2:17 “Then the tent of meeting with the camp of the Levites will travel in the middle of the camps. They will travel in the same order as they camped, each in his own place 6 under his standard.
2:34 So the Israelites did according to all that the Lord commanded Moses; that is the way 7 they camped under their standards, and that is the way they traveled, each with his clan and family.
3:4 Nadab and Abihu died 8 before the Lord 9 when they offered 10 strange 11 fire 12 before the Lord in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children. 13 So Eleazar and Ithamar ministered as priests 14 in the presence of 15 Aaron their father.
4:9 “They must take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand of the light, with its lamps, its wick-trimmers, its trays, and all its oil vessels, with which they service it.
9:20 When 31 the cloud remained over the tabernacle a number of days, 32 they remained camped according to the Lord’s commandment, 33 and according to the Lord’s commandment they would journey. 9:21 And when 34 the cloud remained only 35 from evening until morning, when the cloud was taken up 36 the following morning, then they traveled on. Whether by day or by night, when the cloud was taken up they traveled.
13:26 They came back 41 to Moses and Aaron and to the whole community of the Israelites in the wilderness of Paran at Kadesh. 42 They reported 43 to the whole community and showed the fruit of the land.
23:24 Indeed, the people will rise up like a lioness,
and like a lion raises himself up;
they will not lie down until they eat their 46 prey,
and drink the blood of the slain.” 47
24:8 God brought them out of Egypt.
They have, as it were, the strength of a young bull;
they will devour hostile people 48
and will break their bones
and will pierce them through with arrows.
1 tn The same verb translated “number” (פָּקַד, paqad) is now used to mean “appoint” (הַפְקֵד, hafqed), which focuses more on the purpose of the verbal action of numbering people. Here the idea is that the Levites were appointed to take care of the tabernacle. On the use of this verb with the Levites’ appointment, see M. Gertner, “The Masorah and the Levites,” VT 10 (1960): 252.
2 tn The Hebrew name used here is מִשְׁכַּן הָעֵדֻת (mishkan ha’edut). The tabernacle or dwelling place of the
3 tn The imperfect tense here is an obligatory imperfect telling that they are bound to do this since they are appointed for this specific task.
4 tn The addition of the pronoun before the verb is emphatic – they are the ones who are to attend to the tabernacle. The verb used is שָׁרַת (sharat) in the Piel, indicating that they are to serve, minister to, attend to all the details about this shrine.
5 tn Heb “the tabernacle.” The pronoun (“it”) was used in the translation here for stylistic reasons.
6 tn The Hebrew expression is עַל־יָדוֹ (’al-yado, “upon his hand”). This clearly refers to a specifically designated place for each man.
7 tn The Hebrew word is כֵּן (ken, “thus, so”).
8 tn The verb form is the preterite with vav (ו) consecutive, literally “and Nadab died.” Some commentators wish to make the verb a past perfect, rendering it “and Nadab had died,” but this is not necessary. In tracing through the line from Aaron it simply reports that the first two sons died. The reference is to the event recorded in Lev 10 where the sons brought “strange” or foreign” fire to the sanctuary.
9 tc This initial clause is omitted in one Hebrew
10 tn The form בְּהַקְרִבָם (bÿhaqrivam) is the Hiphil infinitive construct functioning as a temporal clause: “when they brought near,” meaning, “when they offered.” The verb קָרַב (qarav) is familiar to students of the NT because of “corban” in Mark 7:11.
11 tn Or “prohibited.” See HALOT 279 s.v. זָר 3.
12 tn The expression אֵשׁ זָרָה (’esh zarah, “strange fire”) seems imprecise and has been interpreted numerous ways (see the helpful summary in J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC 4], 132-33). The infraction may have involved any of the following or a combination thereof: (1) using coals from some place other than the burnt offering altar (i.e., “unauthorized coals” according to J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:598; cf. Lev 16:12 and cf. “unauthorized person” [אִישׁ זָר, ’ish zar] in Num 16:40 [17:5 HT], NASB “layman”), (2) using the wrong kind of incense (cf. the Exod 30:9 regulation against “strange incense” [קְטֹרֶת זָרָה, qÿtoret zarah] on the incense altar and the possible connection to Exod 30:34-38), (3) performing an incense offering at an unprescribed time (B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 59), or (4) entering the Holy of Holies at an inappropriate time (Lev 16:1-2).
sn This event is narrated in Lev 10:1-7.
13 sn The two young priests had been cut down before they had children; the ranks of the family of Aaron were thereby cut in half in one judgment from God. The significance of the act of judgment was to show that the priests had to sanctify the
14 tn The verb is the Piel preterite from the root כָּהַן (kahan): “to function as a priest” or “to minister.”
