Numbers 16:14

16:14 Moreover, ¹  you have not brought us into a land that flows with milk and honey, nor given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Do you think you can blind ²  these men? We will not come up.”

Numbers 19:16

19:16 And whoever touches the body of someone killed with a sword in the open fields, ³  or the body of someone who died of natural causes, ⁴  or a human bone, or a grave, will be unclean seven days. ⁵ 

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¹ tn Here אַף (’af) has the sense of “in addition.” It is not a common use.

² tn Heb “will you bore out the eyes of these men?” The question is “Will you continue to mislead them?” (or “hoodwink” them). In Deut 16:19 it is used for taking a bribe; something like that kind of deception is intended here. They are simply stating that Moses is a deceiver who is misleading the people with false promises.

³ tn The expression for “in the open field” is literally “upon the face of the field” (עַל־פְּנֵי הַשָּׂדֶה, ’al pÿne hassadeh). This ruling is in contrast now to what was contacted in the tent.

⁴ tn Heb “a dead body”; but in contrast to the person killed with a sword, this must refer to someone who died of natural causes.

⁵ sn See Matt 23:27 and Acts 23:3 for application of this by the time of Jesus.