Numbers 11 — Hebrew and Greek compared
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Same 8 Similar 15 Different 11 Divergent 0 Disparate 1
Disparate in this chapter: 11:20
Each verse is rendered independently from the Hebrew (Rabbinic reading tradition) and from the Greek (Saints reading tradition). The badge classifies the relationship between the two readings; the note beneath records the source document’s comparison and attributed interpretation. Each column retains its own verse references where numbering differs.
Fire at Taberah
11:1 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
11:1 The people were like those complaining of hardship in YHWH’s hearing. YHWH heard, and His anger flared; fire from YHWH burned among them and consumed the edge of the camp.
Greek · Saints priority
11:1 The people were grumbling evil things before the Lord. The Lord heard and was stirred to anger; fire from the Lord blazed among them and consumed a part of the camp.
Hebrew locates the burning at the camp’s edge; Greek says a part of the camp. The difficult Hebrew opening is more explicit about complaint in Greek.
11:2 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
11:2 The people cried out to Moses. Moses prayed to YHWH, and the fire died down.
Greek · Saints priority
11:2 The people cried out to Moses. Moses prayed to the Lord, and the fire died down.
Both describe the people’s appeal, Moses’ prayer, and the fire’s subsiding.
11:3 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
11:3 That place was named Taberah, because fire from YHWH had burned among them.
Greek · Saints priority
11:3 That place was named Burning, because fire from the Lord had blazed among them.
Greek translates the place-name Taberah by its sense, Burning.
Israel Demands Provisions
11:4 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
11:4 The mixed crowd among them craved intensely, and the Israelites too wept again, saying, “Who will give us meat to eat?â€
Greek · Saints priority
11:4 The mixed company among them craved intensely, and the Israelites too sat down and wept, saying, “Who will feed us meat?â€
Hebrew says they wept again; Greek describes sitting down and weeping.
Apostolic reception: Paul uses the wilderness craving as a warning against desiring evil. The admonition is addressed to Christians, showing his moral application of Israel’s story.
Source: 1 Corinthians 10:6
11:5 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
11:5 “We remember the fish we ate in Egypt for nothing, the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic.
Greek · Saints priority
11:5 “We remember the fish we ate in Egypt for nothing, the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic.
The remembered foods and the claim that the fish cost nothing correspond.
11:6 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
11:6 But now our life is dried up. There is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes.â€
Greek · Saints priority
11:6 But now our life is parched; our eyes see nothing except the manna.â€
Both voice the same complaint through the image of a dried-up life or appetite.
11:7 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
11:7 The manna was like coriander seed, and its appearance was like bdellium.
Greek · Saints priority
11:7 The manna is like coriander seed, and its appearance is like crystal.
Hebrew names bdellium, a substance whose precise identification is debated; Greek names crystal. Neither text supplies the modern botanical identification of manna.
11:8 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
11:8 The people went about and gathered it, ground it in mills or crushed it in mortars, boiled it in pots, and made cakes from it. Its taste was like a rich cake made with oil.
Greek · Saints priority
11:8 The people went about and gathered it, ground it in the mill, crushed it in the mortar, boiled it in the pot, and made cakes baked in ashes. Its pleasant taste was like a cake made with oil.
Greek specifies ash-baked cakes. The Hebrew expression for the taste is uncertain; the oil-cake rendering should not be treated as proof of a different food.
11:9 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
11:9 When the dew fell on the camp at night, the manna fell upon it.
Greek · Saints priority
11:9 When the dew fell on the camp at night, the manna fell upon it.
The manna falls upon the dew in both texts.
Moses' Crisis of Leadership
11:10 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
11:10 Moses heard the people weeping by their families, each at the entrance of his tent. YHWH’s anger flared greatly, and Moses was displeased.
Greek · Saints priority
11:10 Moses heard them weeping by their groups, each at his doorway. The Lord was stirred to great anger, and it was evil in Moses’ sight.
The family or community grouping and the reactions correspond; Greek does not repeat tent.
11:11 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
11:11 Moses said to YHWH, “Why have You treated Your servant badly? Why have I not found favor in Your sight, that You lay the burden of all this people on me?
Greek · Saints priority
11:11 Moses said to the Lord, “Why have You treated Your attendant badly? Why have I not found favor before You, that You place the onrush of this people upon me?
Hebrew pictures a burden; Greek uses hormē, an impulse or onrush. The Greek servant-title here does not itself specify an ecclesiastical office.
11:12 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
11:12 Did I conceive all this people? Did I give birth to them, that You should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries a nursing infant, to the land You swore to their fathers’?
