Numbers 4:15

4:15 “When Aaron and his sons have finished ¹  covering ²  the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, when the camp is ready to journey, then ³  the Kohathites will come to carry them; ⁴  but they must not touch ⁵  any ⁶  holy thing, or they will die. ⁷  These are the responsibilities ⁸  of the Kohathites with the tent of meeting.

Numbers 11:32

11:32 And the people stayed up ⁹  all that day, all that night, and all the next day, and gathered the quail. The one who gathered the least gathered ten homers, ¹⁰  and they spread them out ¹¹  for themselves all around the camp.

Numbers 12:14

12:14 The Lord said to Moses, “If her father had only spit ¹²  in her face, would she not have been disgraced for seven days? Shut her out from the camp seven days, and afterward she can be brought back in again.”

Numbers 13:19

13:19 and whether the land they live in is good or bad, and whether the cities they inhabit are like camps or fortified cities,

Numbers 19:9

19:9 “‘Then a man who is ceremonially clean must gather up the ashes of the red heifer and put them in a ceremonially clean place outside the camp. They must be kept ¹³  for the community of the Israelites for use in the water of purification ¹⁴  – it is a purification for sin. ¹⁵ 

Numbers 31:12

31:12 They brought the captives and the spoils and the plunder to Moses, to Eleazar the priest, and to the Israelite community, to the camp on the plains ¹⁶  of Moab, along the Jordan River ¹⁷  across from Jericho. ¹⁸ 

Numbers 31:19

Purification After Battle

31:19 “Any of you who has killed anyone or touched any of the dead, remain outside the camp for seven days; purify yourselves and your captives on the third day, and on the seventh day.

[4:15]  ¹ 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]  ² 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]  ³ tn Heb “after this.”

[4:15]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn The imperfect tense may be given the nuance of negated instruction (“they are not to”) or negated obligation (“they must not”).

[4:15]  ⁶ tn Here the article expresses the generic idea of any holy thing (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 19, §92).

[4:15]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ 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.

[11:32]  ⁹ tn Heb “rose up, stood up.”

[11:32]  ¹⁰ sn This is about two thousand liters.

[11:32]  ¹¹ tn The verb (a preterite) is followed by the infinitive absolute of the same root, to emphasize the action of spreading out the quail. Although it is hard to translate the expression, it indicates that they spread these quail out all over the area. The vision of them spread all over was evidence of God’s abundant provision for their needs.

[12:14]  ¹⁷ tn The form is intensified by the infinitive absolute, but here the infinitive strengthens not simply the verbal idea but the conditional cause construction as well.

[19:9]  ²⁵ tn Heb “it will be.”

[19:9]  ²⁶ tn The expression לְמֵי נִדָּה (lÿme niddah) is “for waters of impurity.” The genitive must designate the purpose of the waters – they are for cases of impurity, and so serve for cleansing or purifying, thus “water of purification.” The word “impurity” can also mean “abhorrent” because it refers to so many kinds of impurities. It is also called a purification offering; Milgrom notes that this is fitting because the sacrificial ritual involved transfers impurity from the purified to the purifier (pp. 62-72).

[19:9]  ²⁷ sn The ashes were to be stored somewhere outside the camp to be used in a water portion for cleansing someone who was defiled. This is a ritual that was enacted in the wilderness; it is something of a restoring rite for people alienated from community.

[31:12]  ³³ tn Or “steppes.”

[31:12]  ³⁴ tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[31:12]  ³⁵ tn Again this expression, “the Jordan of Jericho,” is used. It describes the intended location along the Jordan River, the Jordan next to or across from Jericho.