Numbers 6:8

6:8 All the days of his separation he must be holy to the Lord.

Numbers 6:21

6:21 “This is the law¹ of the Nazirite who vows to the Lord his offering according to his separation, as well as whatever else he can provide.² Thus he must fulfill³ his vow that he makes, according to the law of his separation.”

Numbers 6:25-26

6:25 The Lord make his face to shine upon you,

and be gracious to you;⁴

6:26 The Lord lift up his countenance upon you⁵

and give you peace.”’

Numbers 16:4

16:4 When Moses heard it he fell down with his face to the ground.⁶

Numbers 20:21

20:21 So Edom refused to give Israel passage through his border; therefore Israel turned away from him.

Numbers 20:25

20:25 Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and bring them up on Mount Hor.

Numbers 22:31

22:31 Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way with his sword drawn in his hand; so he bowed his head and threw himself down with his face to the ground.⁷

Numbers 27:11

27:11 and if his father has no brothers, then you are to give his inheritance to his relative nearest to him from his family, and he will possess it. This will be for the Israelites a legal requirement,⁸ as the Lord commanded Moses.’”

Numbers 32:18

32:18 We will not return to our homes until every Israelite has his inheritance.

¹tn Actually, “law” here means a whole set of laws, the basic rulings on this topic.

²tn Heb “whatever else his hand is able to provide.” The imperfect tense has the nuance of potential imperfect – “whatever he can provide.”

³tn Heb “according to the vow that he vows, so he must do.”

⁴tn Whereas the first line of the blessing had three Hebrew words, the second has five, and the third has seven. In this second line and the following third, the blessing takes the form of an emblem followed by the truth. For the Lord to make his face shine on them would mean to be gracious to them. M. Noth rightly calls this image of the shining face “a figure of speech for benevolence and favour” (Numbers [OTL], 59); see, for example, Pss 4:7; 31:17; 44:4; 67:2; 80:4, 8, 20; 119:135; Dan 9:17). The image may have its inspiration in the theophanies. The picture is of divine favor – the beaming face of a parent for his beloved.

⁵tn The last line of the blessing also has first the image and then the parallel interpretation – for God to lift up his face is for God to give peace. The idea of the fallen face is one of anger (see Gen 4:6,7); and the idea of the hidden face is that of withholding support, favor, or peace (see Deut 31:18; Ps 30:8; Ps 44:25). If God lifts his face toward his people, it means he has given them peace – peace, prosperity, completeness, health, safety, general well-being, and the like.

⁶tn Heb “fell on his face.”

⁷tn The Hishtaphel verb חָוָה (khavah) – שָׁחָה (shakhah) with metathesis – has a basic idea of “bow oneself low to the ground,” and perhaps in some cases the idea of “coil up.” This is the normal posture of prayer and of deep humility in the ancient religious world.

⁸tn The expression is חֻקַּת מִשְׁפָּט (khuqqat mishpat, “a statute of judgment”), which means it is a fixed enactment that determines justice. It is one which is established by God.