16:4 When Moses heard it he fell down with his face to the ground. 5 16:5 Then he said to Korah and to all his company, “In the morning the Lord will make known who are his, and who is holy. He will cause that person 6 to approach him; the person he has chosen he will cause to approach him.
16:31 When he had finished 7 speaking 8 all these words, the ground that was under them split open,
20:9 So Moses took the staff from before the Lord, just as he commanded him.
23:20 Indeed, I have received a command 9 to bless;
he has blessed, 10 and I cannot reverse it. 11
24:19 A ruler will be established from Jacob;
he will destroy the remains of the city.’” 12
24:23 Then he uttered this oracle:
“O, who will survive when God does this! 13
35:22 “But if he strikes him suddenly, without enmity, or throws anything at him unintentionally,
1 tn Heb “Moses.”
2 sn Here is the pattern that will become in the wilderness experience so common – the complaining turns to a cry to Moses, which is then interpreted as a prayer to the
3 sn The title “my servant” or “servant of the
4 tn The word “faithful” is נֶאֱמָן (ne’eman), the Niphal participle of the verb אָמַן (’aman). This basic word has the sense of “support, be firm.” In the Niphal it describes something that is firm, reliable, dependable – what can be counted on. It could actually be translated “trustworthy.”
5 tn Heb “fell on his face.”
6 tn Heb “him.”
7 tn The initial temporal clause is standard: It begins with the temporal indicator “and it was,” followed here by the Piel infinitive construct with the preposition and the subjective genitive suffix. “And it happened when he finished.”
8 tn The infinitive construct with the preposition lamed (ל) functions here as the direct object of the preceding infinitive. It tells what he finished.
9 tn The Hebrew text simply has “I have received [to] bless.” The infinitive is the object of the verb, telling what he received. Balaam was not actually commanded to bless, but was given the word of blessing so that he was given a divine decree that would bless Israel.
10 sn The reference is probably to the first speech, where the
11 tn The verb is the Hiphil of שׁוּב (shuv), meaning “to cause to return.” He cannot return God’s word to him, for it has been given, and it will be fulfilled.
12 tn Or, understanding the Hebrew word for “city” as a place name, “of Ir” (cf. NRSV, NLT).
13 tc Because there is no parallel line, some have thought that it dropped out (see de Vaulx, Les Nombres, 296).
14 tn Heb “in it.”