Numbers 3:13

3:13 because all the firstborn are mine. When I destroyed ¹  all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I set apart for myself all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast. They belong to me. I am the Lord.” ² 

Numbers 11:18

11:18 “And say to the people, ‘Sanctify yourselves ³  for tomorrow, and you will eat meat, for you have wept in the hearing ⁴  of the Lord, saying, “Who will give us meat to eat, ⁵  for life ⁶  was good for us in Egypt?” Therefore the Lord will give you meat, and you will eat.

Numbers 11:20

11:20 but a whole month, ⁷  until it comes out your nostrils and makes you sick, ⁸  because you have despised ⁹  the Lord who is among you and have wept before him, saying, “Why ¹⁰  did we ever come out of Egypt?”’”

Numbers 14:2

14:2 And all the Israelites murmured ¹¹  against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, “If only we had died ¹²  in the land of Egypt, or if only we had perished ¹³  in this wilderness!

Numbers 14:22

14:22 For all the people have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have tempted ¹⁴  me now these ten times, ¹⁵  and have not obeyed me, ¹⁶ 

Numbers 22:5

22:5 And he sent messengers to Balaam ¹⁷  son of Beor at Pethor, which is by the Euphrates River ¹⁸  in the land of Amaw, ¹⁹  to summon him, saying, “Look, a nation has come out of Egypt. They cover the face ²⁰  of the earth, and they are settling next to me.

Numbers 26:59

26:59 Now the name of Amram’s wife was Jochebed, daughter of Levi, who was born ²¹  to Levi in Egypt. And to Amram she bore Aaron, Moses, and Miriam their sister.

Numbers 32:11

32:11 ‘Because they have not followed me wholeheartedly, ²²  not ²³  one of the men twenty years old and upward ²⁴  who came from Egypt will see the land that I swore to give ²⁵  to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,

Numbers 33:38

33:38 Aaron the priest ascended Mount Hor at the command ²⁶  of the Lord, and he died there in the fortieth year after the Israelites had come out of the land of Egypt on the first day of the fifth month.

[3:13]  ¹ tn The form הַכֹּתִי (hakkoti) is the Hiphil infinitive construct of the verb נָכָה (nakhah, “to strike, smite, attack”). Here, after the idiomatic “in the day of,” the form functions in an adverbial clause of time – “when I destroyed.”

[3:13]  ² sn In the Exodus event of the Passover night the principle of substitution was presented. The firstborn child was redeemed by the blood of the Lamb and so belonged to God, but then God chose the Levites to serve in the place of the firstborn. The ritual of consecrating the firstborn son to the Lord was nevertheless carried out, even with Jesus, the firstborn son of Mary (Luke 2:22-23).

[11:18]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Heb “in the ears.”

[11:18]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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.”

[11:20]  ⁵ tn Heb “a month of days.” So also in v. 21.

[11:20]  ⁶ tn The expression לְזָרָה (lÿzarah) has been translated “ill” or “loathsome.” It occurs only here in the Hebrew Bible. The Greek text interprets it as “sickness.” It could be nausea or vomiting (so G. B. Gray, Numbers [ICC], 112) from overeating.

[11:20]  ⁷ sn The explanation is the interpretation of their behavior – it is in reality what they have done, even though they would not say they despised the Lord. They had complained and shown a lack of faith and a contempt for the program, which was in essence despising the Lord.

[11:20]  ⁸ tn The use of the demonstrative pronoun here (“why is this we went out …”) is enclitic, providing emphasis to the sentence: “Why in the world did we ever leave Egypt?”

[14:2]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew verb “to murmur” is לוּן (lun). It is a strong word, signifying far more than complaining or grumbling, as some of the modern translations have it. The word is most often connected to the wilderness experience. It is paralleled in the literature with the word “to rebel.” The murmuring is like a parliamentary vote of no confidence, for they no longer trusted their leaders and wished to choose a new leader and return. This “return to Egypt” becomes a symbol of their lack of faith in the Lord.

[14:2]  ⁸ tn The optative is expressed by לוּ (lu) and then the verb, here the perfect tense מַתְנוּ (matnu) – “O that we had died….” Had they wanted to die in Egypt they should not have cried out to the Lord to deliver them from bondage. Here the people became consumed with the fear and worry of what lay ahead, and in their panic they revealed a lack of trust in God.

[14:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “died.”

[14:22]  ⁹ tn The verb נָסָה (nasah) means “to test, to tempt, to prove.” It can be used to indicate things are tried or proven, or for testing in a good sense, or tempting in the bad sense, i.e., putting God to the test. In all uses there is uncertainty or doubt about the outcome. Some uses of the verb are positive: If God tests Abraham in Genesis 22:1, it is because there is uncertainty whether he fears the Lord or not; if people like Gideon put out the fleece and test the Lord, it is done by faith but in order to be certain of the Lord’s presence. But here, when these people put God to the test ten times, it was because they doubted the goodness and ability of God, and this was a major weakness. They had proof to the contrary, but chose to challenge God.

[14:22]  ¹⁰ tn “Ten” is here a round figure, emphasizing the complete testing. But see F. V. Winnett, The Mosaic Tradition, 121-54.

[14:22]  ¹¹ tn Heb “listened to my voice.”

[22:5]  ¹¹ sn There is much literature on pagan diviners and especially prophecy in places in the east like Mari (see, for example, H. B. Huffmon, “Prophecy in the Mari Letters,” BA 31 [1968]: 101-24). Balaam appears to be a pagan diviner who was of some reputation; he was called to curse the Israelites, but God intervened and gave him blessings only. The passage forms a nice complement to texts that deal with blessings and curses. It shows that no one can curse someone whom God has blessed.

[22:5]  ¹² tn Heb “by the river”; in most contexts this expression refers to the Euphrates River (cf. NAB, NCV, NRSV, TEV, CEV, NLT).

[22:5]  ¹³ tn Heb “in the land of Amaw” (cf. NAB, NRSV, TEV); traditionally “in the land of the sons of his people.” The LXX has “by the river of the land.”

[22:5]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “eye.” So also in v. 11.

[26:59]  ¹³ tn Heb “who she bore him to Levi.” The verb has no expressed subject. Either one could be supplied, such as “her mother,” or it could be treated as a passive.

[32:11]  ¹⁵ tn The clause is difficult; it means essentially that “they have not made full [their coming] after” the Lord.

[32:11]  ¹⁶ tn The sentence begins with “if they see….” This is the normal way for Hebrew to express a negative oath – “they will by no means see….” The sentence is elliptical; it is saying something like “[May God do so to me] if they see,” meaning they won’t see. Of course here God is taking the oath, which is an anthropomorphic act. He does not need to take an oath, and certainly could not swear by anyone greater, but it communicates to people his resolve.

[32:11]  ¹⁷ tc The LXX adds “those knowing bad and good.”

[32:11]  ¹⁸ tn The words “to give” are not in the Hebrew text but have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[33:38]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “mouth.”