And Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from the commanders of thousands and of hundreds: For Eleazar the priest, see verse 6; for the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, see verses 14 and 48.

And brought it into the tent of meeting: For the tent of meeting, see 1.1.

As a memorial for the people of Israel before the LORD: According to Levine (page 463), giving the gold to the LORD was an act of devotion and loyalty that brought the Israelites to the attention of their God. However, it is not clear in the Hebrew text whether the memorial (or “reminder”) was for the Israelites or for the LORD, or for both (compare Exo 30.16) Contemporary English Version makes the first option explicit, though in rather ambiguous terms: “to remind Israel of what had happened.” If the gift of gold were a reminder for the Israelites, then it could cause them to give more support for the Tabernacle (so Ashley, page 601). The second option is made explicit in Good News Translation with “so that the LORD would protect the people of Israel.” Revised English Bible also follows interpretation by saying “that the LORD might remember Israel” (similarly Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, SPCL, Bijbel in Gewone Taal, De Nieuwe Bijbelvertaling), and so does New Living Translation with “as a reminder to the LORD that the people of Israel belong to him.” It is difficult to choose between these alternative interpretations, so we recommend that translators try to retain both options in a more general wording (if this does not result in confusing ambiguity or meaninglessness).

Quoted with permission from de Regt, Lénart J. and Wendland, Ernst R. A Handbook on Numbers. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .