Numbers 9:19

9:19 When the cloud remained over the tabernacle many days, then the Israelites obeyed the instructions ¹  of the Lord and did not journey.

Genesis 26:5

26:5 All this will come to pass ²  because Abraham obeyed me ³  and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” ⁴ 

Joshua 22:3

22:3 You have not abandoned your fellow Israelites ⁵  this entire time, ⁶  right up to this very day. You have completed the task given you by the Lord your God. ⁷ 

Ezekiel 44:8

44:8 You have not kept charge of my holy things, but you have assigned foreigners ⁸  to keep charge of my sanctuary for you.

Zechariah 3:7

3:7 “The Lord who rules over all says, ‘If you live ⁹  and work according to my requirements, you will be able to preside over my temple ¹⁰  and attend to my courtyards, and I will allow you to come and go among these others who are standing by you.

[9:19]  ¹ tn This is the same Hebrew expression that was used earlier for the Levites “keeping their charge” or more clearly, “fulfilling their obligations” to take care of the needs of the people and the sanctuary. It is a general expression using שָׁמַר (shamar) followed by its cognate noun מִשְׁמֶרֶת (mishmeret).

[26:5]  ² tn The words “All this will come to pass” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for stylistic reasons.

[26:5]  ³ tn Heb “listened to my voice.”

[26:5]  ⁴ sn My charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. The language of this verse is clearly interpretive, for Abraham did not have all these laws. The terms are legal designations for sections of the Mosaic law and presuppose the existence of the law. Some Rabbinic views actually conclude that Abraham had fulfilled the whole law before it was given (see m. Qiddushin 4:14). Some scholars argue that this story could only have been written after the law was given (C. Westermann, Genesis, 2:424-25). But the simplest explanation is that the narrator (traditionally taken to be Moses the Lawgiver) elaborated on the simple report of Abraham’s obedience by using terms with which the Israelites were familiar. In this way he depicts Abraham as the model of obedience to God’s commands, whose example Israel should follow.

[22:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “your brothers” (also in vv. 4, 7), but this does not refer to siblings or necessarily even to relatives. It refers to the Israelites of the remaining tribes.

[22:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “these many days.”

[22:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “you have kept the charge of the command of the Lord your God.”

[44:8]  ⁸ tc Instead of an energic nun (ן), the text may have read a third masculine plural suffix ם (mem), “them,” which was confused with ן (nun) in the old script. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:621.

[3:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “walk,” a frequent biblical metaphor for lifestyle or conduct; TEV “If you [+ truly CEV] obey.” To “walk” in the ways of the Lord is to live life as he intends (cf. Deut 8:6; 10:12-22; 28:9).

[3:7]  ¹⁰ sn The statement you will be able to preside over my temple (Heb “house,” a reference to the Jerusalem temple) is a hint of the increasingly important role the high priest played in the postexilic Jewish community, especially in the absence of a monarchy. It also suggests the messianic character of the eschatological priesthood in which the priest would have royal prerogatives.