Numbers 9:13

9:13 But ¹  the man who is ceremonially clean, and was not on a journey, and fails ²  to keep the Passover, that person must be cut off from his people. ³  Because he did not bring the Lord’s offering at its appointed time, that man must bear his sin. ⁴ 

Numbers 11:16

The Response of God

11:16 ⁵ The Lord said to Moses, “Gather to me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know are elders of the people and officials ⁶  over them, and bring them to the tent of meeting; let them take their position there with you.

Numbers 13:20

13:20 and whether the land is rich or poor, and whether or not there are forests in it. And be brave, ⁷  and bring back some of the fruit of the land.” Now it was the time of year ⁸  for the first ripe grapes. ⁹ 

Numbers 16:9

16:9 Does it seem too small a thing to you that the God of Israel has separated you from the community of Israel to bring you near to himself, to perform the service of the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the community to minister to them?

Numbers 18:9

18:9 Of all the most holy offerings reserved ¹⁰  from the fire this will be yours: Every offering of theirs, whether from every grain offering or from every purification offering or from every reparation offering which they bring to me, will be most holy for you and for your sons.

Numbers 20:8

20:8 “Take the staff and assemble the community, you and Aaron your brother, and then speak ¹¹  to the rock before their eyes. It will pour forth ¹²  its water, and you will bring water out of the rock for them, and so you will give the community and their beasts water to drink.”

Numbers 25:18

25:18 because they bring trouble to you by their treachery with which they have deceived ¹³  you in the matter of Peor, and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of a prince of Midian, ¹⁴  their sister, who was killed on the day of the plague that happened as a result of Peor.”

Numbers 27:17

27:17 who will go out before them, and who will come in before them, ¹⁵  and who will lead them out, and who will bring them in, so that ¹⁶  the community of the Lord may not be like sheep that have no shepherd.”

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¹ tn The disjunctive vav (ו) signals a contrastive clause here: “but the man” on the other hand….

² tn The verb חָדַל (khadal) means “to cease; to leave off; to fail.” The implication here is that it is a person who simply neglects to do it. It does not indicate that he forgot, but more likely that he made the decision to leave it undone.

³ sn The pronouncement of such a person’s penalty is that his life will be cut off from his people. There are at least three possible interpretations for this: physical death at the hand of the community (G. B. Gray, Numbers [ICC], 84-85), physical and/or spiritual death at the hand of God (J. Milgrom, “A Prolegomenon to Lev 17:11,” JBL 90 [1971]: 154-55), or excommunication or separation from the community (R. A. Cole, Exodus [TOTC], 109). The direct intervention of God seem to be the most likely in view of the lack of directions for the community to follow. Excommunication from the camp in the wilderness would have been tantamount to a death sentence by the community, and so there really are just two views.

⁴ tn The word for “sin” here should be interpreted to mean the consequences of his sin (so a metonymy of effect). Whoever willingly violates the Law will have to pay the consequences.

⁵ sn The Lord provides Spirit-empowered assistance for Moses. Here is another variation on the theme of Moses’ faith. Just as he refused to lead alone and was given Aaron to share the work, so here he protests the burden and will share it with seventy elders. If God’s servant will not trust wholeheartedly, that individual will not be used by God as he or she might have been. Others will share in the power and the work. Probably one could say that it was God’s will for others to share this leadership – but not to receive it through these circumstances.

⁶ tn The “officials” (שֹׁטְּרִים, shottÿrim) were a group of the elders who seem to have had some administrative capacities. The LXX used the word “scribes.” For further discussion, see R. de Vaux, Ancient Israel, 69-70.

⁷ tn The verb is the Hitpael perfect with vav (ו) consecutive, from the root חָזַק (khazaq, “to be strong”). Here it could mean “strengthen yourselves” or “be courageous” or “determined.” See further uses in 2 Sam 10:12; 1 Kgs 20:22; 1 Chr 19:13.

⁸ tn Heb “Now the days were the days of.”

⁹ sn The reference to the first ripe grapes would put the time somewhere at the end of July.

¹⁰ tn Heb “from the fire.” It probably refers to those parts that were not burned.

¹¹ tn The verb is the Piel perfect with vav (ו) consecutive, following the two imperatives in the verse. Here is the focus of the instruction for Moses.

¹² tn Heb “give.” The verb is the perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive, as are the next two in the verse. These are not now equal to the imperatives, but imperfects, showing the results of speaking to the rock: “speak…and it will…and so you will….”

¹³ tn This is the same word as that translated “treachery.”

¹⁴ sn Cozbi’s father, Zur, was one of five Midianite kings who eventually succumbed to Israel (Num 31:8). When the text gives the name and family of a woman, it is asserting that she is important, at least for social reasons, among her people.

¹⁵ sn This is probably technical terminology for a military leader (Josh 14:11; 1 Sam 18:13-16; 1 Kgs 3:7; 2 Kgs 11:9). The image of a shepherd can also be military in nature (1 Kgs 22:17).

¹⁶ tn The Hebrew text has the conjunction with the negated imperfect tense, “and it will not be.” This clause should be subordinated to the preceding to form a result clause, and the imperfect then function as a final imperfect.