Numbers
Preparations for the journey (chapters 1-10)
The Israelites are mustered
11And the Lord (Yahweh) spoke to Moses in the Sinai desert [], in the tent of meeting (tabernacle – Hebr. ohel moed), on the first day of the second month [Iyar – April/May], in the second year [14 months] after they came out of Egypt [the tabernacle had been set up for a month, see ], and said: 2Count the number (the sum of the heads) of the whole congregation of the children of Israel, by their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of names, every man by himself, 3from 20 years old and upward, all who were sent out to war in Israel. You shall count them according to their army service (their place in the army), you and Aaron. 4With you shall be a man from each tribe, each a leader (head) over his father's house (the highest leader of each of the tribes of Israel). 5These are the names of those who shall stand with you: From Reuben: Elizur, son of Shedeur. 6From Simeon: Shelumiel, son of Tsorishadai.
7From Judah: Nahshon, son of Amminadab.
8From Issachar: Nethanel, son of Zuar.
9From Zebulun (Hebr. Zevolun): Eliab, son of Helon.
10From the sons of Joseph:
from Ephraim, Elishama, son of Ammihod;
from Manasseh, Gamliel, son of Pedazur.
11From Benjamin: Avidan, son of Gidoni.
12From Dan: Achiezer, son of Ammishaddai.
13From Asher: Pagiel, son of Ochran.
14From Gad: Eljasaf, son of Doel.
15From Naphtali: Ahira, son of Enan. 16These were chosen by the congregation, the princes of their fathers' tribes, the heads of the thousands of Israel. 17And Moses and Aaron took these men who were designated by name 18and on the first day of the second month [Iyar – April/May] they assembled the whole congregation and proclaimed their genealogies according to their families, according to their fathers' houses, according to the number of names from 20 years old and upward, each man separately. 19As the Lord (Yahweh) commanded Moses, so he did, and counted them in the wilderness of Sinai. 20The sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel, their generations (families – Hebr. toledot), according to their families, according to their fathers' houses, according to the number of names, each man separately, each man from 20 years old and upward, all who were sent out to war, 21this was the number of them of the tribe of Reuben, they were 46,500. 22The sons of Simeon, their generations, according to their families, according to their fathers' houses, by their names, every male individually, every male from 20 years old and upward, all who were sent out to war, 23this was the number of those of the tribe of Simeon, they were 59,300. 24The sons of Gad, their generations, according to their families, according to their fathers' houses, by the number of names, every male individually, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war, 25this was the number of those of the tribe of Gad, they were 45,650. 26The sons of Judah, their generations, according to their families, according to the houses of their fathers, by the number of names, every male individually, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go out to war, 27this was the number of those of the tribe of Judah, they were 74,600. 28The sons of Issachar, their generations, according to their families, after the house of their fathers, by the number of names, every male separately, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go out to war, 29this was the number of those of the tribe of Issachar, they were 54,400. 30The sons of Zebulun, their generations, according to their families, according to the houses of their fathers, by the number of names, every man by himself, every man from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go out to war, 31this was the number of those of the tribe of Zebulun, they were 57,400. 32The sons of Joseph, of the sons of Ephraim, their generations, according to their families, according to the houses of their fathers, by the number of names, every male separately, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go out to war, 33this was the number of those of the tribe of Ephraim, they were 40,500. 34The sons of Manasseh, their generations, according to their families, according to their fathers' houses, by the number of names, every male individually, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war, 35this was the number of those of the tribe of Manasseh, they were 32,200. [Joseph received the double inheritance of the birthright. When Reuben sinned, he lost his birthright, and it was divided among three of his brothers. Levi received the right to be priests, Judah received the right to be king, and Joseph received the double inheritance, see ; .] 36The sons of Benjamin, their generations, after their families, after the houses of their fathers, according to the number of names, every man by himself, every man from 20 years old and upward, all who were able to go out to war, 37this was the number of them of the tribe of Benjamin, they were 35,400. 38The sons of Dan, their generations, according to their families, after the houses of their fathers, by the number of names, every male separately, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go out to war, 39this was the number of those of the tribe of Dan, they were 62,700. 40The sons of Asher, their generations, according to their families, after the houses of their fathers, by the number of names, every male separately, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war, 41this was the number of those of the tribe of Asher, they were 41,500. 42The sons of Naphtali, their generations, according to their families, according to the houses of their fathers, by the number of names, every male separately, every male from 20 years old and upward, all who were sent forth to war, 43this was the number of them of the tribe of Naphtali, they were 53,400. 44These are those who were counted (enlisted), those who were counted by Moses, Aaron, and the princes of Israel. The princes were twelve men, each one a leader of his father's house (tribe). 45These are the ones counted of the sons of Israel according to their fathers' houses (tribes) from 20 years old and upward, all who were sent out to war, 46all those who were counted were 603,550 in total. 47But the Levites were not counted among them according to their fathers' tribes. 48The Lord spoke to Moses, saying 49"You shall not count the tribe of Levi, nor shall you include them among the sons of Israel, 50but appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of testimony, over all its furnishings, and over everything that belongs to it. They shall carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings, and they shall serve it and camp around the tabernacle. 51When the tabernacle is to be moved, the Levites shall take it down, and when the tabernacle is to be set up, the Levites shall set it up. If any man (who is not a Levite) comes near it, he shall be put to death. 52The sons of Israel shall pitch their tents, each man in his own camp and each man under his own banner according to their divisions. 53But the Levites shall pitch (their tents) around the tabernacle of testimony, so that the congregation of the sons of Israel may not incur wrath. The Levites shall take care of (look after, be responsible for) the tabernacle of testimony. [The Levites replace the firstborn sons of Israel, who would originally have performed these duties but lost that privilege when they worshipped the golden calf. The Levites remained faithful during that time and thus won God's favor, see ; ; ; .
As servants to the priests, the Levites are responsible for the furniture and structures of the tabernacle—they take down, carry, and set up everything each time the Israelites move on during their journey through the desert. This is such a sacred task that only the Levites are allowed to approach the tabernacle. Any unauthorized person who approaches it is punished with death, see .
It is also necessary for the Levites to set up their tents around the tabernacle in all four directions, unlike the other tribes, who are assigned one direction. They form a protective wall to prevent the Israelites from coming too close to the tabernacle, which could trigger God's wrath to strike the camp, see .] 54The sons of Israel did everything according to what the Lord (Yahweh) commanded Moses, so they did.The placement of the tribes in the camp
21
The location of the tribes forms a cross when viewed from the east.
East: Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun
South: Reuben, Simeon, and Gad
West: Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin
North: Dan, Asher, and Naphtali
The number of people makes the camps different in size. The western camp is the smallest, with just over 100,000 people, while the eastern camp is almost twice as large, with nearly 190,000 people. The southern and northern camps both have around 150,000 people. Seen from above, from the east, this arrangement of tents forms the shape of a cross. Each tribe has its own prince or leader (Hebr. nasi), see , and a special flag or banner (Hebr. degel), see , with its own specific tribal symbols and colors. The colors correspond to the precious stones on the high priest's breastplate, see . These symbols are considered a sign of God's great love for each tribe of Israel. It is written in the Song: "His banners over me are love," see .]East
3Those who now camp on the east side, toward the sunrise, shall be those in the camp who belong to the banner of Judah, according to their divisions.
The leader of the sons of Judah is Nahshon, the son of Amminadab, 4and their division and those counted among them, 74,600.
5And those who camp next to him shall be the tribe of Issachar.
The leader of the sons of Issachar is Nethanel, the son of Zuar, 6and their division and those counted among them, 54,400. 7And [the third] tribe of Zebulun.
The leader of the sons of Zebulun is Eliab, son of Helon, 8and their division and those counted among them, 57,400. 9All those counted in the camp of Judah were 186,400 according to their divisions. They shall go out first (every time the camp breaks camp to move on). [That Judah goes first is also mentioned in . Judah means praise, and here is an important principle about always putting praise first in our lives, both in the face of ordinary changes and in the spiritual battle.]South
10On the south side shall be those in the camp who belong to Reuben's banner according to their divisions.
The leader of Reuben's sons is Elizur, the son of Shedeur, 11and their division, and those counted among them, 46,500.
12And those who camp next to him shall be the tribe of Simeon.
The leader of the sons of Simeon is Shelumiel, son of Tsorishadaj, 13and their division and those counted among them, 59,300.
14And [the third in this group is] the tribe of Gad.
The leader of the sons of Gad is Eliasaph, son of Reuel, 15and their division and those counted among them, 45,650. 16All who were counted in the camp of Reuben were 151,450 according to their divisions. They shall set out (go) as number two [marching after the first three tribes].Centrally – the tabernacle
17Then the tent of meeting (tabernacle) with the tribe of Levi shall go in the middle of the camp when they move on [from one campsite to the next]. So they shall go forward, each man in his place under his own banner.West
18On the west side shall be those in the camp who belong to the banner of Ephraim according to their divisions.
The leader of the sons of Ephraim is Elishama, son of Ammihud, 19and their division and those counted among them, 40,500.
20And those who camp next to him shall be the tribe of Manasseh.
The leader of the sons of Manasseh is Gamaliel, the son of Pedazur, 21and their division and those counted among them, 32,200.
22And the tribe of Benjamin.
The leader of the sons of Benjamin is Avidan, son of Gidon, 23and their division and those counted among them, 35,400. 24All who were counted in the camp of Ephraim were 108,100
according to their divisions.
They shall go out (march) as number three [following the first six tribes and the Levites].North
25On the north side shall be those in the camp belonging to Dan's banner according to their divisions.
The leader of the sons of Dan is Achiezer, son of Ammishaddai, 26and their division, and those counted among them, 62,700.
27And those who camp next to him shall be the tribe of Asher.
The leader of the sons of Asher is Pagiel, son of Ochran. 28and their division and those counted among them, 41,500. 29And [last in the last group] the tribe of Naphtali.
The leader of the sons of Naphtali is Ahira, son of Enan, 30and their division and those counted among them, 53,400. 31All who were counted in Dan's camp were 157,600 according to their divisions. They shall go out last (marching after the other tribes) under their banners. 32These are those who were counted of the sons of Israel, according to their fathers' houses. All who were counted in the camp according to their divisions were 603,550. 33But the Levites were not counted among the sons of Israel, as the Lord (Yahweh) commanded Moses. 34So the sons of Israel did according to all that the Lord (Yahweh) commanded Moses. They camped under their banners and they moved on [from campsite to campsite, following their designated places in the line], each with his families and with his fathers' houses.The Levites
31This is the continuing story (Hebr. toledot) of Aaron and Moses [this is the 12th toledot unit, see ]. From the time (on that day – Hebr. bejom) when the Lord (Yahweh) spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai. 2And these are the names of Aaron's sons: Nadab, the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 3These are the names of Aaron's sons, the priests who were anointed, whom he set apart (consecrated) to serve in the priesthood. 4And Nadab and Abihu died before the Lord (Yahweh) when they offered strange fire before the Lord (Yahweh) in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no sons. And Eleazar and Ithamar ministered in the priesthood in the presence of their father Aaron. 5The Lord (Yahweh) spoke to Moses and said: 6"Bring the tribe of Levi near and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him. 7And they shall keep (take care of, guard, protect) his undertakings (affairs) and the undertakings (affairs) of the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, and do service in the tabernacle. 8And they shall keep (take care of, guard, protect) all the furniture of the tent of meeting and the duties of the sons of Israel to serve in the tabernacle. 9And you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are wholly (completely) given to him from among the sons of Israel. 10And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons to keep (take care of, guard, protect) the priesthood, and any ordinary person who comes near shall be put to death." 11The Lord (Yahweh) spoke to Moses and said: 12"And I, behold [Hebr. hinneh – emphasizing what follows], I myself have taken (chosen) the Levites from among (in the midst of) the sons of Israel, instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the sons of Israel []. Therefore, the Levites shall be mine, 13for every firstborn is mine. On the day I struck down every firstborn in Egypt, I consecrated to myself every firstborn in Israel, both man and beast. They shall be mine. I am the Lord (Yahweh)." [The tenth and final plague affected all people and animals in Egypt, see .] 14And the Lord (Yahweh) spoke to Moses in the Sinai desert and said: 15"Count the sons of Levi according to their fathers' houses, according to their families, every male from one month old and upward, you shall count them among them." 16And Moses counted them according to the word of the Lord (Yahweh), as he was commanded. 17And these were the sons of Levi by their names:
Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 18And these are the names of the sons of Gershon by their families:
Libni and Shimei.
19And the sons of Kohath by their families:
Amram, Jizhar, Hebron (Hebr. Chevrón), and Uzziel.
20And the sons of Merari by their families:
Machli and Moshi. These are the families of Levi according to their fathers' houses.West
21To Gershon belong the family of Livni and the family of Shimei. These are the families of the Gershonites. 22Those who were counted among them, according to the number of all men from one month old and upward, those who were counted among them were 7,500. 23The families of the Gershonites shall camp beside the tabernacle on the west side. 24The leader of the fathers' houses among the Gershonites is Eljasaph, the son of Lael. 25The duties assigned to the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting, the tabernacle, and the tent, are its covering (the roof) and the door curtain for the tent of meeting, 26and the cloth around the courtyard and the door curtain for the entrance to the tabernacle, and the altar (sacrificial altar), and the ropes around it, and everything that belongs to it to perform its service.South
27To Kehat belong the family of Amram and the family of Jizhar and the family of Chevron and the family of Uzziel. These are the families of the Kehathites, 28according to the number of all the males from one month old and upward, 8,600, guardians of the affairs of the sanctuary. 29The families of the Kohathites shall camp on the south side of the tabernacle. 30The leader of the fathers' houses among the Kohathites is Elizaphan, the son of Uzziel. 31Their responsibility (task) is the ark, and the table [the table of showbread], and the menorah [the seven-branched candlestick], and the altar (the altar of incense), and the utensils of the sanctuary which the priests use in their service, and the veil, and everything related to the work of this. 32Elazar, son of Aaron, the priest, is the head of the other leaders among the Levites and has primary responsibility for those who keep (take care of, guard, protect) the affairs of the sanctuary.North
33To Merari belong the families of Machli and Moshi. These are the families of the Merarites. 34And those who were counted among them, according to the number of all men from one month old and upward, those who were counted among them were 7,500. 35The leader of the house of their fathers among the Merarites is Zohar, the son of Avihail. They shall camp beside the tabernacle on the north side. 36The sons of Merari [a total of 6,000 men who were stationed on the north side of the tabernacle] were assigned to be responsible for the boards of the tabernacle, its crossbars, its posts, and its bases, and all its equipment, and everything belonging to it for carrying out its service, 37and the pillars of the courtyard all around and their bases and their tent pegs and their ropes.East
38And those who are to camp in front of the tabernacle on the east side, in front of the tent of meeting toward the sunrise, are Moses and Aaron and his sons, (they shall) keep (take care of, guard, protect) the affairs of the sanctuary and the affairs of the sons of Israel, and any common man who comes near shall be put to death. 39All those who were counted of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron counted at the commandment of the Lord (Yahweh) by their families, every male from a month old and upward, were 22,000. 40And the Lord (Yahweh) said to Moses, "Count all the firstborn males of the sons of Israel, from one month old and upward, and take the number of their names. 41And you shall take [set apart] the Levites for me—[for] I am the Lord
(Yahweh)—instead of the firstborn among the sons of Israel, and the livestock of the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the livestock of the sons of Israel."
