Numbers 11:10

Moses’ Complaint to the Lord

11:10 1 Moses heard the people weeping 2  throughout their families, everyone at the door of his tent; and when the anger of the Lord was kindled greatly, Moses was also displeased. 3 

Numbers 22:22

God Opposes Balaam

22:22 Then God’s anger was kindled 4  because he went, and the angel of the Lord stood in the road to oppose 5  him. Now he was riding on his donkey and his two servants were with him.

Numbers 32:13

32:13 So the Lord’s anger was kindled against the Israelites, and he made them wander in the wilderness for forty years, until all that generation that had done wickedly before 6  the Lord was finished. 7 

1 sn Moses begins to feel the burden of caring for this people, a stubborn and rebellious people. His complaint shows how contagious their complaining has been. It is one thing to cry out to God about the load of ministry, but it is quite another to do it in such a way as to reflect a lack of faith in God’s provision. God has to remind the leader Moses that he, the Lord, can do anything. This is a variation on the theme from Exodus – “who am I that I should lead….”

2 tn The participle “weeping” is functioning here as the noun in the accusative case, an adverbial accusative of state. It is explicative of the object.

3 tn Heb “it was evil in the eyes of Moses.”

4 sn God’s anger now seems to contradict the permission he gave Balaam just before this. Some commentators argue that God’s anger is a response to Balaam’s character in setting out – which the Bible does not explain. God saw in him greed and pleasure for the riches, which is why he was so willing to go.

5 tn The word is שָׂטָן (satan, “to be an adversary, to oppose”).

6 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”

7 tn The verb is difficult to translate, since it has the idea of “complete, finish” (תָּמָם, tamam). It could be translated “consumed” in this passage (so KJV, ASV); NASB “was destroyed.”