Numbers 4:7

4:7 “On the table of the presence ¹  they must spread a blue ²  cloth, and put on it the dishes, the pans, the bowls, and the pitchers for pouring, and the Bread of the Presence must be on it continually.

Numbers 4:26

4:26 the hangings for the courtyard, the curtain for the entrance of the gate of the court, ³  which is around the tabernacle and the altar, and their ropes, along with all the furnishings for their service and everything that is made for them. So they are to serve. ⁴ 

Numbers 4:49

4:49 According to the word of the Lord they were numbered, ⁵  by the authority of Moses, each according to his service and according to what he was to carry. ⁶  Thus were they numbered by him, ⁷  as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Numbers 6:20

6:20 then the priest must wave them as a wave offering ⁸  before the Lord; it is a holy portion for the priest, together with the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the raised offering. ⁹  After this the Nazirite may drink ¹⁰  wine.’

Numbers 10:10

10:10 “Also in the time when you rejoice, such as ¹¹  on your appointed festivals or ¹²  at the beginnings of your months, you must blow with your trumpets over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings, so that they may ¹³  become ¹⁴  a memorial for you before your God: I am the Lord your God.”

Numbers 14:2

14:2 And all the Israelites murmured ¹⁵  against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, “If only we had died ¹⁶  in the land of Egypt, or if only we had perished ¹⁷  in this wilderness!

Numbers 14:18

14:18 ‘The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in loyal love, ¹⁸  forgiving iniquity and transgression, ¹⁹  but by no means clearing ²⁰  the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children until the third and fourth generations.’ ²¹ 

Numbers 16:3

16:3 And they assembled against Moses and Aaron, saying to them, “You take too much upon yourselves, ²²  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 25:18

25:18 because they bring trouble to you by their treachery with which they have deceived ²³  you in the matter of Peor, and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of a prince of Midian, ²⁴  their sister, who was killed on the day of the plague that happened as a result of Peor.”

Numbers 26:9

26:9 Eliab’s descendants were Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram. It was Dathan and Abiram who as leaders of the community rebelled against Moses and Aaron with the followers ²⁵  of Korah when they rebelled against the Lord.

Numbers 27:21

27:21 And he will stand before Eleazar the priest, who ²⁶  will seek counsel ²⁷  for him before the Lord by the decision of the Urim. ²⁸  At his command ²⁹  they will go out, and at his command they will come in, he and all the Israelites with him, the whole community.”

[4:7]  ¹ sn The Hebrew actually has the “table of faces,” and this has been traditionally rendered “table of shewbread.”

[4:7]  ² tn The Greek has “violet” instead of blue. This is also the case in vv. 8, 10, and 14.

[4:26]  ³ tc This whole clause is not in the Greek text; it is likely missing due to homoioteleuton.

[4:26]  ⁴ tn The work of these people would have been very demanding, since the size and weight of the various curtains and courtyard hangings would have been great. For a detailed discussion of these, see the notes in the book of Exodus on the construction of the items.

[4:49]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Or “his burden.”

[4:49]  ⁷ 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.

[6:20]  ⁷ sn The ritual of lifting the hands filled with the offering and waving them in the presence of the Lord was designed to symbolize the transfer of the offering to God in the sight of all. This concludes the worshiper’s part; the offering now becomes the property of the priest – his priest’s due (or “raised/heave offering”).

[6:20]  ⁸ sn The “wave offering” may be interpreted as a “special gift” to be transferred to the Lord, and the “heave offering” as a “special contribution” to God – the priest’s due. These two offerings have also inspired a good deal of study.

[6:20]  ⁹ tn The imperfect tense here would then have the nuance of permission. It is not an instruction at this point; rather, the prohibition has been lifted and the person is free to drink wine.

[10:10]  ⁹ tn The conjunction may be taken as explicative or epexegetical, and so rendered “namely; even; that is,” or it may be taken as emphatic conjunction, and translated “especially.”

[10:10]  ¹⁰ tn The vav (ו) is taken here in its alternative use and translated “or.”

[10:10]  ¹¹ tn The form is the perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive. After the instruction imperfects, this form could be given the same nuance, or more likely, subordinated as a purpose or result clause.

[10:10]  ¹² tn The verb “to be” (הָיָה, hayah) has the meaning “to become” when followed by the preposition lamed (ל).

[14:2]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew verb “to murmur” is לוּן (lun). It is a strong word, signifying far more than complaining or grumbling, as some of the modern translations have it. The word is most often connected to the wilderness experience. It is paralleled in the literature with the word “to rebel.” The murmuring is like a parliamentary vote of no confidence, for they no longer trusted their leaders and wished to choose a new leader and return. This “return to Egypt” becomes a symbol of their lack of faith in the Lord.

[14:2]  ¹² tn The optative is expressed by לוּ (lu) and then the verb, here the perfect tense מַתְנוּ (matnu) – “O that we had died….” Had they wanted to die in Egypt they should not have cried out to the Lord to deliver them from bondage. Here the people became consumed with the fear and worry of what lay ahead, and in their panic they revealed a lack of trust in God.

[14:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “died.”

[14:18]  ¹³ tn The expression is רַב־חֶסֶד (rav khesed) means “much of loyal love,” or “faithful love.” Some have it “totally faithful,” but that omits the aspect of his love.

[14:18]  ¹⁴ tn Or “rebellion.”

[14:18]  ¹⁵ tn The infinitive absolute emphasizes the verbal activity of the imperfect tense, which here serves as a habitual imperfect. Negated it states what God does not do; and the infinitive makes that certain.

[14:18]  ¹⁶ sn The Decalogue adds “to those who hate me.” The point of the line is that the effects of sin, if not the sinful traits themselves, are passed on to the next generation.

[16:3]  ¹⁵ 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.

[25:18]  ¹⁷ tn This is the same word as that translated “treachery.”

[25:18]  ¹⁸ sn Cozbi’s father, Zur, was one of five Midianite kings who eventually succumbed to Israel (Num 31:8). When the text gives the name and family of a woman, it is asserting that she is important, at least for social reasons, among her people.

[26:9]  ¹⁹ tn Or “company” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV); Heb “congregation.”

[27:21]  ²¹ tn The passage simply has “and he will ask,” but Eleazar is clearly the subject now.

[27:21]  ²² tn Heb “ask.”

[27:21]  ²³ sn The new leader would not have the privilege that Moses had in speaking to God face to face. Rather, he would have to inquire of the Lord through the priest, and the priest would seek a decision by means of the Urim. The Urim and the Thummim were the sacred lots that the priest had in his pouch, the “breastplate” as it has traditionally been called. Since the Law had now been fully established, there would be fewer cases that the leader would need further rulings. Now it would simply be seeking the Lord’s word for matters such as whether to advance or not. The size, shape or substance of these objects is uncertain. See further C. Van Dam, The Urim and Thummim.

[27:21]  ²⁴ tn Heb “mouth,” meaning what he will say.