42And Moses counted, as the Lord (Yahweh) commanded him, all the firstborn among the sons of Israel. 43And all the firstborn males, according to the number of names, from one month old and upward, of those who were counted, were 22,273. [Cf. . The difference of 273 persons must be covered by the ransom specified in verses 46-48.] 44The Lord (Yahweh) spoke to Moses and said: 45"Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn [firstborn sons] among the sons of Israel, and the livestock of the Levites instead of their [the other tribes'] livestock. The Levites shall be mine. I am the Lord (Yahweh). 46But as a ransom (Hebr. pedoj) [] for the 273 firstborn in Israel that exceed the number of the Levites, 47you shall take 5 shekels [a total of 60 grams; equivalent to half a year's salary] for each of them [a total of 16 kg of silver for all 273 persons], according to the sanctuary shekel you shall take them—1 shekel is 20 gera [a small unit of weight equal to 0.6 grams]. 48Give the money to Aaron and his sons as a ransom for the rest of them." 49And Moses took the redemption money from those who remained of those who were redeemed by the Levites, 50from the firstborn of the sons of Israel he took the money, 1,365 shekels [15.7 kg of silver] according to the sanctuary shekel, 51and Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons according to the word of the Lord (Yahweh), as the Lord (Yahweh) commanded Moses.The Kohathites
41And the Lord (Yahweh) spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: 2"Take the number of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of the Levites, by their families, by their fathers' houses, 3from 30 years old and upward to 50 years old, all who enter the service to do the work in the tent of meeting. 4This is the work of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting, among the most holy things. 5When the camp moves on, Aaron and his sons shall come in and take down the curtain (which hangs between the holy place and the most holy place) and cover the ark of the testimony with it, 6and on top of it they shall place a covering of skins and spread a blue cloth over it, and they shall put the poles in place. 7And over the table of showbread they shall spread a blue cloth, and on top of it they shall place the dishes, pots, bowls, and jugs with which they pour, and the bread shall remain on it. 8And they shall spread a crimson cloth and cover it with skins [], and then they shall put the poles in place. 9And they shall take a blue cloth and cover the menorah—the lampstand [the seven-branched candlestick, see ] and its lamps and its tongs and its wick trimmers and all its oil utensils with which they minister to it. [Literally: 'the lampstand menorah'. This may be a way of emphasizing that it is this specific light holder that has seven arms. The word light holder (Hebr. maor) is a general term for a light bearer that can be anything that carries and spreads light, used for example for the sun and the moon, see .] 10And they shall put it and all its accessories in a covering of skins, and then they shall put it on a frame (stretcher, pole). 11And on the golden altar they shall spread a blue cloth and cover it with a skin, and then they shall insert its poles. 12And they shall take all the accessories belonging to the work (service) they perform in the sanctuary and put them in a blue cloth. Then they shall cover them with a covering of skins and put them on a frame (stretcher, pole) [to carry them]. 13And they shall remove the ashes from the altar and spread a purple cloth over it. 14And they shall put all its accessories on it, which they use in the work of it, the fire pans, the meat hooks, and the shovels, and the bowls, all the accessories of the altar, and they shall spread a covering of skins over it and put its poles in place. 15And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy furniture and all the holy utensils, when the camp is [ready to] move on, then the sons of Kohath shall come and carry them, but they shall not touch the holy objects, lest they die. These objects are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting. [They shall carry everything with poles or with yokes.] 16Elazar, the son of Aaron the priest, is responsible for the oil for the light bearer [lamp oil], and the sweet incense, and the unbroken food offering (showbread) and the anointing oil; he is responsible for the entire tabernacle and everything in it, both the sanctuary and its furniture." 17And the Lord (Yahweh) spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: 18"Do not cut off the family of the Kohathites from the Levites, 19but do this to them so that they may live and not die when they approach the most holy objects: Aaron and his sons shall go in and assign each of them to his work and to his burden, 20but they shall not come in to see the holy things, lest they die." [Sinful people cannot see the glory of God. The Kohathites must not see the holy things, even for a moment, but they must be completely covered. They must not be curious and lift the cover a little, but must carry everything exactly as it is when Aaron and his sons have done the work of covering everything.]The Gershonites
21The Lord (Yahweh) spoke to Moses and said: 22"Count the sons of Gershon, from their fathers' houses according to their families, 23from 30 years old and upward to 50 years old, you shall count them, all who enter and wait for their service to perform the work in the tent of meeting. 24This is the work (service) of the families of Gershon, when they serve, and the burdens they shall bear: 25They shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle and the tent of meeting, its covering and the covering of skin above it, and the curtain for the door of the tent of meeting [the curtain into the holy place] 26and the hangings of the courtyard and the curtain for the door of the courtyard that is around the tabernacle and the altar around it, and their ropes and all the accessories for the work and everything made with them. Thus they shall serve. 27Under the direction of Aaron and his sons, all the work shall be done by the Gershonites; in all their duties and in all their service they shall be appointed to be responsible for these duties. 28This is the service of the families of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting, and their responsibility shall be under the hand of Ithamar, son of Aaron the priest."the Merarites
29[The Lord continues to speak to Moses:] "As for the sons of Merari, you shall count them by their families, by their fathers' houses. 30from 30 years old and upward to 50 years old, you shall count them, all who enter and wait for their service to perform the work in the tent of meeting. 31And this is the responsibility for their burdens [which they shall bear] according to their work in the tent of meeting: the boards of the tabernacle and its crossbars and its pillars and its bases, 32and the pillars around the courtyard and their bases and their tent pegs, and its ropes, and other accessories—and everything needed for the work. And you shall appoint them by name for the responsibility of each part of the burden. 33This is the service of the families of the sons of Merari in the tent of meeting, and their responsibility shall be under the authority of Ithamar, son of Aaron the priest."The counting of the families of the Levites
34And Moses and Aaron and the leaders of the congregation counted the sons of the Kohathites by their families and their fathers' houses, 35from 30 years old and upward to 50 years old, all who enter the service to do the work in the tent of meeting. 36And those who were counted of them by their families were 2,750. 37These are those who were counted of the families of the Kohathites, of all those who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron counted according to the commandment of the Lord (Yahweh) by the hand of Moses. 38And these were those counted of the sons of Gershon, by their families and their fathers' houses. 39from 30 years old and upward to 50 years old, all who enter the service to do the work in the tent of meeting. 40Those counted among them according to their families, according to their fathers' houses, were 2,630. 41These are those who were counted of the families of the sons of Gershon, of all those who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron counted according to the commandment of the Lord (Yahweh). 42And these were those who were counted of the families of the sons of Merari, according to their families and their fathers' houses. 43from 30 years old and upward to 50 years old, all who enter the service to do the work in the tent of meeting. 44Those counted of them by their families were 3,200. 45These are those who were counted of the families of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron counted according to the commandment of the Lord (Yahweh) by the hand of Moses. 46All these who were counted of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the leaders of Israel counted by their families and by their fathers' houses, 47from 30 years old and upward to 50 years old, all who enter the work to serve, to do the work of carrying burdens in the tent of meeting. 48Those counted among them were 8,580. 49According to the commandment of the Lord (Yahweh), they were appointed by the hand of Moses, each to his service and for his burden, they were counted as the Lord (Yahweh) commanded Moses.Purity in the camp
51The Lord (Yahweh) spoke to Moses and said: 2"Command the sons of Israel to send away from the camp anyone who suffers from a severe skin disease (Hebr. , see ) and anyone who is sick and anyone who is unclean through contact with someone who has died. 3both men and women you shall send out, outside the camp you shall send them, so that they do not defile the camp in whose midst I dwell." 4And the sons of Israel did so and sent them outside the camp. As the Lord (Yahweh) had spoken to Moses, so did the sons of Israel.Redress
5The Lord (Yahweh) spoke to Moses and said: 6"Speak to the sons of Israel: A man or woman who confesses any sin that people usually confess, who confesses a transgression against the Lord (Yahweh) and this soul is guilty, 7then they shall confess their sins which they have committed, and they shall repay their debt in full and add a fifth of the value, and give it to the one to whom they are indebted. 8But if the man has no redeemer to whom the payment for the debt can be given, then the repayment shall be to the Lord (Yahweh), yes, to the priest, alongside the ram of atonement, with which atonement shall be made for him. 9And every offering of all the holy things of the sons of Israel, which is brought to the priest, shall be his. 10And every man's holy things shall be his (the priest's), whatever any man gives to the priest, it is his."Test for infidelity
11The Lord (Yahweh) spoke to Moses and said: 12"Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them: If a man's wife goes astray and acts unfaithfully toward him, 13and a man lies with her, and it is hidden from her husband's eyes, she becomes secretly unclean, and there are no witnesses against her, nor is she caught in the act. 14But if he is overcome by jealousy and suspects his wife of being defiled, or if jealousy comes over him and he suspects his wife even though she has not been defiled, 15then the man shall bring his wife to the priest and bring an offering for her [because she is suspected of sin, she cannot bring it herself, see ], a tenth of an ephah [22-36 liters] of barley flour, he shall not pour oil on it or put incense on it, for it is a food offering for suspicion (jealousy) [suspicion offering], a food offering for remembrance that causes the sin to be remembered. [Oil and incense are often associated with celebration, and this was not a festive occasion. That is probably why they are not included in this offering, cf. .] 16And the priest shall bring her near and set her before the Lord (Yahweh). 17And the priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel, and of the dust that is on the ground in the tabernacle, the priest shall take and put it into the water. 18And the priest shall set the woman before the Lord (Yahweh) and uncover the woman's head [perhaps to indicate that she is ritually unclean, see ] and place the food offering in her hand, which is the food offering for jealousy [], and the priest shall have the water of bitterness that causes the curse in his hand. 19And the priest shall make her take an oath and say to the woman, 'If no man has lain with you, and if you have not gone astray while you were under your husband's authority, you shall be free from this water of bitterness that causes a curse, 20but if you have gone astray while under your husband's authority, and if you have become unclean, and if anyone has lain with you besides your husband' 21then the priest shall make the woman take an oath of condemnation, and the priest shall say to the woman, 'The Lord (Yahweh) make you a curse and an oath among your people, when the Lord (Yahweh) causes your hip to fall [unable to conceive; the hip may be a euphemism for the womb, perhaps describing a prolapsed uterus or miscarriage of a child born out of wedlock] and your belly swell up, 22and this water that causes the curse shall be in your bowels, causing your belly to swell and your hip to fall [unable to conceive]',
and the woman shall say: 'Amen, amen.' [I.e., agree and concur.] 23And the priest shall write this curse in a book (scroll), and he shall wash it in the water of bitterness. 24And he shall make the woman drink the water of bitterness that causes the curse, and the water that causes the curse shall enter her and become bitter. 25And the priest shall take the food offering of suspicion (jealousy) [the offering of suspicion] from the woman's hand and shall wave the food offering before the Lord (Yahweh) and bring it to the altar. 26And the priest shall take a handful of the food offering, as a memorial portion of it, and burn it on the altar, and afterward he shall make the woman drink the water. 27And when he has made her drink the water, it shall be revealed whether she is unclean and has been unfaithful to her husband, for the water that causes the curse will enter her and become bitter, and her belly will swell and her hips will fall [she cannot become pregnant; perhaps describing a prolapsed uterus or miscarriage of an illegitimate child, see ], and the woman shall become a curse among her people. 28But if the woman is not unclean, but clean, then she shall be acquitted and shall bear seed. [Strangely enough, the word seed is used here, even though it is the man's seed that fertilizes the woman's egg.] 29This is the teaching on jealousy, when a woman goes astray while she is under her husband and becomes unclean, 30or when the spirit of jealousy comes upon the man and he is jealous of his wife, then he shall bring his wife before the Lord (Yahweh) and the priest shall execute this instruction (teaching, Torah) upon her. 31The man shall be clean from his sin, and that woman shall bear her own sin."Nazarite vows
[Nazirite vows are about when someone wants to serve the Lord in a special way. The Hebrew word nazir means "devoted" and "consecrated." The vow was time-limited, see . In the case of Samuel () and Samson (), their mothers gave them a lifelong Nazirite vow. John the Baptist is mentioned in similar terms, see . Extra-biblical sources show that Nazirite vows were common and served as offerings of thanksgiving. The vow period was 30 days. It was probably such a Nazirite vow that Paul made in Corinth, see Acts 18:18; 21:23-26. The passage follows a chiastic structure: Introduction, verses 1-2
B. Prohibitions, verses 3-8
C. Defilement, verses 9-12
B´ Fulfillment, verses 13-20
A´ Summary, ] 61The Lord (Yahweh) spoke to Moses, saying:
2"Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them: When a man or woman wants to make a vow (an oath), a Nazirite vow to separate (sanctify) themselves before the Lord (Yahweh). [It is emphasized here that women can also make these vows. Some examples are Hannah and Manoah's wife, see ; .] 3He shall abstain from wine and strong drink; he shall drink nothing made from the grapevine, neither vinegar nor strong drink, nor shall he drink any juice from the grapes, nor eat fresh grapes or raisins. 4All the days of his separation he shall not eat anything made from grapes, from pressed grapes or even (that which is made from) grape skins. 5Throughout the period of his vow, no razor shall come upon his head until the days are fulfilled that he has set himself apart (consecrated) before the Lord (Yahweh). He shall be holy; he shall let his hair grow long. [His hair was the outward symbol that he was a Nazirite.] 6As long as he is separated (consecrated) to the Lord (Yahweh), he shall not come near a dead body. [This may be a symbol of sin, since the wages of sin is death.] 7He shall not defile himself for his father or his mother, for his brother or his sister when they die, because his separation (consecration) before the Lord (Yahweh) is upon his head. [Refers to the long hair that is the sign of a Nazirite.] 8All the days of his separation (consecration) he shall be holy to the Lord (Yahweh). 9If any person dies suddenly beside him and he defiles his consecrated head, he shall shave his head on the day he purifies himself; on the seventh day he shall shave it. [He becomes unclean for a week before he can recommit to his Nazirite vow. See .] 10And on the eighth day he shall bring two turtledoves or two pigeons to the priest, to the door of the tent of meeting (the tabernacle). 11And the priest shall prepare one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering, and make atonement for him, because he sinned because of the dead, and he shall consecrate his head on that day. 12And he shall separate himself to the Lord (Yahweh) on the day of his Nazirite vow and shall bring a male lamb a year old as a guilt offering, but his previous Nazirite days shall not be counted, because his separation was defiled (desecrated, stained). 13This is the teaching (instructions) concerning being a Nazirite. When the days of his separation are completed, he shall be brought to the door of the tent of meeting (tabernacle) 14and he shall present his offering before the Lord (Yahweh): a year-old male lamb without blemish and a year-old female lamb without blemish as a sin offering, and a ram without blemish as a peace offering, 15and a basket of unleavened bread, cakes of fine flour mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and their grain offering and drink offering. 16And the priest shall bring them before the Lord (Yahweh) and shall offer his sin offering and his burnt offering. 17And he shall offer the ram as a peace offering before the Lord (Yahweh) together with the basket of unleavened bread. The priest shall also offer the accompanying food offering and the accompanying drink offering. 18And the Nazirite shall shave his consecrated head at the door of the tent of meeting (tabernacle) and shall take the hair from his consecrated head and put it on the fire under the peace offering. 19And the priest shall take the shoulder of the ram when it is roasted and one unleavened cake from the basket and one twisted cake and shall place them in the hands of the Nazirite after he has shaved his separated head. 20And the priest shall wave them as a wave offering before the Lord (Yahweh), this is holy (set apart) to the priest, together with the wave offering (the breast of the ram) and the thigh, and thereafter the Nazirite may drink wine. 21This is the teaching (instruction) concerning the Nazirite who takes a vow (a promise) and concerning his offering to the Lord (Yahweh) for his Nazirite vow, in addition to what he voluntarily gives in accordance with the promise he makes. He must do this according to the teaching (instruction) concerning his Nazirite vow.Aaron's blessing prayer
22The Lord (Yahweh) spoke to Moses and said:
23Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, "Thus you shall bless the Israelites, saying to them: 24May the Lord (Yahweh) bless you
and keep (protect) you.
25May the Lord (Yahweh) make his face shine upon you [come with his presence]
and be gracious to you (show you favor; comfort you and give you his undeserved love).
26May the Lord (Yahweh) turn (lift up) his face toward you
and give you peace (complete harmony; wholeness – Hebr. shalom). 27So shall they [the priests] pronounce (place) my name upon the Israelites, and I will bless them. [In Hebrew, the blessing (JHVH is never pronounced but is replaced with Adonai):
jevarechecha Adonai vejishmerecha
jaer Adonai panav elecha vichuneka
jisa Adonai panav elecha vejasem lecha shalom
God's name is included in every verse – he is the source of all blessings. The first line consists of three Hebrew words, the second of five, and the last of seven. The number of letters also increases (15, 20, 25). One can see symbolism in this, as if the blessing increases in strength, but numbers also have a more specific meaning in the Bible: - 3 is the number of God and heaven, something that is important and lasting (the Lord preserves).
- 5 stands for grace (the Lord shows grace).
- 7 stands for perfection, completeness, covenant, and the Holy Spirit (the Lord gives peace).
In total, there are six Hebrew verbs and six actions that are paired together: - bless (Hebr. barach): give prosperity in all areas of life, bow down, graft.
- preserve (Hebr. shamar): preserve, protect, watch over, act as a bodyguard.
- shine (Hebr. or): be or become light, illuminate, shine, light up.
- show (Hebr. chanan): show undeserved grace, mercy, goodwill, favor—to bend down in kindness to someone in a subordinate and weaker position.
- turn (Hebr. nasa): to lift, carry, take; translated here as turn.
- give (Hebr. shom): to lay, set, place, do, give, appoint, ordain, establish, plant.
Since the word barach is a root with several meanings, one can also read into the blessing here that God himself bends his knees. There is a duality here: God blesses from heaven, but also as a kneeling, humble servant (). The fact that the word also means to graft shows that when the Lord blesses, he also grafts into the true olive tree, Israel. This also provides a nice frame and chiasm for the meaning of planting in the verb shom in . See also ; .
The Lord desires prosperity—he watches over and wants to illuminate the way into his presence where he can give of his grace. He is a good Father who wants to comfort his children and generously share his tender love. That the Lord wants to "lift up" or turn his face means that God wants to share his heartfelt fellowship with every human being. Here is the offer of forgiveness, restoration, bliss, and peace. The Hebrew word for peace, shalom, means God's blessing in all areas, security, friendship, and peace with God, oneself, and other people.]Sacrifices for the separation
71And it came to pass on that day that Moses finished (completed, accomplished) [plural!] the assembly (building, erection, literally gathering) [plural!] of the tabernacle (Hebr. mishkan), and he anointed it and consecrated it, and all its furnishings, and the altar with its utensils, and he anointed them and consecrated them, 2so that the leaders of Israel, the heads of their fathers' houses, could come near [to bring their offerings], these are the leaders of the tribes, who are over (leaders of) those who were counted [in the census taken earlier, see ]. 3And they brought their offerings before the Lord (Yahweh), 6 covered carts and 12 oxen (Hebr. baqar), one cart for two leaders and one ox for each of them, and they presented them before the tabernacle. 4The Lord (Yahweh) spoke to Moses and said: 5"Receive them from them, that they may be used in the tent of meeting, and you shall give them to the Levites, to each man according to his service." 6And Moses took the wagons and the oxen and gave them to the Levites. 7He gave two carts and four oxen to the sons of Gershon according to their service. [The Gershonites were from the tribe of Levi; their duties are described in and in even greater detail in .] 8And he gave four carts and eight oxen to the sons of Merari according to their service, under the direction of Ithamar, son of Aaron the priest. [Ithamar was the youngest of Aaron's four sons, see . The Merarites were also descendants of Levi, their duties are described in and in even greater detail in .] 9But he gave nothing to the sons of Kohath, because the service of the holy things belongs to them; they carry them on their shoulders. [The Kohathites were also descendants of Levi, see .] 10And the leaders brought the altar's consecration offerings on the day it was anointed. [This day is described in .] The men also brought their (personal) offerings before the altar. 11And the Lord (Yahweh) said to Moses, "They shall present their offerings, each leader on his day, for the dedication of the altar."The offerings of the twelve tribes
[During a 12-day period, each tribe's contribution is brought forward. The tribes are listed in the same order as in . The shekel was a unit of weight equal to 11.5 grams. The expression "the weight of the sanctuary" probably refers to the standard weight of the balance in the temple in Jerusalem.] 12And the one who presented his offering on the 1th day was Nahshon, son of Amminadab, of the tribe of Judah. 13His offering was a silver dish weighing 130 shekels [1.5 kg], a silver bowl weighing 70 shekels [0.8 kg] according to the sanctuary shekel, both of them filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering [], 14a golden bowl weighing 10 shekels [115 grams], filled with incense, 15a young bull, a ram, a male lamb one year old, for a burnt offering [], 16a male goat for a sin offering [; ], 17and for the peace offering (communion offering) [] 2 cattle, 5 rams, 5 male goats, 5 one-year-old male lambs. This was the offering of Nahshon, son of Amminadab. 18On the 2th day, Netanel, son of Tsoar, leader of Issachar, offered his sacrifice. 19He presented as his offering a silver platter weighing 130 shekels [1.5 kg], a silver bowl weighing 70 shekels [0.8 kg] according to the sanctuary shekel, both of them filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, 20a golden bowl weighing 10 shekels [115 grams], filled with incense, 21a young bull, a ram, a male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering, 22a male goat for a sin offering, 23and for the peace offering (communion offering) 2 oxen, 5 rams, 5 male goats, 5 male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Nethanel, son of Zohar. 24On the 3th day, Eliab, son of Helon, leader of the sons of Zebulun, offered his sacrifice. 25He presented as his offering a silver platter weighing 130 shekels [1.5 kg], a silver bowl weighing 70 shekels [0.8 kg] according to the sanctuary shekel, both of them filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, 26a golden bowl weighing 10 shekels [115 grams], filled with incense, 27a young bull, a ram, a male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering, 28a male goat for a sin offering, 29and for the peace offering, 2 cattle, 5 rams, 5 male goats, 5 male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Eliab, son of Helon. 30On the 4th day, Elizur, son of Shedejor, leader of the sons of Reuben, offered his sacrifice. 31He presented as his offering a silver platter weighing 130 shekels [1.5 kg], a silver bowl weighing 70 shekels [0.8 kg] according to the sanctuary shekel, both of them filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, 32a golden bowl weighing 10 shekels [115 grams], filled with incense, 33a young bull, a ram, a male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering, 34a male goat for a sin offering, 35and for the peace offering, 2 cattle, 5 rams, 5 male goats, 5 male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Elizur, son of Shedeor. 36On the 5th day, Shelumiel, son of Tsorishadaj, leader of the sons of Simeon, offered his sacrifice. 37He presented as his offering a silver platter weighing 130 shekels [1.5 kg], a silver bowl weighing 70 shekels [0.8 kg] according to the sanctuary shekel, both of them filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, 38a golden bowl weighing 10 shekels [115 grams], filled with incense, 39a young bull, a ram, a male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering, 40a male goat for a sin offering, 41and for the peace offering, two cattle, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Shelumiel, son of Tsorishadaj. 42On the 6th day, Eljasaf, son of Doel, leader of the sons of Gad, offered his sacrifice. 43He presented as his offering a silver platter weighing 130 shekels [1.5 kg], a silver bowl weighing 70 shekels [0.8 kg] according to the sanctuary shekel, both of them filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, 44a golden bowl weighing 10 shekels [115 grams], filled with incense, 45a young bull, a ram, a male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering, 46a male goat for a sin offering, 47and for the peace offering, 2 cattle, 5 rams, 5 male goats, 5 male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Eljasaph, son of Doel. 48On the 7th day, Elishama, son of Ammihod, leader of the sons of Ephraim, offered 49He presented as his offering a silver platter weighing 130 shekels [1.5 kg], a silver bowl weighing 70 shekels [0.8 kg] according to the sanctuary shekel, both of them filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, 50a golden bowl weighing 10 shekels [115 grams], filled with incense, 51a young bull, a ram, a male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering, 52a male goat for a sin offering, 53and for the peace offering, 2 cattle, 5 rams, 5 male goats, 5 male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Elishama, son of Ammihod. 54On the 8th day, Gamliel, son of Pedatzur, leader of the sons of Manasseh, offered his sacrifice. 55He presented as his offering a silver platter weighing 130 shekels [1.5 kg], a silver bowl weighing 70 shekels [0.8 kg] according to the sanctuary shekel, both of them filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, 56a golden bowl weighing 10 shekels [115 grams], filled with incense, 57a young bull, a ram, a male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering, 58a male goat for a sin offering, 59and for the peace offering, 2 cattle, 5 rams, 5 male goats, 5 male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Gamliel, son of Pedatzur. 60On the 9th day, Avidan, son of Gidoni, leader of the sons of Benjamin, offered his sacrifice. 61He presented as his offering a silver platter weighing 130 shekels [1.5 kg], a silver bowl weighing 70 shekels [0.8 kg] according to the sanctuary shekel, both of them filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, 62a golden bowl weighing 10 shekels [115 grams], filled with incense, 63a young bull, a ram, a male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering, 64a male goat for a sin offering, 65and for the peace offering, 2 cattle, 5 rams, 5 male goats, 5 male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Avidan, son of Gidoni. 66On the 10th day, Achiezer, son of Ammishaddai, leader of the sons of Dan, offered his sacrifice. 67He presented as his offering a silver platter weighing 130 shekels [1.5 kg], a silver bowl weighing 70 shekels [0.8 kg] according to the sanctuary shekel, both of them filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, 68a golden bowl weighing 10 shekels [115 grams], filled with incense, 69a young bull, a ram, a male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering, 70a male goat for a sin offering, 71and for the peace offering, 2 cattle, 5 rams, 5 male goats, 5 male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Achiezer, son of Ammishaddai. 72On the 11th day, Pagiel, son of Ochran, leader of the sons of Asher, offered his sacrifice. 73He presented as his offering a silver platter weighing 130 shekels [1.5 kg], a silver bowl weighing 70 shekels [0.8 kg] according to the sanctuary shekel, both of them filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, 74a golden bowl weighing 10 shekels [115 grams], filled with incense, 75a young bull, a ram, a male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering, 76a male goat for a sin offering, 77and for the peace offering, 2 cattle, 5 rams, 5 male goats, 5 male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Pagiel, son of Ochran. 78On the 12th day, Achira, son of Ejnan, leader of the sons of Naphtali, offered his sacrifice. 79He presented as his offering a silver platter weighing 130 shekels [1.5 kg], a silver bowl weighing 70 shekels [0.8 kg] according to the sanctuary shekel, both of them filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, 80a golden bowl weighing 10 shekels [115 grams], filled with incense, 81a young bull, a ram, a male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering, 82a male goat for a sin offering, 83and for the peace offering (communal offering) 2 cattle, 5 rams, 5 male goats, 5 male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Achira, son of Ejnan. 84This was the dedication offering for the altar on the day it was anointed, in the hands of the leaders of Israel: silver dishes – 12 [pieces],
silver bowls – 12 [pieces],
gold bowls – 12 [pieces].
85130 shekels [1.5 kg] – [weighed] each silver dish
and each bowl 70 [0.8 kg],
and 2,400 shekels [27.6 kg] – [weighed] all the silver utensils, according to the sanctuary shekel.
86The gold bowls – 12 [pcs] – filled with incense [weighed] 10 shekels [115 grams],
according to the sanctuary shekel.
All the gold bowls [weighed] 120 shekels [1.4 kg].
