Numbers 14 General Notes

Structure and Formatting

2. In the wilderness (10:11–19:22) * The Israelites set out, the Israelites rebel about the manna, Miriam and Aaron rebel against Moses, the leaders explore Canaan, and the Israelites refuse to enter Canaan and are punished (10:11–14:45)In this chapter, the Israelites refuse to enter Canaan. Yahweh then declares how he will punish them. When the Israelites hear this, they decide to go to Canaan after all. However, Yahweh does not help them, and they are defeated.

Religious and Cultural Concepts in This Chapter

Murmuring

In this chapter, “murmuring” refers to speaking against someone else. In this context, it means that people say that their leader is doing a bad job leading them. Consider how you would express this idea in your language.

Forgiveness and punishment

In this chapter, Moses quotes what Yahweh had previously said about himself: he both forgives and punishes. In response to Moses asking Yahweh to forgive the Israelites, that is exactly what Yahweh does. He forgives them, but he also punishes them for their disobedience. More specifically, all the people who refused to go to Canaan will die in the wilderness, but their children will enter and live in Canaan.

Translation Issues in This Chapter

“Go up”

Multiple times in this chapter, the author or characters use the word “up” or “down” with verbs of movement, such as “go” or “come.” This language often includes elevation in its descriptions of movement. For example, going from the Israelite camp to the hill country is going “up” because elevation is gained during the travel. For some languages, “up” or “down” would give the wrong meaning or is not necessary. (See: figs-explicitinfo)

Oath formulas

Yahweh uses several different oath formulas in this chapter. One formula includes something that the oath-taker swears by. Yahweh swears by his own life and by the fact that his glory fills the earth. This formula indicates that what Yahweh swears is as certain as his glory and as his life. A second formula uses a conditional form but does not include what will happen if the condition is met. In these cases, the oath formula implies that something terrible will happen to the oath-taker if the condition is met. See the notes for specific cases and translation options. (See: writing-oathformula)

Rhetorical Questions

Several times in this chapter, characters ask rhetorical questions. The characters are using the question form to express strong emotions. They do not actually want answers. See the notes for translation options. (See: figs-rquestion)