Numbers 3:4

3:4 Nadab and Abihu died ¹  before the Lord ²  when they offered ³  strange ⁴  fire ⁵  before the Lord in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children. ⁶  So Eleazar and Ithamar ministered as priests ⁷  in the presence of ⁸  Aaron their father.

Numbers 4:49

4:49 According to the word of the Lord they were numbered, ⁹  by the authority of Moses, each according to his service and according to what he was to carry. ¹⁰  Thus were they numbered by him, ¹¹  as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Numbers 5:21

5:21 Then the priest will put the woman under the oath of the curse ¹²  and will say ¹³  to the her, “The Lord make you an attested curse ¹⁴  among your people, ¹⁵  if the Lord makes ¹⁶  your thigh fall away ¹⁷  and your abdomen swell; ¹⁸ 

Numbers 10:29

The Appeal to Hobab

10:29 ¹⁹ Moses said to Hobab son of Reuel, the Midianite, Moses’ father-in-law, ²⁰  “We are journeying to the place about which the Lord said, ‘I will give it to you.’ Come with us and we will treat you well, ²¹  for the Lord has promised good things ²²  for Israel.”

Numbers 11:18

11:18 “And say to the people, ‘Sanctify yourselves ²³  for tomorrow, and you will eat meat, for you have wept in the hearing ²⁴  of the Lord, saying, “Who will give us meat to eat, ²⁵  for life ²⁶  was good for us in Egypt?” Therefore the Lord will give you meat, and you will eat.

Numbers 14:14

14:14 then they will tell it to the inhabitants ²⁷  of this land. They have heard that you, Lord, are among this people, that you, Lord, are seen face to face, ²⁸  that your cloud stands over them, and that you go before them by day in a pillar of cloud and in a pillar of fire by night.

Numbers 16:3

16:3 And they assembled against Moses and Aaron, saying to them, “You take too much upon yourselves, ²⁹  seeing that the whole community is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the community of the Lord?”

Numbers 16:7

16:7 put fire in them, and set incense on them before the Lord tomorrow, and the man whom the Lord chooses will be holy. You take too much upon yourselves, you sons of Levi!”

Numbers 16:30

16:30 But if the Lord does something entirely new, ³⁰  and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them up ³¹  along with all that they have, and they ³²  go down alive to the grave, ³³  then you will know that these men have despised the Lord!”

Numbers 16:40

16:40 It was a memorial for the Israelites, that no outsider who is not a descendant of ³⁴  Aaron should approach to burn incense before the Lord, that he might not become like Korah and his company – just as the Lord had spoken by the authority ³⁵  of Moses.

Numbers 18:28

18:28 Thus you are to offer up a raised offering to the Lord of all your tithes which you receive from the Israelites; and you must give the Lord’s raised offering from it to Aaron the priest.

Numbers 24:13

24:13 ‘If Balak would give me his palace full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond ³⁶  the commandment ³⁷  of the Lord to do either good or evil of my own will, ³⁸  but whatever the Lord tells me I must speak’?

Numbers 25:4

God’s Punishment

25:4 The Lord said to Moses, “Arrest all the leaders ³⁹  of the people, and hang them up ⁴⁰  before the Lord in broad daylight, ⁴¹  so that the fierce anger of the Lord may be turned away from Israel.”

Numbers 31:47

31:47 From the Israelites’ share Moses took one of every fifty people and animals and gave them to the Levites who were responsible for the care of the Lord’s tabernacle, just as the Lord commanded Moses.

Numbers 31:50

31:50 So we have brought as an offering for the Lord what each man found: gold ornaments, armlets, bracelets, signet rings, earrings, and necklaces, to make atonement for ourselves ⁴²  before the Lord.” ⁴³ 

[3:4]  ¹ tn The verb form is the preterite with vav (ו) consecutive, literally “and Nadab died.” Some commentators wish to make the verb a past perfect, rendering it “and Nadab had died,” but this is not necessary. In tracing through the line from Aaron it simply reports that the first two sons died. The reference is to the event recorded in Lev 10 where the sons brought “strange” or foreign” fire to the sanctuary.

[3:4]  ² tc This initial clause is omitted in one Hebrew ms, Smr, and the Vulgate.

[3:4]  ³ tn The form בְּהַקְרִבָם (bÿhaqrivam) is the Hiphil infinitive construct functioning as a temporal clause: “when they brought near,” meaning, “when they offered.” The verb קָרַב (qarav) is familiar to students of the NT because of “corban” in Mark 7:11.

[3:4]  ⁴ tn Or “prohibited.” See HALOT 279 s.v. זָר 3.