87All the livestock for the burnt offerings were:
12 bulls,
rams – 12 [pieces]
yearling male lambs – 12 [pieces], and their grain offerings,
and male goats – 12 [pieces], for sin offerings.
88All the livestock for the peace offering (communion offering) was:
24 bulls,
rams – 60 [each],
male goats – 60 [each],
yearling male lambs – 60 [each]. This was the dedication offering for the altar after it had been anointed. 89And when Moses entered the tent of meeting (Hebr. ohel moed) to speak with him [the Lord], he heard the voice speaking to him from above the cover of the ark (mercy seat) that was on top of the ark of the testimony, from between the two cherubim, and he spoke to him. 81The Lord (Yahweh) spoke to Moses and said:
2
Aaron lights the candles. Illustration by Ted Larsson.
Priests serving in the temple. The painting shows the high priest in the center, a priest, and the Ark of the Covenant. Painting from the Temple Institute in Jerusalem.
©Emanuel Gillberg
The second Passover (Pesach Sheni) – 14th of Iyar
6But there were some men who were unclean because of a dead man's body, so they could not celebrate the Passover on that day, and they came before Moses and Aaron on that day 7and these men said to him, "We are unclean because of a dead man's body, so we must stand aside and cannot bring the sacrifice to the Lord (Yahweh) at the appointed time among the sons of Israel." [The Talmud states that these men had brought Joseph's coffin from Egypt, see ; .] 8Moses said to them, "Stay here so that I may hear what the Lord (Yahweh) will command concerning you." 9The Lord (Yahweh) spoke to Moses and said: 10Speak to the sons of Israel and say: "If any of you or your descendants become [ritually] unclean because of a dead body (soul) or are on a journey far away, he shall celebrate the Lord's (Yahweh's) Passover 11in the second month [Iyar – April/May] on the 14th at twilight (between evenings) he shall celebrate it, they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs [], 12they shall leave none of it until morning and break none of its bones [] in accordance with all the ordinances (literally "things engraved") for the Passover, they shall celebrate it []. 13But the man who is clean and is not on a journey far away and neglects (ceases) to celebrate the Passover, that person (soul) shall be cut off from (severed from) his people, because he does not bring the Lord's (Yahweh's) sacrifice at its appointed time, that man shall bear his sin. 14And if a stranger sojourns among you and wants to celebrate the Lord's (Yahweh's) Passover according to the ordinances (literally "things engraved") of the Passover and according to its statutes (binding legal decisions), he shall do so. You shall have one (same) ordinance (literally "things engraved") for the stranger and for the native-born." [Rabbis teach that "the second Passover" teaches us not to despair, that there is a second chance and that it is never too late to get back on track.]The cloud over the tabernacle
15And on the day that the tabernacle (Hebr. mishkan) was erected, a cloud [God's presence] covered the tabernacle—the tent of testimony—and from evening [until] morning there was something that looked like fire over the tabernacle. 16So it was continuously (always, all the time), the cloud covered it [the tabernacle] and what looked like fire at night. [The cloud and fire may be a reference to the pillar of cloud and pillar of fire that led the Israelites in their desert journey, see ; . It was a visible confirmation of God's presence and guidance.] [The following section has a rhythmic character with a recurring refrain.] 17And whenever the cloud was taken up from [its place] above the tent, then the sons of Israel set out after it, and in the place where the cloud stopped (settled – Hebr. shachan), there the sons of Israel camped (Hebr. chanah). [Refrain:]
18At the command of the Lord (Yahweh) (mouth – Hebr. peh), the sons of Israel set out
and at the command of the Lord (Yahweh) they encamped.
As long as the cloud remained (settled) over the tabernacle, they encamped. 19And when the cloud lingered over the tabernacle for many days, the sons of Israel kept (guarded, protected, preserved) the Lord's (Yahweh's) command [not to move on] and did not break camp. 20Sometimes the cloud remained over the tabernacle for a few days. [Refrain:] At the command of the Lord (Yahweh) (mouth – Hebr. peh) they remained in camp
and at the command of the Lord (Yahweh) they set out. 21Sometimes the cloud was from evening to morning, and when the cloud was lifted in the morning, they journeyed; or if it remained both day and night, when the cloud was lifted, they journeyed. 22Whether it was two days or a month or a year that the cloud lingered over the tabernacle and remained (settled) over it, the sons of Israel remained encamped and did not journey, but when it was lifted, they broke camp. [Chorus:]
23At the command of the Lord (Yahweh) (mouth – Hebr. peh) they camped
and at the command of the Lord (Yahweh) they set out.
They kept (guarded, protected, preserved) the Lord's (Yahweh's) command at the Lord's (Yahweh's) command through Moses' hand.The silver trumpets
101The Lord (Yahweh) spoke to Moses and said:
2"Make two trumpets of silver; you shall make them of artistic (beautiful) workmanship. You shall use them to summon the assembly and to make the camp move on (move forward). 3And when they are blown, the whole assembly shall gather to you at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 4And if they blow one [trumpet], then the leaders, the heads of the thousands of Israel (clans, families – family groups), shall gather to you. 5And when they blow an alarm signal, the camp on the east side shall set out. 6And when they blow a second alarm, then the camp on the south side shall set out. They shall blow an alarm for their departure. 7But when the assembly is to be gathered together, you shall sound the alarm, but not a signal. 8And Aaron's sons, the priests, shall blow the trumpets. This shall be a perpetual statute (literally "things engraved") for you throughout your generations. 9And when you go out to battle in your land against the adversaries who oppress you, you shall sound the alarm with the trumpets, and you shall be remembered before the Lord your God (Yahweh Elohim), and you shall be saved (redeemed) from your enemies. 10Also, during your joyful days and your appointed feasts [the feasts of the Lord (Yahweh), see ] and at your new moons, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over your peace offerings (Hebr. zevach shelamim), and they shall be a memorial for you before your God (Elohim). I am the Lord your God (Yahweh Elohim)."From Sinai to Kadesh (10:11-20:13)
The people complain
11And it came to pass in the second year [after the exodus], in the second month [Iyar – April/May], on the 20th day of the month, that the cloud was taken up from [its place] above the tabernacle of testimony. [This occurs 13 months after the Exodus, and one month after Passover .] 12And the sons of Israel went on in their order of march, out of the wilderness of Sinai, and the cloud remained in the wilderness of Paran. 13And they began their first journey after the Lord (Yahweh) spoke (mouth – Hebr. peh) through Moses. 14And first under their banner (standard) marched the camp of the sons of Judah in their order of battle, and over his army was Nahshon, son of Amminadab. 15And over the army of the tribe of the sons of Issachar was Nethanel, son of Zuar. 16And over the army of the tribe of the sons of Zebulun was Eliab, son of Helon. 17And the tabernacle was taken down, and the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari, who carried the tabernacle, set out. 18And under their banner (standard) the camp of the sons of Reuben marched in their order of battle, and over his army was Elizur, son of Shedeur. 19And over the army of the tribe of the sons of Simeon was Shelumiel, son of Tsorishadai. 20And over the army of the tribe of the sons of Gad was Eliasaph, son of Deuel. 21And the Kohathites who carried the sanctuary set out so that the tabernacle would be set up before their arrival. 22And under their banner (standard) the camp of the sons of Ephraim marched in their order of battle, and over his army was Elishama, son of Ammihod. 23And over the army of the tribe of the sons of Manasseh was Gamliel, son of Pedatzur. 24And over the army of the tribe of the sons of Benjamin was Abidan, son of Gideoni. 25And under their banner (standard) the camp of the sons of Dan marched in their order of battle, they were the rear guard of all the camps, and over his army was Ahiezer, son of Ammishaddai. [The rear guard consists of the three tribes that march under the banner of Dan.] 26And over the army of the tribe of the sons of Asher was Pagiel, son of Ochran. 27And over the army of the tribe of the sons of Naphtali was Achira, son of Enan. 28This was the journey of the sons of Israel according to their army order. And they set out. 29And Moses said to Hobab, the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses' father-in-law, "We are journeying to the place of which the Lord (Yahweh) has said, 'I will give it to you,' come with us and we will treat you well, for the Lord (Yahweh) has spoken well of Israel." 30And he said to him, "I will not go (with you), but I will go to my country and to my kindred." 31He replied, "Do not leave us, I beg you, for you have great knowledge of how we can camp in the desert, and you shall be to us instead of our eyes. 32And it shall come to pass, if you go with us, that as the Lord (Yahweh) shall deal kindly with us, so we will deal kindly with you." 33They set out from the mountain of the Lord (Yahweh) and traveled for three days. The ark of the Lord (Yahweh) went before them during those three days, to explore (search for – Hebr. tor) [find a suitable and good] resting place for them. [The Hebrew word tor means to explore in order to find something good, see . Place of rest (Hebr. menocha) is the same word as in .] 34The cloud of the Lord (Yahweh) went before them during the day when they left their camp. 
The two inverted Nuns marked in the Codex Leningrad.
35And it came to pass, whenever the ark set out, that Moses cried out: "Arise (Hebr. kumah, cf. ), Lord (Yahweh)!
May your enemies be scattered,
and may your adversaries flee before you!"
[The three verbs are the same as in .]
36And when the ark was set down, he said: "Return (Hebr. shov), Lord (Yahweh),
to the countless (myriads) thousands of Israel!" [Can also be translated as "bring back, Lord, the myriads of thousands of Israel" – back to the land from exile. The Greek translation uses the word "repent," and the meaning then becomes, as in , that Israel will be saved.]
– ׆ – [This is the first time that this particular inflection of the words kumah and sjuvah is used. The Hebrew text has a mark in the margin before and after . There are various theories about what these two inverted (׆) indicate. The mirror-inverted 14th letter looks like a square bracket and was probably a mark used by those who copied the scrolls to indicate that there was something special about the text here. In Greek writings, an inverted sigma (Ͻ) was used in a similar way by scribes. Some rabbis interpret the sign as a delimiter, which divides the Book of Leviticus into three parts. This makes a total of seven (not five) books of Moses, which then corresponds to the seven pillars of wisdom, see . It seems to be a mark that the text does not really belong where it is and should be moved to another place. There is a quote from Simeon Gamaliel (son of the Gamaliel mentioned in ) that when the Messiah returns, these verses will be fulfilled and moved to their rightful place. The fact that this interpretation existed at the same time that John was writing his gospel gives even deeper meaning to the statement that the Word "tabernacled" (dwelt) among us, see .
There are a total of nine inverted in the Hebrew text, the other seven are found in , . Both of these sections deal with the desert journey, and in the passage in Psalm 107 there are also Messianic connections to the sign of Jonah.]On the way to the land of Canaan (chapters 11-21)
God sends fire upon the people
[Verses 1-3 are connected to the previous three verses () through several chiasms and also linguistically:
A God promises good things for Israel ()
B ... and it came to pass, when the ark... ()
C arise, Lord... ()
C´ turn back, Lord... ()
B´ ... and it came to pass, when the people complained... ()
A´ evil in the ears of the Lord ()] 111And it came to pass, that the people were a complaint (seeking a reason to complain – Hebr. anan in the unusual form hitpoel)
– evil in the ears of the Lord (Yahweh),
and when the Lord (Yahweh) heard it, his anger was kindled,
and the fire of the Lord (Yahweh) burned among them and consumed those [who lived] on the outskirts of the camp.
[Fire is often associated with God's punishment, see ; ; , ] 2And the people cried out to Moses, and Moses prayed to the Lord (Yahweh), and the fire died down. 3And the place was named Taberah [meaning: "burning"], because the fire of the Lord (Yahweh) had burned among them.
[The name Taberah is also found in , but it never became the physical name of this place, because the name is not included in the list of the various places, see .]Lamentation
The people's lament over food
4And the rabble (the mixed multitude – Hebr. ) that was among them craved more delicious food (literally: "craving a craving"), and even the sons of Israel wept for them and said, "Who will give us meat to eat? [If only we could eat meat!] 5We remember the fish we ate freely (for free; for nothing) in Egypt, the cucumbers and melons and leeks and red onions and garlic, 6but now we are parched (our souls have dried up), there is nothing, we have nothing but this manna to look at." 7The manna was like coriander seed, and its appearance was like the appearance of bdellium resin [probably a kind of whitish pearl]. 8The people went around and gathered it and ground it in mills and pounded it in mortars and cooked it in pots and made cakes out of it, and the taste of it was like the taste of a cake of bread with oil. [There is a clear connection here to the bread sacrificed in the temple when the taste is described as a cake of bread with oil. This clearly shows that manna is more than just physical food; it is also a reminder of who provides and that we have a share in the heavenly.] 9And when the dew fell on the camp at night, manna fell on top of it. 10And Moses heard the people weeping, in their families, every man at his tent door, and the anger of the Lord (Yahweh) was kindled greatly, and Moses was displeased.Moses' complaint
11And Moses said to the Lord (Yahweh), "Why have you done evil to your servant? Why have I not found favor (undeserved favor – Hebr. chen) in your sight, that you have laid the burden of all this people on me? 12Did I give birth to all this people? Did I bring them forth, that thou shouldest say unto me, Carry them in thy bosom, as a nursing father beareth the sucking child, unto the land which thou swarest unto our fathers? 13Where am I to get meat to give to all this people? They trouble me with their weeping and say, 'Give us meat to eat. 14I cannot bear this whole people by myself, alone, because it is too heavy for me. 15If you are going to treat me like this, kill me, I beg you to kill me; if I have found favor (undeserved favor – Hebr. chen) in your eyes, do not let me see my misery."God's answer to both the people and Moses
16The Lord (Yahweh) said to Moses, "Gather for me 70 men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and who serve them, and bring them to the tent of meeting so that they may stand there with you. 17And I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take of the Spirit that is upon you and put it upon them, and they shall bear the burden of this people with you, so that you do not bear it (alone). 18And tell the people. Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat, for you have wept in the ears of the Lord (Yahweh) and said, 'Who will let us eat meat? It was good for us in Egypt. Therefore, the Lord (Yahweh) will give you meat, and you shall eat. 19You shall eat [meat], not just for one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days [in a row]— 20but for a whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils and you loathe it, because you have rejected the Lord (Yahweh) who is among you and troubled him with your weeping, saying, 'Why did we come out of Egypt? 21Moses said, "The people I am among are 600,000 men on foot, and yet you have said, 'I will give them meat to eat for a whole month! 22If the flocks and herds are slaughtered for them, will that satisfy them? Or if all the fish of the sea are gathered together for them, will that satisfy them?" 23And the Lord (Yahweh) said to Moses, "Is the Lord's (Yahweh's) hand too small? Now you shall see whether my word will come true for them or not."Elders – response to Moses' complaint
24And Moses went out and spoke the words of the Lord (Yahweh) to the people, and he gathered 70 men of the elders of the people and placed them around the tent. 25And the Lord (Yahweh) came down in a cloud and spoke to him, and took of the Spirit that was upon him and put it upon the seventy elders, and it came to pass, when the Spirit rested upon them, that they prophesied, but they ceased (they did not do it again). 26But two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad [meaning: "God has loved"] and the other named Medad [meaning: "loves"], and the Spirit rested upon them because they were among those who were counted but had not gone out to the tent, and they prophesied in the camp. 27A young man ran and told Moses, saying, "Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp!" 28And Joshua, the son of Nun, who was Moses' servant from his youth, answered and said, "My lord Moses, silence them." 29But Moses said to him, "Are you jealous for their sake? Would that all the Lord's people were prophets, that the Lord would put his Spirit upon them!" [; ; ] 30And Moses withdrew to the camp, he and the elders of Israel.God answers the people – food
31And a wind from the Lord (Yahweh) came and brought quails from the sea and let them fall on the camp, about a day's journey on one side and a day's journey on the other, around the camp and about two cubits [0.9 meters] high above the surface of the ground. 32And the people rose up all that day and all that night and all the next day and gathered quails, the least gathering ten homers [a homer was a large measure of several hundred liters – the word comes from the word for donkey and the weight it could carry], and they spread them out all around them around the camp. 33While the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the anger of the Lord (Yahweh) was kindled against the people, and the Lord (Yahweh) struck the people with a very great plague. 34The place was named Kivrot-Hataava, because they buried the people who had lusted. [Kivrot-Hataava means graves of lust or desire in Hebrew.] 35From Kivrot-Hataava the people journeyed to Chatserot, and they stayed in Chatserot.Miriam, and Aaron too, oppose Moses
121Miriam spoke ill of Moses because of the Cushite woman he had taken as his wife, and Aaron agreed with her. Moses had taken a Cushite woman as his wife. [The verb "spoke ill of" is in the feminine form, which makes it clear that it was Miriam who led the conversation. Since it concerned Moses' choice of wife, the motive may have been jealousy. Cush is both a name and a region. Cush was the son of Ham and grandson of Noah. He populated the southern parts of the earth. Areas associated with Cush are North Africa, Nubia, and Ethiopia.] 2They [both Miriam and Aaron] said, "Is Moses the only one the Lord speaks to? He speaks to us too." The Lord heard it [and will soon answer them]. 3Moses was a very humble man, more than anyone else on earth. [An extra letter is added to the word humble, namely the smallest Hebrew letter yod, this "grammatical error" reinforces that Moses was truly humble.]The Lord's response
4And the Lord (Yahweh) spoke directly (immediately) to Moses and to Aaron and to Miriam: "Come out, you three, to the tent of meeting," and the three came out. 5And the Lord (Yahweh) came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance to the tent and called Aaron and Miriam, and they both came forward. 6And he said: "Hear (listen carefully to) my words.
If there is a prophet among you
I, the Lord (Yahweh), make myself known to him in a vision,
I speak to him in a dream. 7This is not the case with my servant Moses.
He is trusted throughout my house. 8With him I speak mouth to mouth,
openly and not in riddles (hidden, veiled words)
and he sees the form of the Lord (Yahweh).
Why then are you not afraid (fearful)
to speak against my servant, against Moses?" 9And the anger of the Lord (Yahweh) was kindled against them, and he departed. 10And when the cloud departed from [its place] above the tent, behold, Miriam was covered with a fungal infection, like snow. And Aaron looked at Miriam, and behold, she had a fungal infection. [] 11And Aaron said to Moses, "My lord, do not lay this sin on us, I beg you, because we have acted foolishly and because we have sinned. 12Let her not, I beg you, be like one dead, whose flesh is half consumed when he comes out of his mother's womb." 13Then Moses cried out to the Lord (Yahweh) and said, "God (El), I beg you, heal her now." 14And the Lord (Yahweh) said to Moses, "If her father had spit in her face, would she not hide in shame for seven days? Let her be isolated outside the camp for seven days, and then she shall be brought back in." 15And Miriam was isolated outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not move until Miriam was brought back in. 16Then the people journeyed from Hazeroth and camped in the wilderness of Paran.The rebellion at Kadesh
131The Lord (Yahweh) spoke to Moses and said:
2"Send men (Hebr. enósh) to explore (investigate – Hebr. tor) the land of Canaan, which I have given to the sons of Israel. [The purpose of the mission was to report on all the good things in the land.] From each of the tribes of the fathers, you shall send one man (literally "one man, one man" – Hebr. ish ehad ish ehad) [], and all of them shall be leaders among them." [The Hebr. word for exploring here (Hebr. ) has a positive connotation of finding what is good. The English words "tour" and "tourism" come from this word, which retains the same meaning of exploring a country and visiting the best places. There are other Hebr. words for spying and finding weaknesses (Hebr. ), but this is not used here, as Moses knew that God had given them the land. The men who were sent out were expected to return with good reports, just as Noah hoped that the dove he sent out would return with good news that the waters had receded, see . There are several parallels here. The dove returned with a fresh olive leaf, and the men brought grapes (see ). The Hebrew word for dove (Hebr. dor) is also similar to the word tor. The word tor is used 14 times in the Book of Numbers, and the first time is when God himself designates the next (the best and most suitable) resting place for the Israelites, see .] 3And Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran according to the commandment of the Lord (Yahweh), all the men who were heads (leaders) of the sons of Israel.The twelve who were sent out
[These are not the same people who were sent out earlier to represent the tribes, see . Those who were sent out on this mission were probably also members of the army. No representative from the tribe of Levi is mentioned.] 4And these were their names: Of the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur.
5From the tribe of Simeon, Shafat, son of Choris.
6From the tribe of Judah, Caleb, son of Jephunneh.
7From the tribe of Issachar, Jigal, son of Joseph.
8From the tribe of Ephraim, Hosea [Joshua], son of Nun. [Moses gives him a new name, see .]
9From the tribe of Benjamin, Paltiel, son of Refa.
10From the tribe of Zebulun, Gadiel, son of Sodi.
11From the tribe of Joseph, from the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi, son of Sosi.
12From the tribe of Dan, Ammiel, son of Gemali.
13From the tribe of Asher, Setor, son of Michael.
14From the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi, son of Vaphsi.
