Numbers 5:9

5:9 Every offering ¹  of all the Israelites’ holy things that they bring to the priest will be his.

Numbers 14:23

14:23 they will by no means ²  see the land that I swore to their fathers, nor will any of them who despised me see it.

Numbers 16:34

16:34 All the Israelites ³  who were around them fled at their cry, ⁴  for they said, “What if ⁵  the earth swallows us too?”

Numbers 19:15

19:15 And every open container that has no covering fastened on it is unclean.

Numbers 19:22

19:22 And whatever the unclean person touches will be unclean, and the person who touches it will be unclean until evening.’”

Numbers 23:6

23:6 So he returned to him, and he was still ⁶  standing by his burnt offering, he and all the princes of Moab.

Numbers 30:13

30:13 “Any vow or sworn obligation that would bring affliction to her, ⁷  her husband can confirm or nullify. ⁸ 

Numbers 31:13

31:13 Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the community went out to meet them outside the camp.

Numbers 31:17-18

31:17 Now therefore kill every boy, ⁹  and kill every woman who has had sexual intercourse with a man. ¹⁰  31:18 But all the young women ¹¹  who have not had sexual intercourse with a man ¹²  will be yours. ¹³ 

Numbers 32:26

32:26 Our children, our wives, our flocks, and all our livestock will be there in the cities of Gilead,

[5:9]  ¹ tn The Hebrew word תְּרוּמָה (tÿrumah) seems to be a general word for any offering that goes to the priests (see J. Milgrom, Studies in Cultic Theology and Terminology [SJLA 36], 159-72).

[14:23]  ² tn The word אִם (’im) indicates a negative oath formula: “if” means “they will not.” It is elliptical. In a human oath one would be saying: “The Lord do to me if they see…,” meaning “they will by no means see.” Here God is swearing that they will not see the land.

[16:34]  ³ tn Heb “all Israel.”

[16:34]  ⁴ tn Heb “voice.”

[16:34]  ⁵ tn Heb “lest.”

[23:6]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew text draws the vividness of the scene with the deictic particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) – Balaam returned, and there he was, standing there.

[30:13]  ⁵ tn The sentence uses the infinitive construct לְעַנֹּת (lÿ’annot, “to afflict”), which is the same word used in the instructions for the day of atonement in which people are to afflict themselves (their souls). The case here may be that the woman would take a religious vow on such an occasion to humble herself, to mortify her flesh, to abstain from certain things, perhaps even sexual relations within marriage.

[30:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “or her husband can nullify.”

[31:17]  ⁶ tn Heb “every male among the little ones.”

[31:17]  ⁷ tn Heb “every woman who has known [a] man by lying with a man.”

[31:18]  ⁷ tn Or “girls.” The Hebrew indicates they would be female children, making the selection easy.

[31:18]  ⁸ tn Heb “who have not known [a] man by lying with a man.”

[31:18]  ⁹ sn Many contemporary scholars see this story as fictitious, composed by the Jews during the captivity. According to this interpretation, the spoils of war here indicate the wealth of the Jews in captivity, which was to be given to the Levites and priests for the restoration of the sanctuary in Jerusalem. The conclusion drawn from this interpretation is that returning Jews had the same problem as the earlier ones: to gain a foothold in the land. Against this interpretation of the account is a lack of hard evidence, a lack which makes this interpretation appear contrived and subjective. If this was the intent of a later writer, he surely could have stated this more clearly than by making up such a story.