16:16 Then Moses said to Korah, “You and all your company present yourselves before the Lord – you and they, and Aaron – tomorrow.
20:18 But Edom said to him, “You will not pass through me, 18 or I will come out against 19 you with the sword.”
21:29 Woe to you, Moab.
You are ruined, O people of Chemosh! 20
He has made his sons fugitives,
and his daughters the prisoners of King Sihon of the Amorites.
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?” 22:29 And Balaam said to the donkey, “You have made me look stupid; I wish 24 there were a sword in my hand, for I would kill you right now.”
23:27 Balak said to Balaam, “Come, please; I will take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God 25 to let you curse them for me from there.” 26
35:7 “So the total of the towns you will give the Levites is forty-eight. You must give these together with their grazing lands.
35:14 “You must give three towns on this side of the Jordan, and you must give three towns in the land of Canaan; they must be towns of refuge.
1 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.
2 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 tn The form with אַל־נָא (’al-na’) is a jussive; negated it stresses a more immediate request, as if Hobab is starting to leave, or at least determined to leave.
4 tn In the Hebrew text the expression is more graphic: “you will be for us for eyes.” Hobab was familiar with the entire Sinai region, and he could certainly direct the people where they were to go. The text does not record Hobab’s response. But the fact that Kenites were in Canaan as allies of Judah (Judg 1:16) would indicate that he gave in and came with Moses. The first refusal may simply be the polite Semitic practice of declining first so that the appeal might be made more urgently.
5 tn Heb “and it shall be.”
6 sn This anthropomorphic expression concerns the power of God. The “hand of the
7 tn Or “will happen” (TEV); KJV “shall come to pass unto thee.”
8 sn Here again is the oath that God swore in his wrath, an oath he swore by himself, that they would not enter the land. “As the
9 tn The word נְאֻם (nÿ’um) is an “oracle.” It is followed by the subjective genitive: “the oracle of the
10 tn Heb “in my ears.”
sn They had expressed the longing to have died in the wilderness, and not in war. God will now give them that. They would not say to God “your will be done,” so he says to them, “your will be done” (to borrow from C. S. Lewis).
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 sn The question indicates that they had been murmuring against Aaron, that is, expressing disloyalty and challenging his leadership. But it is actually against the
17 tn The verb is the perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive; it functions as the equivalent of the imperfect of permission.
18 tn The imperfect tense here has the nuance of prohibition.
19 tn Heb “to meet.”
20 sn The note of holy war emerges here as the victory is a victory over the local gods as well as over the people.
21 tn The two verbs are negated imperfects; they have the nuance of prohibition: You must not go and you must not curse.
22 tn The word בָּרוּךְ (barukh) is the Qal passive participle, serving here as the predicate adjective after the supplied verb “to be.” The verb means “enrich,” in any way, materially, spiritually, physically. But the indication here is that the blessing includes the promised blessing of the patriarchs, a blessing that gave Israel the land. See further, C. Westermann, Blessing in the Bible and the Life of the Church (OBT).
23 tn The construction uses the Piel infinitive כַּבֵּד (kabbed) to intensify the verb, which is the Piel imperfect/cohortative אֲכַבֶּדְךָ (’akhabbedkha). The great honor could have been wealth, prestige, or position.
24 tn The optative clause is introduced with the particle לוּ (lu).
25 tn Heb “be pleasing in the eyes of God.”
26 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.
27 tn Heb “flee to your place.”
28 tn Heb “a man, if he dies.”
29 tn The first verb is a perfect tense with a vav (ו) consecutive, and the second verb is also. In such parallel clauses, the first may be subordinated, here as a temporal clause.
30 tn Heb “people.”
31 tn Heb “was gathered.” The phrase “to his ancestors” is elided in the Hebrew text, but is an implied repetition from the beginning of the verse, and has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
32 tn The construction uses a verbal hendiadys with the verb “to add” serving to modify the main verb.
33 tn Heb “and you will destroy all this people.”
34 tn The Hebrew text repeats the verb “you will destroy.”