15From the tribe of Gad, Goel, son of Machi. [Verses 5 and 17 both begin with the words "this" and "name" in Hebrew and serve as a frame for the list. Of these twelve names, only Caleb () and Joshua (here called Hosea, see ) are mentioned as giving a good report in other places in the Bible. The name Caleb comes from the Hebr. kelev, the word for dog, which in turn means "close to the heart." Probably in the sense that Caleb was faithful. Joshua is mentioned by the name given to him by Moses, see . The order of the list follows that in with the difference that Zebulun is separated from the other sons of Leah in and "the tribe of Joseph" stands for Joseph's children Ephraim and Manasseh in .] 16These were the names of the men Moses sent to explore (investigate) the land. Moses gave Hosea, the son of Nun, the name Joshua. [Hosea (Hebr. Hoshea) means "salvation, rescue," and Joshua means "the Lord is salvation and rescue." This emphasizes that it is not they themselves but God who would save and rescue them. The name change from Hosea to Joshua is in Hebrew only an addition of the letter yod at the beginning. This makes the beginning of the name Joshua Yah, which is the short form of God's name. Many rabbis interpret this as Moses realizing that Joshua needed courage, and that the source of courage and boldness is God. When Joshua, in accordance with his new name, chooses to trust in God, he also becomes bold with God's help.]The Mission
17And Moses sent them out to explore (investigate) the land of Canaan and said to them: "Go up here into the south (Negev) and go up into the mountains, 18and see (look carefully at) the land—what it is like; and the people who live there—whether they are strong or weak, whether they are few or many; 19and what the land is like that they live in—whether it is good or bad (evil), and what the cities are that they live in—whether they are camps (tents) or strongholds (stone houses); 20and what the land is like – whether it is fertile or barren, whether there are forests there or not. And be strong (firm, confident, brave) and take with you some of the fruit of the land." [Verses 17-20 form a chiasm where the central question is whether the land is good or evil.] This was at the time when the first grapes were harvested. [It was late summer or early autumn, somewhere between the end of July and early September. The Israelites had left Egypt in the spring two years earlier, see ; .]The land is explored from south to north
21
Autumn – the spies with grapes from the Promised Land. Painting by Nicolas Poussin (1594–1665).
The report
26And they went and came to Moses and Aaron and to the whole assembly of the sons of Israel, to the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh, and brought back prov to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land. 27And they [the 12 explorers] recounted (carefully enumerated – Hebr. safar) [everything they had done and seen] to him [Moses] and said, "We came to the land to which you sent us, and it truly flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. 28However, the people who live in the land are violent, and the cities are fortified and very large, and we also saw the children of Anak there. 29The Amalekites live in the South (Negev), and the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites live in the mountains, and the Canaanites live by the sea and along the Jordan." 30But Caleb calmed the people before Moses and said, "Let us go up now and occupy it, for we are well equipped to overcome them." 31But the men who had gone up with him said, "We are not able to go up against the people, for they are much stronger than we are." [The ten other explorers, except Joshua and Caleb, use the same words as Caleb, but turn them around and say that they should not go and that they are not stronger, cf. .] 32And they [the 10 men—Shamoa, Shafat, Jigal, Palti, Gadiel, Gaddi, Amiel, Setor, Nachbi, and Goel, see verses 5-16] spread an evil rumor (misleading information) about the land they had explored to the sons of Israel, saying: "The land we have traveled through to explore is a land that devours (eats up) its inhabitants [probably referring to the fact that there had been many conflicts in the area, and how difficult it would be to conquer and then keep the land from invaders], and all the people we saw there are tall men. 33And there we saw the Nephilim, the sons of Anak from the Nephilim, and in our own eyes we were like grasshoppers, and so we were in their eyes." [] [Based on the fruit they brought with them, see , it must be the end of summer. According to Jewish tradition, this occurs on Tisha BeAv, the 9th day of the month of (falls in July/August). It is the same date on which the first and second temples were destroyed. Even today, it is a day of mourning for the Jewish people.]The people rebel
141And the whole assembly raised their voices and cried out, and the people wept that night. 2And all the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, "We could have died in the land of Egypt, or we could have died in the wilderness! 3And why has the Lord (Yahweh) brought us to this land to die by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become spoil [spoils of war]; is it not better for us to return to Egypt?" 4So they said to each other (one man to his brother), "Let us appoint (give us) a leader (a head – Hebr. rosh) and let us return to Egypt." 5Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before the assembly of all the children of Israel. 6And Joshua, the son of Nun, and Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored (investigated – Hebr. tor) the land, tore their clothes. 7And they spoke to the whole assembly of the sons of Israel, saying, "The land we have walked through to explore (investigate) is a very good land. 8If the Lord (Yahweh) is pleased with us, then he will bring us into this land and give it to us as a land flowing with milk and honey []. 9Do not rebel against the Lord (Yahweh), nor fear the people of the land, for they are bread (like breadcrumbs) to us, their defense is removed from them, and the Lord (Yahweh) is with us. Do not fear them." 10But the whole assembly spoke of stoning them with stones, when the glory of the Lord (Yahweh) appeared in the meeting tent to all the sons of Israel. 11And the Lord (Yahweh) said to Moses, "How long will this people despise me? And how long will they refuse to believe in me, despite all the signs I have done among them? 12I will strike them with pestilence [Greek translations have 'death'] and destroy them, and I will make you a greater and more powerful nation than they." [] 13And Moses said to the Lord (Yahweh), "When the Egyptians hear about this [and they will], because you brought this people up from them with your power [], 14they will say to the inhabitants of this land, who have heard that the Lord (Yahweh) is among this people, as well as that you, the Lord (Yahweh), have let yourself be seen face to face, that your cloud [representing God's presence] has stood over them, and you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night []. 15If you now kill this people (Hebr. am) as one man, then the heathen peoples (Hebr. goj) who have heard of your fame will say: 16Since the Lord (Yahweh) was unable to bring this people into the land he swore to them, he has slaughtered them in the wilderness. 17And now, I beg you, Lord (Adonai), according to what you have spoken and said: 18The Lord (Yahweh) is slow to anger [literally: noses – the most common expression for anger is "burning nose," but here it just says noses in the plural] and rich in mercy (caring love, faithfulness – Hebr. chesed), forgives (removes) sin and transgression, but does not acquit guilt, but establishes the sin of the fathers upon their sons, upon the third and upon the fourth [generation]. [] 19Please forgive, I beg you, the sin of this people according to your great mercy (caring love, faithfulness – Hebr. chesed), as you have forgiven this people from Egypt until now." 20And the Lord (Yahweh) answered. "I have forgiven according to your word. 21And yet (as surely as) I live and the whole earth is full of the glory of the Lord (Yahweh), 22truly, all these men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, but nevertheless have tested me these ten times, and have not listened to my voice. [The number ten is a number of completeness and can be seen here as meaning that now their transgressions are complete, the measure of sin is full, therefore now comes the judgment that the adult generation that left Egypt will not be allowed to enter the Promised Land.] 23They shall not see the land which I swore to their fathers, none of them who have despised me shall see it. 24But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me wholeheartedly, I will bring into the land where he walked, and his descendants will possess it. [; ] 25Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwell in the valley. Turn tomorrow and go into the wilderness by the way to the Sea of Reeds (Red Sea)." 26And the Lord (Yahweh) spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: 27"How long shall I bear with this evil congregation, who continue to grumble (complain) against me? I have heard the grumbling (complaining) of the sons of Israel, who continue to grumble (complain) against me." 28Say to them, 'As surely as I live,' declares the Lord (Yahweh), 'I will surely do to you as you have spoken in my ears. 29Your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness, and all of you who were counted, according to your entire number, from 20 years old and upward, you who have grumbled (complained) against me, 30you shall certainly not enter the land, for which I raised my hand that I would let you dwell there, except Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua, the son of Nun. 31But your little ones, whom you said would be taken captive, I will bring in, and they shall know the land which you have rejected. 32But as for you, your bodies shall fall in this wilderness. 33And your sons shall wander in the wilderness forty years, bearing your iniquity, until your carcasses are consumed in the wilderness. 34According to the number of days you explored (Hebr. tor) the land, 40 days—one day for a year—you shall bear your sins, 40 years, and you shall know (be intimately acquainted with) my distancing (my unwillingness, how I hinder and hold you back—Hebr. tenoa). [This consequence is about open rebellion against God; the word tenoa is only used here and in and comes from the Hebrew verb no, which means to hinder, forbid, and hold back.] 35I, the Lord (Yahweh), have spoken. I will surely do this to this evil assembly that has gathered against me. In this desert they shall be consumed, and there they shall die." 36And the men whom Moses sent to explore the land [to show all the good things God had given, see ] and who, when they returned, caused the whole assembly to grumble (complain) against him by giving an evil report about the land, 37These men who gave an evil report about the land died of the plague before the Lord (Yahweh). 38But Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua, the son of Nun, remained alive of these men who had gone and explored the land. 39And Moses spoke these words to the sons of Israel, but the people mourned greatly. 40And they rose early in the morning and went up to the top of the mountain and said, "Here we are, and we will go up to the place that the Lord (Yahweh) has promised, for we have sinned." 41But Moses said, "Why are you now transgressing the commandment of the Lord (Yahweh)? It will not succeed (you will not prosper). 42Do not go up, for the Lord (Yahweh) is not among you, lest you be struck down before your enemies. 43The Amalekites and the Canaanites are before you, and you will fall by the sword. Because you have turned away from following (turned your backs on) the Lord (Yahweh), the Lord (Yahweh) will not be with you." 44But they dared (recklessly and arrogantly decided; literally "they swelled" – Hebr. afal) to go up to the top of the mountain, yet the ark of the covenant of the Lord (Yahweh) and Moses did not leave the camp. 45The Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in the mountainous region came down and attacked them, striking them down as far as Horma.Food and drink offerings
151The Lord (Yahweh) spoke to Moses and said:
2"Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them: When you come into the land where you are to dwell (your homeland), which I give to you, 3and you make a burnt offering to the Lord (Yahweh), a burnt offering [] or a sacrifice to fulfill a vow or a voluntary offering or at the appointed times [the feasts of the Lord], to make a sweet aroma to the Lord (Yahweh) from your cattle or your flock, 4then the one who brings his offering shall bring before the Lord (Yahweh) a grain offering of a tenth of an ephah [3.5 liters] of fine flour mixed with a quarter of a hin [0.9 liters] of oil, 5and wine as a drink offering; a quarter of a hin [0.9 liters] shall be prepared with the burnt offering or for the sacrifice, for each lamb. 6Or for a ram, you shall prepare a food offering of two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with one-third of a hin of oil [1.3 liters], 7and as a drink offering you shall bring a third of a hin [1.3 liters] of wine, a sweet aroma before the Lord (Yahweh). 8And when you prepare a young bull as a burnt offering or as a sacrifice to fulfill a vow or as a peace offering to the Lord (Yahweh) [], 9you shall bring with the young bull a grain offering [] of three-tenths of an ephah [about 7 liters] of fine flour mixed with half a hin [1.8 liters] of oil. 10And you shall bring as a drink offering half a hin [1.8 liters] of wine as a burnt offering, a sweet aroma to the Lord (Yahweh). 11This shall be done for every bull, or for every ram, or for every male lamb or female lamb. 12According to the number they prepare, they shall do for each one according to their number. 13All natives shall do this when they bring a burnt offering as a sweet aroma to the Lord (Yahweh). 14But if a stranger sojourns with you—or anyone who is [lives] among you in future generations—and he wants to offer a burnt offering, a sweet aroma to the Lord (Yahweh), as you do, he shall do [the same, in the same way as you]. 15As for the congregation, there shall be the same statutes (literally, "things engraved") for you and for the stranger who sojourns with you, a statute (literally, "things engraved") throughout your generations. As you are, so shall the stranger be before the Lord (Yahweh). [Here is one of the many occasions when it is made clear that there should be no difference between people before God, see Gal. 3:28.] 16The same teaching (Hebr. Torah) and the same law (binding legal decision – Hebr. mishpat) shall apply to you and to the stranger who resides with you.First fruits
17The Lord (Yahweh) spoke to Moses, saying:
18Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them: "When you enter the land where I am bringing you, 19it shall be that when you eat of the bread of the land, you shall set aside a portion as an offering to the Lord (Yahweh). 20From your first dough, you shall set aside a cake as an offering, as you set aside from the threshing floor, so you shall set aside a portion. 21From the first of your dough, you shall give a portion to the Lord (Yahweh) as an offering throughout your generations. []Unintentional sins
22And when you accidentally fail to do all these commandments (clear commands) that the Lord (Yahweh) has spoken to Moses, 23all that the Lord (Yahweh) has commanded you through Moses, from the day the Lord (Yahweh) gave the commandments and throughout your generations, 24then it shall be, if it is done unintentionally by the congregation, it is hidden from their eyes, that the whole congregation shall offer a young bull as a burnt offering, as a sweet aroma to the Lord (Yahweh) with its grain offering and its drink offering according to the commandments, and a male goat as a sin offering. 25And the priest shall make atonement for the whole congregation of the children of Israel, and they shall be forgiven, because it was a mistake and they have brought their offering, a burnt offering to the Lord (Yahweh) and their sin offering [] before the Lord (Yahweh), for their mistake. 26And the whole assembly of Israel shall be forgiven, and the stranger who sojourns among them, because the whole people did it by mistake. 27And if anyone (a soul; an individual – Hebr. nefesh) sins by mistake, then he shall offer a female goat of the first year as a sin offering. 28And the priest shall make atonement for the individual who has erred when he sinned by mistake, before the Lord (Yahweh) to make atonement for him, and he shall be forgiven. 29Both the native among the sons of Israel and the stranger who dwells among them shall have the same (one) instruction (Hebr. Torah) for him who commits a mistake. 30But the person (soul) who does something with a raised hand (intentionally), whether he is a native or a stranger, blasphemes the Lord (Yahweh), and that person (soul) shall be cut off (cut down) from his people. 31Because he has despised the word of the Lord (Yahweh) and has broken his commandments (clear commands), he (that soul) shall surely be cut off (cut down), his sin is upon him."The Sabbath
[Verses 30-31 are now illustrated here in verses 32-36 with an example.] 32And while the sons of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering wood on the Sabbath day. [; ; ; ] 33And those who found him brought him to Moses and Aaron and to the whole assembly. 34They kept him in custody because they did not know what to do with him. 35And the Lord (Yahweh) said to Moses, "The man shall be put to death; the whole assembly shall stone him with stones outside the camp." 36And the whole assembly took him outside the camp and stoned him with stones, and he died as the Lord (Yahweh) had commanded Moses.Corner tassels
37The Lord (Yahweh) spoke to Moses and said:
38"Speak to the sons of Israel and tell them to make tassels (tzitzit) on the corners (wings) of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a blue cord (braided thread) in each tassel (tzitzit). 39For you, it shall be a tassel that when you look at it, you shall remember all the commandments of the Lord (Yahweh) (clear commands – Hebr. mitzvot) and do (follow, obey) them and not explore (investigate – Hebr. tor) your own heart [which is deceitful, see ; ; ; ] and your own eyes, which cause you to stray, 40so that you may remember and do all my commandments (clear commands) and be holy to your God (Elohim). [Jewish tradition has identified not only 10, but 613 mitzvot (a total of 365 prohibitions and 248 exhortations) in the Torah (the five books of Moses). For this reason, the corner tassels consist of a total of 613 knots, one for each commandment.] 41I am the Lord your God (Yahweh Elohim)
who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God. []
I am the Lord your God (Yahweh Elohim)."rebelled against Moses and Aaron
161And Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi [],
and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab [from the tribe of Reuben, see , ],
and On, the son of Pelet, the son of Reuben,
took men 2and they revolted against (rose up against) Moses,
with men from the sons of Israel
– 250 men,
leaders in the congregation, chosen men of good reputation. 3And they gathered themselves together against Moses and Aaron and said to them: "You take too much upon yourselves, the whole congregation is holy, every one of them, and the Lord (Yahweh) is among them.
Why then do you exalt yourselves above the congregation of the Lord (Yahweh)?"
[Their claim was partly true, see , but a revolt to overthrow God's chosen leadership and priesthood was evil, see . Korah is mentioned first and was the leader together with Dathan and Abiram. The latter, On, is not mentioned later. Perhaps he withdrew or had a less significant role in the rebellion, see , .]