15 tn The expression “in the presence of” can also mean “during the lifetime of” (see Gen 11:28; see also BDB 818 s.v. פָּנֶה II.7.a; cf. NASB, NIV, NCV, NRSV, TEV).
16 tn The word order is different in the Hebrew text: Do this…and they will live. Consequently, the verb “and they will live” is a perfect tense with a vav (ו) consecutive to express the future consequence of “doing this” for them.
17 tn The perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive continues the instruction for Aaron.
18 tn The distributive sense is obtained by the repetition, “a man” and “a man.”
19 tn The verb is the simple perfect tense – “he numbered them.” There is no expressed subject; therefore, the verb can be rendered as a passive.
20 tn Or “his burden.”
21 tn The passive form simply reads “those numbered by him.” Because of the cryptic nature of the word, some suggest reading a preterite, “and they were numbered.” This is supported by the Greek, Syriac, Targum, and Vulgate. It would follow in the emendation that the relative pronoun be changed to “just as” (כַּאֲשֶׁר, ka’asher). The MT is impossible the way it stands; it can only be rendered into smooth English by adding something that is missing.
22 tn Heb “the house of their fathers.”
23 tn The form is the Qal active participle from the verb “to stand” (עָמַד, ’amad). The form describes these leaders as “the ones standing over [the ones numbered].” The expression, along with the clear indication of the first census in chapter 1, shows that this was a supervisory capacity.
24 tn Heb “and they brought.”
25 sn For a discussion and drawings, see W. S. McCullough, IDB 1:540. But see also D. J. Wiseman, IBD 1:254.
26 tn The verb is the Piel perfect of שָׁרַת (sharat, “to serve, minister”). Here the form has the vav (ו) consecutive, and so is equal to the imperfect tense stressing permission. After the Levites reached the age of retirement, they were permitted to assist the others, but were not permitted to do the work themselves.
27 tn Heb “brothers,” but the meaning in this context is “fellow Levites.”
28 tn Heb “you shall do, make.”
29 tn Heb “at the mouth of” (so also in vv. 20, 23).
30 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.”
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….”
32 tn The word “number” is in apposition to the word “days” to indicate that their stay was prolonged for quite a few days.
33 tn Heb “mouth of the
34 tn The construction is the same in the preceding verse.
35 tn “Only” is supplied to reflect the contrast between the two verses.
36 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….”
37 tc The MT has the singular, but the ancient versions and Smr have the plural.
38 tn The preterite with vav (ו) consecutive is here subordinated to the following clause. The first verse gave the account of their journey over the whole land; this section focuses on what happened in the area of Hebron, which would be the basis for the false report.
39 sn These names are thought to be three clans that were in the Hebron area (see Josh 15:14; Judg 1:20). To call them descendants of Anak is usually taken to mean that they were large or tall people (2 Sam 21:18-22). They were ultimately driven out by Caleb.
40 sn The text now provides a brief historical aside for the readers. Zoan was probably the city of Tanis, although that is disputed today by some scholars. It was known in Egypt in the New Kingdom as “the fields of Tanis,” which corresponded to the “fields of Zoar” in the Hebrew Bible (Ps 78:12, 43).
41 tn The construction literally has “and they went and they entered,” which may be smoothed out as a verbal hendiadys, the one verb modifying the other.
42 sn Kadesh is Ain Qadeis, about 50 miles (83 km) south of Beer Sheba. It is called Kadesh-barnea in Num 32:8.
43 tn Heb “They brought back word”; the verb is the Hiphil preterite of שׁוּב (shuv).
44 tn Now the sentence uses the Niphal perfect with a vav (ו) consecutive from the same root לָוָה (lavah).
45 tn The word is “stranger, alien,” but it can also mean Israelites here.
46 tn The pronoun “their” has been supplied for clarity; it is not present in the Hebrew text.
47 sn The oracle compares Israel first to a lion, or better, lioness, because she does the tracking and hunting of food while the lion moves up and down roaring and distracting the prey. But the lion is also the traditional emblem of Judah, Dan and Gad, as well as the symbol of royalty. So this also supports the motif of royalty as well as power for Israel.
48 tn Heb “they will devour nations,” their adversaries.
49 sn Here again we see that there was no unified empire, but Midianite tribal groups.
50 sn And what was Balaam doing among the Midianites? The implication is strong. This pagan diviner had to submit to the revealed will of God in the oracles, but he nonetheless could be hired. He had been a part of the attempt to destroy Israel that failed; he then apparently became part of the plan, if not the adviser, to destroy them with sexual immorality and pagan ritual.
51 tn Heb “the word that.”
52 tn The idiom again is “let them be for wives for….”
53 tn Heb “to the one who is good in their eyes.”