20:20 But he said, “You may not pass through.” Then Edom came out against them 11 with a large and powerful force. 12
24:18 Edom will be a possession,
Seir, 15 his enemies, will also be a possession;
but Israel will act valiantly.
26:19 The descendants of Judah were Er and Onan, but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan.
30:9 “But every vow of a widow or of a divorced woman which she has pledged for herself will remain intact. 16
35:20 “But if he strikes him out of hatred or throws something at him intentionally 22 so that he dies,
1 sn The text does not say what the consequences are. Presumably the punishment would come from God, and not from those administering the test.
2 tn The word “iniquity” can also mean the guilt for the iniquity as well as the punishment of consequences for the iniquity. These categories of meanings grew up through figurative usage (metonymies). Here the idea is that if she is guilty then she must “bear the consequences.”
3 tn Heb “our souls.”
4 sn The Hebrews were complaining both about the bland taste of the manna and dehydration – they were parched in the wilderness.
5 tn Heb “before our eyes,” meaning that “we see nothing except this manna.”
6 sn This is the oath formula, but in the Pentateuch it occurs here and in v. 28.
7 tn The line literally has, “Why is this [that] you are transgressing….” The demonstrative pronoun is enclitic; it brings the force of “why in the world are you doing this now?”
8 tn Heb “mouth.”
9 tn Heb “Moses sent to summon.” The verb קָרָא (qara’) followed by the lamed (ל) preposition does not mean “call to” but “summon.” This is a command performance; for them to appear would be to submit to Moses’ authority. This they will not do.
10 tn The imperfect tense נַעֲלֶה (na’aleh) expresses their unwillingness to report: “we are not willing,” or “we will not.” The verb means “to go up.” It is used in the sense of appearing before an authority or a superior (see, e.g., Gen 46:31; Deut 25:7; Judg 4:5).
11 tn Heb “to meet him.”
12 tn Heb “with many [heavy] people and with a strong hand.” The translation presented above is interpretive, but that is what the line means. It was a show of force, numbers and weapons, to intimidate the Israelites.
13 tn Heb “answered and said.”
14 tn This first clause, “all that the
15 sn Seir is the chief mountain range of Edom (Deut 33:2), and so the reference here is to the general area of Edom.
16 tn The Hebrew text says her vow “shall stand against her.” In other words, she must fulfill, or bear the consequences of, whatever she vowed.
17 sn In other words, he will pay the penalty for making her break her vows if he makes her stop what she vowed. It will not be her responsibility.
18 tn Or “girls.” The Hebrew indicates they would be female children, making the selection easy.
19 tn Heb “who have not known [a] man by lying with a man.”
20 sn Many contemporary scholars see this story as fictitious, composed by the Jews during the captivity. According to this interpretation, the spoils of war here indicate the wealth of the Jews in captivity, which was to be given to the Levites and priests for the restoration of the sanctuary in Jerusalem. The conclusion drawn from this interpretation is that returning Jews had the same problem as the earlier ones: to gain a foothold in the land. Against this interpretation of the account is a lack of hard evidence, a lack which makes this interpretation appear contrived and subjective. If this was the intent of a later writer, he surely could have stated this more clearly than by making up such a story.
21 tn Heb “that which goes out/has gone out of your mouth.”
22 tn The Hebrew text is more vivid: “by lying in wait.”