Numbers 4:3

4:3 from thirty years old and upward to fifty years old, all who enter the company ¹  to do the work in the tent of meeting.

Numbers 4:23

4:23 You must number them from thirty years old and upward to fifty years old, all who enter the company to do the work of the tent of meeting.

Numbers 4:1

The Service of the Kohathites

4:1 ² Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron:

Numbers 23:3

23:3 Balaam said to Balak, “Station yourself ³  by your burnt offering, and I will go off; perhaps the Lord will come to meet me, and whatever he reveals to me ⁴  I will tell you.” ⁵  Then he went to a deserted height. ⁶ 

Numbers 23:24-27

23:24 Indeed, the people will rise up like a lioness,

and like a lion raises himself up;

they will not lie down until they eat their ⁷  prey,

and drink the blood of the slain.” ⁸ 

Balaam Relocates Yet Again

23:25 Balak said to Balaam, “Neither curse them at all ⁹  nor bless them at all!” ¹⁰  23:26 But Balaam replied ¹¹  to Balak, “Did I not tell you, ‘All that the Lord speaks, ¹²  I must do’?”

23:27 Balak said to Balaam, “Come, please; I will take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God ¹³  to let you curse them for me from there.” ¹⁴ 

Numbers 28:12-13

28:12 with three-tenths of an ephah of finely ground flour mixed with olive oil as a grain offering for each bull, and two-tenths of an ephah of finely ground flour mixed with olive oil as a grain offering for the ram, 28:13 and one-tenth of an ephah of finely ground flour mixed with olive oil as a grain offering for each lamb, as a burnt offering for a pleasing aroma, an offering made by fire to the Lord.

[4:3]  ¹ tn The word “company” is literally “host, army” (צָבָא, tsava’). The repetition of similar expressions makes the translation difficult: Heb “all [who] come to the host to do work in the tent.”

[4:1]  ² sn The chapter has four main parts to it: Kohathites (1-20), Gershonites (21-28), Merarites (29-33) and the census of the Levites (34-49).

[23:3]  ³ tn The verb הִתְיַצֵּב (hityatsev) means “to take a stand, station oneself.” It is more intentional than simply standing by something. He was to position himself by the sacrifice as Balaam withdrew to seek the oracle.

[23:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “and the word of what he shows me.” The noun is in construct, and so the clause that follows functions as a noun clause in the genitive. The point is that the word will consist of divine revelation.

[23:3]  ⁵ tn The verb is the perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive. This clause is dependent on the clause that precedes it.

[23:3]  ⁶ sn He went up to a bald spot, to a barren height. The statement underscores the general belief that such tops were the closest things to the gods. On such heights people built their shrines and temples.

[23:24]  ⁷ tn The pronoun “their” has been supplied for clarity; it is not present in the Hebrew text.

[23:24]  ⁸ sn The oracle compares Israel first to a lion, or better, lioness, because she does the tracking and hunting of food while the lion moves up and down roaring and distracting the prey. But the lion is also the traditional emblem of Judah, Dan and Gad, as well as the symbol of royalty. So this also supports the motif of royalty as well as power for Israel.

[23:25]  ⁹ tn The verb is preceded by the infinitive absolute: “you shall by no means curse” or “do not curse them at all.” He brought him to curse, and when he tried to curse there was a blessing. Balak can only say it would be better not to bother.

[23:25]  ¹⁰ tn The same construction now works with “nor bless them at all.” The two together form a merism – “don’t say anything.” He does not want them blessed, so Balaam is not to do that, but the curse isn’t working either.

[23:26]  ¹¹ tn Heb “answered and said.”

[23:26]  ¹² tn This first clause, “all that the Lord speaks” – is a noun clause functioning as the object of the verb that comes at the end of the verse. It is something of an independent accusative case, since it is picked up with the sign of the accusative: “all that the Lord speaks, it I must do.”

[23:27]  ¹³ tn Heb “be pleasing in the eyes of God.”

[23:27]  ¹⁴ sn Balak is stubborn, as indeed Balaam is persistent. But Balak still thinks that if another location were used it just might work. Balaam had actually told Balak in the prophecy that other attempts would fail. But Balak refuses to give up so easily. So he insists they perform the ritual and try again. This time, however, Balaam will change his approach, and this will result in a dramatic outpouring of power on him.