12:15 So Miriam was shut outside of the camp for seven days, and the people did not journey on until Miriam was brought back in. 3
23:4 Then God met Balaam, who 4 said to him, “I have prepared seven altars, and I have offered on each altar a bull and a ram.”
1 tn The verb is עָלָה (’alah). The Hiphil infinitive construct functions in a temporal clause. The idea of arranging the lamps on the lampstand certainly involved raising the lamps and placing them on the tops of each shaft and branch. Some have taken the idea to mean cause the flame to go up, or light the lamps.
2 tn The imperfect tense forms part of the instruction, and so the translation has to indicate that. The instruction would seem obvious, but the light was to shine in the area immediately in front of the lampstand, so that it would illumine the way and illumine the table that was across the room (hence, “in front of”).
3 tn The clause has the Niphal infinitive construct after a temporal preposition.
4 tn The relative pronoun is added here in place of the conjunction to clarify that Balaam is speaking to God and not vice versa.