4When Moses heard this, he fell on his face. 5And he spoke to Korah and all his company, saying, "Tomorrow the Lord (Yahweh) will show who is his and who is holy, and he will bring him near to himself; he will bring near to himself the one he chooses. 6Do this: Take your censers, Korah and all your company, 7and put fire in them and incense on top of them before the Lord (Yahweh) tomorrow, and it shall come to pass that the man whom the Lord (Yahweh) chooses shall be holy; you are taking on too much, sons of Levi." 8And Moses said to Korah, "Listen, I beg you, sons of Levi, 9It is no small thing for you that the God of Israel (Elohim) has separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself, to do the service of the tabernacle of the Lord (Yahweh), and to stand before the congregation to minister to them, 10and that he has brought you near, and all your brothers, sons of Levi, with you. But you seek the priesthood also! 11Therefore, you and all your company who are gathered against the Lord (Yahweh), like Aaron, what is he that you murmur (Lam.) against him? 12And Moses sent for Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, but they said, "We will not come, 13is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness, and moreover you want to make yourself a prince over us? 14Moreover, you have not brought us to a land flowing with milk and honey, nor given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Do you want to gouge out the eyes of these men? We will not come." 15And Moses became very angry and said to the Lord (Yahweh), "Do not accept their offerings; I have not taken a donkey from them, nor have I harmed any of them." 16And Moses said to Korah, "You and all your company appear before the Lord (Yahweh) tomorrow, you and they and Aaron, 17and let each one take his censer and put incense on it and bring it before the Lord (Yahweh), each man with his own censer, 250 censers, and you and Aaron, each man with his censer." 18And they took their censers, and put fire in them, and laid incense thereon, and stood in the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before Moses and Aaron. 19And Korah gathered the whole assembly against them at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord (Yahweh) appeared to the whole assembly. 20And the Lord (Yahweh) spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: 21"Separate yourselves from this assembly, that I may consume them in a moment." 22Then they fell on their faces and said, "God (El), God (Elohim) of all flesh! [An expression of how God created all people, see ; .] One man has sinned [Korach, see ]. Will you be angry with the whole congregation?" 23The Lord (Yahweh) spoke to Moses and said: 24"Speak to the congregation and say, 'Get up from the dwelling place of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. 25And Moses rose up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. 26And he spoke to the congregation, saying, "Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing that is theirs, lest you be swept away in all their sins." 27So they rose up from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram on every side, and Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the entrance of their tents with their wives, their sons, and their little ones. 28And Moses said, "By this you shall know (be intimately acquainted with) that the Lord (Yahweh) has sent me to do all this work, and that I have not done it of my own accord (literally: from my heart). 29If these men die a natural death like all men, and suffer what all men suffer, then the Lord (Yahweh) has not sent me. 30But if the Lord (Yahweh) does something new and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into Sheol (the abyss, the underworld—the place of the dead), then you shall know that these men have despised the Lord (Yahweh)." 31And it came to pass, when he had finished speaking all these words, that the ground under them was divided, 32and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, along with their households and all the men who had joined Korah, with all their belongings. 33So they and all who belonged to them went down alive into Sheol (the abyss – the place of the dead), and the earth closed its mouth over them, and they were cut off from the assembly. [This describes how a sinkhole behaves. The phenomenon is quite common today in areas near the Dead Sea.] 34And all Israel who were around them fled at their cry, for they said, "Otherwise, the earth will swallow us up." 35And fire came forth from the Lord (Yahweh) and consumed the 250 men who had offered incense. 36The Lord (Yahweh) spoke to Moses, saying:
37Tell Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, to gather up the censers from the fire and scatter the ashes outside, for they have been consecrated, 38the censers of these men who have sinned at the cost of their lives, and let them be beaten into plates as a covering for the altar, since they have been consecrated when they were offered before the Lord (Yahweh), so that they may be a sign to the sons of Israel." 39And the priest Eleazar took the bronze censers with which they had offered and beat them out as a covering for the altar, 40to be a memorial for the sons of Israel, so that no ordinary man who is not of the seed of Aaron may come near to burn incense before the Lord (Yahweh), and not perish like Korah and his company, as the Lord (Yahweh) spoke to him through the hand of Moses. 41But in the morning, the whole assembly of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron, saying, "You have killed the people of the Lord (Yahweh)." 42And it came to pass, when the congregation was gathered against Moses and Aaron, that they looked toward the tent of meeting, and behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord (Yahweh) appeared. 43And Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting. 44The Lord (Yahweh) spoke to Moses and said: 45"Get up from this assembly so that I may destroy them in an instant." And they fell on their faces. 46And Moses said to Aaron, "Take your censer and put fire from the altar on it and put incense on top of it, and carry it quickly to the assembly and make atonement for them, for there is wrath that has gone forth from the Lord (Yahweh), the plague has begun." 47And Aaron took what Moses had spoken and ran into the midst of the congregation, and behold, the plague had begun among the people, and he put on the incense and made atonement for the people. 48And he stood between the dead and the living, and the plague ceased. 49Those who died from the plague were 14,700 in addition to those who died for Korah's sake. 50And Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and the plague ceased.Aaron's rod
171The Lord (Yahweh) spoke to Moses and said:
2Speak to the sons of Israel and take from them rods, one for each father's house of all their leaders according to their fathers' houses, 12 rods. You shall write each man's name on his rod. 3And you shall write Aaron's name on Levi's rod, for it shall be a rod for the head over their fathers' houses. 4And you shall put them in the tent of meeting before the testimony [], where I meet with you. 5And it shall come to pass, that the man whom I shall choose, his staff shall blossom, and I will make an end of the grumbling of the children of Israel against you." 6And Moses spoke to the sons of Israel, and all their leaders gave him rods, one for each leader according to their fathers' houses, 12 rods, and Aaron's rod was among them. 7And Moses laid up the rods before the Lord (Yahweh) in the tent of the testimony. 8And it came to pass on the next morning, that Moses went into the tent of the testimony, and behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi had budded, and brought forth buds, and blossoms, and yielded almonds. 9And Moses brought all the rods out from before the Lord (Yahweh) to the sons of Israel, and they saw and took each man his rod. 10And the Lord (Yahweh) said to Moses, "Put Aaron's rod back before the testimony, to be kept (guarded, protected) there as a sign to the rebellious sons, so that their grumbling against me may cease and they may not die." 11So Moses did as the Lord (Yahweh) commanded him, and he did so. 12And the sons of Israel spoke to Moses, saying, "Behold, we are perishing, we are destroyed, we are all destroyed. 13Everyone who comes near, who comes near the tabernacle of the Lord (Yahweh), dies. Shall we perish altogether?" 181And the Lord (Yahweh) said to Aaron, "You and your sons and your father's house with you shall bear the sin of the sanctuary, and you and your sons with you shall bear the sin of your priesthood. 2And also your brothers, the tribe of Levi, your father's tribe, you shall bring near to you, that they may be with you and serve you, you and your sons with you shall be before the tent of testimony. 3And they shall keep (guard, protect, preserve) what you keep (guard, protect, preserve) and everything that is to be kept (guarded, protected, preserved) in the tent. They shall not come near the holy furniture and the altar, lest they die, both they and you. 4And they shall be with you and keep (guard, protect, preserve) the duties of the tent of meeting, whatever work there may be in the tent, but a common man (someone who is not a Levite) shall not come near you. 5And you shall carefully guard (watch over, protect, preserve) the holy things and be guardians of the altar, so that no further wrath comes upon the sons of Israel. 6And I, behold, have taken your brothers the Levites from among the sons of Israel, for you they are taken as a gift to the Lord (Yahweh) to perform the service in the tent of meeting. 7And you and your sons with you shall keep (guard, protect, preserve) your priesthood in all that pertains to the altar and to everything within the curtain (veil), and you shall serve (minister). I have given you the priesthood as a service gift, and any unauthorized person (stranger, commoner) who comes near shall be put to death."The privileges of the priests
8And the Lord (Yahweh) spoke to Aaron: "And I, behold, I have given you charge of my offerings, of all the holy things of the children of Israel; I have given them to you as a portion of the anointing, and to your sons as a perpetual statute. 9This shall be yours from the most holy things, excepted from the fire, all their offerings, all their grain offerings, all their sin offerings, and all their guilt offerings that they may bring to me, shall be most holy for you and for your sons. 10In a most holy place you shall eat it; every male shall eat of it; it shall be holy to you. 11And this is yours: the wave offering from their gifts, all the wave offerings of the sons of Israel. I have given them to you and to your sons and to your daughters with you, as a statute forever; everyone who is clean in your house shall eat of it. 12All the best of the oil and all the best of the wine and of the grain, the first part of what they give to the Lord (Yahweh), I have given it to you. 13The first fruits of all that is in your land, which they bring to the Lord (Yahweh), shall be yours; everyone who is clean in your house shall eat of it. 14Everything that is consecrated in Israel shall be yours. 15Everything that opens the womb, of all the flesh that they sacrifice to the Lord (Yahweh), both humans and animals, shall be yours, but a firstborn man shall always be redeemed, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem. [Boys shall always be redeemed, but not the clean animals. The unclean animals are, for example, donkeys and camels, which are domestic animals that can be owned by someone. Since these animals are classified as unclean and may not be eaten, they may not be sacrificed either. Therefore, one must either redeem the firstborn or break its neck if one does not consider oneself able to redeem it.] 16And their redemption money from one month of age shall be redeemed, according to your valuation, 5 shekels [60 grams] of silver according to the shekel of the sanctuary, the same as 20 gera. [A shekel is a weight of 11.5 grams. A gera is 1/20 shekel, which corresponds to 0.6 grams.] 17But the firstborn of cattle or the firstborn of sheep or the firstborn of goats you shall not redeem. They are holy. You shall sprinkle their blood on the altar and burn their fat as a burnt offering, a sweet aroma to the Lord (Yahweh). 18And their flesh shall be yours, as the wave offering and the right thigh. It shall be yours. 19All the wave offerings of holy things that the sons of Israel offer to the Lord (Yahweh), I have given to you and your sons and your daughters with you, as a statute forever. It is a perpetual salt covenant before the Lord (Yahweh), for you and your descendants with you." [Salt was used in all sacrifices, see . The function of salt to preserve and conserve alludes to the fact that the "salt covenant" that is entered into should be long-lasting and kept, see . Entering into a salt covenant is considered a full equivalent to a blood covenant, see .]The duties of the priests
20And the Lord (Yahweh) said to Aaron, "You shall have no inheritance in their land, nor shall you have any portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the sons of Israel. [This is the model for how we should view ourselves as priests in the renewed covenant. As long as we live here in the world, we should not live from it but in it with the Lord and heaven as our portion and our inheritance, see ] 21And to the sons of Levi, behold, I have given the whole tithe of Israel as an inheritance, in return for their work which they do in the service of the tabernacle. 22And henceforth the sons of Israel shall not come empty-handed to the tent of meeting, lest they bear sin and die. 23But the Levites alone shall serve in the tent of meeting, and they shall bear their sin; it shall be a statute (literally "things engraved") forever throughout your generations, and among the sons of Israel you shall have no inheritance. 24For the tithes of the sons of Israel, which they set aside as a gift to the Lord (Yahweh), I have given to the Levites as an inheritance. Therefore, I have said to them, "Among the sons of Israel, you shall have no inheritance."Instructions for the Levites
25The Lord (Yahweh) spoke to Moses and said:
26"You shall speak to the Levites and say to them: 'When you receive the tithe of the sons of Israel, which I have given you from them as your inheritance, you shall set aside a gift (an offering) for the Lord (Yahweh), a tenth of the tithe. 27And the gift (offering) that you set aside shall be counted for you as if it were grain from the threshing floor and as the fullness of the winepress. 28Thus you shall set aside a gift for the Lord (Yahweh) from all your tithes that you receive from the sons of Israel, and you shall give the gift that is set aside for the Lord (Yahweh) to the priest Aaron. 29From all that is given to you, you shall set aside everything that belongs to the Lord (Yahweh), from all the best of it, the consecrated part of it. 30Therefore, you shall say to them: When you separate the best of it, it shall be counted to the Levites as the surplus of the threshing floor and as the surplus of the winepress. 31And you may eat it in any place, you and your households, for it is your wages for your work in the tent of meeting. 32And you shall bear no sin because of it, since you have taken away from the best of it, but you shall not profane the holy things of the sons of Israel, lest you die.Rituals
191And the Lord (Yahweh) spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: The red heifer
2
According to the Jewish rabbinical interpretation of this text, the red heifer must not have a single black or white hair; all must be red.
Purification from uncleanness – upon contact with death
11Anyone who touches anything dead, including the dead bodies of all people, shall be unclean for seven days. [Seven days is the usual period, see ; ; .] 12That person shall purify himself on the third day and on the seventh day, and he shall be clean. But if he does not purify himself on the third day and on the seventh day, he shall be (remain) unclean. 13Anyone who touches the dead, including the body of a dead person, and does not purify himself has defiled the tabernacle of the Lord (Yahweh). That soul (person) shall be cut off (removed) from Israel, because the sprinkling of the water of purification was not sprinkled on him; he shall be (remain) unclean. His uncleanness is still upon him. 14This is the teaching. When a person dies in a tent, everyone who enters the tent and everything in the tent shall be unclean for seven days. 15And every open vessel that has no lid to cover it tightly (literally: covering tied with a cord) is unclean. 16And anyone who touches in an open field the body of someone killed by the sword or someone who died of natural causes, or the bones of a human being or a grave, shall be unclean for seven days. 17And for the unclean person, they shall take the ashes (Hebr. afar) that are burned for purification from sin [] and pour fresh (running) water over it in a vessel. [The word for ashes (Hebr. efer) is not used here. Both ashes and dust (Hebr. avak) were the end result of fire and something being crushed and unable to give life. The word afar is related to the creation of man in (from dust). The dust of the red heifer () will be able to give new life.] 18And a clean person shall take hyssop and dip it in the water and sprinkle it on the tent and on all the objects and on the people who were there and on the one who touched the bone or the slain or the dead or the grave. 19And the clean person shall sprinkle it on the unclean person on the third day, and on the seventh day he shall purify him, and he shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and he shall be clean by evening. 20But the man who is unclean and does not purify himself, that person (soul) shall be cut off from the midst of the congregation because he has profaned the sanctuary of the Lord (Yahweh). The sprinkling water has not been sprinkled on him. He is unclean. 21And it shall be a perpetual statute (literally "things engraved") for them, and he who sprinkles the sprinkling water shall wash his clothes, and he who touches the sprinkling water shall be unclean until evening. 22And everything that an unclean person touches shall be unclean, and the soul (person) who touches him shall be unclean until evening.The rebellion at Kadesh
201And the sons of Israel, the whole congregation, came to the wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed at Kadesh, and Miriam died there and was buried there. 2And there was no water for the congregation, and they gathered together against Moses and Aaron. 3And the people quarreled with Moses and spoke, saying, "It would have been better if we had perished when our brothers perished before the Lord (Yahweh). 4And why have you brought the Lord's (Yahweh's) congregation into this wilderness to die here, we and our livestock? 5And why did you bring us out of Egypt to bring us to this evil place? It is no place for grain or figs or wine or pomegranates, and there is no water to drink." 6And Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the opening of the tent of meeting and fell on their faces, and the glory of the Lord (Yahweh) appeared to them. 7The Lord (Yahweh) spoke to Moses and said: 8"Take the rod and gather the assembly, you and your brother Aaron, and speak to the rock before their eyes, that it may give forth its water, and you shall bring forth water for them out of the rock, and you shall give the assembly and their livestock to drink." 9And Moses took the rod before the Lord (Yahweh), as he commanded him. 10And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation before the rock, and he said to them, "Listen now, you rebels, can we bring water out of this rock?" 11And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock twice with his staff [instead of speaking to it, see ], and water gushed out abundantly, and the congregation and their livestock drank. [Previously, Moses was to strike the rock once, see . Jesus is the rock that has already been struck once, see . Jesus is also likened to living water, see .] 12And the Lord (Yahweh) said to Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not believe me and keep me holy in the eyes of the sons of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them." [. The reason for the punishment was unbelief and that he did not keep God holy in the eyes of Israel, see . The expression "we" may also suggest that Moses and Aaron took it upon themselves to be responsible for the miracle and did not honor God. Striking the rock oneself also speaks of doing something in one's own strength, see . In all that is happening, there is a hint of anger and wrath on the part of Moses and Aaron, see . Miriam's death, see , may also be a cause of Moses and Aaron's feelings, but it should not affect how they lead the people.] 13This is the water of Meribah, where the sons of Israel quarreled with the Lord (Yahweh) and he was sanctified in them.Edom refuses to let the Israelites pass through
14And Moses sent messengers to the king of Edom: "Thus says your brother Israel: You know all the afflictions that have befallen us, 15how our fathers went down to Egypt and we lived in Egypt for a long time, and the Egyptians treated us and our fathers badly. 16And when we cried out to the Lord (Yahweh), he heard our voice and sent an angel and brought us out of Egypt.
And behold, we are in Kadesh, a city right on your border. 17Let us pass through your land, I beg you. We will not go through fields or vineyards, nor drink water from your wells. We will walk along the king's highway; we will not turn to the right or to the left until we have passed through your border." 18And Edom said to him, "You shall not pass through me, or I will come out against you with the sword." 19And the sons of Israel said to him, "We will walk along the main road, and if we drink your water, I and my livestock, then I will pay you for it, "let there be no quarrel (between us)," let me only pass through with my feet. 20And he answered, "You shall not pass through." And Edom came out against him with a large army and with a strong (firm, sure, brave) hand. 21Edom refused to give Israel safe passage through his borders, so Israel turned away from him.The death of Aaron
22And they journeyed from Kadesh, and the sons of Israel, the whole congregation, came to Mount Hor. 23And the Lord (Yahweh) spoke to Moses and Aaron at Mount Hor, on the border of the land of Edom, saying: 24Aaron shall be gathered to his people, for he shall not enter the land which I have given to the sons of Israel, because he rebelled against me at the waters of Meribah. 25Take Aaron and his son Eleazar and rev them up Mount Hor. 26And take off Aaron's garments and put them on his son Eleazar. And Aaron shall be gathered to his people and shall die there." 27And Moses did as the Lord (Yahweh) commanded, and they went up Mount Hor in the sight of the whole assembly (in the sight of the whole assembly). 28And Moses stripped Aaron of his garments and put them on his son Eleazar. And Aaron died there on the top of the mountain. And Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain. 29When the people saw (understood) that Aaron had died, all Israel wept over Aaron for 30 days. [Thirty in Hebrew is shloshim, and this 30-day mourning period is called shloshim, see also . The Jewish burial took place in two stages. As soon as possible, preferably on the same day, the deceased was buried in a tomb. The family then observed a seven-day mourning period (Hebr. shiva), followed by thirty days of less intense mourning (shloshim). A year later, when the body had decayed, the eldest son was responsible for moving the bones from the burial chamber to an ossuary. See also ; ; ; .]Victory over the Canaanites
211And the Canaanites, the king of Arad, who lived in the south (Negev), heard that Israel was coming on the road to Atarim. So he fought against them and took some prisoners. 2And Israel made a vow, a vow to the Lord (Yahweh), saying, "If you will indeed give this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy (completely annihilate – Hebr. charam) their cities." 3And the Lord (Yahweh) listened to the voice of Israel and gave them the Canaanites, and they utterly destroyed them and their cities. The place was named Khorma. [The name Khorma means dedicated to complete destruction or set apart for destruction.]Lam – the bronze serpent
4They journeyed [south] from Mount Hor toward the Sea of Reeds (Hebr. jam sof) [Red Sea] to go around Edom [because the king of Edom did not allow them to pass, see ]. During the journey [the long detour], the people became impatient, 5and the people spoke against God and Moses, saying, "Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no water or bread to eat here, and we detest this worthless manna." 6So the Lord (Yahweh) sent poisonous (burning) snakes among the people, which bit the Israelites so that many of them died. 7Then the people came to Moses and said, "We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord (Yahweh) and against you. Pray to the Lord (Yahweh) that he may take away the snakes from us." Moses prayed for the people. 8The Lord (Yahweh) said to Moses, "Make a poisonous snake [one like the snakes that are afflicting the people] and put it on a pole, and this shall come to pass: When the one who is bitten by a snake looks at it, he shall live." 9Then Moses made a bronze snake and put it on a pole. If anyone had been bitten (Hebr. nashach) by a snake, he would live if he looked at the bronze snake. [Hebr. nechoshet is used both for pure copper and its alloys, which made the metal harder. The material used here was probably bronze (90% copper and 10% tin). The word for snake is (Hebr. nachash), which has the same first three letters as the word for copper/bronze (Nun, Het and ). Interestingly, the only difference between the words is that copper/bronze has a fourth letter – , which is a picture of a cross! In , sin is likened to this poisonous snake; it is not only around us but has also bitten each one of us. Jesus was made sin and bore it on the cross, but whoever looks up to him in faith will be saved, see . The Hebrew word for pole can also be translated as "banner" or "field sign." The first time it is used is in , where the Lord is called Yahweh Nissi – the Lord is my banner. This occurs after Joshua's victory over the Amalekites, when life triumphed over death. In a similar way, Moses lifted up God's staff in his hands when he prayed on a mountain.]The journey is coming to an end
[Now the Israelites' route through Transjordan is summarized. A more detailed description can be found in .] 10And the sons of Israel journeyed and camped at Ovot. 11And they journeyed from Ovot and camped in Ijej-Haavarim [meaning: "Abraham's ruins," see ] in the desert opposite Moab, toward the sunrise (eastward). 12From there they journeyed and camped in the valley of Zered [present-day Wadi el-Hesa in western Jordan]. 13From there they journeyed and camped on the other side of the Arnon [which flows through Wadi el-Mojib and empties into the southeastern part of the Dead Sea], which is in the desert that comes out at the border of the Amorites. For the Arnon is the border of Moab between Moab and the Amorites. 14Therefore, it is written in the Book of the Wars of the Lord (Yahweh): "Vahev in Sofa and the valleys (ravines, wadi),
Arnon 15and the valley slope that slopes toward the seat of Ar (village) [Ar was the capital of Moab]
and leans against the border of Moab." [The extra-biblical source "The Book of the Wars of the Lord" has not yet been found. A similar book that is also mentioned is the Book of Jashar (; ). These books seem to have consisted of victory songs and were widely known at that time.] 16And from there to Beer [meaning spring]. This is the spring (Hebr. beer) about which the Lord (Yahweh) said to Moses, "Gather the people together, and I will give them water." 17Then Israel sang this song: "Spring up, O fountain!
Sing of it,
18the well which the princes dug,
which the nobles of the people made deep with their spears and their staffs." And from the desert to Mattana, 19and from Mattanah to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to Bamoth, 20and from Bamoth to the valley that is in the field of Moab, at the head of Pisgah (mountain peak) overlooking the wilderness.Victories in Moab
King Sihon refuses to let the Israelites pass
21And Israel sent messengers to Sihon, king of the Amorites, saying, 22"Let us pass through your land. We will not go through fields or vineyards, nor drink water from your wells. We will walk along the king's highway until we have passed your border." 23But Sihon could not bear to let Israel pass through his borders. And Sihon gathered all his people and went out against Israel in the desert and came to Jahaz, and he fought against Israel. 24And Israel defeated him with the edge of the sword and occupied his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, as far as the sons of Ammon, for the border was strong to the sons of Ammon. 25And Israel took all its cities, and Israel dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon and in all its surrounding towns (literally: "daughters"). 26Heshbon was the city of Sihon, king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and taken all his land out of his hand as far as the Arnon. 27Therefore, those who speak in parables say: "Come to Heshbon!
Let the city of Sihon be built and founded!
28For a fire has gone out from Chesbon,
a flame from the city of Sihon,
it has devoured Ar in Moab,
the lords of the high places of Arnon.
29Woe to you, Moab,
you are subdued, people of Chemosh.
He has given his sons as refugees
and his daughters into captivity
– to Sihon, king of the Amorites.
30We have shot at them—
Heshbon has fallen as far as Dibon,
and we have destroyed as far as Nophah,
which extends to Medeba." 31So Israel lived in the land of the Amorites.Victory over Og, king of Bashan
32And Moses sent spies to Jaazer, and they took its villages and drove out the Amorites who were there. [Jaazer was both the name of the region () and the capital ().] 33And they turned and went up the road to Bashan, and Og, king of Bashan, went out against them, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei. 34And the Lord (Yahweh) said to Moses, "Do not fear him, for I have delivered him into your hand, and all his people and all his land. And you shall do to him as you did to Sihon, king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon." 35So they struck him and his sons and all his people until no one was left, and they occupied the land. [A more detailed description of these battles can be found in .]Waiting on the mountains of Moab (chapters 22-36)
221And the children of Israel journeyed, and pitched in the plains of Moab by the Jordan over against Jericho.Balaam
Balak calls on Balaam
2And [Moab's king] Balak, son of Zippor, saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites [how the Israelites had defeated both King Sihon and Og]. 3And Moab was very afraid of the people because they were many, and Moab was terrified of the sons of Israel. 4And Moab said to the elders of Midian, "Now this crowd will eat up (literally lick up) everything around us, as oxen eat up the green of the fields." And Balak, son of Zippor, was king of Moab at that time. 5And he sent messengers to Balaam, son of Beor, to Petora, which is by the river, to the sons of the people in the land, and called him, saying: "Behold, a people has come out of Egypt,
behold, they cover the face (surface) of the earth,
and they have settled opposite me. 6Now therefore, I pray you,
curse this people for me,
for they are too mighty for me.
Perhaps I shall prevail
so that I may smite them
and drive them out of the land.
For I know that whom you bless
is blessed
and whom you curse (completely destroy – Hebr. arar)
is cursed (completely destroyed – Hebr. arar)." 7
Tel Deir Alla in Jordan. An inscription mentioning the prophet Balaam was found during excavations in 1967.
The first line reads: "This is the inscription of Balaam, son of Beor. He could see divine visions, and God came to him during the night." The text goes on to describe heavenly visions and a future downfall. The word "Shaddai," which is similar to the biblical "El Shaddai," is included. Many different birds, as well as donkeys and hyenas, are mentioned.
