Numbers 4:6

4:6 Then they must put over it a covering of fine leather ¹  and spread over that a cloth entirely of blue, and then they must insert its poles.

Numbers 5:10

5:10 Every man’s holy things ²  will be his; whatever any man gives the priest will be his.’”

Numbers 7:6-7

7:6 So Moses accepted the carts and the oxen and gave them to the Levites. 7:7 He gave two carts and four oxen to the Gershonites, as their service required;

Numbers 7:9

7:9 But to the Kohathites he gave none, because the service of the holy things, which they carried ³  on their shoulders, was their responsibility. ⁴ 

Numbers 14:1

The Israelites Respond in Unbelief

14:1 ⁵ Then all the community raised a loud cry, ⁶  and the people wept ⁷  that night.

Numbers 19:17

19:17 “‘For a ceremonially unclean person you must take ⁸  some of the ashes of the heifer ⁹  burnt for purification from sin and pour ¹⁰  fresh running ¹¹  water over them in a vessel.

Numbers 20:21

20:21 So Edom refused to give Israel passage through his border; therefore Israel turned away from him.

Numbers 26:54

26:54 To a larger group you will give a larger inheritance, ¹²  and to a smaller group you will give a smaller inheritance. ¹³  To each one its inheritance must be given according to the number of people in it. ¹⁴ 

Numbers 27:10

27:10 and if he has no brothers, then you are to give his inheritance to his father’s brothers;

Numbers 27:20

27:20 Then you must delegate ¹⁵  some of your authority ¹⁶  to him, so that the whole community of the Israelites will be obedient. ¹⁷ 

Numbers 32:40

32:40 So Moses gave Gilead to Machir, son of Manasseh, and he lived there. ¹⁸ 

Numbers 33:53

33:53 You must dispossess the inhabitants of the land and live in it, for I have given you the land to possess it.

Numbers 35:4

35:4 The grazing lands around the towns that you will give to the Levites must extend to a distance of 500 yards ¹⁹  from the town wall.

Numbers 35:7

35:7 “So the total of the towns you will give the Levites is forty-eight. You must give these together with their grazing lands.

[4:6]  ¹ tn The exact meaning of the Hebrew word here is difficult to determine. The term תַּחַשׁ (takhash) has been translated “badgers’ [skins]” by KJV. ASV has “sealskin” while RSV uses “goatskin”; NEB and NASB have “porpoise skin,” and NIV has “hides of sea cows.” This is close to “porpoise,” and seems influenced by the Arabic. The evidence is not strong for any of these meanings, and some of the suggestions would be problematic. It is possible the word is simply used for “fine leather,” based on the Egyptian ths. This has been followed by NRSV (“fine leather”) and NLT (“fine goatskin leather”) along with the present translation. See further HALOT 1720-21 s.v. תַּחַשׁ.

[5:10]  ² sn The “holy gifts” are described with the root of קֹדֶשׁ (qodesh) to convey that they were separate. Such things had been taken out of the ordinary and normal activities of life.

[7:9]  ³ tn The verb is the imperfect tense, but it describes their customary activity – they had to carry, they used to carry.

[7:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “upon them,” meaning “their duty.”

[14:1]  ⁴ sn This chapter forms part of the story already begun. There are three major sections here: dissatisfaction with the reports (vv. 1-10), the threat of divine punishment (vv. 11-38), and the defeat of the Israelites (vv. 39-45). See K. D. Sakenfeld, “The Problem of Divine Forgiveness in Num 14,” CBQ 37 (1975): 317-30; also J. R. Bartlett, “The Use of the Word רֹאשׁ as a Title in the Old Testament,” VT 19 (1969): 1-10.

[14:1]  ⁵ tn The two verbs “lifted up their voice and cried” form a hendiadys; the idiom of raising the voice means that they cried aloud.

[14:1]  ⁶ tn There are a number of things that the verb “to weep” or “wail” can connote. It could reflect joy, grief, lamentation, or repentance, but here it reflects fear, hopelessness, or vexation at the thought of coming all this way and being defeated by the Canaanite armies. See Judg 20:23, 26.

[19:17]  ⁵ tn The verb is the perfect tense, third masculine plural, with a vav (ו) consecutive. The verb may be worded as a passive, “ashes must be taken,” but that may be too awkward for this sentence. It may be best to render it with a generic “you” to fit the instruction of the text.

[19:17]  ⁶ tn The word “heifer” is not in the Hebrew text, but it is implied.

[19:17]  ⁷ tn Here too the verb is the perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive; rather than make this passive, it is here left as a direct instruction to follow the preceding one. For the use of the verb נָתַן (natan) in the sense of “pour,” see S. C. Reif, “A Note on a Neglected Connotation of ntn,” VT 20 (1970): 114-16.

[19:17]  ⁸ tn The expression is literally “living water.” Living water is the fresh, flowing spring water that is clear, life-giving, and not the collected pools of stagnant or dirty water.

[26:54]  ⁶ tn Heb “to many you will multiply his inheritance.”

[26:54]  ⁷ tn Heb “to a few you will lessen his inheritance.”

[26:54]  ⁸ tn Heb “according to those that were numbered of him,” meaning, in accordance with the number of people in his clan.

[27:20]  ⁷ tn The verb is simply “give,” but in this context giving some of Moses’ honor to Joshua in the presence of the people is essentially passing the leadership to him, or delegating the authority to him with the result that people would follow him.

[27:20]  ⁸ tc The Greek, Syriac, and Vulgate read “glory” for this form that occurs only here in the Pentateuch. Elsewhere it is rendered “majesty, splendor” (see Ps 96:6). It could even be “vitality” here. The authority being transferred here is both spiritual and civil.

[27:20]  ⁹ tn Heb “hear.”

[32:40]  ⁸ tn Heb “in it.”

[35:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “one thousand cubits.” The standard cubit in the OT is assumed by most authorities to be about eighteen inches (45 cm) in length, so this would be a distance of 1,500 feet or 500 yards (675 meters).