Numbers 3:38

3:38 But those who were to camp in front of the tabernacle on the east, in front of the tent of meeting, were Moses, Aaron, ¹  and his sons. They were responsible for the needs ²  of the sanctuary and for the needs of the Israelites, but the unauthorized person who approached was to be put to death.

Numbers 4:15

4:15 “When Aaron and his sons have finished ³  covering ⁴  the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, when the camp is ready to journey, then ⁵  the Kohathites will come to carry them; ⁶  but they must not touch ⁷  any ⁸  holy thing, or they will die. ⁹  These are the responsibilities ¹⁰  of the Kohathites with the tent of meeting.

Numbers 6:18

6:18 “‘Then the Nazirite must shave his consecrated head ¹¹  at the entrance to the tent of meeting and must take the hair from his consecrated head and put it on the fire ¹²  where the peace offering is burning. ¹³ 

Numbers 7:89

7:89 Now when Moses went into ¹⁴  the tent of meeting to speak with the Lord, ¹⁵  he heard the voice speaking to him from above the atonement lid ¹⁶  that was on the ark of the testimony, from between the two cherubim. ¹⁷  Thus he spoke to him.

Numbers 8:19

8:19 I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from among the Israelites, to do the work for the Israelites in the tent of meeting, and to make atonement for the Israelites, so there will be no plague among the Israelites when the Israelites come near the sanctuary.” ¹⁸ 

Numbers 8:22

8:22 After this, the Levites went in to do their work in the tent of meeting before Aaron and before his sons. As the Lord had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they did.

Numbers 9:17

9:17 Whenever the cloud was taken up ¹⁹  from the tabernacle, then after that the Israelites would begin their journey; and in whatever place ²⁰  the cloud settled, there the Israelites would make camp.

Numbers 11:16

The Response of God

11:16 ²¹ The Lord said to Moses, “Gather to me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know are elders of the people and officials ²²  over them, and bring them to the tent of meeting; let them take their position there with you.

Numbers 11:26

Eldad and Medad

11:26 But two men remained in the camp; one’s name was Eldad, and the other’s name was Medad. And the spirit rested on them. (Now they were among those in the registration, ²³  but had not gone to the tabernacle.) So they prophesied in the camp.

Numbers 16:26

16:26 And he said to the community, “Move away from the tents of these wicked ²⁴  men, and do not touch anything they have, lest you be destroyed because ²⁵  of all their sins.” ²⁶ 

Numbers 17:8

17:8 On the next day Moses went into the tent of the testimony – and ²⁷  the staff of Aaron for the house of Levi had sprouted, and brought forth buds, and produced blossoms, and yielded almonds! ²⁸ 

Numbers 18:3

18:3 They must be responsible to care for you and to care for the entire tabernacle. However, they must not come near the furnishings of the sanctuary and the altar, or both they and you will die.

Numbers 18:23

18:23 But the Levites must perform the service ²⁹  of the tent of meeting, and they must bear their iniquity. ³⁰  It will be a perpetual ordinance throughout your generations that among the Israelites the Levites ³¹  have no inheritance. ³² 

Numbers 19:18

19:18 Then a ceremonially clean person must take hyssop, dip it in the water, and sprinkle it on the tent, on all its furnishings, and on the people who were there, or on the one who touched a bone, or one killed, or one who died, or a grave.

Numbers 25:6

25:6 Just then ³³  one of the Israelites came and brought to his brothers ³⁴  a Midianite woman in the plain view of Moses and of ³⁵  the whole community of the Israelites, while they ³⁶  were weeping at the entrance of the tent of meeting.

Numbers 31:54

31:54 So Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from the commanders of thousands and commanders ³⁷  of hundreds and brought it into the tent of meeting as a memorial ³⁸  for the Israelites before the Lord.

[3:38]  ¹ tc In some Hebrew mss and Smr “and Aaron” is not in the verse. The omission arose probably by scribal error with such repetitious material that could easily give rise to variant traditions.

[3:38]  ² tn Here again the verb and its cognate noun are used: keeping the keep, or keeping charge over, or taking responsibility for the care of, or the like.

