4:29 “As for the sons of Merari, you are to number them by their families and by their clans.
5:23 “‘Then the priest will write these curses on a scroll and then scrape them off into the bitter water. 6
20:13 These are the waters of Meribah, because the Israelites contended with the Lord, and his holiness was maintained 25 among them.
20:20 But he said, “You may not pass through.” Then Edom came out against them 26 with a large and powerful force. 27
23:22 God brought them 28 out of Egypt.
They have, as it were, the strength of a wild bull. 29
1 sn The use of the verb קָרַב (qarav) forms an interesting wordplay in the passage. The act of making an offering is described by this verb, as was the reference to the priests’ offering of strange fire. Now the ceremonial presentation of the priests is expressed by the same word – they are being offered to God.
2 tn The verb literally means “make it [the tribe] stand” (וְהַעֲמַדְתָּ אֹתוֹ, vÿha’amadta ’oto). The verb is the Hiphil perfect with a vav (ו) consecutive; it will take the same imperative nuance as the form before it, but follow in sequence (“and then”). This refers to the ceremonial presentation in which the tribe would take its place before Aaron, that is, stand before him and await their assignments. The Levites will function more like a sacred guard than anything else, for they had to protect and care for the sanctuary when it was erected and when it was transported (see J. Milgrom, Studies in Levitical Terminology, 8-10).
3 tn The verb וְשֵׁרְתוּ (vÿsherÿtu) is the Piel perfect with a vav (ו) consecutive; it carries the same volitional force as the preceding verb forms, but may here be subordinated in the sequence to express the purpose or result of the preceding action.
4 tn Heb “at the mouth of the
5 tn The Pual perfect may be given the past perfect translation in this sentence because the act of commanding preceded the act of numbering.
6 sn The words written on the scroll were written with a combination of ingredients mixed into an ink. The idea is probably that they would have been washed or flaked off into the water, so that she drank the words of the curse – it became a part of her being.
7 tn Or “thus.”
8 tn The Piel imperfect has the nuance of instruction. The particle “thus” explains that the following oracle is the form to use.
9 tn Here is the only use of the verb אָמַר (’amar) as an infinitive absolute; it functions as a verb form, an imperative or an imperfect of instruction. Several commentators have attempted to emend the text to get around the difficulty, but such emendations are unnecessary.
10 tn The verb is simply “stand,” but in the more general sense of waiting to hear the answer.
11 tn The cohortative may be subordinated to the imperative: “stand…[that I] may hear.”
12 tn The perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive is here subordinated as a temporal clause to the following similar verbal construction.
13 tn The verb תָקַע (taqa’) means “to strike, drive, blow a trumpet.”
14 tn Heb “the assembly shall assemble themselves.”
15 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.
16 tn The adverbial clause of time is composed of the infinitive construct with a temporal preposition and a suffixed subjective genitive.
17 tn The name תַּבְעֵרָה (tav’erah) is given to the spot as a commemorative of the wilderness experience. It is explained by the formula using the same verbal root, “to burn.” Such naming narratives are found dozens of times in the OT, and most frequently in the Pentateuch. The explanation is seldom an exact etymology, and so in the literature is called a popular etymology. It is best to explain the connection as a figure of speech, a paronomasia, which is a phonetic wordplay that may or may not be etymologically connected. Usually the name is connected to the explanation by a play on the verbal root – here the preterite explaining the noun. The significance of commemorating the place by such a device is to “burn” it into the memory of Israel. The narrative itself would be remembered more easily by the name and its motif. The namings in the wilderness wanderings remind the faithful of unbelief, and warn us all not to murmur as they murmured. See further A. P. Ross, “Paronomasia and Popular Etymologies in the Naming Narrative of the Old Testament,” Ph.D. diss., University of Cambridge, 1982.
18 tn The form is the Piel participle מְשָׁרֵת (mÿsharet), meaning “minister, servant, assistant.” The word has a loftier meaning than the ordinary word for slave.
19 tn The verb is בָּחַר (bakhar, “to choose”); here the form is the masculine plural participle with a suffix, serving as the object of the preposition מִן (min). It would therefore mean “[one of] his chosen men,” or “[one of] his choice men.”
20 tn Heb “answered and said.”
21 sn The effort of Joshua is to protect Moses’ prerogative as leader by stopping these men in the camp from prophesying. Joshua did not understand the significance in the
22 tn The relative clause is literally, “which I am causing you to enter there.” The final adverb is resumptive, and must be joined with the relative pronoun.
23 tn The verb is the Hiphil perfect of נוּחַ (nuakh, “to rest”), and so “to set at rest, lay, place, put.” The form with the vav (ו) consecutive continues the instruction of the previous verse.
24 tn The Hebrew text simply reads “the covenant” or “the testimony.”
25 tn The form is unusual – it is the Niphal preterite, and not the normal use of the Piel/Pual stem for “sanctify/sanctified.” The basic idea of “he was holy” has to be the main idea, but in this context it refers to the fact that through judging Moses God was making sure people ensured his holiness among them. The word also forms a wordplay on the name Kadesh.
26 tn Heb “to meet him.”
27 tn Heb “with many [heavy] people and with a strong hand.” The translation presented above is interpretive, but that is what the line means. It was a show of force, numbers and weapons, to intimidate the Israelites.
28 tn The form is the Hiphil participle from יָצַא (yatsa’) with the object suffix. He is the one who brought them out.
29 sn The expression is “the horns of the wild ox” (KJV “unicorn”). The point of the image is strength or power. Horns are also used in the Bible to represent kingship (see Pss 89 and 132).
30 sn The Benjaminites increased from 35,400 to 45,600. The Greek version has here 35,500.
31 sn The Naphtalites decreased from 53,400 to 45,400.
32 tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.