Numbers 9:21

9:21 And when ¹  the cloud remained only ²  from evening until morning, when the cloud was taken up ³  the following morning, then they traveled on. Whether by day or by night, when the cloud was taken up they traveled.

Numbers 9:16

9:16 This is the way it used to be continually: The cloud would cover it by day, ⁴  and there was a fiery appearance by night.

Numbers 10:34

10:34 ⁵  And the cloud of the Lord was over them by day, when they traveled ⁶  from the camp.

Numbers 10:11-12

The Journey From Sinai to Kadesh

10:11 ⁷ On the twentieth day of the second month, in the second year, the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle of the testimony. ⁸  10:12 So the Israelites set out ⁹  on their journeys from the wilderness of Sinai; and the cloud settled in the wilderness of Paran.

Numbers 12:5

12:5 And the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the tent; he then called Aaron and Miriam, and they both came forward.

Numbers 9:17

9:17 Whenever the cloud was taken up ¹⁰  from the tabernacle, then after that the Israelites would begin their journey; and in whatever place ¹¹  the cloud settled, there the Israelites would make camp.

Numbers 14:14

14:14 then they will tell it to the inhabitants ¹²  of this land. They have heard that you, Lord, are among this people, that you, Lord, are seen face to face, ¹³  that your cloud stands over them, and that you go before them by day in a pillar of cloud and in a pillar of fire by night.

Numbers 9:15

The Leading of the Lord

9:15 ¹⁴ On ¹⁵  the day that the tabernacle was set up, ¹⁶  the cloud ¹⁷  covered the tabernacle – the tent of the testimony ¹⁸  – and from evening until morning there was ¹⁹  a fiery appearance ²⁰  over the tabernacle.

Numbers 9:18-20

9:18 At the commandment ²¹  of the Lord the Israelites would begin their journey, and at the commandment of the Lord they would make camp; as long as ²²  the cloud remained settled over the tabernacle they would camp. 9:19 When the cloud remained over the tabernacle many days, then the Israelites obeyed the instructions ²³  of the Lord and did not journey.

9:20 When ²⁴  the cloud remained over the tabernacle a number of days, ²⁵  they remained camped according to the Lord’s commandment, ²⁶  and according to the Lord’s commandment they would journey.

Numbers 12:10

12:10 When ²⁷  the cloud departed from above the tent, Miriam became ²⁸  leprous ²⁹  as snow. Then Aaron looked at ³⁰  Miriam, and she was leprous!

Numbers 16:42

16:42 When the community assembled ³¹  against Moses and Aaron, they turned toward the tent of meeting – and ³²  the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord appeared.

Numbers 9:22

9:22 Whether it was for two days, or a month, or a year, ³³  that the cloud prolonged its stay ³⁴  over the tabernacle, the Israelites remained camped without traveling; ³⁵  but when it was taken up, they traveled on.

Numbers 11:25

11:25 And the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to them, and he took some of the Spirit that was on Moses ³⁶  and put it on the seventy elders. When the Spirit rested on them, ³⁷  they prophesied, ³⁸  but did not do so again. ³⁹ 

[9:21]  ¹ tn The construction is the same in the preceding verse.

[9:21]  ² tn “Only” is supplied to reflect the contrast between the two verses.

[9:21]  ³ 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….”

[9:16]  ⁴ tc The MT lacks the words “by day,” but a number of ancient versions have this reading (e.g., Greek, Syriac, Tg. Ps.-J., Latin Vulgate).

[10:34]  ⁷ tc The scribes sensed that there was a dislocation with vv. 34-36, and so they used the inverted letters nun (נ) as brackets to indicate this.

[10:34]  ⁸ tn The adverbial clause of time is composed of the infinitive construct with a temporal preposition and a suffixed subjective genitive.

[10:11]  ¹⁰ sn This section is somewhat mechanical: It begins with an introduction (vv. 11, 12), and then begins with Judah (vv. 13-17), followed by the rest of the tribes (vv. 18-27), and finally closes with a summary (v. 28). The last few verses (vv. 29-36) treat the departure of Hobab.

[10:11]  ¹¹ tc Smr inserts a lengthy portion from Deut 1:6-8, expressing the command for Israel to take the land from the Amorites.

[10:12]  ¹³ sn The verb is the same as the noun: “they journeyed on their journeyings.” This underscores the point of their continual traveling.

[9:17]  ¹⁶ tn The verb in this initial temporal clause is the Niphal infinitive construct.

[9:17]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “in the place where it settled there”; the relative clause modifies the noun “place,” and the resumptive adverb completes the related idea – “which it settled there” means “where it settled.”

[14:14]  ¹⁹ tn The singular participle is to be taken here as a collective, representing all the inhabitants of the land.

[14:14]  ²⁰ tn “Face to face” is literally “eye to eye.” It only occurs elsewhere in Isa 52:8. This expresses the closest communication possible.

[9:15]  ²² sn This section (Num 9:15-23) recapitulates the account in Exod 40:34 but also contains some additional detail about the cloud that signaled Israel’s journeys. Here again material from the book of Exodus is used to explain more of the laws for the camp in motion.

[9:15]  ²³ tn Heb “and/now on the day.”

[9:15]  ²⁴ tn The construction uses the temporal expression with the Hiphil infinitive construct followed by the object, the tabernacle. “On the day of the setting up of the tabernacle” leaves the subject unstated, and so the entire clause may be expressed in the passive voice.

