Numbers 5:13

5:13 and a man has sexual relations ¹  with her ²  without her husband knowing it, ³  and it is hidden that she has defiled herself, since ⁴  there was no witness against her, nor was she caught –

Numbers 10:31

10:31 Moses ⁵  said, “Do not leave us, ⁶  because you know places for us to camp in the wilderness, and you could be our guide. ⁷ 

Numbers 11:10

Moses’ Complaint to the Lord

11:10 ⁸ Moses heard the people weeping ⁹  throughout their families, everyone at the door of his tent; and when the anger of the Lord was kindled greatly, Moses was also displeased. ¹⁰ 

Numbers 11:15

11:15 But if you are going to deal ¹¹  with me like this, then kill me immediately. ¹²  If I have found favor in your sight then do not let me see my trouble.” ¹³ 

Numbers 19:5

19:5 Then the heifer must be burned ¹⁴  in his sight – its skin, its flesh, its blood, and its offal is to be burned. ¹⁵ 

Numbers 22:11

22:11 “Look, a nation has come out ¹⁶  of Egypt, and it covers the face of the earth. Come now and put a curse on them for me; perhaps I will be able to defeat them ¹⁷  and drive them out.” ¹⁸ 

Numbers 22:31

22:31 Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way with his sword drawn in his hand; so he bowed his head and threw himself down with his face to the ground. ¹⁹ 

Numbers 23:27

23:27 Balak said to Balaam, “Come, please; I will take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God ²⁰  to let you curse them for me from there.” ²¹ 

Numbers 24:2

24:2 When Balaam lifted up his eyes, he saw Israel camped tribe by tribe; ²²  and the Spirit of God came upon him.

Numbers 24:16

24:16 the oracle of the one who hears the words of God,

and who knows the knowledge of the Most High,

who sees a vision from the Almighty,

although falling flat on the ground with eyes open:

Numbers 27:14

27:14 For ²³  in the wilderness of Zin when the community rebelled against me, you ²⁴  rebelled against my command ²⁵  to show me as holy ²⁶  before their eyes over the water – the water of Meribah in Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.”

Numbers 32:5

32:5 So they said, “If we have found favor in your sight, ²⁷  let this land be given to your servants for our inheritance. Do not have us cross ²⁸  the Jordan River.” ²⁹ 

Numbers 32:13

32:13 So the Lord’s anger was kindled against the Israelites, and he made them wander in the wilderness for forty years, until all that generation that had done wickedly before ³⁰  the Lord was finished. ³¹ 

Numbers 33:9

33:9 They traveled from Marah and came to Elim; in Elim there are twelve fountains of water and seventy palm trees, so they camped there.

Numbers 36:6

36:6 This is what ³²  the Lord has commanded for Zelophehad’s daughters: ‘Let them marry ³³  whomever they think best, ³⁴  only they must marry within the family of their father’s tribe.

[5:13]  ¹ tn Heb “and a man lies with her with the emission of semen.” This makes it clear that there was adultery involved, so that the going astray is going astray morally. The indication in the text is that if she had never behaved suspiciously the sin might not have been detected.

[5:13]  ² tc The sign of the accusative אֹתָהּ (’otah) is probably to be repointed to the preposition with the suffix, אִתָּהּ (’ittah).

[5:13]  ³ tn Heb “and it is concealed from the eyes of her husband.”

[5:13]  ⁴ tn The noun clause beginning with the simple conjunction is here a circumstantial clause, explaining that there was no witness to the sin.

[10:31]  ⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:31]  ⁶ tn The form with אַל־נָא (’al-na’) is a jussive; negated it stresses a more immediate request, as if Hobab is starting to leave, or at least determined to leave.

[10:31]  ⁷ tn In the Hebrew text the expression is more graphic: “you will be for us for eyes.” Hobab was familiar with the entire Sinai region, and he could certainly direct the people where they were to go. The text does not record Hobab’s response. But the fact that Kenites were in Canaan as allies of Judah (Judg 1:16) would indicate that he gave in and came with Moses. The first refusal may simply be the polite Semitic practice of declining first so that the appeal might be made more urgently.

