Numbers 8:21

8:21 The Levites purified themselves ¹  and washed their clothing; then Aaron presented them like a wave offering before the Lord, and Aaron made atonement for them to purify them.

Numbers 9:11

9:11 They may observe it on the fourteenth day of the second month ²  at twilight; they are to eat it with bread made without yeast and with bitter herbs.

Numbers 14:36

14:36 The men whom Moses sent to investigate the land, who returned and made the whole community murmur against him by producing ³  an evil report about the land,

Numbers 15:13

15:13 “‘Every native-born person must do these things in this way to present an offering made by fire as a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

Numbers 21:2

21:2 So Israel made a vow ⁴  to the Lord and said, “If you will indeed deliver ⁵  this people into our ⁶  hand, then we will utterly destroy ⁷  their cities.”

Numbers 21:29

21:29 Woe to you, Moab.

You are ruined, O people of Chemosh! ⁸ 

He has made his sons fugitives,

and his daughters the prisoners of King Sihon of the Amorites.

Numbers 22:29

22:29 And Balaam said to the donkey, “You have made me look stupid; I wish ⁹  there were a sword in my hand, for I would kill you right now.”

Numbers 28:6

28:6 It is a continual burnt offering that was instituted on Mount Sinai as a pleasing aroma, an offering made by fire to the Lord.

Numbers 28:17

28:17 And on the fifteenth day of this month is the festival. For seven days bread made without yeast must be eaten.

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¹ tn The verb is the Hitpael of חָטָּא (khatta’). In this stem the meaning of the root “to sin” is likely to be connected to the noun “sin/purification” offering in a denominative sense, although some would take it as a privative usage, “to remove sin.” The idea is clear enough: They performed all the ritual in order to purify themselves ceremonially.

² sn The delay of four weeks for such people would have permitted enough time for them to return from their journey, or to recover from any short termed defilement such as is mentioned here. Apart from this provision, the Passover was to be kept precisely at the proper time.

³ tn The verb is the Hiphil infinitive construct with a lamed (ל) preposition from the root יָצָא (yatsa’, “to bring out”). The use of the infinitive here is epexegetical, that is, explaining how they caused the people to murmur.

⁴ tn The Hebrew text uses a cognate accusative with the verb: They vowed a vow. The Israelites were therefore determined with God’s help to defeat Arad.

⁵ tn The Hebrew text has the infinitive absolute and the imperfect tense of נָתַן (natan) to stress the point – if you will surely/indeed give.”

⁶ tn Heb “my.”

⁷ tn On the surface this does not sound like much of a vow. But the key is in the use of the verb for “utterly destroy” – חָרַם (kharam). Whatever was put to this “ban” or “devotion” belonged to God, either for his use, or for destruction. The oath was in fact saying that they would take nothing from this for themselves. It would simply be the removal of what was alien to the faith, or to God’s program.

⁸ sn The note of holy war emerges here as the victory is a victory over the local gods as well as over the people.

⁹ tn The optative clause is introduced with the particle לוּ (lu).