[3:4]  ⁵ tn The expression אֵשׁ זָרָה (’esh zarah, “strange fire”) seems imprecise and has been interpreted numerous ways (see the helpful summary in J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC 4], 132-33). The infraction may have involved any of the following or a combination thereof: (1) using coals from some place other than the burnt offering altar (i.e., “unauthorized coals” according to J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:598; cf. Lev 16:12 and cf. “unauthorized person” [אִישׁ זָר, ’ish zar] in Num 16:40 [17:5 HT], NASB “layman”), (2) using the wrong kind of incense (cf. the Exod 30:9 regulation against “strange incense” [קְטֹרֶת זָרָה, qÿtoret zarah] on the incense altar and the possible connection to Exod 30:34-38), (3) performing an incense offering at an unprescribed time (B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 59), or (4) entering the Holy of Holies at an inappropriate time (Lev 16:1-2).

[3:4]  ⁶ sn The two young priests had been cut down before they had children; the ranks of the family of Aaron were thereby cut in half in one judgment from God. The significance of the act of judgment was to show that the priests had to sanctify the Lord before the people – they were to be examples that the sanctuary and its contents were distinct.

[3:4]  ⁷ tn The verb is the Piel preterite from the root כָּהַן (kahan): “to function as a priest” or “to minister.”

[3:4]  ⁸ tn The expression “in the presence of” can also mean “during the lifetime of” (see Gen 11:28; see also BDB 818 s.v. פָּנֶה II.7.a; cf. NASB, NIV, NCV, NRSV, TEV).

[4:49]  ⁹ tn The verb is the simple perfect tense – “he numbered them.” There is no expressed subject; therefore, the verb can be rendered as a passive.

[4:49]  ¹⁰ tn Or “his burden.”

[4:49]  ¹¹ tn The passive form simply reads “those numbered by him.” Because of the cryptic nature of the word, some suggest reading a preterite, “and they were numbered.” This is supported by the Greek, Syriac, Targum, and Vulgate. It would follow in the emendation that the relative pronoun be changed to “just as” (כַּאֲשֶׁר, ka’asher). The MT is impossible the way it stands; it can only be rendered into smooth English by adding something that is missing.

[5:21]  ¹⁷ sn For information on such curses, see M. R. Lehmann, “Biblical Oaths,” ZAW 81 (1969): 74-92; A. C. Thiselton, “The Supposed Power of Words in the Biblical Writings,” JTS 25 (1974): 283-99; and F. C. Fensham, “Malediction and Benediction in Ancient Vassal Treaties and the Old Testament,” ZAW 74 (1962): 1-9.

[5:21]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the priest will say.”

[5:21]  ¹⁹ tn This interpretation takes the two nouns as a hendiadys. The literal wording is “the Lord make you a curse and an oath among the people.” In what sense would she be an oath? The point of the whole passage is that the priest is making her take an oath to see if she has been sinful and will be cursed.

[5:21]  ²⁰ sn The outcome of this would be that she would be quoted by people in such forms of expression as an oath or a curse (see Jer 29:22).

[5:21]  ²¹ tn The construction uses the infinitive construct with the preposition to form an adverbial clause: “in the giving of the Lord…,” meaning, “if and when the Lord makes such and such to happen.”

[5:21]  ²² tn TEV takes the expression “your thigh” as a euphemism for the genitals: “cause your genital organs to shrink.”

[5:21]  ²³ sn Most commentators take the expressions to be euphemisms of miscarriage or stillbirth, meaning that there would be no fruit from an illegitimate union. The idea of the abdomen swelling has been reinterpreted by NEB to mean “fall away.” If this interpretation stands, then the idea is that the woman has become pregnant, and that has aroused the suspicion of the husband for some reason. R. K. Harrison (Numbers [WEC], 111-13) discusses a variety of other explanations for diseases and conditions that might be described by these terms. He translates it with “miscarriage,” but leaves open what the description might actually be. Cf. NRSV “makes your uterus drop, your womb discharge.”

[10:29]  ²⁵ sn For additional bibliography for this short section, see W. F. Albright, “Jethro, Hobab, and Reuel in Early Hebrew Tradition,” CBQ 25 (1963): 1-11; G. W. Coats, “Moses in Midian,” JBL 92 (1973): 3-10; B. Mazar, “The Sanctuary of Arad and the Family of Hobab the Kenite,” JNES 24 (1965): 297-303; and T. C. Mitchell, “The Meaning of the Noun h£tn in the Old Testament,” VT 19 (1969): 93-112.