[4:15]  ³ tn The verb form is the Piel perfect with a vav (ו) consecutive; it continues the future sequence, but in this verse forms a subordinate clause to the parallel sequential verb to follow.

[4:15]  ⁴ tn The Piel infinitive construct with the preposition serves as the direct object of the preceding verbal form, answering the question of what it was that they finished.

[4:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “after this.”

[4:15]  ⁶ tn The form is the Qal infinitive construct from נָשָׂא (nasa’, “to lift, carry”); here it indicates the purpose clause after the verb “come.”

[4:15]  ⁷ tn The imperfect tense may be given the nuance of negated instruction (“they are not to”) or negated obligation (“they must not”).

[4:15]  ⁸ tn Here the article expresses the generic idea of any holy thing (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 19, §92).

[4:15]  ⁹ tn The verb is the perfect tense with a vav (ו) consecutive, following the imperfect tense warning against touching the holy thing. The form shows the consequence of touching the holy thing, and so could be translated “or they will die” or “lest they die.” The first is stronger.

[4:15]  ¹⁰ tn The word מַשָּׂא (massa’) is normally rendered “burden,” especially in prophetic literature. It indicates the load that one must carry, whether an oracle, or here the physical responsibility.

[6:18]  ⁵ tn Some versions simply interpret this to say that he shaves his hair, for it is the hair that is the sign of the consecration to God. But the text says he shaves his consecrated head. The whole person is obviously consecrated to God – not just the head. But the symbolic act of cutting the hair shows that the vow has been completed (see Acts 21:23-24). The understanding of the importance of the hair in the ancient world has been the subject of considerable study over the years (see R. de Vaux, Ancient Israel, 436; and J. A. Thompson, “Numbers,” New Bible Commentary: Revised, 177).

[6:18]  ⁶ sn Some commentators see this burning of the hair as an offering (McNeile, Numbers, 35; G. B. Gray, Numbers [ICC], 68). But others probably with more foundation see it as destroying something that has served a purpose, something that if left alone might be venerated (see R. de Vaux, Israel, 436).

[6:18]  ⁷ tn Heb “which is under the peace offering.” The verse does not mean that the hair had to be put under that sacrifice and directly on the fire.

[7:89]  ⁷ tn The adverbial clause of time is constructed with the infinitive construct of the verb “to enter” (בּוֹא, bo’) with the preposition and with the subjective genitive that follows serving as the subject of the clause. The verse is strategic in the structure of the book: At the completion of the dedication with the offerings Moses received more revelation from the Lord in the tent. This verse therefore lays the foundation for what follows.

[7:89]  ⁸ tc The MT is obscure here, simply giving the purpose infinitive and the prepositional phrase (“with him”). But the following clause using the Hitpael of the same verb, introducing a reflexive sense: “then he heard the voice speaking with him.” The Greek clarified it by inserting “Lord” after the word “voice.” The editor of BHS favors emendation of the form to a Piel participle rather than the Hitpael of the MT (reading מְדַבֵּר [mÿdabber] instead of מִדַּבֵּר [middabber], the Hitpael with assimilation). Most commentators agree with the change, assuming there was a mistaken pointing in the MT.

[7:89]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew word כַּפֹּרֶת (kapporet) has been traditionally rendered “mercy seat,” but since the ark is the footstool (see Ps 132), this translation is somewhat misleading. The word is etymologically connected to the verb “to make atonement.” A technical translation would be “place of atonement” or “propitiatory”; a more common translation would be “cover, lid” – provided that the definition “to cover” does not get transferred to the verb “to atone,” for that idea belongs to a homonym. See also Exod 25:17.

[7:89]  ¹⁰ tn The cherubim are the carved forms of the angels attached to the ark. They indicate the guarding role of this order of angels in the holy of holies. They were also embroidered on the curtains. For basic material see ZPEB 1:788-90, and R. K. Harrison, ISBE 1:642-43.

[8:19]  ⁹ sn The firstborn were those that were essentially redeemed from death in Egypt when the blood was put on the doors. So in the very real sense they belonged to God (Exod 13:2,12). The firstborn was one who stood in special relationship to the father, being the successive offspring. Here, the Levites would stand in for the firstborn in that special role and special relationship. God also made it clear that the nation of Israel was his firstborn son (Exod 4:22-23), and so they stood in that relationship before all the nations. The tribe of Reuben was to have been the firstborn tribe, but in view of the presumptuous attempt to take over the leadership through pagan methods (Gen 35:22; 49:3-4), was passed over. The tribes of Levi and Simeon were also put down for their ancestors’ activities, but sanctuary service was still given to Levi.

