Numbers 11:6

11:6 But now we ¹  are dried up, ²  and there is nothing at all before us ³  except this manna!”

Numbers 12:7

12:7 My servant ⁴  Moses is not like this; he is faithful ⁵  in all my house.

Numbers 17:12-13

17:12 The Israelites said to Moses, “We are bound to die! ⁶  We perish, we all perish! 17:13 (17:28) ⁷  Anyone who even comes close to the tabernacle of the Lord will die! Are we all to die?” ⁸ 

Numbers 22:2

22:2 Balak son of Zippor saw all that the Israelites had done to the Amorites.

Numbers 35:3

35:3 Thus they will have towns in which to live, and their grazing lands will be for their cattle, for their possessions, and for all their animals.

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¹ tn Heb “our souls.”

² sn The Hebrews were complaining both about the bland taste of the manna and dehydration – they were parched in the wilderness.

³ tn Heb “before our eyes,” meaning that “we see nothing except this manna.”

⁴ sn The title “my servant” or “servant of the Lord” is reserved in the Bible for distinguished personages, people who are truly spiritual leaders, like Moses, David, Hezekiah, and also the Messiah. Here it underscores Moses’ obedience.

⁵ tn The word “faithful” is נֶאֱמָן (ne’eman), the Niphal participle of the verb אָמַן (’aman). This basic word has the sense of “support, be firm.” In the Niphal it describes something that is firm, reliable, dependable – what can be counted on. It could actually be translated “trustworthy.”

⁶ tn The use of הֵן (hen) and the perfect tense in the nuance of a prophetic perfect expresses their conviction that they were bound to die – it was certain (see GKC 312-13 §106.n).

⁷ sn Num 17:13 in the English Bible is 17:28 in the Hebrew text (BHS). See also the note on 16:36.

⁸ tn The verse stresses the completeness of their death: “will we be consumed by dying” (הַאִם תַּמְנוּ לִגְוֹעַ, ha’im tamnu ligvoa’).