Numbers 3:39

3:39 All who were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron numbered by the word ¹  of the Lord, according to their families, every male from a month old and upward, were 22,000. ² 

Numbers 9:18

9:18 At the commandment ³  of the Lord the Israelites would begin their journey, and at the commandment of the Lord they would make camp; as long as ⁴  the cloud remained settled over the tabernacle they would camp.

Numbers 9:20

9:20 When ⁵  the cloud remained over the tabernacle a number of days, ⁶  they remained camped according to the Lord’s commandment, ⁷  and according to the Lord’s commandment they would journey.

[3:39]  ¹ tn Here again the Hebrew has “at the mouth of,” meaning in accordance with what the Lord said. So also in v. 51.

[3:39]  ² tn The total is a rounded off number; it does not duplicate the precise total of 22,300. Some modern scholars try to explain it by positing an error in v. 28, suggesting that “six” should be read as “three” (שֵׁשׁ [shesh] as שָׁלֹשׁ [shalosh]).

[9:18]  ³ tn Heb “at the mouth of” (so also in vv. 20, 23).

[9:18]  ⁴ tn Heb “all the days of – that the cloud settled over the tabernacle.” “All” is the adverbial accusative of time telling how long they camped in one spot – all. The word is then qualified by the genitive of the thing measured – “all of the days” – and this in turn is qualified by a noun clause functioning as a genitive after “days of.”

[9:20]  ⁵ tn The sentence uses וְיֵשׁ (vÿyesh) followed by a noun clause introduced with אֲשֶׁר (’asher) to express an existing situation; it is best translated as an adverbial clause of time: “and it was when the cloud was….”

[9:20]  ⁶ tn The word “number” is in apposition to the word “days” to indicate that their stay was prolonged for quite a few days.

[9:20]  ⁷ tn Heb “mouth of the Lord.”