Numbers 9:2

9:2 “The Israelites are to observe ¹  the Passover ²  at its appointed time. ³ 

Numbers 9:4

9:4 So Moses instructed ⁴  the Israelites to observe ⁵  the Passover.

Numbers 28:16

Passover and Unleavened Bread

28:16 “‘On the fourteenth day of the first month is the Lord’s Passover.

Numbers 9:14

9:14 If a resident foreigner lives ⁶  among you and wants to keep ⁷  the Passover to the Lord, he must do so according to the statute of the Passover, and according to its custom. You must have ⁸  the same ⁹  statute for the resident foreigner ¹⁰  and for the one who was born in the land.’”

Numbers 9:12

9:12 They must not leave any of it until morning, nor break any of its bones; they must observe it in accordance with every statute of the Passover.

Numbers 9:5-6

9:5 And they observed the Passover ¹¹  on the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight in the wilderness of Sinai; in accordance with all that the Lord had commanded Moses, so the Israelites did.

9:6 It happened that some men ¹²  who were ceremonially defiled ¹³  by the dead body of a man ¹⁴  could not keep ¹⁵  the Passover on that day, so they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day.

Numbers 9:10

9:10 “Tell the Israelites, ‘If any ¹⁶  of you or of your posterity become ceremonially defiled by touching a dead body, or are on a journey far away, then he may ¹⁷  observe the Passover to the Lord.

Numbers 9:13

9:13 But ¹⁸  the man who is ceremonially clean, and was not on a journey, and fails ¹⁹  to keep the Passover, that person must be cut off from his people. ²⁰  Because he did not bring the Lord’s offering at its appointed time, that man must bear his sin. ²¹ 

Numbers 33:3

33:3 They departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the day ²²  after the Passover the Israelites went out defiantly ²³  in plain sight ²⁴  of all the Egyptians.

[9:2]  ¹ tn The verb is simply “to do; to make” (עָשָׂה [’asah] in the jussive). It must have the idea here of “to perform; to keep; to observe” the ritual of the Passover.

[9:2]  ² sn For a detailed study note on the Passover, see the discussion with the original institution in Exod 12. The word פֶּסַח (pesakh) – here in pause and with the article – has become the technical name for the spring festival of Israel. In Exod 12 the name is explained by the use of the verb “to pass over” (עָבַר, ’avar), indicating that the angel of death would pass over the house with the blood applied. Many scholarly attempts have been made to supply the etymology of the word, but none has been compelling enough to be accepted by a large number of biblical scholars. For general literature on the Passover, see J. B. Segal, The Hebrew Passover, as well as the Bible dictionaries and encyclopedias.

[9:2]  ³ tc The Greek text uses a plural here but the singular in vv. 7 and 13; the Smr uses the plural in all three places.

[9:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “spoke to.”

[9:4]  ⁵ tn The infinitive construct functions as the direct object of the preceding verb (a Hebrew complementary usage), answering the question of what he said.

[9:14]  ⁷ tn The words translated “resident foreigner” and “live” are from the same Hebrew root, גּוּר (gur), traditionally translated “to sojourn.” The “sojourner” who “sojourns” is a foreigner, a resident alien, who lives in the land as a temporary resident with rights of land ownership.

[9:14]  ⁸ tn The verb is the simple perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive. It is therefore the equivalent to the imperfect that comes before it. The desiderative imperfect fits this usage well, since the alien is not required to keep the feast, but may indeed desire to do so.

[9:14]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew text has “there will be to you,” which is the way of expressing possession in Hebrew. Since this is legal instruction, the imperfect tense must be instruction or legislation.

[9:14]  ¹⁰ tn Or “you must have one statute.”

[9:14]  ¹¹ tn The conjunction is used here to specify the application of the law: “and for the resident foreigner, and for the one…” indicates “both for the resident foreigner and the one who….”

[9:5]  ¹⁰ tc The LXX omits this first clause; it also omits “at twilight.”

[9:6]  ¹³ tn In the Hebrew text the noun has no definite article, and so it signifies “some” or “certain” men.

[9:6]  ¹⁴ tn The meaning, of course, is to be ceremonially unclean, and therefore disqualified from entering the sanctuary.

[9:6]  ¹⁵ tn Or “a human corpse” (so NAB, NKJV). So also in v.7; cf. v. 10.

[9:6]  ¹⁶ tn This clause begins with the vav (ו) conjunction and negative before the perfect tense. Here is the main verb of the sentence: They were not able to observe the Passover. The first part of the verse provides the explanation for their problem.

[9:10]  ¹⁶ tn This sense is conveyed by the repetition of “man” – “if a man, a man becomes unclean.”

[9:10]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁹ tn The disjunctive vav (ו) signals a contrastive clause here: “but the man” on the other hand….

[9:13]  ²⁰ 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]  ²¹ 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]  ²² 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.

[33:3]  ²² tn Heb “morrow.”

[33:3]  ²³ tn Heb “with a high hand”; the expression means “defiantly; boldly” or “with confidence.” The phrase is usually used for arrogant sin and pride, the defiant fist, as it were. The image of the high hand can also mean the hand raised to deliver the blow (Job 38:15).

[33:3]  ²⁴ tn Heb “in the eyes.”