[9:17]  ¹¹ tn The verb in this initial temporal clause is the Niphal infinitive construct.

[9:17]  ¹² tn Heb “in the place where it settled there”; the relative clause modifies the noun “place,” and the resumptive adverb completes the related idea – “which it settled there” means “where it settled.”

[11:16]  ¹³ sn The Lord provides Spirit-empowered assistance for Moses. Here is another variation on the theme of Moses’ faith. Just as he refused to lead alone and was given Aaron to share the work, so here he protests the burden and will share it with seventy elders. If God’s servant will not trust wholeheartedly, that individual will not be used by God as he or she might have been. Others will share in the power and the work. Probably one could say that it was God’s will for others to share this leadership – but not to receive it through these circumstances.

[11:16]  ¹⁴ tn The “officials” (שֹׁטְּרִים, shottÿrim) were a group of the elders who seem to have had some administrative capacities. The LXX used the word “scribes.” For further discussion, see R. de Vaux, Ancient Israel, 69-70.

[11:26]  ¹⁵ tn The form of the word is the passive participle כְּתֻבִים (kÿtuvim, “written”). It is normally taken to mean “among those registered,” but it is not clear if that means they were to be among the seventy or not. That seems unlikely since there is no mention of the seventy being registered, and vv. 24-25 says all seventy went out and prophesied. The registration may be to eldership, or the role of the officer.

[16:26]  ¹⁷ tn The word רָשָׁע (rasha’) has the sense of a guilty criminal. The word “wicked” sometimes gives the wrong connotation. These men were opposing the Lord, and so were condemned as criminals – they were guilty. The idea of “wickedness” therefore applies in that sense.

[16:26]  ¹⁸ tn The preposition bet (בְּ) in this line is causal – “on account of their sins.”

[16:26]  ¹⁹ sn The impression is that the people did not hear what the Lord said to Moses, but only what Moses said to the people as a result. They saw the brilliant cloud, and perhaps heard the sound of his voice, but the relaying of the instructions indicates they did not hear the actual instruction from the Lord himself.

[17:8]  ¹⁹ tn Here too the deictic particle (“and behold”) is added to draw attention to the sight in a vivid way.

[17:8]  ²⁰ sn There is no clear answer why the tribe of Levi had used an almond staff. The almond tree is one of the first to bud in the spring, and its white blossoms are a beautiful sign that winter is over. Its name became a name for “watcher”; Jeremiah plays on this name for God’s watching over his people (1:11-12).

[18:23]  ²¹ tn The verse begins with the perfect tense of עָבַד (’avad) with vav (ו) consecutive, making the form equal to the instructions preceding it. As its object the verb has the cognate accusative “service.”

[18:23]  ²² sn The Levites have the care of the tent of meeting, and so they are responsible for any transgressions against it.

[18:23]  ²³ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Levites) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[18:23]  ²⁴ tn The Hebrew text uses both the verb and the object from the same root to stress the point: They will not inherit an inheritance. The inheritance refers to land.

[25:6]  ²³ tn The verse begins with the deictic particle וְהִנֵּה (vÿhinneh), pointing out the action that was taking place. It stresses the immediacy of the action to the reader.

[25:6]  ²⁴ tn Or “to his family”; or “to his clan.”

[25:6]  ²⁵ tn Heb “before the eyes of Moses and before the eyes of.”

[25:6]  ²⁶ tn The vav (ו) at the beginning of the clause is a disjunctive because it is prefixed to the nonverbal form. In this context it is best interpreted as a circumstantial clause, stressing that this happened “while” people were weeping over the sin.

[31:54]  ²⁵ tn The Hebrew text does not repeat the word “commanders” here, but it is implied.

[31:54]  ²⁶ tn The purpose of the offering was to remind the Lord to remember Israel. But it would also be an encouragement for Israel as they remembered the great victory.