1:54 The Israelites did according to all that the Lord commanded Moses 1 – that is what they did.
3:14 Then the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai:
5:16 “‘Then the priest will bring her near and have her stand 2 before the Lord.
6:25 The Lord make his face to shine upon you,
and be gracious to you; 3
6:26 The Lord lift up his countenance upon you 4
and give you peace.”’
12:13 Then Moses cried to the Lord, “Heal her now, O God.” 7
14:20 Then the Lord said, “I have forgiven them as you asked. 9
20:9 So Moses took the staff from before the Lord, just as he commanded him.
26:1 12 After the plague the Lord said to Moses and to Eleazar son of Aaron the priest, 13
28:16 “‘On the fourteenth day of the first month is the Lord’s Passover.
31:31 So Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the Lord commanded Moses.
36:10 As the Lord had commanded Moses, so the daughters of Zelophehad did.
1 tc The LXX adds “and Aaron.”
2 tn The verb is the Hiphil of the word “to stand.” It could be rendered “station her,” but that sounds too unnatural. This is a meeting between an accused person and the Judge of the whole earth.
3 tn Whereas the first line of the blessing had three Hebrew words, the second has five, and the third has seven. In this second line and the following third, the blessing takes the form of an emblem followed by the truth. For the
4 tn The last line of the blessing also has first the image and then the parallel interpretation – for God to lift up his face is for God to give peace. The idea of the fallen face is one of anger (see Gen 4:6,7); and the idea of the hidden face is that of withholding support, favor, or peace (see Deut 31:18; Ps 30:8; Ps 44:25). If God lifts his face toward his people, it means he has given them peace – peace, prosperity, completeness, health, safety, general well-being, and the like.
5 tn Heb “Moses.”
6 sn Here is the pattern that will become in the wilderness experience so common – the complaining turns to a cry to Moses, which is then interpreted as a prayer to the
7 tc Some scholars emend אֵל (’el, “God”) to עַל(’al, “no”). The effect of this change may be seen in the NAB: “‘Please, not this! Pray, heal her!’”
8 tc The form in the text is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay), the word that is usually used in place of the tetragrammaton. It is the plural form with the pronominal suffix, and so must refer to God.
9 tn Heb “forgiven according to your word.” The direct object, “them,” is implied.
10 tn For a discussion of the fire of the
11 tn The name of the tent now attests to the centrality of the ark of the covenant. Instead of the “tent of meeting” (מוֹעֵד, mo’ed) we now find the “the tent of the testimony” (הָעֵדֻת, ha’edut).
12 sn The breakdown of ch. 26 for outlining purposes will be essentially according to the tribes of Israel. The format and structure is similar to the first census, and so less comment is necessary here.
13 tc The MT has also “saying.”
14 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.
15 sn Beginning with 29:40, the verse numbers through 30:16 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 29:40 ET = 30:1 HT, 30:1 ET = 30:2 HT, etc., through 30:16 ET = 30:17 HT. With 31:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.
16 tn Heb “Moses.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
17 sn Many modern biblical scholars assume that this passage is fictitious. The text says that they killed every male, but Judges accounts for the Midianites. The texts can be harmonized rather simply – they killed every Midianite who was in the battle. Midianite tribes and cities dotted the whole region, but that does not mean Israel went and killed every single one of them. There apparently was a core of Midianites whom Balaam had influenced to pervert Israel.
18 tn The word “numbered” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
19 tn Heb “soul.”
20 tn Heb “that which the Lord has spoken to your servants, thus we will do.”