Numbers 1:5

1:5 Now these are the names of the men who are to help ¹  you:

from ²  Reuben, Elizur son of Shedeur;

Numbers 11:28

11:28 Joshua son of Nun, the servant ³  of Moses, one of his choice young men, ⁴  said, ⁵  “My lord Moses, stop them!” ⁶ 

Numbers 14:37

14:37 those men who produced the evil report about the land, died by the plague before the Lord.

Numbers 31:4

31:4 You must send to the battle a thousand men from every tribe throughout all the tribes of Israel.” ⁷ 

Numbers 31:32

31:32 The spoil that remained of the plunder which the fighting men ⁸  had gathered ⁹  was 675,000 sheep,

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¹ tn The verb is עָמַד (’amad, “to stand”). It literally then is, “who will stand with you.” They will help in the count, but they will also serve as leaders as the camp moves from place to place.

² tn The preposition lamed (ל) prefixed to the name could be taken in the sense of “from,” but could also be “with regard to” (specification).

³ 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.

⁴ 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.”

⁵ tn Heb “answered and said.”

⁶ 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 Lord’s plan to let other share the burden of leadership.

⁷ sn Some commentators argue that given the size of the nation (which they reject) the small number for the army is a sign of the unrealistic character of the story. The number is a round number, but it is also a holy war, and God would give them the victory. They are beginning to learn here, and at Jericho, and later against these Midianites under Gideon, that God does not want or need a large army in order to obtain victory.

⁸ tn Heb “people.”

⁹ tn Heb “had plundered.”