Balak calls on Balaam a second time
15[Balak could not take no for an answer, and did not give up.] And Balak sent princes again, more and more honorable [even higher in rank] than the [first] ones. 16And they came to Balaam and said to him, "Thus says Balak, son of Zippor: Let nothing, I beg you, prevent you from coming to me, 17for I will promote you and give you great honor, whatever you say to me (request) I will do. Come, I beg you (appeal), curse this people for me." 18And Balaam answered and said to Balak's servants, "If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the Lord (Yahweh), my God (Elohim), and do anything, (neither) small nor great. 19Therefore, I ask you, stay here tonight, so that I may know what the Lord (Yahweh) will say to me further." 20And God (Elohim) came to Balaam at night and said to him, "If the men have come to call you, rise up and go with them, but only the words that I speak to you shall you do." 21And Balaam rose in the morning and saddled his donkey and went with the princes of Moab.God's messenger is sent to Balaam
22But God's (Elohim's) anger was kindled because he went, and the angel of the Lord (Yahweh) stood in the way as an adversary against him [and blocked the way]. [The Lord often uses angels to protect His people, see ; ; ; . An angel with a drawn sword () is mentioned three times, see also and . Some interpret the angel of the Lord as Jesus preincarnate, i.e., Jesus appearing as a messenger of the Lord before taking human form. Now he [Balaam] rode on his donkey, and his two servants were with him.] 23And the donkey saw the angel of the Lord (Yahweh) standing in the road with his sword drawn in his hand, and the donkey turned off the road and went out into the field, and Balaam struck the donkey to turn her back onto the road. [The satire and comedy of what is now happening cannot be missed: a "stupid" donkey sees the angel, but the professional seer understands nothing.] 24Then the angel of the Lord (Yahweh) stood in a narrow passage between the vineyards, with a wall on one side and a wall on the other. 25And the donkey saw the angel of the Lord (Yahweh) and pressed herself against the side [the rough stone wall] and squeezed Balaam's foot against the side, and he struck her again. 26And the angel of the Lord (Yahweh) went on and stood in a narrow (cramped) place where there was no room to turn either to the right or to the left. 27And the donkey saw the angel of the Lord (Yahweh) and lay down under Balaam, and Balaam's anger was kindled, and he struck the donkey with his staff. 28And the Lord (Yahweh) opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, "What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?" 29And Balaam said to the donkey, "Because you have made a fool of me; if I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you now." 30And the donkey said to Balaam, "Am I not your donkey, which you have ridden all your life to this day? Have I ever done this to you (before)?" And he said, "No." 31Then the Lord (Yahweh) opened Balaam's eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord (Yahweh) standing in the way with his sword drawn in his hand, and he bowed his head and fell on his face. 32And the angel of the Lord (Yahweh) said to him, "Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come as a prosecutor, for your way is against me, 33and your donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. Had she not turned away from me, I would have struck you down by now and saved her alive." 34Then Balaam said to the angel of the Lord (Yahweh), "I have sinned [by striking the donkey], for I did not know that you were standing in my way; therefore, if it is evil in your eyes [that I continue], I will turn back." 35But the angel of the Lord (Yahweh) said to Balaam, "Go with the men, but only the words that I speak to you shall you speak." So Balaam went (followed) with Balak's princes. 36And when Balak heard that Balaam had come, he went out to meet him at Ir-Moab [the city in Moab, probably Ar, see , ], which is on the border of Arnon, at the outermost part of the border. 37And Balak said to Balaam, "Did I not send for you and call you urgently? Why did you not come to me? Do I not have the power to promote you and give you honor?" 38And Balaam answered Balak, "Behold, I have come to you, but do I now have any power to speak anything to you? The word that God (Elohim) has put in my mouth, that I shall speak." [Balaam ignores the many detailed questions in ; he has arrived now, and that is what matters.] 39And Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kirjath-Huzoth [the city of villages, probably Kiriathaim on the east side of the Jordan, see ; ; ; ; , ; ]. 40And Balak slaughtered oxen and sheep and sent [pieces of sacrificial meat] to Balaam and to the princes who were with him.Balaam's first prophetic speech
41And it came to pass in the morning that Balak took Balaam and brought him up to Bamoth-Baal [Baal's high places, probably a place where sacrifices were made to Baal], and from there he saw (only a part of) the outermost part (only a part) of the people. 231And Balaam said to Balak, "Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams." [Balaam seems to be following some pagan tradition with seven altars, perhaps the sacrifices were to be dedicated to seven different gods; nowhere is it mentioned that seven altars were to be built to sacrifice to the Lord (Yahweh). The number seven often represents wholeness, and repeating an action seven times is not unusual, see ; .] 2And Balak did as Balaam had said, and Balak and Balaam sacrificed a bull and a ram on each altar. 3And Balaam said to Balak, "Stand by the burnt offering, and I will go; perhaps the Lord (Yahweh) will come and meet me. And whatever he shows me, I will tell you." And he went to a bare hill. [It was the common belief among the peoples that a hill was closest to the gods. It was on such hills that altars and temples were built.] 4And God (Elohim) met Balaam and said to him, "I have prepared (arranged) seven altars, and I have sacrificed a bull and a ram on each altar." 5And the Lord (Yahweh) put a word in Balaam's mouth and said, "Return to Balak and speak thus." 6And he returned to him, and he stood by his burnt offering, he and all the princes of Moab. 7And he [Balaam] took up his parable (he began to speak in images and proverbs, often with many meanings; sometimes even prophetically – Hebr. mashal) and said: "From Aram [present-day central and southern Syria; meaning: exalted]
Balak brought me,
king of Moab
from the mountains of the east: Come, curse (Hebr. arar) Jacob
and come curse (Hebr. zaam) Israel. 8How can I curse (Hebr. qavav)
the one whom God (El) has not cursed (Hebr. qavav)?
And how can I curse (Hebr. zaam)
the one whom the Lord (Yahweh) has not cursed (Hebr. zaam)?
9From the top of the rocks (the top of a flat rock) I see [Balaam] him [the land of Israel],
from the heights I behold him.
Behold, a people (Hebr. am) that dwells apart
and shall not be counted (recognized) as a nation (Hebr. goj) by others.
[A people that is unique and unlike other peoples.] 10Who has counted the dust of Jacob
or counted the dust of Israel (quarter – Hebr. rova)? Let me die the death of the righteous
and let my end be like his." 11And Balak said to Balaam, "What have you done to me? I brought you here to curse my enemies, and behold, you have blessed them completely." 12And he answered and said, "Must I not keep (guard, protect, preserve) what the Lord (Yahweh) has put in my mouth to speak?" 13And Balak said to him, "Come, I beg you, to another place from which you can see them. You shall see most of them but not all of them, and curse them from there."Balaam's second prophetic speech
14And he took him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars and sacrificed a bull and a ram on each altar. 15And he said to Balak, "Stand here by the burnt offering while I go over there to meet him." 16And the Lord (Yahweh) met Balaam and put a word in his mouth and said, "Return to Balak and thus shall you speak." 17And he came to him, and he was standing by his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And he said, "What has the Lord (Yahweh) spoken?" 18And he took up his parable (he began to speak in images and proverbs, often with many meanings; sometimes even prophetically – Hebr. mashal) and said: "Arise, Balak, and hear;
give ear to me, O son of Zippor. 19God (El) is not a man that he should lie,
nor a son of man that he should change his mind (go from sorrow to comfort – Hebr. nacham).
When he has said it, shall he not do it?
Or when he speaks, shall he not fulfill it?
20Behold, I am instructed to bless,
and when he has blessed, I cannot call it back (revoke it).
21No one has seen injustice in Jacob,
no one has seen wrongdoing in Israel,
the Lord his God (Yahweh Elohim) is with him,
and the cry for the king is among them. 22God (El) who brought them out of Egypt
is to them like the impressive (high, exalted) horns of a wild ox (buffalo – Hebr. reem).
23There is no sorcery in Jacob
, nor any divination in Israel.
It is said Hos:
"[Behold!] What God
(El) has done
(does and accomplishes)!"
24See a people rising up like a lioness,
and like a lion he lifts himself up,
he will not lie down until he has eaten the prey
and drunk the blood of the slain." 25And Balak said to Balaam, "Do not curse them at all, and do not bless them at all." 26But Balaam answered and said to Balak, "Did I not tell you that whatever the Lord (Yahweh) says, I must do?"Balaam's third prophetic speech
27And Balak said to Balaam, "Come now, I will take you to another place; perhaps it will please God (Elohim) that you curse them for me from there." 28And Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, which overlooks the desert. 29And Balaam said to Balak, "Build me seven altars here and prepare seven bulls and seven rams." 30And Balak did as Balaam had said and sacrificed a bull and a ram on each altar.Balaam prophesies again
241And when Balaam saw that it was good in the eyes of the Lord (Yahweh) to bless Israel, he did not go as the second time to seek omens, but turned his face toward the desert. 2And Balaam lifted up his eyes [from Peor east of the Jordan River] and saw Israel encamped according to their tribes [at the height of the city of Jericho () and whose location forms a cross, see ], and the Spirit of God (Elohim) came upon him. 3And he took up his parable (he began to speak in images and proverbs, often with many meanings; sometimes even prophetically – Hebr. mashal) and said: "Thus says (speaks, proclaims) Balaam, son of Beor,
and proclaims (says, proclaims) about the man (a warrior, a man in his prime, full of his own strength and power) who has pure (flawless, clear-sighted – Hebr. tam) eyes,
4so he proclaims (says, proclaims) he who hears the words of God (El),
who sees the visions of the Almighty (Shaddai)
falling (coming down) [bowing to the ground], with open eyes [to see visions].
5How good are your tents, Jacob,
your dwellings, Israel!
6Like valleys spread out,
like gardens by the river,
like aloe plants planted by the Lord (Yahweh),
like cedars by the water.
7Water shall flow from his pots,
and his seed shall be in many waters,
and his king shall be higher than Agag [perhaps a title, similar to pharaoh; Haman was an Agagite, see , later Samuel kills a king named Agag, see ; the Greek translation Septuagint has Gog, cf. ],
and his kingdom shall be exalted.
8God (El) who brought him out of Egypt,
is to him like the high horns of a wild ox,
he will devour the nations (the pagan nations) that are his enemies
and break their bones in pieces
and pierce them with his arrows.
9He rests, he has lain down like a lion,
like a lioness—who will rouse him?
Whoever blesses you will be blessed,
whoever curses (Hebr. arar) you will be cursed (Hebr. arar)." [] 10And Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam: "I called you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have blessed them three times! 11Now go back to your place (where you came from)! I intended to promote you and give you great honor, but behold, the Lord (Yahweh) has kept you from honor. 12And Balaam said to Balak, "Did I not tell your messengers that you should not send for me when I said, 13Even if Balak gave me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the Lord (Yahweh), my God (Elohim), and do anything, (neither) good nor evil, of my own mind (of my own ideas). What the Lord (Yahweh) speaks, that I will speak? [] 14And now, behold, I am going to my people; come, and I will tell you what this people will do to your people in the latter days (in the end times)."Balaam's fourth prophetic speech
15And he took up his proverb (he began to speak in images and proverbs, often with many meanings; sometimes even prophetically – Hebr. mashal) and said: "Thus proclaims (says, proclaims) Balaam, son of Beor,
and proclaims (says, proclaims) about the man (a warrior, a man in his prime, full of his own strength and power) who has pure (flawless, clear-sighted – Hebr. tam) eyes,
16so he proclaims (says, proclaims) he who hears the words of God (El)
and knows (is intimately familiar with) the knowledge of the Most High (Elion),
who sees the visions of the Almighty (Shaddai)
falling (coming down) [bowing toward the ground], with open eyes [to see visions, same phrase as in .]
17I see him, but not now.
I see him, but not near.
A star shall come out of Jacob
and a scepter shall rise out of Israel
and shall smite the corners of Moab
and break down all the sons of Seth.
18And Edom shall become a possession,
as shall Seir [the mountain range in Edom, see ],
even his enemies shall become a possession,
but Israel shall create a strong army.
19And from Jacob shall come forth one who shall tread down (rule) [David, referring primarily to the Messiah]
and destroy the remnant of the city [may refer to the city of Ir Moab, see ]. Balaam's fifth prophetic speech – against the Amalekites
20And he looked at Amalek and took up his proverb (he began to speak in images and proverbs, often with many meanings; sometimes even prophetically – Hebr. mashal) and said: "Amalek was the first of the nations (the pagan peoples)
but his end shall come with destruction."
Balaam's sixth prophetic speech – against the Kenites
21And he looked at the Kenites and took up his proverb (he began to speak in images and proverbs, often with many meanings; sometimes even prophetic – Hebr. mashal) and said: "Although your dwelling place is secure
and your nest is placed on a cliff,
22yet Cain [probably referring to the Kenite people, see ] will be burned down.
How long? Until Ashor [] takes you away into captivity." Balaam's seventh prophetic speech – against King Assur and Ever
23And he took up his proverb (he began to speak in images and proverbs, often with many meanings; sometimes even prophetically – Hebr. mashal) and said: "Woe, who shall live (remain alive)
after God (El) has met him?
24But ships shall come from the coast of Kittim
and they shall afflict Assyria
and afflict Eber
and he also will come to destruction." 25And Balaam rose up and went his way, and returned to his place, and Balak also went his way.Idolatry – Moab
[Verses 1-3 form a chiasm. The structure emphasizes how it is precisely the sacrifice to these idols that is central to what arouses God's wrath. Baal is the Canaanite and Hebrew word for "lord" and Peor is the place. The place is located just east of Jericho and is also called Beit-Peor (Peor's house) in . Baal was a fertility god who was worshipped with sexual rites, see ; .] 251And Israel stayed in Shittim [plural of Shittah, Hebrew for acacia tree – according to Josephus, 1 mile east of the Jordan, see ; ; ]
and the people began to commit adultery with the daughters of Moab.
2And they called [the Moabite women invited] the people to sacrifice to their gods
and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. 3And Israel joined themselves to (became enslaved to) the Baal of Peor,
and the anger of the Lord (Yahweh) was kindled against Israel. 4And the Lord (Yahweh) said to Moses, "Take all the leaders of the people and hang them up to the Lord (Yahweh) in the sunshine, so that the Lord's (Yahweh's) anger may be turned away from Israel." 5And Moses said to the judges of Israel, "Kill every man who has joined himself to (united with) the Baal of Peor." 6And behold, a man of the sons of Israel came and brought a Midianite woman to his brothers before the eyes of Moses and before the eyes of the whole congregation of Israel, while they were weeping at the door of the tent of meeting. 7And when Phinehas [meaning "dark-skinned" in Egyptian, later became the high priest of the people, see and ; ; ], son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose from the midst of the congregation and took a spear in his hand. 8And he followed the Israelite man into the tent and pierced them both, the Israelite man and the woman through her belly. So the plague (pandemic – Hebr. ) ceased from the sons of Israel. 9Those who died from the plague were 24,000. [Paul refers to this event in . There, the number is 23,000 because Paul refers to the oral tradition that 23,000 died from the plague and 1,000 were killed in other ways (by the judges, see ). Numbers are written with letters in Hebrew. The normal way to write 24,000 is esrim v-arba elef (20 and 4 – 1,000). Here, the number is written from smallest to largest value: arba v-esrim elef (4 and 20 – 1,000), cf. ; .] 10The Lord (Yahweh) spoke to Moses and said: 11Pinchas, son of Elazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned away my wrath from the sons of Israel when he was zealous (jealous) for my sake among them, so that I did not consume the sons of Israel in my zeal (jealousy). 12Therefore, say: "Behold, I give him my covenant of peace (shalom covenant), 13and it shall be for him and for his seed after him a covenant of an everlasting priesthood, because he was zealous for his God and made atonement for the sons of Israel." 14The name of the Israelite man who was killed, who was killed with the Midianite woman, was Zimri, the son of Salu, a leader of the fathers' houses among the Simeonites. 15And the name of the Midianite woman who was killed was Kozbi, the daughter of Zor. He was the head of the people of the house of his fathers in Midian. 16The Lord (Yahweh) spoke to Moses and said: 17"Attack the Midianites and strike them down, 18for they have attacked you with their tricks, luring you into the affairs of Peor, and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of the prince of Midian, their sister, who was killed on the day of the plague because of Peor."The second census
261And it came to pass after the plague [in chapter 25 with idolatry] that the Lord (Yahweh) spoke to Moses and to Eleazar, the priest Aaron's son, saying: 2"Count the heads of the whole assembly of the sons of Israel, from 20 years old and upward, according to their fathers' houses, all who are able to go out to war in Israel." 3And Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke to them in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying: 4" [Yes, count all the men:] from twenty years old and upward, as the Lord (Yahweh) commanded Moses!" [Almost 38.5 years have passed since the first census, see . The census is needed in order to divide up the land they will soon occupy. Miriam () and Aaron () had died, and Moses was also old. The order of the enumeration follows the first census in the introduction to the book. At the age of 20, a man was fit for battle, see .] These are the sons of Israel who came out of the land of Egypt:Reuben
5Reuben, the firstborn of Israel, the sons of Reuben: of Hanoch, the family of the Hanochites,
of Pallu, the family of the Pallites,
6of Chethron, the family of the Chethronites,
of Karmi, the family of the Karmites. 7These are the families of the Reubenites, and those counted among them were 43,730.
[First count: 46,500, a decrease of 2,770.] 8And the son of Pallu: Eliab. 9And the sons of Eliab: Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram. These are the Dathan and Abiram who were appointed by the assembly, who fought against Moses and Aaron in Korah's group, when they fought against the Lord (Yahweh) [] 10and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, along with Korah, when the group died. That was the time when the fire consumed 250 men, and they became a sign (a warning example). 11But Korah's sons did not die.Simeon
12The sons of Simeon according to their families: Of Nemoel, the family of the Nemoelites,
of Jamin, the family of the Jaminites,
of Jachin, the family of the Jachinites,
13of Zerah, the family of the Zerahites,
of Shaul, the family of the Shaulites. 14These are the families of the Simeonites, 22,200.
[First count: 59,300, a decrease of 37,100.]Gad
15The sons of Gad by their families: Of Zephon, the family of the Zephonites,
of Haggi, the family of the Haggites,
of Shoni, the family of the Shonites,
16of Ozni, the family of the Oznites,
of Eri, the family of the Erites,
17by Arod, the family of the Arodites,
by Areli, the family of the Areliites. 18These are the families of the sons of Gad, those who were counted of them, 40,500.
[According to the first count, there were 45,650 (), a decrease of 5,150.]Judah
19The sons of Judah: Er and Onan, and Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. 20The sons of Judah by their families: By Shelah, the family of the Shelahites,
by Perez, the family of the Perezites,
by Zerah, the family of the Zerahites.
21And the sons of Perez were: Of Chetsron, the family of the Chetsronites,
of Chamol, the family of the Chamolites.
22These are the families of Judah, those who were counted of them, 76,500.
[First count: 74,600, an increase of 1,900.]Issachar
23The sons of Issachar according to their families: Of Tola, the family of the Tolaim,
of Puvah, the family of the Puvites,
24of Jashov, the family of the Jashovites,
of Shimron, the family of the Shimronites. 25These are the families of Issachar, those who were counted of them, 64,300.
[First count: 54,400, an increase of 9,900.]Zebulun
26The sons of Zebulun according to their families: Of Sered, the family of the Seredites,
of Elon, the family of the Elonites,
of Jahleel, the family of the Jahleelites.
27These are the families of Zebulun, those who were counted of them, 60,500.
[First count: 57,400, an increase of 3,100.]Joseph's son Manasseh
28The sons of Joseph by their families: Manasseh and Ephraim. 29The sons of Manasseh: Of Machir, the family of the Machirites,
and Machir begot Gilead,
of Gilead, the family of the Gileadites. 30These are the sons of Gilead: Ijezer, the family of the Ijezerites,
of Chelek, the family of the Chelekiites,
31and Asriel, the family of the Asrielites,
and Shechem, the family of the Shechemites,
32and Shemida, the family of the Shemites,
and Chefer, the family of the Cheferites. 33And Zelophehad, the son of Hepher,
had no sons but daughters, and these are the names of Zelophehad's daughters:
Mahlah [meaning: "sickness"]
and Noah [meaning: "movement"], Hoglah [meaning: "partridge"], Milkah [meaning: "queen"]
and Tirzah [meaning: "advantageous"].
[These daughters go to Moses and ask to inherit their father's estate, see ; ; .] 34These are the families of Manasseh and those who were counted of them, 52,700.
[First count: 32,200, an increase of 20,500.]Ephraim, son of Joseph
35These are the sons of Ephraim by their families: Of Shotelach, the family of the Shotelachs,
of Becher, the family of the Bechers,
of Tachan, the family of the Tachanites. 36And these are the sons of Shotelach:
Of Eran, the family of the Eranites. 37These are the families of the sons of Ephraim, those who were counted of them, 32,500.
[First count: 40,500, a decrease of 8,000.] These are the sons of Joseph according to their families. [Verses 27 and 37b form an inclusio with Joseph's two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.]Benjamin
38The sons of Benjamin by their families: Of Bela, the family of the Belaites,
of Ashbel, the family of the Ashbelites,
of Achiram, the family of the Achiramites,
39by Shephatiah, the family of the Shephatiahites,
by Hopham, the family of the Hophamites.
40And the sons of Bela are
Ard and Naaman, the family of the Ardites,
of Naaman, the family of the Naamanites. 41These are the sons of Benjamin by their families, those who were counted of them, 45,600.
[First count: 35,400, an increase of 10,200.]Dan
42These are the sons of Dan by their families: Of Shocham, the family of the Shochamites.
These are the families of Dan by their families.
43All the families of the Shochamites, those counted among them, 64,400.
[First count: 62,700, an increase of 1,700.]Asher
44The sons of Asher according to their families: By Imna, the family of the Imnites;
by Ishvi, the family of the Ishvitites;
by Beriah, the family of the Beriahites.
45Of the sons of Beriah:
Of Chever, the family of the Cheverites,
of Malkiel, the family of the Malkielites.
46And the name of Asher's daughter was Sarach (Serach). [Serach's name is vocalized here with "a" (Sarach) instead of "e", see and . The vowel markings were added in 600-900 CE by the Masoretes. She is mentioned among those who came down to Egypt with Jacob () and her name is included among the families who left, see .] 47These are the families of Asher's sons, those who were counted among them, 53,400.
[First count: 41,500, an increase of 11,900.]Naftali
48The sons of Naphtali according to their families: Of Jahzeel, the family of the Jahzeelites,
of Goni, the family of the Gonites,
49of Jashkel, the family of the Jashkels,
of Shillem, the family of the Shillems. 50These are the families of Naphtali according to their families, those who were counted among them: 45,400.
