11:21 Moses said, “The people around me 6 are 600,000 on foot; 7 but you say, ‘I will give them meat, 8 that they may eat 9 for a whole month.’
20:18 But Edom said to him, “You will not pass through me, 19 or I will come out against 20 you with the sword.”
21:16 And from there they traveled 21 to Beer; 22 that is the well where the Lord spoke to Moses, “Gather the people and I will give them water.”
22:28 Then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you that you have beaten me these three times?”
23:11 Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but on the contrary 26 you have only blessed them!” 27
23:27 Balak said to Balaam, “Come, please; I will take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God 29 to let you curse them for me from there.” 30
27:12 31 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go up this mountain of the Abarim range, 32 and see 33 the land I have given 34 to the Israelites.
1 tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) here carries its deictic force, calling attention to the fact that is being declared. It is underscoring the fact that the
2 tn Literally “in the place of.”
3 tn The imperfect tense functions here as a final imperfect, expressing the purpose of putting such folks outside the camp. The two preceding imperfects (repeated for emphasis) are taken here as instruction or legislation.
4 tn The Hebrew text simply has “from where to me flesh?” which means “from where will I have meat?”
5 tn The cohortative coming after the imperative stresses purpose (it is an indirect volitive).
6 tn Heb “the people who I am in their midst,” i.e., among whom I am.
7 tn The Hebrew sentence stresses the number. The sentence begins “600,000….”
8 tn The word order places the object first here: “Meat I will give them.” This adds to the contrast between the number and the statement of the
9 tn The verb is the perfect tense with a vav (ו) consecutive, carrying the sequence from the preceding imperfect tense. However, this verb may be subordinated to the preceding to express a purpose clause.
10 tn The word אִם (’im) indicates a negative oath formula: “if” means “they will not.” It is elliptical. In a human oath one would be saying: “The
11 tn The relative pronoun “which” is joined with the resumptive pronoun “in it” to form a smoother reading “where.”
12 tn The Hebrew text uses the anthropomorphic expression “I raised my hand” in taking an oath.
13 tn Heb “to cause you to dwell; to cause you to settle.”
14 tn Or “plunder.”
15 tn Heb “know.”
16 tn Heb “the land of your habitations.”
17 tn The Hebrew participle here has the futur instans use of the participle, expressing that something is going to take place. It is not imminent, but it is certain that God would give the land to Israel.
18 tn Heb “they fell on their faces.”
19 tn The imperfect tense here has the nuance of prohibition.
20 tn Heb “to meet.”
21 tn The words “they traveled” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied here because of English style. The same phrase is supplied at the end of v. 18.
22 sn Isa 15:8 mentions a Moabite Beerelim, which Simons suggests is Wadi Ettemed.
23 tc Many commentators consider אוּלַי (’ulay, “perhaps”) to be a misspelling in the MT in place of לוּלֵי (luley, “if not”).
24 tn Heb “word.”
25 tn Heb “and thus you shall speak.”
26 tn The Hebrew text uses הִנֵּה (hinneh) here to stress the contrast.
27 tn The construction is emphatic, using the perfect tense and the infinitive absolute to give it the emphasis. It would have the force of “you have done nothing but bless,” or “you have indeed blessed.” The construction is reminiscent of the call of Abram and the promise of the blessing in such elaborate terms.
28 tn Heb “word.”
29 tn Heb “be pleasing in the eyes of God.”
30 sn Balak is stubborn, as indeed Balaam is persistent. But Balak still thinks that if another location were used it just might work. Balaam had actually told Balak in the prophecy that other attempts would fail. But Balak refuses to give up so easily. So he insists they perform the ritual and try again. This time, however, Balaam will change his approach, and this will result in a dramatic outpouring of power on him.
31 sn See further J. Lindblom, “Lot Casting in the Old Testament,” VT 12 (1962): 164-78; E. Lipinski, “Urim and Thummim,” VT 20 (1970): 495-96; and S. E. Loewenstamm, “The Death of Moses,” Tarbiz 27 (1957/58): 142-57.
32 tc The Greek version adds “which is Mount Nebo.” This is a typical scribal change to harmonize two passages.
sn The area is in the mountains of Moab; Deut 34:1 more precisely identifies it as Mount Nebo.
33 tn The imperative could be subordinated to the first to provide a purpose clause, although a second instruction fits well enough.
34 tn This perfect tense would best be classified as a perfect of resolve: “which I have decided to give.” God had not yet given the land to them, but it was certain he would.