Numbers 5:19

5:19 Then the priest will put the woman under oath and say to the her, “If no other ¹  man has had sexual relations with you, and if you have not gone astray and become defiled while under your husband’s authority, may you be free from this bitter water that brings a curse. ² 

Numbers 5:27

5:27 When he has made her drink the water, then, if she has defiled herself and behaved unfaithfully toward her husband, the water that brings a curse will enter her to produce bitterness – her abdomen will swell, her thigh will fall away, and the woman will become a curse among her people.

Numbers 11:12

11:12 Did I conceive this entire people? ³  Did I give birth to ⁴  them, that you should say to me, ‘Carry them in your arms, as a foster father ⁵  bears a nursing child,’ to the land which you swore to their fathers?

Numbers 15:24

15:24 then if anything is done unintentionally ⁶  without the knowledge of ⁷  the community, the whole community must prepare one young bull for a burnt offering – for a pleasing aroma to the Lord – along with its grain offering and its customary drink offering, and one male goat for a purification offering.

Numbers 22:18

22:18 Balaam replied ⁸  to the servants of Balak, “Even if Balak would give me his palace full of silver and gold, I could not transgress the commandment ⁹  of the Lord my God ¹⁰  to do less or more.

Numbers 22:20

22:20 God came to Balaam that night, and said to him, “If the men have come to call you, get up and go with them; but the word that I will say to you, that you must do.”

Numbers 22:34

22:34 Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, “I have sinned, for I did not know that you stood against me in the road. ¹¹  So now, if it is evil in your sight, ¹²  I will go back home.” ¹³ 

Numbers 24:13

24:13 ‘If Balak would give me his palace full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond ¹⁴  the commandment ¹⁵  of the Lord to do either good or evil of my own will, ¹⁶  but whatever the Lord tells me I must speak’?

Numbers 26:65

26:65 For the Lord had said of them, “They will surely die in the wilderness.” And there was not left a single man of them, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.

Numbers 32:11

32:11 ‘Because they have not followed me wholeheartedly, ¹⁷  not ¹⁸  one of the men twenty years old and upward ¹⁹  who came from Egypt will see the land that I swore to give ²⁰  to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,

Numbers 32:17

32:17 but we will maintain ourselves in armed readiness ²¹  and go before the Israelites until whenever we have brought them to their place. Our descendants will be living in fortified towns as a protection against ²²  the inhabitants of the land.

Numbers 32:29

32:29 Moses said to them: “If the Gadites and the Reubenites cross the Jordan with you, each one equipped for battle in the Lord’s presence, and you conquer the land, ²³  then you must allot them the territory of Gilead as their possession.

Numbers 35:33

35:33 “You must not pollute the land where you live, for blood defiles the land, and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed there, except by the blood of the person who shed it.

[5:19]  ¹ tn The word “other” is implied, since the woman would not be guilty of having sexual relations with her own husband.

[5:19]  ² sn Although there would be stress involved, a woman who was innocent would have nothing to hide, and would be confident. The wording of the priest’s oath is actually designed to enable the potion to keep her from harm and not produce the physical effects it was designed to do.

[11:12]  ³ sn The questions Moses asks are rhetorical. He is actually affirming that they are not his people, that he did not produce them, but now is to support them. His point is that God produced this nation, but has put the burden of caring for their needs on him.

[11:12]  ⁴ tn The verb means “to beget, give birth to.” The figurative image from procreation completes the parallel question, first the conceiving and second the giving birth to the nation.

[11:12]  ⁵ tn The word אֹמֵן (’omen) is often translated “nurse,” but the form is a masculine form and would better be rendered as a “foster parent.” This does not work as well, though, with the יֹנֵק (yoneq), the “sucking child.” The two metaphors are simply designed to portray the duty of a parent to a child as a picture of Moses’ duty for the nation. The idea that it portrays God as a mother pushes it too far (see M. Noth, Numbers [OTL], 86-87).

[15:24]  ⁵ tn The idea of לִשְׁגָגָה (lishgagah) seems to be that of “inadvertence” or “without intent.” The text gives no indication of how this offense might be committed, or what it might include. It probably describes any transgressions done in ignorance of the Law that involved a violation of tabernacle procedure or priestly protocol or social misdemeanor. Even though it was done unintentionally, it was still a violation and called for ritual purification.

[15:24]  ⁶ tn Heb “[away] from the eyes of the community.”

[22:18]  ⁷ tn Heb “answered and said.”

[22:18]  ⁸ tn Heb “mouth.”

[22:18]  ⁹ sn In the light of subsequent events one should not take too seriously that Balaam referred to Yahweh as his God. He is referring properly to the deity for which he is acting as the agent.

[22:34]  ⁹ sn Balaam is not here making a general confession of sin. What he is admitting to is a procedural mistake. The basic meaning of the word is “to miss the mark.” He now knows he took the wrong way, i.e., in coming to curse Israel.

[22:34]  ¹⁰ sn The reference is to Balaam’s way. He is saying that if what he is doing is so perverse, so evil, he will turn around and go home. Of course, it did not appear that he had much of a chance of going forward.

[22:34]  ¹¹ tn The verb is the cohortative from “return”: I will return [me].

[24:13]  ¹¹ tn Heb “I am not able to go beyond.”

[24:13]  ¹² tn Heb “mouth.”

[24:13]  ¹³ tn Heb “from my heart.”

[32:11]  ¹³ tn The clause is difficult; it means essentially that “they have not made full [their coming] after” the Lord.

[32:11]  ¹⁴ tn The sentence begins with “if they see….” This is the normal way for Hebrew to express a negative oath – “they will by no means see….” The sentence is elliptical; it is saying something like “[May God do so to me] if they see,” meaning they won’t see. Of course here God is taking the oath, which is an anthropomorphic act. He does not need to take an oath, and certainly could not swear by anyone greater, but it communicates to people his resolve.

[32:11]  ¹⁵ tc The LXX adds “those knowing bad and good.”

[32:11]  ¹⁶ tn The words “to give” are not in the Hebrew text but have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[32:17]  ¹⁵ tn The MT has חֻשִׁים (khushim); the verbal root is חוּשׁ (khush, “to make haste” or “hurry”). But in light of the Greek and Latin Vulgate the Hebrew should probably be emended to חֲמֻשִׁים (hamushim), a qal passive participle meaning “in battle array.” See further BDB 301 s.v. I חוּשׁ, BDB 332 s.v. חֲמֻשִׁים; HALOT 300 s.v. I חושׁ, חישׁ; HALOT 331 s.v. I חמשׁ.

[32:17]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “from before.”

[32:29]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and the land is subdued before you.”