[First count: 53,400, a decrease of 8,000.]Total
51These are those who were counted of the sons of Israel, 601,730. [The first count was 603,550, a decrease of 1,820.]Instructions for the division of the land
52The Lord (Yahweh) spoke to Moses, saying:
53"To these shall the land be divided as an inheritance according to the number of names. 54Those who are more numerous shall be given a larger inheritance, those who are fewer shall be given a smaller inheritance. To each of these who are counted, a portion of the inheritance shall be given. 55However, the land shall be divided by lot, according to the names of their fathers' tribes they shall inherit. 56According to the lot, their inheritance shall be divided between those who are more and those who are fewer."The families of Levi
57And these are those who are counted among the Levites according to their families: Of Gershon, the family of the Gershonites,
of Kehat, the family of the Kehathites,
of Merari, the family of the Merarites. 58These are the families of Levi:
the family of the Libnites,
the family of the Chevronites,
the family of the Machlites,
the family of the Moshites,
and the family of the Korachites. And Kehat bore Amram. 59And Amram's wife was named Jochebed, the daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt, and she bore
Aaron
and Moses
and their sister Miriam. [Jochebed and Miriam are the only women mentioned in the Levitical family tree. Note that it says that Jochebed bore the children; otherwise, only the father and sons are usually mentioned in the genealogical records. In this context, it says how "Jochebed was born to Levi" and "to Aaron was born," see . See also ; ; . The word "born" can also be used to mean descendant of Levi. Sometimes names can be omitted in genealogies, see, for example, , .] 60And to Aaron were born
Nadab and Abihu,
Elazar and Ithamar. []
61But Nadab and Abihu died when they offered strange fire before the Lord (Yahweh). [] 62And those who were numbered among them were 23,000, all men from a month old and upward, for they were not numbered among the sons of Israel, because they had no inheritance among the sons of Israel. 63These were the ones counted by Moses and the priest Eleazar, who counted the sons of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, near Jericho. 64But among these there was not a single man left of those who were counted by Moses and Aaron the priest, who counted the sons of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai [38 years earlier, see ]. 65For the Lord (Yahweh) had said of them, "They shall surely die in the wilderness." [] And not one man was left of them except Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua, the son of Nun.The daughters of Zelophehad
271Then the daughters of Zelophehad [; ], the son of Chefer, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh of the family of Manasseh, the son of Joseph, came near. And these are the names of his [five] daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milkah, and Tirzah. 2And they stood before Moses and before the priest Eleazar and before the leaders and the whole assembly, at the entrance to the tent of meeting, and said: 3"Our father died in the wilderness, and he was not among those who conspired against the Lord (Yahweh) in Korah's group, but died his own death, and he had no sons. 4Why should our father's name disappear (die out) from his family just because he has no sons? Give us an inheritance among the brothers of our father." 5Moses brought their case before the Lord (Yahweh). 6And the Lord (Yahweh) spoke to Moses, saying 7"The daughters of Zelophehad are right. You shall carefully give them a possession from the inheritance among their father's brothers, and you shall ensure that the inheritance of their father is passed on to them. 8And you shall speak to the sons of Israel, saying: 'If a man dies and has no son,
then his inheritance shall pass to his daughter. 9And if he has no daughter,
then his inheritance shall pass to his brothers. 10And if he has no brothers,
then his inheritance shall pass to his father's brothers. 11And if his father has no brothers,
then you shall give the inheritance to his kinsman, the one closest to him in his family, and he shall possess it. And this shall be a statute (literally: 'things engraved') for the sons of Israel, a commandment (binding legal decision) that the Lord (Yahweh) has commanded Moses." [It was important that there were heirs in all families so that the people of Israel could continue to possess the land that God had given them. In the first instance, it was the eldest son who inherited, but daughters could also inherit in order to preserve the land of Israel among Jewish families. Levirate marriage also existed to continue the family line, see . In a society where widows would otherwise have been forced into begging, this guaranteed her livelihood and preserved the name of her deceased husband.]Joshua succeeds Moses
12And the Lord (Yahweh) said to Moses, "Go up to the top of the mountain of Abarim [mountain range northeast of the Dead Sea with the peak Nebo, see ] and see the land that I have given to the sons of Israel. 13And when you have seen it, you shall be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother was gathered, 14because you rebelled against my command in the wilderness of Zin at Meribah, when you were to keep me holy in their sight." This is the water of Meribah-Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin. [] 15And Moses spoke to the Lord (Yahweh) and said, 16"Let the Lord (Yahweh), God (Elohim) (who is) the Spirit over all flesh, (appoint) a man over the congregation, 17who can go before them and who can come before them, and who can lead them and who can bring them in, so that the congregation of the Lord (Yahweh) will not be like sheep without a shepherd." [] 18And the Lord (Yahweh) said to Moses, "Take Joshua, the son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay your hands on him 19and set him before Eleazar the priest and before the whole assembly, and commission him in their sight. 20And you shall put your glory upon him, that the whole assembly of the children of Israel may obey him. 21And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him by the judgment of the Urim before the Lord (Yahweh). At his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he and all the children of Israel with him, even all the congregation." 22And Moses did as the Lord (Yahweh) commanded him, and he took Joshua and set him before the priest Eleazar and before the whole assembly. 23And he laid his hand upon him and gave him a charge, as the Lord (Yahweh) had spoken through Moses.Special times and sacrifices (chapters 28-29)
281[A new section begins here. The order follows that in , but the focus here is specifically on the duties of the priests. Once the sacrificial service is in full swing, the priests will sacrifice 113 oxen, 32 rams, and 1,086 lambs in a year. In addition, over a ton of grain and thousands of liters of oil and wine will be needed.] The Lord (Yahweh) spoke to Moses and said: 2Command the sons of Israel and say to them:
My sacrifice [Hebr. qorban; general term for all types of sacrifices/vows to God; here it refers to meat], my food (bread) – for my burnt offerings, which are a sweet aroma to me – you shall keep (guard, protect, preserve) for me at the proper time. 3And you shall say to them: These are the burnt offerings that you shall bring to the Lord (Yahweh): Flawless (Hebr. tamim) yearling lambs of the male sex, two each day as a continual (eternal) burnt offering []. 4You shall offer one lamb in the morning [at nine o'clock] and the other lamb at twilight (literally: 'between the two evenings') [at three o'clock in the afternoon (); the same time Jesus died, see ], 5and a tenth of an ephah [3.5 liters] of fine flour as a grain offering, mixed with a quarter of a hin [0.9 liters] of beaten oil. 6It is a continual burnt offering that was offered on Mount Sinai as a sweet aroma, a fire offering to the Lord (Yahweh). 7And its drink offering shall be a quarter of a hin [0.9 liters] for one lamb; in a holy place you shall pour out a drink offering of strong drink to the Lord (Yahweh). 8And the second lamb you shall bring at twilight (literally: 'between the two evenings'), as well as the morning meal offering and its drink offering, you shall bring, a burnt offering, a sweet aroma to the Lord (Yahweh).The Sabbath – every week (Lev. 23:3)
9[The volume measure efa (22-36 liters) is not repeated, but is implied from . The text does not explicitly say when these two "extra lambs" are to be sacrificed, but it was interpreted as being done in connection with the morning sacrifice, after the usual sacrifice had been completed.
And on the Sabbath [you shall offer]:
two flawless yearling lambs of the male sex
and two-tenths [of an efa; approx. 5-6 liters] of fine flour as a food offering mixed with oil and its drink offering.] 10This is the burnt offering for each Sabbath, in addition to the regular burnt offerings and their drink offerings.New moon – every month
11And at your new moons you shall bring a burnt offering to the Lord (Yahweh),
two young bulls,
one ram,
seven flawless yearling male lambs 12and three-tenths [of an ephah; about 8-10 liters] of fine flour as a grain offering for each bull, and two-tenths [of an ephah; about 5-7 liters] of fine flour mixed with oil for a ram, 13and several tenths [several 3-liter measures] of fine flour mixed with oil for each lamb, as a burnt offering, a sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the Lord (Yahweh). 14And your drink offering shall be
half a hin [1.8 liters] of wine for a bull
and a third of a hin [1.2 liters] for a ram
and a quarter of a hin [0.9 liters of wine] for a lamb.
This is the burnt offering for each new moon throughout the months of the year. 15And a male goat as a sin offering to the Lord (Yahweh), it shall be sacrificed alongside the continual burnt offerings and their drink offerings.Passover (Pesach) – 14th of Nisan (Lev. 23:4-5)
16And in the first month, on the 14th day of the month, is the Lord's (Yahweh's) Passover (Pesach). 17And on the 15th day of this month shall be a feast; seven days you shall eat unleavened bread.Days 1–6
18The first day shall be a holy convocation; you shall do no labor. 19but you shall present a fire offering, a burnt offering to the Lord (Yahweh). Two young bulls and one ram and seven yearling lambs, they shall be without blemish (without defect), 20and their grain offering, fine flour mixed with oil, three-tenths [of an ephah; 8-10 liters] shall be offered for a bull and two-tenths [of an ephah; 5-6 liters] for a ram, 21and several tenths [of an ephah; several 3-liter measures] shall be offered for each of the seven lambs, 22and a male goat as a sin offering, to make atonement for you. 23You shall offer these alongside the morning burnt offering, which is a continual burnt offering. 24In this way, you shall offer daily for seven days, the food of the sacrifice made with fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord (Yahweh). It shall be offered alongside the continual burnt offering and its drink offering.Day 7
25And on the seventh day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no work.Pentecost (Shavuot) – celebrated for seven days (Lev. 23:17-22)
26And on the day of the first fruits, when you bring a new food offering to the Lord (Yahweh) on your weekly feast (Shavuot), you shall have a holy convocation; you shall not do any kind of work. 27but you shall present a burnt offering as a sweet aroma to the Lord (Yahweh). Two bulls, one ram, seven yearling male lambs, 28and their grain offering, fine flour mixed with oil, three-tenths [of an ephah; 8-10 liters] for each bull, two-tenths [of an ephah; about 5-6 liters] for the ram, 29and several tenths [of an ephah; several 3-liter measures] for each of the seven lambs, 30one male goat, to make atonement for you. 31Alongside the continual burnt offering and its grain offering, you shall offer them; they shall be without blemish for you, and their drink offerings.Feast of Trumpets (Yom Teroah) – 1st Tishri (Lev. 23:23-25)
291And in the 7th month [Tishri – Sept/Oct] on the first day of the month, you shall hold a holy convocation, you shall not perform any kind of work, it is a day when you shall listen to the sound of the shofar. [Literally, the day of the signal.] 2You shall prepare a burnt offering [] as a sweet aroma to the Lord (Yahweh):
1 young bull,
1 ram,
7 yearling male lambs without blemish (ritually clean),
3and their grain offerings [], fine flour mixed with oil, three-tenths [of an ephah; approx. 8-10 liters] for the bull, two-tenths [of an ephah; approx. 5-6 liters] for the ram, 4and one tenth [of an ephah; about 2-3 liters] for each of the seven lambs, 5and a goat as a sin offering [], to make atonement for you, 6besides (in addition to) the burnt offering of the new moon and its grain offering, and the continual (daily) burnt offerings and their grain offerings, and their drink offerings, according to your statutes (binding legal decisions), as a sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the Lord (Yahweh).Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) – 10th of Tishri (Lev. 16, 23:26-32)
7And on the 10th day of this seventh month [Tishri], you shall hold a holy convocation, and you shall examine your souls; you shall not perform any kind of work. 8but you shall bring a burnt offering to the Lord (Yahweh) as a sweet aroma:
1 young bull,
1 ram,
7 yearling male lambs without blemish (ritually pure),
9and their grain offering, fine flour mixed with oil, three-tenths for the bull, two-tenths for the ram, 10and ten-tenths [many-tenths, or one-tenth of an ephah] for each of the seven lambs, 11and a goat as a sin offering, in addition to the sin offering to make atonement for you, and the continual burnt offerings and their accompanying grain offerings, and their drink offerings.The Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) – 15th of Tishri and seven days (Lev. 23:33-44)
12On the 15th day of the 7th month [Tishri – Sept/Oct], you shall have a holy convocation; you shall not do any kind of work, and you shall celebrate a feast to the Lord (Yahweh) for seven days. 13and you shall bring a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord (Yahweh):
13 young bulls,
2 rams,
14 yearling male lambs without blemish (ritually pure),
14and their grain offering, fine flour mixed with oil, three-tenths for each of the 13 bulls, two-tenths for each ram of the two rams, 15and ten-tenths [many-tenths, or one-tenth of an ephah] for each lamb of the 14 lambs, 16and a goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offerings and their accompanying grain offerings, and their drink offerings. 17On the second day, you shall bring
12 young bulls,
2 rams,
14 yearling male lambs without blemish (ritually pure),
18and their grain offerings and their drink offerings, for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs according to their number, in accordance with the commandment (binding legal decision), 19and a goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offerings and their accompanying grain offerings, and their drink offerings. 20On the third day
11 young bulls,
2 rams,
14 year-old, flawless (ritually pure) male lambs,
21and their grain offerings and their drink offerings, for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs according to their number, in accordance with the commandment (binding legal decision), 22and a goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offerings and their accompanying grain offerings, and their drink offerings. 23On the fourth day:
10 young bulls,
2 rams,
14 year-old, flawless (ritually pure) male lambs,
24and their grain offerings and their drink offerings, for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs according to their number, in accordance with the commandment (binding legal decision), 25and a goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offerings and their accompanying grain offerings, and their drink offerings. 26On the fifth day:
9 young bulls,
2 rams,
14 year-old, flawless (ritually pure) male lambs,
27and their grain offerings and their drink offerings, for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs according to their number, in accordance with the commandment (binding legal decision), 28and a goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offerings and their accompanying grain offerings, and their drink offerings. 29On the sixth day:
8 young bulls,
2 rams,
14 year-old, flawless (ritually pure) male lambs,
30and their grain offerings and their drink offerings, for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs according to their number, in accordance with the commandment (binding legal decision), 31and a goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offerings and their accompanying grain offerings, and their drink offerings. 32On the seventh day
7 young bulls,
2 rams,
14 year-old, flawless (ritually pure) male lambs,
33and their grain offerings and their drink offerings, for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs according to their number, in accordance with the commandment (binding legal decision), 34and a goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offerings and their accompanying grain offerings, and their drink offerings. 35On the eighth day, you shall hold a holy convocation; you shall not do any kind of work, 36but you shall bring a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord (Yahweh):
1 bull,
1 ram,
7 year-old, flawless (ritually pure) male lambs,
37and their grain offerings and their drink offerings, for the bull, for the ram, and for the lambs, in accordance with the commandment (binding legal decision), 38and a goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offerings and their accompanying grain offerings, and their drink offerings. 39This you shall offer to the Lord (Yahweh) at the appointed time, in addition to your vows and your voluntary offerings, whether it be your burnt offering, or your grain offering, or your drink offering, or your peace offering [a communal offering that everyone in the family ate together, see ].Vows
40And Moses spoke to the sons of Israel according to all that the Lord (Yahweh) commanded Moses. 301And Moses spoke to the leaders of the sons of Israel, saying, "These are the things that the Lord (Yahweh) has commanded.Promises made by men
2When a man makes a vow to the Lord (Yahweh) and swears an oath to bind his soul with a promise, he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that has come out of his mouth.Promise of an unmarried woman
3Even when a woman swears an oath to the Lord (Yahweh) and binds herself with a promise, when she is in her father's house in her youth, 4and her father hears her oath or her promise with which she binds her soul, and her father does not contradict her, then her oath shall stand, and every promise with which she binds her soul shall stand. 5But if her father does not allow her on the day he hears her (take an oath), none of her oaths or vows with which she binds her soul shall be valid, and the Lord (Yahweh) shall forgive her because her father did not allow her.Promise of a married woman
6And if she marries a man while her vow is binding upon her, or her rash statement on her lips with which she has bound herself (her soul), 7and her husband hears it, regardless of the day he hears it but remains silent toward her, then her vow and her promise with which she bound her soul shall stand. [Here there is a difference between her father, who must hear the vow on the same day, while the husband can hear about it afterwards.] 8But if her husband does not allow her on the same day that he hears about it, then he shall annul her oath that applies to her and her rash statement from her lips with which she bound her soul, and the Lord (Yahweh) shall forgive her.Promises of widows
9But the vow of a widow or a divorced woman shall be binding on her in every matter with which she has bound her soul. 10And if a woman makes an oath in her husband's house or binds her soul with a vow, 11and her husband hears it and remains silent and does not restrain her, then all her vows shall be valid, and every promise with which she binds her soul shall be binding upon her. 12But if her husband annuls them on the day he hears them, whatever comes out of her lips, whether it is an oath or a vow that binds her soul, shall not be valid; her husband has annulled them, and the Lord (Yahweh) shall forgive her. 13Every oath and every binding promise that affects her soul, her husband may let stand or annul. 14But if her husband remains silent toward her from day to day, then he has accepted all her vows, and everything she has promised is binding upon her. He has accepted them because he remained silent toward her on the day he heard them. 15But if he wants to annul them after he has heard them [at a later date than the day he first heard them], then he shall bear her transgression. 16These are the statutes (literally, "the things engraved") that the Lord (Yahweh) commanded Moses, between a man and his wife, between a father and his daughter who is in her youth in her father's house.Victory over the Midianites (31:1-24)
[This is the central passage:]
311The Lord (Yahweh) spoke to Moses, saying:
2"O Israel, avenge the Midianites, and then you shall be gathered to your people." 3And Moses spoke to the people, saying, "Arm the men Hos for battle, that they may go out against Midian, to execute the Lord's (Yahweh's) vengeance upon Midian. 4You shall send 1,000 men from each tribe of all the tribes of Israel to the battle." 5So they separated from Israel a thousand men from each tribe, 1,000 men from each tribe, 12,000 armed for battle. 6And Moses sent them to battle, 1,000 from each tribe, and Phinehas, son of the priest Eleazar, to battle with the holy objects and the trumpet for battle signals in his hand. 7And they fought against Midian as the Lord (Yahweh) commanded Moses, and they struck down (killed) all the men (of Midian). 8And they killed the king of Midian with the rest of the slain, Evi and Rekem and Tsor and Hur (Hebr. Chor) and Reva, the five kings of Midian. They also killed Balaam, the son of Beor, with the sword. 9And the sons of Israel took the women of Midian captive, and their little ones, and all their cattle, and all their small livestock, and all their possessions, they took as spoil. 10And they burned all their cities and places where they had lived and all their encampments with fire. 11And they took all the spoil and all the prey, both people and livestock. 12And they brought the captives and the spoil and the spoiled things to Moses and to Eleazar the priest and to the assembly of the sons of Israel, to the camp at the plains of Moab, which is by the Jordan opposite Jericho. 13And Moses and Eleazar the priest and the leaders of the assembly went out to meet them outside the camp. 14And Moses was angry with the commanders of the armies, the leaders of thousands and the leaders of hundreds, who came from the battle. 15And Moses said to them, "Have you saved all the women alive? [Literally: "everything of the female sex."] 16Behold, these caused the sons of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to transgress, so that they were unfaithful to the Lord (Yahweh) in the matter of Peor, and so the plague broke out in the congregation of the Lord (Yahweh). 17Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known a man by lying with him. 18But all the girls who have not known a man by lying with him, you may let live and keep for yourselves. 19And whoever has killed anyone or touched anyone who has been struck down (killed) shall remain outside the camp for seven days. Purify yourselves on the third day and on the seventh day, and your captives. 20And every garment and everything made of leather, and all work of goat hair, and everything made of wood, you shall purify." 21And the priest Elazar said to all the warriors who had gone out to battle: "This is the ordinance of the teaching (instructions, Torah) that the Lord (Yahweh) has commanded Moses. 22As for the gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, and lead, 23all things that can be put into the fire, you shall purify in the fire, and it shall be clean, but it shall also be purified by sprinkling with water. And everything that cannot be put into the fire, you shall dip in water. 24And you shall wash your clothes on the seventh day, and you shall be clean. Then you may enter the camp."The spoils are divided
25The Lord (Yahweh) spoke to Moses, saying:
26"Take all the spoils that were taken, both men and livestock, you and the priest Elazar and the heads of the fathers' houses in the congregation, 27and divide the spoil in two parts between the men who are skilled in battle, who went out to battle, and the whole congregation, 28and give a tribute to the Lord (Yahweh) from the men who went out and fought. One soul out of 500, both of men and of cattle and of donkeys and of small livestock. 29Take it from their half and give it to the priest Elazar, as a separate portion for the Lord (Yahweh). 30And from the half of the sons of Israel, you shall take one out of every 50, of the people, of the oxen, of the donkeys, and of the small livestock, and of all the livestock, and give them to the Levites who are responsible for (watching over and caring for) the tabernacle of the Lord (Yahweh). 31And Moses and the priest Eleazar did as the Lord (Yahweh) commanded Moses. 32The spoil, besides the spoil taken by the warriors, was 675,000 sheep, 3372,000 cattle, 3461,000 donkeys, 35and human souls, from the women who had not known a man by lying with him, 32,000. 36And the half that belonged to the warriors was 337,500 sheep, 37of which the Lord's (Yahweh's) tribute was 675,
