Numbers 8:12

8:12 When ¹  the Levites lay their hands on the heads of the bulls, offer ²  the one for a purification offering and the other for a whole burnt offering to the Lord, ³  to make atonement for the Levites.

Numbers 11:20

11:20 but a whole month, ⁴  until it comes out your nostrils and makes you sick, ⁵  because you have despised ⁶  the Lord who is among you and have wept before him, saying, “Why ⁷  did we ever come out of Egypt?”’”

Numbers 14:2

14:2 And all the Israelites murmured ⁸  against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, “If only we had died ⁹  in the land of Egypt, or if only we had perished ¹⁰  in this wilderness!

Numbers 16:22

16:22 Then they threw themselves down with their faces to the ground ¹¹  and said, “O God, the God of the spirits of all people, ¹²  will you be angry with the whole community when only one man sins?” ¹³ 

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¹ tn The clause begins with a vav (ו) on the noun “the Levites,” indicating a disjunctive clause. Here it is clearly a subordinate clause prior to the instruction for Moses, and so translated as a circumstantial clause of time.

² tn The imperative is from the verb “to do; to make,” but in the sentence it clearly means to sacrifice the animals.

³ sn The “purification offering” cleansed the tabernacle from impurity, and the burnt offering atoned by nullifying and removing the effects of sin in the Levites.

⁴ tn Heb “a month of days.” So also in v. 21.

⁵ tn The expression לְזָרָה (lÿzarah) has been translated “ill” or “loathsome.” It occurs only here in the Hebrew Bible. The Greek text interprets it as “sickness.” It could be nausea or vomiting (so G. B. Gray, Numbers [ICC], 112) from overeating.

⁶ sn The explanation is the interpretation of their behavior – it is in reality what they have done, even though they would not say they despised the Lord. They had complained and shown a lack of faith and a contempt for the program, which was in essence despising the Lord.

⁷ tn The use of the demonstrative pronoun here (“why is this we went out …”) is enclitic, providing emphasis to the sentence: “Why in the world did we ever leave Egypt?”

⁸ tn The Hebrew verb “to murmur” is לוּן (lun). It is a strong word, signifying far more than complaining or grumbling, as some of the modern translations have it. The word is most often connected to the wilderness experience. It is paralleled in the literature with the word “to rebel.” The murmuring is like a parliamentary vote of no confidence, for they no longer trusted their leaders and wished to choose a new leader and return. This “return to Egypt” becomes a symbol of their lack of faith in the Lord.

⁹ tn The optative is expressed by לוּ (lu) and then the verb, here the perfect tense מַתְנוּ (matnu) – “O that we had died….” Had they wanted to die in Egypt they should not have cried out to the Lord to deliver them from bondage. Here the people became consumed with the fear and worry of what lay ahead, and in their panic they revealed a lack of trust in God.

¹⁰ tn Heb “died.”

¹¹ sn It is Moses and Aaron who prostrate themselves; they have the good of the people at heart.

¹² tn The expression “the God of the spirits of all humanity [flesh]” is somewhat difficult. The Hebrew text says אֱלֹהֵי הָרוּחֹת לְכָל־בָּשָׂר (’elohey harukhot lÿkhol-basar). This expression occurs in Num 27:16 again. It also occurs in some postbiblical texts, a fact which has prompted some scholars to conclude that it is a late addition. The words clearly show that Moses is interceding for the congregation. The appeal in the verse is that it is better for one man to die for the whole nation than the whole nation for one man (see also John 11:50).

¹³ tn The verb is the Qal imperfect יֶחֱטָא (yekheta’); it refers to the sinful rebellion of Korah, but Moses is stating something of a principle: “One man sins, and will you be angry….” A past tense translation would assume that this is a preterite use of the imperfect (without vav [ו] consecutive).