Numbers 4:8

4:8 They must spread over them a scarlet cloth, and cover the same with a covering of fine leather; and they must insert its poles.

Numbers 8:7

8:7 And do this ¹  to them to purify them: Sprinkle water of purification ²  on them; then have them shave ³  all their body ⁴  and wash ⁵  their clothes, and so purify themselves. ⁶ 

Numbers 8:21

8:21 The Levites purified themselves ⁷  and washed their clothing; then Aaron presented them like a wave offering before the Lord, and Aaron made atonement for them to purify them.

Numbers 11:29

11:29 Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for me? ⁸  I wish that ⁹  all the Lord’s people were prophets, that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!”

Numbers 16:17

16:17 And each of you ¹⁰  take his censer, put ¹¹  incense in it, and then each of you present his censer before the Lord: 250 censers, along with you, and Aaron – each of you with his censer.”

Numbers 16:19

16:19 When ¹²  Korah assembled the whole community against them at the entrance of the tent of meeting, then the glory of the Lord appeared to the whole community.

Numbers 16:29

16:29 If these men die a natural death, ¹³  or if they share the fate ¹⁴  of all men, then the Lord has not sent me.

Numbers 16:33

16:33 They and all that they had went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed over them. So they perished from among the community.

[8:7]  ¹ tn Or, more literally, “and thus you shall do.” The verb is the imperfect tense of instruction or legislation. Here it introduces the procedures to be followed.

[8:7]  ² tn The genitive in this expression indicates the purpose of the water – it is for their purification. The expression is literally “the waters of sin.” The word “purification” is the same as for the “sin/purification offering” – חַטָּאת (khatta’at). This water seems to have been taken from the main laver and is contrasted with the complete washing of the priests in Lev 8:6.

[8:7]  ³ tn The verb is the Hiphil perfect with a vav (ו) of sequence. This verb, and those to follow, has the force of a jussive since it comes after the imperative. Here the instruction is for them to remove the hair from their bodies (“flesh”). There is no indication that this was repeated (as the Egyptian priests did every few days). It seems to have been for this special occasion only. A similar requirement was for the leper (Lev 14:7-9).

[8:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “flesh.”

[8:7]  ⁵ tn Or “let/have them wash”; the priests were given new clothes (Lev 8:13), but the Levites simply washed their own.

[8:7]  ⁶ tn The verb is a reflexive (or possibly passive) in this verse, indicating the summary of the process. The ritual steps that have been prescribed will lead to this conclusion. The verb could be treated as a final imperfect (being a perfect with vav [ו] consecutive), and so translated “that they may….” The major difference here is that the ritual made the Levites “clean,” whereas the ritual for the priests made them “holy” or “sanctified” (Lev 8:12).

[8:21]  ¹ tn The verb is the Hitpael of חָטָּא (khatta’). In this stem the meaning of the root “to sin” is likely to be connected to the noun “sin/purification” offering in a denominative sense, although some would take it as a privative usage, “to remove sin.” The idea is clear enough: They performed all the ritual in order to purify themselves ceremonially.

[11:29]  ¹ tn The Piel participle מְקַנֵּא (mÿqanne’) serves as a verb here in this interrogative sentence. The word means “to be jealous; to be envious.” That can be in a good sense, such as with the translation “zeal,” or it can be in a negative sense as here. Joshua’s apparent “zeal” is questioned by Moses – was he zealous/envious for Moses sake, or for some other reason?

[11:29]  ² tn The optative is expressed by the interrogative clause in Hebrew, “who will give….” Moses expresses here the wish that the whole nation would have that portion of the Spirit. The new covenant, of course, would turn Moses’ wish into a certainty.

[16:17]  ¹ tn Heb “and take, a man, his censer.”

[16:17]  ² tn This verb and the following one are both perfect tenses with vav (ו) consecutives. Following the imperative they carry the same force, but in sequence.

[16:19]  ¹ tn This clause is clearly foundational for the clause that follows, the appearance of the Lord; therefore it should be subordinated to the next as a temporal clause (one preterite followed by another preterite may be so subordinated).

[16:29]  ¹ tn Heb “if like the death of every man they die.”

[16:29]  ² tn The noun is פְּקֻדָּה (pÿquddah, “appointment, visitation”). The expression refers to a natural death, parallel to the first expression.