And the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before the LORD: The exact gesture indicated by the Hebrew verb rendered wave and the related noun translated wave offering is not known. It probably means “elevate,” so New Revised Standard Version provides a more accurate translation of this clause with “Then the priest shall elevate them as an elevation offering before the LORD”. The meaning of the rare Hebrew word rendered covered (so also Septuagint, Vulgate) is highly uncertain. Covered wagons may be rendered “transport wagons” or simply “wagons” (Good News Translation), but some commentators feel that these wagons were indeed covered in order to protect the Tabernacle contents from dust and to shade them from public view. In some languages a more specific term such as “oxcarts” (Chewa) may be appropriate. The Hebrew word for oxen is baqar and the word for ox is shor. Both these Hebrew words are general terms, covering cows, bulls, and oxen. Baqar is the most general word for cattle, and shor is a general word for individual cattle. However, in this context the animals in view are intended to pull the wagons, so most translations use the specific words oxen and ox.

They offered them before the tabernacle: The Israelite leaders brought their offerings to the front of the Tabernacle. For the Hebrew verb rendered offered, see the comments above.

Verses 1-3 form a single long and complex sentence in Revised Standard Version. This sentence is far too long to be natural or easy to follow in many languages, so translators may need to break it down into two or more sentences, as in Good News Translation.

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 .