This summary concludes the sections of law and cult procedure in the third and final major part of Numbers—the time that the Israelites were encamped in the plains of Moab (chapters 22–36). As a way to indicate this, verse 13 should be a paragraph of its own, possibly preceded by a blank line. It is not just a summary of chapter 36. Numbers concludes with a simple summary, yet one that is full of thematic implications for Israel’s future and the book of Deuteronomy.

These are the commandments and the ordinances …: As mentioned at 15.22, the Hebrew noun for commandments (mitswah) comes from a verb meaning “to order” or “to command.” The Hebrew word for ordinances (mishpat) can mean “legal decision/judgment” or “established custom” (see 9.3).

Which the LORD commanded by Moses is literally “which the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses” (compare 15.23). This particular phrase also occurs in Exo 35.29 and Lev 8.36.

In the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho: See the comments on 22.1 and 26.3. This phrase unifies the final major part of Numbers (chapters 22–36) and constitutes an inclusio for it. The Hebrew phrase for by the Jordan is slightly different from “beyond the Jordan” in 22.1, but the same as in 26.3.

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 .