[9:15]  ²⁵ sn The explanation and identification of this cloud has been a subject of much debate. Some commentators have concluded that it was identical with the cloud that led the Israelites away from Egypt and through the sea, but others have made a more compelling case that this is a different phenomenon (see ZPEB 4:796). A number of modern scholars see the description as a retrojection from later, perhaps Solomonic times (see G. H. Davies, IDB 3:817). Others have tried to connect it with Ugaritic terminology, but unconvincingly (see T. W. Mann, “The Pillar of Cloud in the Reed Sea Narrative,” JBL 90 [1971]: 15-30; G. E. Mendenhall, The Tenth Generation, 32-66, 209-13; and R. Good, “Cloud Messengers?” UF 10 [1978]: 436-37).

[9:15]  ²⁶ sn The cloud apparently was centered over the tent, over the spot of the ark of the covenant in the most holy place. It thereafter spread over the whole tabernacle.

[9:15]  ²⁷ tn The imperfect tense in this and the next line should be classified as a customary imperfect, stressing incomplete action but in the past time – something that used to happen, or would happen.

[9:15]  ²⁸ tn Heb “like the appearance of fire.”

[9:18]  ²⁵ tn Heb “at the mouth of” (so also in vv. 20, 23).

[9:18]  ²⁶ tn Heb “all the days of – that the cloud settled over the tabernacle.” “All” is the adverbial accusative of time telling how long they camped in one spot – all. The word is then qualified by the genitive of the thing measured – “all of the days” – and this in turn is qualified by a noun clause functioning as a genitive after “days of.”

[9:19]  ²⁸ 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).

[9:20]  ³¹ 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]  ³² 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]  ³³ tn Heb “mouth of the Lord.”

[12:10]  ³⁴ tn The disjunctive vav (ו) is here introducing a circumstantial clause of time.

[12:10]  ³⁵ tn There is no verb “became” in this line. The second half of the line is introduced with the particle הִנֵה (hinneh, “look, behold”) in its archaic sense. This deictic use is intended to make the reader focus on Miriam as well.

[12:10]  ³⁶ sn The word “leprosy” and “leprous” covers a wide variety of skin diseases, and need not be limited to the actual disease of leprosy known today as Hansen’s disease. The description of it here has to do with snow, either the whiteness or the wetness. If that is the case then there would be open wounds and sores – like Job’s illness (see M. Noth, Numbers [OTL], 95-96).

[12:10]  ³⁷ tn Heb “turned to.”

[16:42]  ³⁷ tn The temporal clause is constructed with the temporal indicator (“and it was”) followed by the Niphal infinitive construct and preposition.

[16:42]  ³⁸ tn The verse uses וְהִנֵּה (vÿhinneh, “and behold”). This is the deictic particle – it is used to point things out, suddenly calling attention to them, as if the reader were there. The people turned to look toward the tent – and there is the cloud!

[9:22]  ⁴⁰ tn The MT has אוֹ־יָמִים (’o-yamim). Most translators use “or a year” to interpret this expression in view of the sequence of words leading up to it, as well as in comparison with passages like Judg 17:10 and 1 Sam 1:3 and 27:7. See also the uses in Gen 40:4 and 1 Kgs 17:15. For the view that it means four months, see F. S. North, “Four Month Season of the Hebrew Bible,” VT 11 (1961): 446-48.

[9:22]  ⁴¹ tn In the Hebrew text this sentence has a temporal clause using the preposition with the Hiphil infinitive construct of אָרַךְ (’arakh) followed by the subjective genitive, “the cloud.” But this infinitive is followed by the infinitive construct לִשְׁכֹּן (lishkon), the two of them forming a verbal hendiadys: “the cloud made long to stay” becomes “the cloud prolonged its stay.”

[9:22]  ⁴² tn Heb “and they would not journey”; the clause can be taken adverbially, explaining the preceding verbal clause.

[11:25]  ⁴³ tn Heb “on him”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:25]  ⁴⁴ tn The temporal clause is introduced by the temporal indicator וַיְהִי (vayÿhi), which need not be translated. It introduces the time of the infinitive as past time narrative. The infinitive construct is from נוּחַ (nuakh, “to rest”). The figurative expression of the Spirit resting upon them indicates the temporary indwelling and empowering by the Spirit in their lives.

[11:25]  ⁴⁵ tn The text may mean that these men gave ecstatic utterances, much like Saul did when the Spirit came upon him and he made the same prophetic utterances (see 1 Sam 10:10-13). But there is no strong evidence for this (see K. L. Barker, “Zechariah,” EBC 7:605-6). In fact there is no consensus among scholars as to the origin and meaning of the verb “prophesy” or the noun “prophet.” It has something to do with speech, being God’s spokesman or spokeswoman or making predictions or authoritative utterances or ecstatic utterances. It certainly does mean that the same Holy Spirit, the same divine provision that was for Moses to enable him to do the things that God had commanded him to do, was now given to them. It would have included wisdom and power with what they were saying and doing – in a way that was visible and demonstrable to the people! The people needed to know that the same provision was given to these men, authenticating their leadership among the clans. And so it could not simply be a change in their understanding and wisdom.

[11:25]  ⁴⁶ tn The final verb of the clause stresses that this was not repeated: “they did not add” is the literal rendering of וְלֹא יָסָפוּ (vÿlo’ yasafu). It was a one-time spiritual experience associated with their installation.