Numbers 11:20

11:20 but a whole month, ¹  until it comes out your nostrils and makes you sick, ²  because you have despised ³  the Lord who is among you and have wept before him, saying, “Why ⁴  did we ever come out of Egypt?”’”

Numbers 30:2

30:2 If a man ⁵  makes a vow ⁶  to the Lord or takes an oath ⁷  of binding obligation on himself, ⁸  he must not break his word, but must do whatever he has promised. ⁹ 

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¹ tn Heb “a month of days.” So also in v. 21.

² tn The expression לְזָרָה (lÿzarah) has been translated “ill” or “loathsome.” It occurs only here in the Hebrew Bible. The Greek text interprets it as “sickness.” It could be nausea or vomiting (so G. B. Gray, Numbers [ICC], 112) from overeating.

³ sn The explanation is the interpretation of their behavior – it is in reality what they have done, even though they would not say they despised the Lord. They had complained and shown a lack of faith and a contempt for the program, which was in essence despising the Lord.

⁴ tn The use of the demonstrative pronoun here (“why is this we went out …”) is enclitic, providing emphasis to the sentence: “Why in the world did we ever leave Egypt?”

⁵ tn The legal construction states the class to which the law applies, and then lays down the condition: “men [man] – if….”

⁶ tn The Hebrew text uses a cognate accusative construction to express this: “a man if he vows a vow.”

⁷ tn The expression is “swear an oath” (הִשָּׁבַע שְׁבֻעָה, hishava’ shÿvu’ah). The vow (נֵדֶר, neder) was a promise to donate something of oneself or one’s substance to the Lord. The solemn oath seals the vow before the Lord, perhaps with sacrifice. The vocabulary recalls Abraham’s treaty with Abimelech and the naming of Beer Sheba with the word (see Gen 21).

⁸ tn The Hebrew text hasלֶאְסֹר אִסָּר (le’sor ’issar), meaning “to take a binding obligation.” This is usually interpreted to mean a negative vow, i.e., the person attempts to abstain from something that is otherwise permissible. It might involve fasting, or abstaining from marital sex, but it might also involve some goal to be achieved, and the abstaining from distractions until the vow is fulfilled (see Ps 132). The נֶדֶר (neder) may have been more for religious matters, and the אִסָּר more for social concerns, but this cannot be documented with certainty.

⁹ tn Heb “according to all that goes out of his mouth.”