Numbers 26:52-28:14
New English Translation
52 Then the Lord spoke to Moses: 53 “To these the land must be divided as an inheritance according to the number of the names. 54 To a larger group you will give a larger inheritance,[a] and to a smaller group you will give a smaller inheritance.[b] To each one its inheritance must be given according to the number of people in it.[c] 55 The land must be divided by lot; and they will inherit in accordance with the names of their ancestral tribes. 56 Their inheritance must be apportioned[d] by lot among the larger and smaller groups.”
57 And these are the Levites who were numbered according to their families: from Gershon, the family of the Gershonites; of Kohath, the family of the Kohathites; from Merari, the family of the Merarites. 58 These are the families of the Levites: the family of the Libnites, the family of the Hebronites, the family of the Mahlites, the family of the Mushites, the family of the Korahites. Kohath became the father of Amram. 59 Now the name of Amram’s wife was Jochebed, daughter of Levi, who was born[e] to Levi in Egypt. And to Amram she bore Aaron, Moses, and Miriam their sister. 60 And to Aaron were born Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. 61 But Nadab and Abihu died when they offered strange fire[f] before the Lord. 62 Those of the Levites[g] who were numbered were 23,000, all males from a month old and upward, for they were not numbered among the Israelites; no inheritance was given to them among the Israelites.
63 These are those who were numbered by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who numbered the Israelites in the rift valley plains[h] of Moab along the Jordan River opposite Jericho. 64 But there was not a man among these who had been[i] among those numbered by Moses and Aaron the priest when they numbered the Israelites in the desert of Sinai. 65 For the Lord had said of them, “They will surely die in the wilderness.” And there was not left a single man of them, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.
Special Inheritance Laws
27 [j] Then the daughters of Zelophehad son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh of the families of Manasseh,[k] the son of Joseph came forward. Now these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 2 And they stood before Moses and Eleazar the priest and the leaders of the whole assembly at the entrance to the tent of meeting and said, 3 “Our father died in the wilderness, although[l] he was not part of[m] the company of those that gathered themselves together against the Lord in the company of Korah, but he died for his own sin,[n] and he had no sons. 4 Why should the name of our father be lost from among his family because he had no son? Give us a possession[o] among the relatives[p] of our father.”
5 So Moses brought their case before the Lord. 6 The Lord said to Moses: 7 “The daughters of Zelophehad have a valid claim.[q] You must indeed[r] give them possession of an inheritance among their father’s relatives, and you must transfer[s] the inheritance of their father to them. 8 And you must tell the Israelites, ‘If a man dies[t] and has no son, then you must transfer his inheritance to his daughter; 9 and if he has no daughter, then you are to give his inheritance to his brothers; 10 and if he has no brothers, then you are to give his inheritance to his father’s brothers; 11 and if his father has no brothers, then you are to give his inheritance to his relative nearest to him from his family, and he will possess it. This will be for the Israelites a legal requirement,[u] as the Lord commanded Moses.’”
Leadership Change
12 [v] Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go up this mountain of the Abarim range,[w] and see[x] the land I have given[y] to the Israelites. 13 When you have seen it, you will be gathered[z] to your ancestors,[aa] as Aaron your brother was gathered to his ancestors.[ab] 14 For[ac] in the wilderness of Zin when the community rebelled against me, you[ad] rebelled against my command[ae] to show me as holy[af] before their eyes over the water—the water of Meribah in Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.”
15 Then Moses spoke to the Lord: 16 “Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all humankind,[ag] appoint[ah] a man over the community, 17 who will go out before them, and who will come in before them,[ai] and who will lead them out, and who will bring them in, so that[aj] the community of the Lord may not be like sheep that have no shepherd.”
18 The Lord replied[ak] to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit,[al] and lay your hand on him;[am] 19 set him[an] before Eleazar the priest and before the whole community, and commission[ao] him publicly.[ap] 20 Then you must delegate[aq] some of your authority[ar] to him, so that the whole community of the Israelites will be obedient.[as] 21 And he will stand before Eleazar the priest, who[at] will seek counsel[au] for him before the Lord by the decision of the Urim.[av] At his command[aw] they will go out, and at his command they will come in, he and all the Israelites with him, the whole community.”
22 So Moses did as the Lord commanded him; he took Joshua and set[ax] him before Eleazar the priest and before the whole community. 23 He laid his hands on him and commissioned him, just as the Lord commanded,[ay] by the authority[az] of Moses.
