Footnotes

1. Numbers 14:5 sn This action of Moses and Aaron is typical of them in the wilderness with the Israelites. The act shows self-abasement and deference before the sovereign Lord. They are not bowing before the people here, but in front of the people they bow before God. According to Num 16:41-50 this prostration is for the purpose of intercessory prayer. Here it prevents immediate wrath from God.
2. Numbers 14:5 tn Heb “before all the assembly of the congregation.”
3. Numbers 14:7 tn The repetition of the adverb מְאֹד (m^eʾod) is used to express this: “very, very [good].”
4. Numbers 14:8 tn The subjective genitives “milk and honey” are symbols of the wealth of the land, second only to bread. Milk was a sign of such abundance (Gen 49:12; Isa 7:21, 22). Because of the climate the milk would thicken quickly and become curds, eaten with bread or turned into butter. The honey mentioned here is the wild honey (see Deut 32:13; Judg 14:8-9). It signified sweetness, or the finer things of life (Ezek 3:3).
5. Numbers 14:9 sn The expression must indicate that they could destroy the enemies as easily as they could eat bread.
6. Numbers 14:9 tn Heb “their shade.” The figure compares the shade from the sun with the protection from the enemy. It is also possible that the text is alluding to their deities here.