38cattle 36,000, of which the Lord's (Yahweh's) tribute was 72,
3930,500 donkeys, of which the Lord's (Yahweh's) tribute was 61,
40and human souls 16,000, of which the Lord's (Yahweh's) tribute was 32. 41Moses gave the tribute, the Lord's (Yahweh's) separate portion, to the priest Eleazar, as the Lord (Yahweh) had commanded Moses. 42And of the half of the sons of Israel, which Moses had separated from the men of war, 43their half was from the sheep 337,500, 44and the cattle 36,000, 45and donkeys 30,500, 46and human souls 16,000. 47And Moses took from the half of the sons of Israel one out of every fifty, both of men and of animals, and gave them to the Levites, who are responsible for (watching over and caring for) the tabernacle of the Lord (Yahweh), as the Lord (Yahweh) commanded Moses. 48And the commanders, the leaders of 1,000 and the leaders of 100, came near to Moses, 49and they said to Moses, "Your servants have counted the warriors who were under our command, and not one man is missing among us. 50And we have brought the Lord's (Yahweh's) offering, what each man has received of jewels, of gold, bracelets, anklets, signet rings, earrings, and belts, to make atonement for our souls before the Lord (Yahweh)." 51And Moses and the priest Eleazar took the gold from them and all the adorned jewels. 52And all the gold from the gift that they set apart for the Lord (Yahweh) from the leaders of thousands and the leaders of hundreds was 16,750 shekels [193 kg], 53for the warriors had taken spoil, each man for himself. 54And Moses and the priest Eleazar took the gold from the leaders of thousands and the leaders of hundreds, and brought it into the tent of meeting as a memorial for the sons of Israel before the Lord (Yahweh).The tribes east of the Jordan (Deut. 3:12-20)
321The sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad had very much livestock, and when they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, they saw that the place was a region suitable for livestock. 2And the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben came and spoke to Moses and the priest Eleazar and the leaders of the congregation, saying 3"Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon, 4the land which the Lord (Yahweh) has struck before the congregation of Israel, is a land fit for cattle, and your servants have cattle." 5And they said, "If we have found favor (chen, undeserved love) in your sight, let this land be given to your servants as a possession, for us not to cross over the Jordan." 6And Moses said to the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben, "Shall your brothers go to war while you sit here? 7And why should you turn the hearts of the sons of Israel away from crossing over and entering the land which the Lord (Yahweh) has given them? 8This is what your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh Barnea to spy out the land. 9And when they went up into the valley of Eshkol, they discouraged the hearts of the sons of Israel from seeing the land, so that they would not go in to possess the land which the Lord (Yahweh) had given them. 10And the anger of the Lord (Yahweh) was kindled that day, and he swore, saying 11Surely none of the men who came up out of Egypt, from 20 years old and upward, shall see the land which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, because they have not wholly followed me, 12except Caleb, son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, and Joshua, son of Nun, because they followed the Lord (Yahweh) wholeheartedly. 13And the anger of the Lord (Yahweh) was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until the whole generation that had done evil in the sight of the Lord (Yahweh) was gone. 14And now, you are taking the place of your fathers, a brood of sinners, to increase the Lord's (Yahweh's) burning anger against Israel. 15For if you turn away from him, he will again leave them in the wilderness, and he will destroy all this people." 16And they came near to him and said, "We will build stables here for our livestock and cities for our little ones, 17but we ourselves will be ready and equipped to go out before the sons of Israel until we have brought them to their place, and our little ones will dwell in fortified cities (for protection) from the inhabitants of the land. 18We will not return to our houses until the sons of Israel have taken possession of their inheritance. [The noun inheritance (Hebr. ) comes from the verb to take possession (Hebr. ).] 19For we shall not inherit with them on the other side of the Jordan and beyond, since our inheritance is on this side, east of the Jordan." 20And Moses said to them, "If you are going to do this, if you are going to arm yourselves and go before the Lord (Yahweh) into battle, 21and every armed man among you crosses the Jordan before the Lord (Yahweh) until he has driven out his enemies before him, 22and the land is subdued before the Lord (Yahweh), and you return afterward, then it shall be clear before the Lord (Yahweh) and before Israel, and this land shall be your possession before the Lord (Yahweh). 23But if you do not do so, then you have sinned before the Lord (Yahweh), and know that your sin will find (catch up with) you. 24Build cities for your little ones and pens for your sheep, and do as your mouth has spoken." 25And the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben spoke to Moses, saying, "Your servants will do as my lord has commanded. 26Our little ones, our wives, our flocks, and all our livestock shall remain in the cities of Gilead, 27but your servants will cross over, every man armed for battle before the Lord (Yahweh), to fight as my lord has spoken." 28Moses gave clear orders about them to the priest Eleazar and to Joshua, the son of Nun, and to the heads of the fathers' houses among the tribes of the sons of Israel. 29And Moses said to them, "If the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben will cross over the Jordan with you, every man armed for battle before the Lord (Yahweh), and the land is subdued before you, then you shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession, 30but if they will not go over armed for battle with you, then they shall have their possessions in the land of Canaan." 31And the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben answered and said, "As the Lord (Yahweh) has spoken to his servants, so we will do. 32We will cross over armed for battle before the Lord (Yahweh), into the land of Canaan, and the possession of our inheritance shall be with us on this side of the Jordan." 33And Moses gave to them, to the sons of Gad and to the sons of Reuben and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon, king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og, king of Bashan, the land with its cities and their borders, as well as the cities of the land around it. 34And the sons of Gad built Dibon and Ataroth and Aroer, 35and Atroth-shophan, and Jaazer, and Jogbehah, 36and Beth Nimrah, and Beth Haran, fortified cities, and sheepfolds for their flocks. 37And the sons of Reuben rebuilt [the cities] Heshbon [along the king's highway in Moab] and Elaleh and Kiriathaim 38and Nebo and Baal Meon—whose names have been changed—and Sibmah, and gave their names to the cities they built. 39And the sons of Machir, the son of Manasseh, went to Gilead and took it, and drove out the Amorites who were there. 40And Moses gave Gilead to Machir, the son of Manasseh, and he lived there. 41And Jair, the son of Manasseh, went and took its villages and called them Havoth Jair. 42And Nobah went and took Kenath and its villages, and called it Nobah, after his own name.The journey from Egypt to Moab
331These are the encampments of the sons of Israel, which they passed through when they came out of the land of Egypt with their armies under the hand of Moses and Aaron. 2And Moses wrote down their journey, camp by camp, at the command of the Lord (Yahweh), and these are their camps on their journey.Rameses to Sinai
3They journeyed from Rameses [a store city in the area of Goshen in Lower Egypt, see ] in the first month [Aviv/Nisan] on the 15th day of the first month, from the morning after Passover, the sons of Israel went forth proudly (literally: "with a lifted hand") in the sight of all the Egyptians, 4while the Egyptians buried those whom the Lord (Yahweh) had struck among them, all their firstborn. The Lord (Yahweh) also executed judgment on all their idols. 5And the sons of Israel journeyed from Rameses and camped at Sukkot. [] 6And they journeyed from Succoth and camped at Etham [], which is on the edge of the desert. [; ] 7And they journeyed from Etham and turned back to Pihahiroth [meaning: 'mouth/outlet of the canal'; see , ], which is in front of Baal Zephon, and camped at Migdol.
8And they journeyed from Pihahiroth and passed through the midst of the sea into the wilderness, and they went three days' journey into the wilderness of Etham and camped at Mara []. 9And they journeyed from Mara and came to Elim, and in Elim there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they camped there.
10And they journeyed from Elim and camped by the Reed Sea (Red Sea).
11And they journeyed from the Reed Sea (Red Sea) and camped in the wilderness of Sin [between Elim and Sinai, see ]. 12And they journeyed from the wilderness of Sin and camped at Dophkah. 13And they journeyed from Dophkah and camped in Alosh. 14And they journeyed from Alosh and camped in Rephidim, where there was no water for the people to drink. 15And they journeyed from Rephidim and camped in the wilderness of Sinai.Sinai to Bene Jaqan (Kadesh)
16And they journeyed from the wilderness of Sinai and camped at Kibroth Hatavah
17And they journeyed from Kibroth Hatava and camped at Hazeroth. 18And they journeyed from Hazeroth and camped at Rithma. 19And they journeyed from Rithmah and camped at Rimmon Pareth. 20And they journeyed from Rimmon Parets and camped at Livna [meaning "white," probably not the same Livna in the Lowlands that was later captured from the north, see ]. 21And they journeyed from Livna and camped at Rissa. 22And they journeyed from Rissa and camped at Kehelata. 23And they journeyed from Kehelata and camped at Shefer. 24And they journeyed from Shefer and camped in Charada.
25And they journeyed from Charada and camped in Makhelot. 26And they journeyed from Makhelot and camped at Tachat. 27And they journeyed from Tachat and camped at Tera. 28And they journeyed from Tera and camped at Mitqa. 29And they journeyed from Mitqa and encamped at Chashmona. 30And they journeyed from Chashmona and encamped in Moserot. 31And they journeyed from Moserot and encamped at Bene Jaqan.Bene Jaqan to Etsjon-Gever
32And they journeyed from Bene Jaqan and camped at Chor Hagidgad. 33And they journeyed from Chor Hagidgad and camped at Jotvata. 34And they journeyed from Jotvata and camped at Avrona. 35And they journeyed from Avrona and camped at Etsjon-Gever. [Etsjon-Gever was a port city in Edom on the northern coast of the Gulf of Aqaba (Red Sea) in the region around Eilat/Aqaba. Later it became Solomon's main port for worldwide trade, see . The two most common suggestions are Tell el-Kheleife (in Aqaba) and Coral Island (Pharaoh's Island) 13 km south of Eilat. Hebrew etjson means backbone and gever is a mighty warrior. The name may describe the area with jagged mountain peaks that look like a backbone, or perhaps Coral Island, which sticks up like a backbone.] 36And they journeyed from Etsjon-Gever and camped in the wilderness of Zin, that is, Kadesh.
37And they journeyed from Kadesh and camped at Mount Hor, on the border of the land of Edom. 38And Aaron the priest went up Mount Hor at the command of the Lord (Yahweh), and died there, in the fortieth year after the sons of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the fifth month, on the first day of the month. 39And Aaron was 123 years old when he died on Mount Hor. 40And the Canaanite, the king of Arad, who lived in the south of Canaan, heard that the Israelites were coming. 41And they journeyed from Mount Hor and encamped in Zalmona. 42And they journeyed from Zalmona and encamped in Ponon. 43And they journeyed from Pahon and camped in Oboth.Oboth to the plains of Moab
44And they journeyed from Oboth and camped in Ijej-Haavarim [meaning: "Abraham's ruins"], at the border of Moab. 45And they journeyed from Ijim [Ijej-Haavarim, see ] and camped at Dibon Gad. 46And they journeyed from Dibon Gad and camped at Almon Diblatajma. 47And they journeyed from Almon Diblathaim and camped in the mountains of Abarim [mountain range northeast of the Dead Sea], opposite [the summit] Nebo. 48And they journeyed from the mountains of Avarim and camped in the plains of Moab by the Jordan opposite Jericho. 49And they camped by the Jordan from Beit Jeshimot to Avel Shittim in the plains of Moab.The words of Moses
50
Excavation from Tell Burna (the biblical city of Livna) in the Lowlands.
'When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 52you shall drive out (Hebr. jarash) all the inhabitants of the land before you, and destroy all their carved stones, and destroy all their cast images, and break down all their high places (where they engage in idolatry). [Different words are used to describe how the Israelites conquer the land; jarash does not necessarily mean that there is a battle and that cities are burned down and destroyed, see e.g. . This is important when linking this to archaeological dating from excavations of these cities. There does not necessarily have to be a layer of burnt earth (a so-called destruction layer) indicating that the city was conquered, burned and destroyed and then rebuilt, something that is otherwise common when there is a shift from one civilization to another.] 53And you shall drive out the inhabitants of the land and dwell there, for I have given you the land to take possession of it. 54And you shall inherit (Hebr. nachal) the land by casting lots according to your families; to those who are more numerous, a larger inheritance shall be given, and to those who are fewer, a smaller inheritance shall be given. Wherever the lot falls for a man, it shall be his. According to (in accordance with) the tribes of your fathers, you shall inherit. 55But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land before you, then their remnant shall be like thorns in your eyes and like thistles in your sides, and they shall trouble you in the land where you dwell. [This may be the saying to which Paul refers when he mentions his thorn in the flesh, see 2 Cor. 12:7.] 56And it shall come to pass, that, as I have thought to do unto them, so will I do unto you.'"The borders of Canaan
341The Lord (Yahweh) spoke to Moses, saying:
2Command the sons of Israel and say to them: 'When you come into the land of Canaan, this is the land that shall belong to you as an inheritance, the land of Canaan with its borders.South
3Your southern border shall be from the wilderness of Zin to the border of Edom, and your southern border shall begin at the end of the Salt Sea (Dead Sea) to the east, 4and your border shall turn southward at the slope of Akrabim, and go along Zin, and go out south of Kadesh Barnea, and it shall go to Hazar Addar and pass on to Azmon, 5and the border shall turn from Atsmon [in the Sinai Desert, down toward] the brook of Egypt, and from there it shall go out to the sea. [Wadi al Arish in the Sinai Peninsula flows into the Mediterranean Sea 50 km southwest of Rafah, the southern border crossing between Israel and Egypt.]West
6And your western border shall be the Great Sea [the Mediterranean Sea]; that shall be your western border.North
7And this shall be your northern border: from the Great Sea [the Mediterranean Sea in the west] you shall draw a line to Mount Hor, 8from Mount Hor you shall draw a line to the entrance of Hamath [in present-day southern Syria, not far from Tell Dan, see ], and the border shall go to the border of Zedad, 9and the border shall go to Zifron, and from there it shall go to Hazar-eznan; this shall be your northern border.East
10And you shall draw a line for your eastern border from Hazer-eznan to Shephamah, 11and the border shall go down from Shephama to Riblah, east of Ain, and the border shall go down and run along the slopes of the Sea of Galilee to the east. 12Then the border shall go down to the Jordan and follow its course to the Salt Sea (Dead Sea). This shall be your land according to its borders all around. 13And Moses commanded the sons of Israel, saying, "This is the land where you shall receive your inheritance by lot, which the Lord (Yahweh) has commanded to give to the nine tribes and to one half-tribe, 14For the tribe of the sons of Reuben according to their fathers' houses, and the tribe of the sons of Gad according to their fathers' houses, have received, and the half-tribe of Manasseh has received their inheritance. 15The two tribes and a half tribe have received their inheritance on the other side of the Jordan, opposite Jericho to the east, toward the sunrise." 16The Lord (Yahweh) spoke to Moses and said: 17These are the names of the men who shall take possession of the land for you: Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun. 18They shall take a leader from each tribe to take possession of the land. 19And these are the names of those men: From the tribe of Judah,
Caleb, son of Jephunneh. 20From the tribe of Simeon,
Samuel (Shmoel), son of Amihod.
21From the tribe of Benjamin,
Elidad, son of Shishlon.
22And from the tribe of the sons of Dan, a leader,
Boqi, son of Joglis.
23And from the sons of Joseph, from the tribe of Manasseh, a leader,
Chaniel, son of Ephod.
24And from the tribe of Ephraim's sons, a leader,
Qemoel, son of Shiftan.
25And from the tribe of the sons of Zebulun, a leader,
Elizaphan, son of Parnach.
26And from the tribe of the sons of Issachar, a leader,
Paltiel, son of Azan.
27And from the tribe of Asher, a leader,
Achihod, son of Shelomi.
28And from the tribe of Naphtali, a leader,
Pedahel, son of Amihod." 29These are the ones whom the Lord (Yahweh) commanded to divide the inheritance among the sons of Israel in the land of Canaan.The cities of the Levites
351And the Lord (Yahweh) spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan opposite Jericho, saying: 2Command the sons of Israel to give to the Levites from the inheritance of their cities to dwell in, and the open country around the cities you shall give to the Levites. 3And the cities shall be for them to dwell in, and the open country around the cities shall be for their cattle and for their sustenance and for all their animals. 4The open country around the cities that you give to the Levites shall be from the city wall outward, 1,000 cubits [525 meters] around. 5And you shall measure outside the city
on the east side 2,000 cubits [1,050 meters]
and on the south side 2,000 cubits [1,050 meters]
and on the west side 2,000 cubits [1,050 meters]
and on the north side 2,000 cubits [1,050 meters],
the city shall be in the middle. This shall be for them the open land around the cities."Cities of refuge
6[The Lord continued:] "And the cities that you shall give to the Levites shall be the six cities of refuge to which a manslayer may flee, and besides them you shall give them 42 cities. 7All the cities you give to the Levites shall be 48 cities; you shall give them with the open land around them. 8Of the cities you give from the property of the sons of Israel, you shall take more from the larger [tribes] and fewer from the smaller. Each [tribe] shall give cities to the Levites in proportion to the amount of land they have received as their property." 9The Lord (Yahweh) spoke to Moses and said: 10Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them: "When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 11you shall designate the cities that are to be your cities of refuge, so that a manslayer who kills another man unintentionally (by accident) may flee there. 12And the cities shall be a refuge for you from vengeance, so that the manslayer may not die until he stands before the assembly to be judged. 13And of the cities you give, there shall be six cities of refuge. 14You shall give three cities on the other side of the Jordan and three cities in the land of Canaan. They shall be cities of refuge. 15For the sons of Israel and for the stranger and the settler among you, these six cities shall be cities of refuge, so that anyone who kills another person accidentally may flee there.Premeditated murder
16But if he strikes him with an iron object so that he dies,
then he is a murderer, and you shall put the murderer to death. 17And if he strikes him with a stone in his hand and he dies,
then he is a murderer; you shall put the murderer to death. 18If he strikes him with a wooden tool in his hand, which can kill a person, and he dies,
then he is a murderer, and you shall put the murderer to death. 19The avenger of blood shall kill the murderer himself; when he meets him, he shall kill him. 20And if he pushes him out of hatred, or throws something at him when he is lying in ambush, so that he dies, 21or strikes him in enmity with his hand so that he dies, then he who struck him shall be put to death; he is a murderer, and the avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death when he meets him.Causing the death of another
22But if he pushes him suddenly,
without enmity,
or throws something at him
without lying in wait,
23or with a stone that could kill a person,
without seeing him and throws it at him so that he dies,
and he was not his enemy and did not want to harm him, 24then the congregation shall judge between the striker and the avenger of blood according to these decrees (binding legal decisions), 25and the congregation shall deliver the manslayer from the hand of the avenger of blood, and the congregation shall establish him in the city of refuge to which he has fled, and he shall dwell there until the death of the high priest who was anointed with holy oil. 26But if the manslayer at any time goes outside the border of the city of refuge to which he has fled, 27and the avenger of blood finds him outside the boundary of his city of refuge, and the avenger of blood kills the manslayer, no bloodguilt shall be upon him, 28because he must remain in his place of refuge until the high priest has died, but after the death of the high priest, the murderer may return to the land of his possession. 29And these shall be statutes (literally: 'things engraved') and ordinances (binding legal decisions) for you throughout your generations in all your dwellings. 30Anyone who kills a soul (person), that murderer shall be put to death before the witnesses, but a witness shall not testify against a soul so that he dies. 31You shall not take any ransom for the life of a murderer; he is guilty of death and shall be put to death. 32And you shall not take any ransom for the life of one who has left his place of refuge to live in his own land again until the priest has died. 33And you shall not defile the land in which you live, for blood defiles the land, and no atonement can be made for the land for the blood that has been shed there, except by the blood of the one who shed it. 34And you shall not defile the land which you have inherited, in whose midst I dwell, for I (the Lord) dwell in the midst of the sons of Israel."the inheritance of the daughters of Zelophehad
361And the leaders of the fathers' houses of the families of the sons of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, from the families of the house of Joseph, came near and spoke before Moses and before the princes, the heads of the fathers' houses of the sons of Israel, 2and they said, "The Lord commanded my lord to give the land as an inheritance by lot to the sons of Israel, and my lord was commanded by the Lord to give the inheritance of our brother Zelophehad to his daughters. 3And if they marry any of the sons of the other tribes among the sons of Israel, then their inheritance will be taken away from our father's inheritance and added to the inheritance of the tribe to which they belong, thus removing it from the lot of our inheritance. 4And when the jubilee of the sons of Israel comes, their inheritance will be added to the inheritance of the tribe to which they belong, and in this way their inheritance will be removed from the inheritance of our fathers' inheritance." 5And Moses commanded the sons of Israel according to the word of the Lord (Yahweh), saying, "The sons of the tribe of Joseph have spoken rightly. 6This is what the Lord (Yahweh) has commanded concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, 'Let them marry whomever they find best, but only within the families of their father's tribe shall they marry. 7In this way, no inheritance among the sons of Israel shall be transferred from tribe to tribe, for the sons of Israel shall hold fast to every part of the inheritance of their father's tribe. 8And every daughter who possesses an inheritance in any of the tribes of the sons of Israel shall become the wife of one of the families of her father's tribe, so that the sons of Israel may possess, each man the inheritance of his father. 9In this way, no inheritance shall pass from one tribe to another, for the tribes of the sons of Israel shall each remain in their own inheritance." 10As the Lord (Yahweh) commanded Moses, so did the daughters of Zelophehad. 11Machlah, Tirzah, and Hoglah, and Milcah and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, married the sons of their father's brothers. 12They married into the families of the sons of Manasseh, the son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained within the tribe of their father's families. 13These are the commands (the clear commandments – Hebr. mitzvot) and decrees (binding legal decisions) that the Lord (Yahweh) commanded (Hebrew: tsavah) the sons of Israel through Moses on the plains of Moab by the Jordan opposite Jericho.