[11:10]  ⁹ sn Moses begins to feel the burden of caring for this people, a stubborn and rebellious people. His complaint shows how contagious their complaining has been. It is one thing to cry out to God about the load of ministry, but it is quite another to do it in such a way as to reflect a lack of faith in God’s provision. God has to remind the leader Moses that he, the Lord, can do anything. This is a variation on the theme from Exodus – “who am I that I should lead….”

[11:10]  ¹⁰ tn The participle “weeping” is functioning here as the noun in the accusative case, an adverbial accusative of state. It is explicative of the object.

[11:10]  ¹¹ tn Heb “it was evil in the eyes of Moses.”

[11:15]  ¹³ tn The participle expresses the future idea of what God is doing, or what he is going to be doing. Moses would rather be killed than be given a totally impossible duty over a people that were not his.

[11:15]  ¹⁴ tn The imperative of הָרַג (harag) is followed by the infinitive absolute for emphasis. The point is more that the infinitive adds to the emphasis of the imperative mood, which would be immediate compliance.

[11:15]  ¹⁵ tn Or “my own ruin” (NIV). The word “trouble” here probably refers to the stress and difficulty of caring for a complaining group of people. The suffix on the noun would be objective, perhaps stressing the indirect object of the noun – trouble for me. The expression “on my trouble” (בְּרָעָתִי, bÿra’ati) is one of the so-called tiqqune sopherim, or “emendations of the scribes.” According to this tradition the original reading in v. 15 was [to look] “on your evil” (בְּרָעָתֶךָ, bÿra’atekha), meaning “the calamity that you bring about” for Israel. However, since such an expression could be mistakenly thought to attribute evil to the Lord, the ancient scribes changed it to the reading found in the MT.

[19:5]  ¹⁷ tn Again, the verb has no expressed subject, and so is given a passive translation.

[19:5]  ¹⁸ tn The imperfect tense is third masculine singular, and so again the verb is to be made passive.

[22:11]  ²¹ tn In this passage the text differs slightly; here it is “the nation that comes out,” using the article on the noun, and the active participle in the attributive adjective usage.

[22:11]  ²² tn Here the infinitive construct is used to express the object or complement of the verb “to be able” (it answers the question of what he will be able to do).

[22:11]  ²³ tn The verb is the Piel perfect with vav (ו) consecutive. It either carries the force of an imperfect tense, or it may be subordinated to the preceding verbs.

[22:31]  ²⁵ tn The Hishtaphel verb חָוָה (khavah) – שָׁחָה (shakhah) with metathesis – has a basic idea of “bow oneself low to the ground,” and perhaps in some cases the idea of “coil up.” This is the normal posture of prayer and of deep humility in the ancient religious world.

[23:27]  ²⁹ tn Heb “be pleasing in the eyes of God.”

[23:27]  ³⁰ 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.

[24:2]  ³³ tn Heb “living according to their tribes.”

[27:14]  ³⁷ tn The preposition on the relative pronoun has the force of “because of the fact that.”

[27:14]  ³⁸ tn The verb is the second masculine plural form.

[27:14]  ³⁹ tn Heb “mouth.”

[27:14]  ⁴⁰ sn Using the basic meaning of the word קָדַשׁ (qadash, “to be separate, distinct, set apart”), we can understand better what Moses failed to do. He was supposed to have acted in a way that would have shown God to be distinct, different, holy. Instead, he gave the impression that God was capricious and hostile – very human. The leader has to be aware of what image he is conveying to the people.

[32:5]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “eyes.”

[32:5]  ⁴² tn The verb is the Hiphil jussive from עָבַר (’avar, “to cross over”). The idea of “cause to cross” or “make us cross” might be too harsh, but “take across” with the rest of the nation is what they are trying to avoid.

[32:5]  ⁴³ tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[32:13]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “in the eyes of.”

[32:13]  ⁴⁶ tn The verb is difficult to translate, since it has the idea of “complete, finish” (תָּמָם, tamam). It could be translated “consumed” in this passage (so KJV, ASV); NASB “was destroyed.”

[36:6]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “the word that.”

[36:6]  ⁵⁰ tn The idiom again is “let them be for wives for….”

[36:6]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “to the one who is good in their eyes.”