[10:29]  ²⁶ sn There is a problem with the identity of Hobab. The MT says that he is the son of Reuel, making him the brother-in-law of Moses. But Judg 4:11 says he is the father-in-law. In Judg 1:16; 4:11 Hobab is traced to the Kenites, but in Exod 3:1 and 18:1 Jethro (Reuel) is priest of Midian. Jethro is identified with Reuel on the basis of Exod 2:18 and 3:1, and so Hobab becomes Moses’ חֹתֵן (khoten), a relative by marriage and perhaps brother-in-law. There is not enough information to decide on the identity and relationships involved here. Some suggest that there is one person with the three names (G. B. Gray, Numbers [ICC], 93); others suggest Hobab is a family name (R. F. Johnson, IDB 2:615), and some suggest that the expression “the son of Reuel the Midianite” had dropped out of the genealogy of Judges, leading to the conflict (J. Crichton, ISBE 2:1055). If Hobab is the same as Jethro, then Exod 18:27 does not make much sense, for Jethro did go home. On this basis many conclude Hobab is a brother-in-law. This would mean that after Jethro returned home, Moses conversed with Hobab, his brother-in-law. For more discussion, see the articles and the commentaries.

[10:29]  ²⁷ tn The verb is the Hiphil of the root “to be good” (יָטַב, yatav); it may be translated “treat well, deal favorably, generously with.” Here it is a perfect tense with vav (ו) following the imperative, showing a sequence in the verbal ideas.

[10:29]  ²⁸ tn The Hebrew text simply has “has spoken good” for Israel.

[11:18]  ³³ 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]  ³⁴ tn Heb “in the ears.”

[11:18]  ³⁵ 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]  ³⁶ 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.”

[14:14]  ⁴¹ tn The singular participle is to be taken here as a collective, representing all the inhabitants of the land.

[14:14]  ⁴² tn “Face to face” is literally “eye to eye.” It only occurs elsewhere in Isa 52:8. This expresses the closest communication possible.

[16:3]  ⁴⁹ tn The meaning of רַב־לָכֶם (rab-lakhem) is something like “you have assumed far too much authority.” It simply means “much to you,” perhaps “you have gone to far,” or “you are overreaching yourselves” (M. Noth, Numbers [OTL], 123). He is objecting to the exclusiveness of the system that Moses has been introducing.

[16:30]  ⁵⁷ tn The verb בָּרָא (bara’) is normally translated “create” in the Bible. More specifically it means to fashion or make or do something new and fresh. Here the verb is joined with its cognate accusative to underscore that this will be so different everyone will know it is of God.

[16:30]  ⁵⁸ tn The figures are personifications. But they vividly describe the catastrophe to follow – which was very much like a mouth swallowing them.

[16:30]  ⁵⁹ tn The word is “life” or “lifetime”; it certainly means their lives – they themselves. But the presence of this word suggest more. It is an accusative specifying the state of the subject – they will go down alive to Sheol.

[16:30]  ⁶⁰ tn The word “Sheol” in the Bible can be used four different ways: the grave, the realm of the departed [wicked] spirits or Hell, death in general, or a place of extreme danger (one that will lead to the grave if God does not intervene). The usage here is certainly the first, and very likely the second as well. A translation of “pit” would not be inappropriate. Since they will go down there alive, it is likely that they will sense the deprivation and the separation from the land above. See H. W. Robinson, Inspiration and Revelation in the Old Testament; N. J. Tromp, Primitive Conceptions of Death and the Netherworld in the Old Testament (BibOr 21), 21-23; and A. Heidel, The Gilgamesh Epic, especially ch. 3.

[16:40]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “from the seed of.”

[16:40]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “hand.”

[24:13]  ⁷³ tn Heb “I am not able to go beyond.”

[24:13]  ⁷⁴ tn Heb “mouth.”

[24:13]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “from my heart.”

[25:4]  ⁸¹ sn The meaning must be the leaders behind the apostasy, for they would now be arrested. They were responsible for the tribes’ conformity to the Law, but here they had not only failed in their duty, but had participated. The leaders were executed; the rest of the guilty died by the plague.

[25:4]  ⁸² sn The leaders who were guilty were commanded by God to be publicly exposed by hanging, probably a reference to impaling, but possibly some other form of harsh punishment. The point was that the swaying of their executed bodies would be a startling warning for any who so blatantly set the Law aside and indulged in apostasy through pagan sexual orgies.

[25:4]  ⁸³ tn Heb “in the sun.” This means in broad daylight.

[31:50]  ⁸⁹ tn Heb “our souls.”

[31:50]  ⁹⁰ sn The expression here may include the idea of finding protection from divine wrath, which is so common to Leviticus, but it may also be a thank offering for the fact that their lives had been spared.