translation_id: net-engnet

book_id: NUM

label: NET translator note

text: Or “the south”; “Negev” has become a technical name for the southern desert region and is still in use in modern times.


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


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


text: Heb “my.”


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


label: NET textual note

text: Smr, Greek, and Syriac add “into his hand.”


text: In the Hebrew text the verb has no expressed subject, and so here too is made passive. The name “Hormah” is etymologically connected to the verb “utterly destroy,” forming the popular etymology (or paronomasia, a phonetic wordplay capturing the significance of the event).


text: The “Red Sea” is the general designation for the bodies of water on either side of the Sinai peninsula, even though they are technically gulfs from the Red Sea.


text: Heb “the soul of the people,” expressing the innermost being of the people as they became frustrated.


text: Heb “our souls.”


text: The Israelites’ opinion about the manna was clear enough – “worthless.” The word used is קְלֹקֵל ( qÿloqel , “good for nothing, worthless, miserable”).


text: Heb “fiery.”


text: The designation of the serpents/ snakes is נְחָשִׁים ( nÿkhashim ), which is similar to the word for “bronze” ( נְחֹשֶׁת , nÿkhoshet ). This has led some scholars to describe the serpents as bronze in color. The description of them as fiery indicates they were poisonous. Perhaps the snake in question is a species of adder.


text: The verb is the Hiphil jussive with a vav ( ו ) consecutive from the verb סוּר ( sur ); after the imperative this form may be subordinated to become a purpose clause.


text: The word order is slightly different in Hebrew: “and it shall be anyone who is bitten when he looks at it he shall live.”


text: Heb “the rising of the sun.”


text: Or “border.”


text: The ancient versions show a wide variation here: Smr has “Waheb on the Sea of Reeds,” the Greek version has “he has set Zoob on fire and the torrents of Arnon.” Several modern versions treat the first line literally, taking the two main words as place names: Waheb and Suphah. This seems most likely, but then there would then be no subject or verb. One would need something like “the Israelites marched through.” The KJV, following the Vulgate, made the first word a verb and read the second as “Red Sea” – “what he did in the Red Sea.” But subject of the passage is the terrain. D. L. Christensen proposed emending the first part from אֶת וָהֵב (’ et vahev ) to אַתָּה יְהוָה (’ attah yehvah, “the Lord came”). But this is subjective. See his article “ Num 21:14-15 and the Book of the Wars of Yahweh,” CBQ 36 (1974): 359-60.


text: There are many variations in this text, but the MT reading of something like “the descent of the torrents/valleys” is preferable, since it is describing the topography.


text: The words “they traveled” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied here because of English style. The same phrase is supplied at the end of v. 18 .


text: After the adverb “then” the prefixed conjugation has the preterite force. For the archaic constructions, see D. N. Freedman, “Archaic Forms in Early Hebrew Poetry,” ZAW 72 (1960): 101-7. The poem shows all the marks of being ancient.


text: Or perhaps as a place name, “Jeshimon.”


text: Smr and the LXX have “words of peace.”


text: The Hebrew text uses the singular in these verses to match the reference to “Israel.”


text: Smr has “by the King’s way I will go. I will not turn aside to the right or the left.”


text: Heb “Sihon.”


text: Heb “people.”


text: The clause begins with a preterite with vav ( ו ) consecutive, but may be subordinated to the next preterite as a temporal clause.


text: The Hebrew text has “Israel,” but the verb is plural.


text: Heb “with the edge of the sword.”


text: Heb “its daughters.”


text: Meaning, “rebuilt and restored.”


text: Some scholars emend to בָּלְעָה ( bal ’ ah ), reading “and devoured,” instead of בַּעֲלֵי ( ba ’ aley , “its lords”); cf. NAB, NRSV, TEV. This emendation is closer to the Greek and makes a better parallelism, but the MT makes good sense as it stands.


text: The first verb is difficult. MT has “we shot at them.” The Greek has “their posterity perished” (see GKC 218 §76. f ).


text: The relative pronoun “which” ( אֲשֶׁר , ’ asher ) posed a problem for the ancient scribes here, as indicated by the so-called extraordinary point ( punta extraordinaria ) over the letter ר ( resh ) of אֲשֶׁר . Smr and the LXX have “fire” ( אֵשׁ , ’ esh ) here (cf. NAB, NJB, RSV, NRSV). Some modern scholars emend the word to שֹׁאָה ( sho ’ ah , “devastation”).


text: Heb “Israel.”


text: Heb “Moses sent to spy out.”


text: Heb “daughters.”


text: Heb “him”; the referent (Og) has been specified in the translation for clarity.


text: Heb “no remnant.”