Discovery Box| (0.43200537254902) | (Num 11:12) |
1 sn The questions Moses asks are rhetorical. He is actually affirming that they are not his people, that he did not produce them, but now is to support them. His point is that God produced this nation, but has put the burden of caring for their needs on him. |
| (0.43200537254902) | (Num 11:17) |
1 tn The imperfect tense here is to be classified as a final imperfect, showing the result of this action by God. Moses would be relieved of some of the responsibility when these others were given the grace to understand and to resolve cases. |
| (0.43200537254902) | (Num 11:31) |
1 sn The irony in this chapter is expressed in part by the use of the word רוּחַ (ruakh). In the last episode it clearly meant the Spirit of the |
| (0.43200537254902) | (Num 11:32) |
3 tn The verb (a preterite) is followed by the infinitive absolute of the same root, to emphasize the action of spreading out the quail. Although it is hard to translate the expression, it indicates that they spread these quail out all over the area. The vision of them spread all over was evidence of God’s abundant provision for their needs. |
| (0.43200537254902) | (Num 14:23) |
1 tn The word אִם (’im) indicates a negative oath formula: “if” means “they will not.” It is elliptical. In a human oath one would be saying: “The |
| (0.43200537254902) | (Num 14:25) |
1 sn The judgment on Israel is that they turn back to the desert and not attack the tribes in the land. So a parenthetical clause is inserted to state who was living there. They would surely block the entrance to the land from the south – unless God removed them. And he is not going to do that for Israel. |
| (0.43200537254902) | (Num 16:30) |
1 tn The verb בָּרָא (bara’) is normally translated “create” in the Bible. More specifically it means to fashion or make or do something new and fresh. Here the verb is joined with its cognate accusative to underscore that this will be so different everyone will know it is of God. |
| (0.43200537254902) | (Num 17:8) |
2 sn There is no clear answer why the tribe of Levi had used an almond staff. The almond tree is one of the first to bud in the spring, and its white blossoms are a beautiful sign that winter is over. Its name became a name for “watcher”; Jeremiah plays on this name for God’s watching over his people (God%27s&tab=notes" ver="">1:11-12). |
| (0.43200537254902) | (Num 18:14) |
1 tn The “ban” (חֵרֶם, kherem) in Hebrew describes that which is exclusively the |
| (0.43200537254902) | (Num 20:1) |
5 sn The death of Miriam is recorded without any qualifications or epitaph. In her older age she had been self-willed and rebellious, and so no doubt humbled by the vivid rebuke from God. But she had made her contribution from the beginning. |
| (0.43200537254902) | (Num 22:38) |
2 tn The Piel infinitive construct (without the preposition) serves as the object of the verb “to be able.” The whole question is rhetorical – he is saying that he will not be able to say anything God does not allow him to say. |
| (0.43200537254902) | (Num 23:7) |
4 sn The opening lines seem to be a formula for the seer to identify himself and the occasion for the oracle. The tension is laid out early; Balaam knows that God has intended to bless Israel, but he has been paid to curse them. |
| (0.43200537254902) | (Num 23:9) |
2 sn Balaam reports his observation of the nation of Israel spread out below him in the valley. Based on that vision, and the |
| (0.43200537254902) | (Num 23:10) |
3 sn The reference in the oracle is back to Gen 13:16, which would not be clear to Balaam. But God had described their growth like the dust of the earth. Here it is part of the description of the vast numbers. |
| (0.43200537254902) | (Num 23:21) |
3 tn The word means “wrong, misery, trouble.” It can mean the idea of “disaster” as well, for that too is trouble. Here it is parallel to “iniquity” and so has the connotation of something that would give God reason to curse them. |
| (0.43200537254902) | (Num 23:23) |
1 tn Or “in Jacob.” But given the context the meaning “against” is preferable. The words describe two techniques of consulting God; the first has to do with observing omens in general (“enchantments”), and the second with casting lots or arrows of the like (“divinations” [Ezek 21:26]). See N. H. Snaith, Leviticus and Numbers (NCB), 295-96. |
| (0.43200537254902) | (Num 25:4) |
2 sn The leaders who were guilty were commanded by God to be publicly exposed by hanging, probably a reference to impaling, but possibly some other form of harsh punishment. The point was that the swaying of their executed bodies would be a startling warning for any who so blatantly set the Law aside and indulged in apostasy through pagan sexual orgies. |
| (0.43200537254902) | (Num 25:11) |
2 tn The word for “zeal” now occurs a third time. While some English versions translate this word here as “jealousy” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV), it carries the force of God’s passionate determination to defend his rights and what is right about the covenant and the community and parallels the “zeal” that Phinehas had just demonstrated. |
| (0.43200537254902) | (Num 31:2) |
2 sn The war was commanded by the |
| (0.43200537254902) | (Num 31:20) |
1 sn These verses are a reminder that taking a life, even if justified through holy war, still separates one from the holiness of God. It is part of the violation of the fallen world, and only through the ritual of purification can one be once again made fit for the presence of the |