Daily Offerings
28 [ba] The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “Command the Israelites:[bb] ‘With regard to my offering,[bc] be sure to offer[bd] my food for my offering made by fire, as a pleasing aroma to me at its appointed time.’[be] 3 You will say to them, ‘This is the offering made by fire that you must offer to the Lord: two unblemished lambs one year old each day for a continual[bf] burnt offering. 4 The first lamb you must offer in the morning, and the second lamb you must offer in the late afternoon,[bg] 5 with one-tenth of an ephah[bh] of finely ground flour as a grain offering mixed with one-quarter of a hin[bi] of pressed olive oil. 6 It is a continual burnt offering that was instituted on Mount Sinai as a pleasing aroma, an offering made by fire to the Lord.
7 “‘And its drink offering must be one-quarter of a hin for each lamb.[bj] You must pour out the strong drink[bk] as a drink offering to the Lord in the Holy Place. 8 And the second lamb you must offer in the late afternoon; just as you offered the grain offering and drink offering in the morning,[bl] you must offer it as an offering made by fire, as a pleasing aroma to the Lord.
Weekly Offerings
9 “‘On the Sabbath day, you must offer[bm] two unblemished lambs a year old, and two-tenths of an ephah[bn] of finely ground flour as a grain offering, mixed with olive oil, along with its drink offering. 10 This is the burnt offering for every Sabbath,[bo] besides the continual burnt offering and its drink offering.
Monthly Offerings
11 “‘On the first day of each month[bp] you must offer as a burnt offering to the Lord two young bulls, one ram, and seven unblemished lambs a year old, 12 with three-tenths of an ephah of finely ground flour mixed with olive oil as a grain offering for each bull, and two-tenths of an ephah of finely ground flour mixed with olive oil as a grain offering for the ram, 13 and one-tenth of an ephah of finely ground flour mixed with olive oil as a grain offering for each lamb, as a burnt offering for a pleasing aroma, an offering made by fire to the Lord. 14 For their drink offerings, include[bq] half a hin of wine with each bull, one-third of a hin for the ram, and one-fourth of a hin for each lamb. This is the burnt offering for each month[br] throughout the months of the year.
Footnotes
- Numbers 26:54 tn Heb “to many you will multiply his inheritance.”
- Numbers 26:54 tn Heb “to a few you will lessen his inheritance.”
- Numbers 26:54 tn Heb “according to those that were numbered of him,” meaning, in accordance with the number of people in his clan.
- Numbers 26:56 tn Heb “divided.”
- Numbers 26:59 tn Heb “who she bore him to Levi.” The verb has no expressed subject. Either one could be supplied, such as “her mother,” or it could be treated as a passive.
- Numbers 26:61 tn The expression אֵשׁ זָרָה (ʾesh zarah, “strange fire”) seems imprecise and has been interpreted numerous ways (see the helpful summary in J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC 4], 132-33). The infraction may have involved any of the following or a combination thereof: (1) using coals from some place other than the burnt offering altar (i.e., “unauthorized coals” according to J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:598; cf. Lev 16:12 and cf. “unauthorized person” [אִישׁ זָר, ʾish zar] in Num 16:40 [17:5 HT], NASB “layman”), (2) using the wrong kind of incense (cf. the Exod 30:9 regulation against “strange incense” [קְטֹרֶת זָרָה, qetoret zarah] on the incense altar and the possible connection to Exod 30:34-38), (3) performing an incense offering at an unprescribed time (B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 59), or (4) entering the Holy of Holies at an inappropriate time (Lev 16:1-2).sn This event is narrated in Lev 10:1-7.
- Numbers 26:62 tn Heb “them”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Numbers 26:63 sn This is the area of the rift valley basin to the north of the Dead Sea and east of the Jordan. See the note at Num 21:1.
- Numbers 26:64 tn “who had been” is added to clarify the text.
- Numbers 27:1 sn For additional information on this section, see N. H. Snaith, “The Daughters of Zelophehad,” VT 16 (1966): 124-27; and J. Weingreen, “The Case of the Daughters of Zelophehad,” VT 16 (1966): 518-22.
- Numbers 27:1 tc The phrase “of the families of Manasseh” is absent from the Latin Vulgate.
