Numbers 9:10

9:10 “Tell the Israelites, ‘If any ¹  of you or of your posterity become ceremonially defiled by touching a dead body, or are on a journey far away, then he may ²  observe the Passover to the Lord.

Numbers 9:13

9:13 But ³  the man who is ceremonially clean, and was not on a journey, and fails ⁴  to keep the Passover, that person must be cut off from his people. ⁵  Because he did not bring the Lord’s offering at its appointed time, that man must bear his sin. ⁶ 

Numbers 20:17

20:17 Please let us pass through ⁷  your country. We will not pass through the fields or through the vineyards, nor will we drink water from any well. We will go by the King’s Highway; ⁸  we will not turn to the right or the left until we have passed through your region.’” ⁹ 

Numbers 22:22

God Opposes Balaam

22:22 Then God’s anger was kindled ¹⁰  because he went, and the angel of the Lord stood in the road to oppose ¹¹  him. Now he was riding on his donkey and his two servants were with him.

Numbers 22:32

22:32 The angel of the Lord said to him, “Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? Look, I came out to oppose you because what you are doing ¹²  is perverse before me. ¹³ 

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. ¹⁴  So now, if it is evil in your sight, ¹⁵  I will go back home.” ¹⁶ 

[9:10]  ¹ tn This sense is conveyed by the repetition of “man” – “if a man, a man becomes unclean.”

[9:10]  ² tn The perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive functions as the equivalent of an imperfect tense. In the apodosis of this conditional sentence, the permission nuance fits well.

[9:13]  ³ tn The disjunctive vav (ו) signals a contrastive clause here: “but the man” on the other hand….

[9:13]  ⁴ tn The verb חָדַל (khadal) means “to cease; to leave off; to fail.” The implication here is that it is a person who simply neglects to do it. It does not indicate that he forgot, but more likely that he made the decision to leave it undone.

[9:13]  ⁵ sn The pronouncement of such a person’s penalty is that his life will be cut off from his people. There are at least three possible interpretations for this: physical death at the hand of the community (G. B. Gray, Numbers [ICC], 84-85), physical and/or spiritual death at the hand of God (J. Milgrom, “A Prolegomenon to Lev 17:11,” JBL 90 [1971]: 154-55), or excommunication or separation from the community (R. A. Cole, Exodus [TOTC], 109). The direct intervention of God seem to be the most likely in view of the lack of directions for the community to follow. Excommunication from the camp in the wilderness would have been tantamount to a death sentence by the community, and so there really are just two views.

[9:13]  ⁶ tn The word for “sin” here should be interpreted to mean the consequences of his sin (so a metonymy of effect). Whoever willingly violates the Law will have to pay the consequences.

[20:17]  ⁵ tn The request is expressed by the use of the cohortative, “let us pass through.” It is the proper way to seek permission.

[20:17]  ⁶ sn This a main highway running from Damascus in the north to the Gulf of Aqaba, along the ridge of the land. Some scholars suggest that the name may have been given by the later Assyrians (see B. Obed, “Observations on Methods of Assyrian Rule in Transjordan after the Palestinian Campaign of Tiglathpileser III,” JNES 29 [1970]: 177-86). Bronze Age fortresses have been discovered along this highway, attesting to its existence in the time of Moses. The original name came from the king who developed the highway, probably as a trading road (see S. Cohen, IDB 3:35-36).

[20:17]  ⁷ tn Heb “borders.”

[22:22]  ⁷ sn God’s anger now seems to contradict the permission he gave Balaam just before this. Some commentators argue that God’s anger is a response to Balaam’s character in setting out – which the Bible does not explain. God saw in him greed and pleasure for the riches, which is why he was so willing to go.

[22:22]  ⁸ tn The word is שָׂטָן (satan, “to be an adversary, to oppose”).

[22:32]  ⁹ tn Heb “your way.”

[22:32]  ¹⁰ tn The verb יָרַט (yarat) occurs only here and in Job 16:11. Balaam is embarking on a foolish mission with base motives. The old rendering “perverse” is still acceptable.

[22:34]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ tn The verb is the cohortative from “return”: I will return [me].