:9

Contingencies for Defilement

6:9 “‘If anyone dies very suddenly ⁴  beside him and he defiles ⁵  his consecrated head, ⁶  then he must shave his head on the day of his purification – on the seventh day he must shave it.

Numbers 7:18

7:18 On the second day Nethanel son of Zuar, leader of Issachar, presented an offering.

Numbers 7:24

7:24 On the third day Eliab son of Helon, leader of the Zebulunites, presented an offering. ⁷ 

Numbers 7:30

7:30 On the fourth day Elizur son of Shedeur, leader of the Reubenites, presented an offering.

Numbers 7:36

7:36 On the fifth day Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai, leader of the Simeonites, presented an offering.

Numbers 7:42

7:42 On the sixth day Eliasaph son of Deuel, leader of the Gadites, presented an offering.

Numbers 7:48

7:48 On the seventh day Elishama son of Ammihud, leader of the Ephraimites, presented an offering.

Numbers 7:54

7:54 On the eighth day Gamaliel son of Pedahzur, leader of the Manassehites, presented an offering.

Numbers 7:60

7:60 On the ninth day Abidan son of Gideoni, leader of the Benjaminites, presented an offering.

Numbers 7:66

7:66 On the tenth day Ahiezer son of Amishaddai, leader of the Danites, presented an offering.

Numbers 7:72

7:72 On the eleventh day Pagiel son of Ocran, leader of the Asherites, presented an offering.

Numbers 7:78

7:78 On the twelfth day Ahira son of Enan, leader of the Naphtalites, presented an offering.

Numbers 12:3

12:3 (Now the man Moses was very humble, ⁸  more so than any man on the face of the earth.)

Numbers 15:32

15:32 When the Israelites were ⁹  in the wilderness they found a man gathering wood on the Sabbath day. ¹⁰ 

Numbers 28:16-17

Passover and Unleavened Bread

28:16 “‘On the fourteenth day of the first month is the Lord’s Passover. 28:17 And on the fifteenth day of this month is the festival. For seven days bread made without yeast must be eaten.

Numbers 33:6

33:6 They traveled from Succoth, and camped in Etham, which is on the edge of the wilderness.

[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.”

[6:9]  ⁴ tn The construction uses the imperfect tense followed by the infinitive absolute, יָמוּת מֵת (yamut met). Because the verb is in a conditional clause, the emphasis that is to be given through the infinitive must stress the contingency. The point is “if someone dies – unexpectedly.” The next words underscore the suddenness of this.

[6:9]  ⁵ tn The verb is the Piel perfect with a vav (ו) consecutive; it continues the idea within the conditional clause.

[6:9]  ⁶ sn The expression is figurative for the vow that he took; the figure is the metonymy because the reference to the head is a reference to the long hair that symbolizes the oath.

[7:24]  ⁷ tn The phrase “presented an offering” is not found in the Hebrew text at this point but has been supplied to clarify what action is being done. The same phrase is absent from the Hebrew text in the following verses which tell who makes the offerings (7:30, 36, 42, 48, 54, 60, 66, 72, 78).

[12:3]  ¹⁰ tc The spelling of the word is a Kethib-Qere reading with only a slight difference between the two.

[15:32]  ¹³ tn The preterite of the verb “to be” is here subordinated to the next, parallel verb form, to form a temporal clause.

[15:32]  ¹⁴ sn For this brief passage, see A. Phillips, “The Case of the Woodgatherer Reconsidered,” VT 19 (1969): 125-28; J. Weingreen, “The Case of the Woodgatherer (Numbers XV 32-36),” VT 16 (1966): 361-64; and B. J. Bamberger, “Revelations of Torah after Sinai,” HUCA 16 (1941): 97-113. Weingreen argues that there is something of the Rabbinic method of setting a fence around the Law here; in other words, if this sin were not punished, the Law would have been violated in greater ways. Gathering of wood, although seemingly harmless, is done with intent to kindle fire, and so reveals a culpable intent.