- Numbers 27:3 tn This clause begins with a vav (ו) on a pronoun, marking it out as a disjunctive vav. In this context it fits best to take it as a circumstantial clause introducing concession.
- Numbers 27:3 tn Heb “in the midst of.”
- Numbers 27:3 tn The word order is emphatic: “but in/on account of his own sins he died.”
- Numbers 27:4 tn That is, the possession of land, or property, among the other families of their tribe.
- Numbers 27:4 tn The word is “brothers,” but this can be interpreted more loosely to relatives. So also in v. 7.
- Numbers 27:7 tn Heb “[the daughters of Zelophehad] speak right” (using the participle דֹּבְרֹת [doverot] with כֵּן [ken]).
- Numbers 27:7 tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute with the imperfect tense. The imperfect is functioning as the imperfect of instruction, and so the infinitive strengthens the force of the instruction.
- Numbers 27:7 tn The verb is the Hiphil perfect with a vav (ו) consecutive, from the root עָבַר (ʿavar, “to pass over”). Here it functions as the equivalent of the imperfect of instruction: “and you shall cause to pass,” meaning, “transfer.”
- Numbers 27:8 tn Heb “a man, if he dies.”
- Numbers 27:11 tn The expression is חֻקַּת מִשְׁפָּט (khuqqat mishpat, “a statute of judgment”), which means it is a fixed enactment that determines justice. It is one which is established by God.
- Numbers 27:12 sn See further J. Lindblom, “Lot Casting in the Old Testament,” VT 12 (1962): 164-78; E. Lipiński, “Urim and Thummim,” VT 20 (1970): 495-96; and S. E. Loewenstamm, “The Death of Moses,” Tarbiz 27 (1957/58): 142-57.
- Numbers 27:12 tc The Greek version adds “which is Mount Nebo.” This is a typical scribal change to harmonize two passages.sn The area is in the mountains of Moab; Deut 34:1 more precisely identifies it as Mount Nebo.
- Numbers 27:12 tn The imperative could be subordinated to the first to provide a purpose clause, although a second instruction fits well enough.
- Numbers 27:12 tn This perfect tense would best be classified as a perfect of resolve: “which I have decided to give.” God had not yet given the land to them, but it was certain he would.
- Numbers 27:13 tn The first verb is a perfect tense with a vav (ו) consecutive, and the second verb is also. In such parallel clauses, the first may be subordinated, here as a temporal clause.
- Numbers 27:13 tn Heb “people.”
- Numbers 27:13 tn Heb “was gathered.” The phrase “to his ancestors” is elided in the Hebrew text, but is an implied repetition from the beginning of the verse, and has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- Numbers 27:14 tn The preposition on the relative pronoun has the force of “because of the fact that.”
- Numbers 27:14 tn The verb is the second masculine plural form.
- Numbers 27:14 tn Heb “mouth.”
- Numbers 27:14 sn Using the basic meaning of the word קָדַשׁ (qadash, “to be separate, distinct, set apart”), we can understand better what Moses failed to do. He was supposed to have acted in a way that would have shown God to be distinct, different, holy. Instead, he gave the impression that God was capricious and hostile—very human. The leader has to be aware of what image he is conveying to the people.
- Numbers 27:16 tn Heb “flesh”; cf. NAB, NIV “all mankind”; NCV “all people”; NLT “all living things.”
- Numbers 27:16 tn This is the same verb פָּקַד (paqad) that is used throughout the book for the aspect of “numbering” the people.
- Numbers 27:17 sn This is probably technical terminology for a military leader (Josh 14:11; 1 Sam 18:13-16; 1 Kgs 3:7; 2 Kgs 11:9). The image of a shepherd can also be military in nature (1 Kgs 22:17).
- Numbers 27:17 tn The Hebrew text has the conjunction with the negated imperfect tense, “and it will not be.” This clause should be subordinated to the preceding to form a result clause, and the imperfect then function as a final imperfect.
- Numbers 27:18 tn Or “said.”
- Numbers 27:18 sn The word “spirit” probably refers to the Holy Spirit. This would likely be a permanent endowment for Joshua. But it is also possible to take it to refer to a proper spirit to do all the things required of such a leader (which ultimately is a gift from the Spirit of God). The Hebrew text simply says “in whom is a spirit.”
- Numbers 27:18 sn This symbolic act would indicate the transfer of leadership to Joshua.
