Discovery BoxNumbers 11:10 
Context11:10 1 Moses heard the people weeping 2 throughout their families, everyone at the door of his tent; and when the anger of the Lord was kindled greatly, Moses was also displeased. 3
Numbers 15:38
Context15:38 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them to make 4 tassels 5 for themselves on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and put a blue thread 6 on the tassel of the corners.
Numbers 18:23
Context18:23 But the Levites must perform the service 7 of the tent of meeting, and they must bear their iniquity. 8 It will be a perpetual ordinance throughout your generations that among the Israelites the Levites 9 have no inheritance. 10
1 sn Moses begins to feel the burden of caring for this people, a stubborn and rebellious people. His complaint shows how contagious their complaining has been. It is one thing to cry out to God about the load of ministry, but it is quite another to do it in such a way as to reflect a lack of faith in God’s provision. God has to remind the leader Moses that he, the
2 tn The participle “weeping” is functioning here as the noun in the accusative case, an adverbial accusative of state. It is explicative of the object.
3 tn Heb “it was evil in the eyes of Moses.”
4 tn The construction uses the imperative followed by perfect tenses with vav (ו) consecutives. The first perfect tense may be translated as the imperative, but the second, being a third common plural form, has to be subordinated as a purpose clause, or as the object of the preceding verb: “speak…and say…that they make.”
5 sn This is a reference to the צִיצִת (tsitsit), the fringes on the borders of the robes. They were meant to hang from the corners of the upper garment (Deut 22:12), which was worn on top of the clothing. The tassel was probably made by twisting the overhanging threads of the garment into a knot that would hang down. This was a reminder of the covenant. The tassels were retained down through history, and today more elaborate prayer shawls with tassels are worn during prayer. For more information, see F. J. Stephens, “The Ancient Significance of Sisith,” JBL 50 (1931): 59-70; and S. Bertman, “Tasselled Garments in the Ancient East Mediterranean,” BA 24 (1961): 119-28.
6 sn The blue color may represent the heavenly origin of the Law, or perhaps, since it is a royal color, the majesty of the
7 tn The verse begins with the perfect tense of עָבַד (’avad) with vav (ו) consecutive, making the form equal to the instructions preceding it. As its object the verb has the cognate accusative “service.”
8 sn The Levites have the care of the tent of meeting, and so they are responsible for any transgressions against it.
9 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Levites) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
10 tn The Hebrew text uses both the verb and the object from the same root to stress the point: They will not inherit an inheritance. The inheritance refers to land.
