Numbers 12:13

12:13 Then Moses cried to the Lord, “Heal her now, O God.” ¹ 

Numbers 23:8

23:8 How ²  can I curse ³  one whom God has not cursed,

or how can I denounce one whom the Lord has not denounced?

Numbers 27:16

27:16 “Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all humankind, ⁴  appoint ⁵  a man over the community,

---

¹ 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!’”

² tn The figure is erotesis, a rhetorical question. He is actually saying he cannot curse them because God has not cursed them.

³ tn The imperfect tense should here be classified as a potential imperfect.

⁴ tn Heb “flesh”; cf. NAB, NIV “all mankind”; NCV “all people”; NLT “all living things.”

⁵ tn This is the same verb פָּקַד (paqad) that is used throughout the book for the aspect of “numbering” the people.