Greek · Saints priority
11:12 Did I conceive all this people? Did I give birth to them, that You should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries a nursing infant, to the land You swore to their fathers’?
The parental and nursing images correspond. The singular collective people becomes plural naturally in English.
11:13 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
11:13 Where can I get meat to give all this people? For they weep before me, saying, ‘Give us meat to eat!’
Greek · Saints priority
11:13 Where can I get meat to give all this people? For they weep before me, saying, ‘Give us meat to eat!’
Both retain Moses’ question and the people’s demand.
11:14 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
11:14 I cannot carry all this people alone; they are too heavy for me.
Greek · Saints priority
11:14 I shall not be able to carry this people alone, because this matter is too heavy for me.
Greek explicitly calls the situation a matter; both express Moses’ inability to bear it alone.
11:15 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
11:15 If this is how You treat me, please kill me outright, if I have found favor in Your sight, and do not let me see my misery.â€
Greek · Saints priority
11:15 If this is how You treat me, kill me outright, if I have found mercy with You, so that I may not see my misery.â€
Favor and mercy are related but distinct expressions here. Both preserve the severity of Moses’ request.
The Divine Solution
11:16 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
11:16 YHWH said to Moses, “Gather for Me seventy men from Israel’s elders, whom you know to be elders of the people and their officers. Bring them to the Tent of Meeting, and let them stand there with you.
Greek · Saints priority
11:16 The Lord said to Moses, “Gather for Me seventy men from Israel’s elders, whom you yourself know to be elders of the people and their scribes. Bring them to the Tent of Testimony, and they shall stand there with you.
Hebrew officers are designated scribes in Greek. The sanctuary titles also differ.
11:17 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
11:17 I will come down and speak with you there. I will take some of the Spirit that is upon you and put it upon them. They will carry the burden of the people with you, so that you do not carry it alone.
Greek · Saints priority
11:17 I will come down and speak with you there. I will take some of the Spirit that is upon you and put it upon them. They will help you bear the onrush of the people, and you will not carry them alone.
The burden/onrush distinction of 11:11 recurs; the sharing of the Spirit and responsibility corresponds.
11:18 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
11:18 Say to the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat. You have wept in YHWH’s hearing, saying, “Who will give us meat to eat? We had it good in Egypt!†YHWH will give you meat, and you shall eat.
Greek · Saints priority
11:18 Say to the people, ‘Purify yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat. You have wept before the Lord, saying, “Who will feed us meat? Things are good for us in Egypt!†The Lord will give you meat to eat, and you shall eat meat.
Consecration is expressed as purification in Greek; the complaint about Egypt is phrased in the present tense there.
11:19 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
11:19 You shall eat it not for one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days,
Greek · Saints priority
11:19 You shall eat it not for one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days,
The ascending sequence of days corresponds.
11:20 Disparate
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
11:20 but for a whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you, because you have rejected YHWH who is among you and have wept before Him, saying, “Why did we ever leave Egypt?â€â€™â€
Greek · Saints priority
11:20 You shall eat it for a whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils and gives you a bilious sickness, because you disobeyed the Lord who is among you and wept before Him, saying, “Why did we leave Egypt?â€â€™â€
Hebrew predicts loathing; Greek cholera describes a bilious or vomiting illness, not necessarily the disease now called cholera. Rejection is also rendered disobedience. The stated consequence changes materially.
11:21 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
11:21 Moses said, “The people among whom I am number six hundred thousand on foot, yet You have said, ‘I will give them meat, and they shall eat for a whole month.’
Greek · Saints priority
11:21 Moses said, “The people among whom I am number six hundred thousand on foot, yet You have said, ‘I will give them meat to eat, and they shall eat for a whole month.’
The large number and promised duration agree; Greek makes to eat explicit twice.
11:22 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
11:22 Could flocks and herds be slaughtered for them and be enough? Could all the fish of the sea be gathered for them and be enough?â€
Greek · Saints priority
11:22 Could sheep and cattle be slaughtered for them and be enough? Could all the food of the sea be gathered for them and be enough?â€
Greek opson is food eaten with bread and can designate fish; its broader wording need not imply a different proposed supply.
11:23 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
11:23 YHWH said to Moses, “Is YHWH’s hand too short? Now you will see whether My word comes true for you or not.â€
Greek · Saints priority
11:23 The Lord said to Moses, “Will the Lord’s hand not suffice? Now you will know whether My word overtakes you or not.â€
The short-hand image is interpreted as sufficiency in Greek. Both assert that the divine promise will be tested by its fulfillment.
The Spirit and the Seventy Elders
11:24 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
11:24 Moses went out and told the people YHWH’s words. He gathered seventy men from the elders of the people and stationed them around the tent.
