Numbers 9:20-21

9:20 When ¹  the cloud remained over the tabernacle a number of days, ²  they remained camped according to the Lord’s commandment, ³  and according to the Lord’s commandment they would journey. 9:21 And when ⁴  the cloud remained only ⁵  from evening until morning, when the cloud was taken up ⁶  the following morning, then they traveled on. Whether by day or by night, when the cloud was taken up they traveled.

[9:20]  ¹ tn The sentence uses וְיֵשׁ (vÿyesh) followed by a noun clause introduced with אֲשֶׁר (’asher) to express an existing situation; it is best translated as an adverbial clause of time: “and it was when the cloud was….”

[9:20]  ² tn The word “number” is in apposition to the word “days” to indicate that their stay was prolonged for quite a few days.

[9:20]  ³ tn Heb “mouth of the Lord.”

[9:21]  ⁴ tn The construction is the same in the preceding verse.

[9:21]  ⁵ tn “Only” is supplied to reflect the contrast between the two verses.

[9:21]  ⁶ tn The construction in this half of the verse uses two vav (ו) consecutive clauses. The first is subordinated to the second as a temporal clause: “when…then….”