Footnotes

1. 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.
2. Numbers 27:13 tn Heb “people.”
3. 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.
4. Numbers 27:14 tn The preposition on the relative pronoun has the force of “because of the fact that.”
5. Numbers 27:14 tn The verb is the second masculine plural form.
6. Numbers 27:14 tn Heb “mouth.”
7. 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.