Greek · Saints priority
11:24 Moses went out and told the people the Lord’s words. He gathered seventy men from the elders of the people and stationed them around the tent.
Both describe the same gathering and placement.
11:25 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
11:25 YHWH came down in the cloud and spoke to him. He took some of the Spirit that was upon him and put it upon the seventy elders. When the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, but did not do so again.
Greek · Saints priority
11:25 The Lord came down in a cloud and spoke to him. He took some of the Spirit that was upon him and put it upon the seventy men, the elders. When the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not do so again.
Both final clauses literally deny adding further. The rendering did not do so again follows that construction; the traditional interpretation did not cease is not silently substituted for it.
Rabbinic reception: Rashi records both the Sifrei interpretation that the elders prophesied only that day and the Targum’s interpretation that their prophecy did not cease. This disagreement is within reception of the Hebrew clause, not a newly established Hebrew–Greek textual variant.
Source: Rashi, Numbers 11:25
11:26 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
11:26 Two men remained in the camp: one was named Eldad and the other Medad. The Spirit rested upon them. They were among those enrolled, but had not gone out to the tent; they prophesied in the camp.
Greek · Saints priority
11:26 Two men were left in the camp: one was named Eldad and the other Medad. The Spirit rested upon them. They were among those enrolled, but had not come to the tent; they prophesied in the camp.
Greek Μωδαδ (Modad) is rendered with the familiar English form Medad. Both include these men among those enrolled and locate their prophecy in the camp.
11:27 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
11:27 A young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp!â€
Greek · Saints priority
11:27 The young man ran up and reported to Moses, saying, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp!â€
The Greek name-form Μωδαδ (Modad) again appears as the familiar Medad; the report corresponds in substance.
11:28 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
11:28 Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ attendant from his youth, answered, “My lord Moses, restrain them!â€
Greek · Saints priority
11:28 Joshua son of Nun, the chosen attendant of Moses, answered, “My lord Moses, prevent them!â€
The difficult Hebrew expression is rendered from his youth here; Greek explicitly describes Joshua as chosen. This is a characterization difference, not proof of a different Joshua.
11:29 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
11:29 Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? If only all YHWH’s people were prophets, and YHWH would put His Spirit upon them!â€
Greek · Saints priority
11:29 Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for me? Who would make all the Lord’s people prophets, when the Lord gives His Spirit upon them?â€
Greek retains the wish through a rhetorical question. Both connect the people’s prophecy with the Lord’s gift of His Spirit.
11:30 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
11:30 Moses returned to the camp, he and the elders of Israel.
Greek · Saints priority
11:30 Moses returned to the camp, he and the elders of Israel.
The return and its participants correspond.
The Quail and the Plague
11:31 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
11:31 A wind went out from YHWH and brought quail from the sea. It cast them down by the camp, about a day’s journey on this side and a day’s journey on that side, all around the camp, about two cubits above the ground.
Greek · Saints priority
11:31 A wind went out from the Lord and carried quail across from the sea. It cast them upon the camp, a day’s journey on this side and a day’s journey on that side, around the camp, about two cubits above the ground.
The extent and height correspond. Neither rendering converts the cubits into an exact modern measure or decides whether the birds were flying or accumulated at that level.
11:32 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
11:32 The people rose and gathered quail all that day, all night, and all the next day. Whoever gathered least gathered ten homers. They spread them out for themselves around the camp.
Greek · Saints priority
11:32 The people rose all that day, all night, and all the following day and gathered quail. Whoever gathered least gathered ten kors, and they cooled them for themselves in cooling places around the camp.
Greek uses the equivalent measure-name kor and explicitly describes cooling; Hebrew describes spreading out. The texts do not state a monetary value.
11:33 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
11:33 The meat was still between their teeth, before it was consumed, when YHWH’s anger flared against the people, and YHWH struck the people with a very great plague.
Greek · Saints priority
11:33 The meat was still between their teeth, before it was gone, when the Lord grew angry against the people and struck the people with a very great plague.
The wording for the meat’s disappearance differs slightly; the timing and severe plague correspond.
11:34 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
11:34 That place was named Kibroth-hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had craved.
Greek · Saints priority
11:34 That place was named Graves of Craving, because there they buried the people who had craved.
Greek translates the Hebrew place-name by its meaning.
11:35 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
11:35 From Kibroth-hattaavah the people set out for Hazeroth, and they remained at Hazeroth.
Greek · Saints priority
11:35 From Graves of Craving the people set out for Hazeroth, and the people were at Hazeroth.
The itinerary corresponds; Greek again translates the first place-name.
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Saints Translation · Companion comparison edition · working draft awaiting specialist review.