- Numbers 27:19 tn This could be translated “position him,” or “have him stand,” since it is the causative stem of the verb “to stand.”
- Numbers 27:19 tn The verb is the Piel perfect of צִוָּה (tsivvah, literally “to command”). The verb has a wide range of meanings, and so here in this context the idea of instructing gives way to a more general sense of commissioning for duty. The verb in sequence is equal to the imperfect of instruction.
- Numbers 27:19 tn Heb “in their eyes.”
- Numbers 27:20 tn The verb is simply “give,” but in this context giving some of Moses’ honor to Joshua in the presence of the people is essentially passing the leadership to him, or delegating the authority to him with the result that people would follow him.
- Numbers 27:20 tc The Greek, Syriac, and Vulgate read “glory” for this form that occurs only here in the Pentateuch. Elsewhere it is rendered “majesty, splendor” (see Ps 96:6). It could even be “vitality” here. The authority being transferred here is both spiritual and civil.
- Numbers 27:20 tn Heb “hear.”
- Numbers 27:21 tn The passage simply has “and he will ask,” but Eleazar is clearly the subject now.
- Numbers 27:21 tn Heb “ask.”
- Numbers 27:21 sn The new leader would not have the privilege that Moses had in speaking to God face-to-face. Rather, he would have to inquire of the Lord through the priest, and the priest would seek a decision by means of the Urim. The Urim and the Thummim were the sacred lots that the priest had in his pouch, the “breastplate” as it has traditionally been called. Since the Law had now been fully established, there would be fewer cases that the leader would need further rulings. Now it would simply be seeking the Lord’s word for matters such as whether to advance or not. The size, shape or substance of these objects is uncertain. See further C. Van Dam, The Urim and Thummim.
- Numbers 27:21 tn Heb “mouth,” meaning what he will say.
- Numbers 27:22 tn Heb “stood.”
- Numbers 27:23 tn Heb “spoke.”
- Numbers 27:23 tn Heb “hand.”
- Numbers 28:1 sn For additional reading on these chapters, see G. B. Gray, Sacrifice in the Old Testament; A. F. Rainey, “The Order of Sacrifices in the Old Testament Ritual Texts,” Bib 51 (1970): 485-98; N. H. Snaith, The Jewish New Year Festival.
- Numbers 28:2 tn Heb “and say to them.” These words have not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- Numbers 28:2 tn The sentence begins with the accusative “my offering.” It is suspended at the beginning as an independent accusative to itemize the subject matter. The second accusative is the formal object of the verb. It could also be taken in apposition to the first accusative.
- Numbers 28:2 tn The construction uses the imperfect tense expressing instruction, followed by the infinitive construct used to express the complement of direct object.
- Numbers 28:2 sn See L. R. Fisher, “New Ritual Calendar from Ugarit,” HTR 63 (1970): 485-501.
- Numbers 28:3 sn The sacrifice was to be kept burning, but each morning the priests would have to clean the grill and put a new offering on the altar. So the idea of a continual burnt offering is more that of a regular offering.
- Numbers 28:4 tn Heb “between the evenings” meaning between dusk and dark.
- Numbers 28:5 sn That is about two quarts.
- Numbers 28:5 sn That is about one quart.
- Numbers 28:7 tn Heb “the one lamb,” but it is meant to indicate for “each lamb.”
- Numbers 28:7 tn The word שֵׁכָר (shekhar) is often translated “strong drink.” It can mean “barley beer” in the Akkadian cognate, and also in the Hebrew Bible when joined with the word for wine. English versions here read “wine” (NAB, TEV, CEV); “strong wine” (KJV); “fermented drink” (NIV, NLT); “strong drink” (ASV, NASB, NRSV).
- Numbers 28:8 tn Heb “as the grain offering of the morning and as its drink offering.”
- Numbers 28:9 tn The words “you must offer” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied. They have been supplied in the translation to make a complete English sentence.
- Numbers 28:9 sn That is, about 4 quarts.
- Numbers 28:10 tn Heb “the burnt offering of the Sabbath by its Sabbath.”
- Numbers 28:11 tn Heb “of your months.”
- Numbers 28:14 tn The word “include” is not in the Hebrew text but is implied. It is supplied in the translation to make a complete English sentence.
- Numbers 28:14 tn Heb “a month in its month.”
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