And they spoke to him, saying, "Joseph [is] still alive, and he [is] ruler over all the land of Egypt." And his heart {went numb}, because he did not believe him.

All they who are num-bered to the camp of Judah. a hundred and eighty-six thousand four hundred, by their hosts, shall first set forward.

All they who are num-bered to the camp of Reuben, - a hundred and fifty-one thousand and four hundred and fifty, by their hosts, and they in the second rank, shall set forward.

They who were numbered of them in the counting of every male, from one month old, and upwards, - they who were num-bered of them, were seven thousand and five hundred.

These, were they who were num-bered of the families of the Kohathites, all that might labour in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron did number, at the bidding of Yahweh by the mediation of Moses.

I am numb with pain and severely battered; I groan loudly because of the anxiety I feel.

I am oppressed and have been on the verge of death since my youth. I have been subjected to your horrors and am numb with pain.

Therefore my spirit is overwhelmed and weak within me [wrapped in darkness];
My heart grows numb within me.

"When that time comes, people will no longer say, 'The parents have eaten sour grapes, but the children's teeth have grown numb.'

Rather, each person will die for his own sins. The teeth of the person who eats the sour grapes will themselves grow numb.

"Why do you cite this proverb when you talk about Israel's land: "The fathers eat sour grapes but it's their children's teeth that have become numb.'

Or, have you not read in the law of Moses that the priests in the Temple defiled the Sabbath day [i.e., by doing the 'work' of offering sacrifices] and were not held guilty [of wrongdoing]? [See Num. 28:9-10]

And [just] like Moses lifted up the snake [on the pole] in the wilderness [Num. 21:9], so the Son of man must be lifted up [on the cross]

However, God was not pleased with the vast majority of them, for their bodies were scattered over the desert [See Num. 14:29ff].

Neither should we commit sexual immorality as some of them did, [with] 23,000 people falling dead in one day. [Note: Num. 25:9 mentions 24,000 people slain, but that number could have included the additional people slain by the judges. See Num. 25:5].

Neither should we put the Lord to a test as some of them did, and were killed by snake bites [See Num. 21:5ff].

But every woman who prays or prophesies [in the public assembly] with her [physical] head uncovered [i.e., with hair or a shawl] shows disrespect for her head [i.e., for her husband. See verse 3]. Such appearance is the same as if her [physical] head were shaved. [Note: Various sources point out that a shaved or closely cropped head was an emblem of a prostitute or a woman found guilty of sexual unfaithfulness to her husband. See Num. 5:11-18].

[And] does not the very nature of things teach you that it is disgraceful for a man to have long hair? [Note: The prevailing, worldwide custom, observable to Paul even in his day, was shorter hair on men and longer hair on women. The fact of exceptions to this arrangement only proves the rule. See Num. 6:5; I Sam. 1:11].

However, the solid foundation of God stands firm. [Note: This probably refers to the church. See I Tim. 3:15]. It is sealed with these words [i.e., certifying God's ownership and a commitment to Him]: "The Lord knows those who are His people," [See Num. 16:5], and "Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord should stop practicing wickedness." [See Isa. 36:13].

It was God's purpose to bring us into being [spiritually] by the message of truth, so that we could become a kind of "firstfruits" of those He created. [Note: "Firstfruits" here suggests either that Christians are the best of all of God's creatures (Num. 18:12), or that they were the first to be converted, with many more to come].

It is too bad for these people, for they have followed the example of Cain [the murderer]; for the sake of money they have rushed into the [same] error as Balaam committed [See Num. 25:1-5; 31:16]; they [will] perish [spiritually] for having rebelled [against God] like Korah did. [See Num. 16:1-3, 31-35].

"But I have a few things against you because you have people there [in the church] who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to place a stumblingblock in front of the Israelites, [causing them] to eat food sacrificed to idols and to be sexually immoral [See Num. 23-24].