Numbers 6:23

6:23 “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is the way ¹  you are to bless ²  the Israelites. Say ³  to them:

Numbers 22:12

22:12 But God said to Balaam, “You must not go with them; you must not curse the people, ⁴  for they are blessed.” ⁵ 

[6:23]  ¹ tn Or “thus.”

[6:23]  ² tn The Piel imperfect has the nuance of instruction. The particle “thus” explains that the following oracle is the form to use.

[6:23]  ³ tn Here is the only use of the verb אָמַר (’amar) as an infinitive absolute; it functions as a verb form, an imperative or an imperfect of instruction. Several commentators have attempted to emend the text to get around the difficulty, but such emendations are unnecessary.

[22:12]  ⁴ tn The two verbs are negated imperfects; they have the nuance of prohibition: You must not go and you must not curse.

[22:12]  ⁵ tn The word בָּרוּךְ (barukh) is the Qal passive participle, serving here as the predicate adjective after the supplied verb “to be.” The verb means “enrich,” in any way, materially, spiritually, physically. But the indication here is that the blessing includes the promised blessing of the patriarchs, a blessing that gave Israel the land. See further, C. Westermann, Blessing in the Bible and the Life of the Church (OBT).