Numbers 9:3-5

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Numbers 9:3 tn The literal Hebrew expression is “between the evenings” (so also in vv. 5, 11). Sunset is certainly one evening; the other may refer to the change in the middle of the afternoon to the late afternoon, or the beginning of dusk. The idea is probably just at twilight, or dusk (see R. B. Allen, TWOT 2:694).
2. Numbers 9:3 tn The two verbs in this verse are identical; they are imperfects of instruction. The English translation has been modified for stylistic variation.
3. Numbers 9:3 tn The two words in this last section are standard “Torah” words. The word חֹק (khoq) is a binding statute, something engraved and monumental. The word מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat) means “judgment, decision,” but with a more general idea of “custom” at its core. The verse is making it very clear that the Passover had to follow the custom and form that was legislated in Egypt.
4. Numbers 9:4 tn Heb “spoke to.”
5. Numbers 9:4 tn The infinitive construct functions as the direct object of the preceding verb (a Hebrew complementary usage), answering the question of what he said.
6. Numbers 9:5 tc The LXX omits this first clause; it also omits “at twilight.”