Book of Numbers

Books of the Hebrew Bible

Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy Joshua Judges Ruth 1–2 Samuel 1–2 Kings 1–2 Chronicles Ezra Nehemiah Esther Job Psalms Proverbs Ecclesiastes Song of Solomon (Song of Songs) Isaiah Jeremiah Lamentations Ezekiel Daniel other Minor Prophets

The Book of Numbers is the fourth of the books of the Pentateuch, called in the Hebrew ba-midbar במדבר, i.e., "in the desert." In the Septuagint version it is called Arithmoi ("Numbers"), and this name is now the usual title of the book. It is so called because it contains a record of the numbering of the people in the wilderness of Sinai (1-4), and of their numbering afterwards on the plain of Moab (26).

This book is of special historical interest as furnishing us with details as to the route of the Israelites in the wilderness and their principal encampments. It may be divided into three parts:

1. The numbering of the people at Sinai, and preparations for resuming their march (1-10:10). The sixth chapter gives an account of the vow of a Nazirite.
2. An account of the journey from Sinai to Moab, the sending out of the spies and the report they brought back, and the murmurings (eight times) of the people at the hardships by the way (10:11-21:20).
3. The transactions in the plain of Moab before crossing the Jordan River (21:21-ch. 36).

The period comprehended in the history extends from the second month of the second year after the Exodus to the beginning of the eleventh month of the fortieth year, in all about thirty-eight years and ten months; a dreary period of wanderings. They were fewer in number at the end of their wanderings than when they left the land of Egypt.

The reference to a "book of the wars of the Lord," occurring in 21:14, has given rise to much discussion. But, after all, "what this book was is uncertain, whether some writing of Israel not now extant, or some writing of the Amorites which contained songs and triumphs of their king Sihon's victories, out of which Moses may cite this testimony, as Paul sometimes does out of heathen poets (Acts 17:28; Titus 1:12)."

The modern documentary hypothesis asserts that the book of Numbers was created as part of the combination by a redactor of the Torah from two competing parallel works known as JE and the Priestly source.

Summary

God orders Moses, in the wilderness of Sinai, to take the number of those able to bear arms among the men "from twenty years old and upward"—the tribe of Levi being excepted—and to appoint chiefs over each tribe. The result of the numbering is that 603,550 Israelites are found to be fit for military service. The Levites are assigned exclusively the service of the Tabernacle (Ch. 1). The Levites are to camp immediate outside of the Tabernacle, with the other tribes encamped around the Levites, each tribe being distinguished by its chosen banner. Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun encamp to the east of the Tabernacle; Reuben, Simeon, and Gad to the south; Ephraim and Manasseh to the west; and Dan, Asher, and Naphtali to the north. The same order is to be preserved for the march. (Ch. 2)

Priests and Levites

Because of the death of Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu, only his reamining sons Eleazar and Ithamar serve as priests during his lifetime. The Levites are ordained for the service of the Tabernacle, taking the place of the first-born sons of the Israelites, who hitherto be claimed by God as his.

The Levites are also divided into three families, the Gershonites, the Kohathites, and the Merarites, each under a chief, and all headed by one prince, Eleazar, son of Aaron. The death penalty is stipulated for any unauthorized person approaching the sanctuary, and a redemption fee is instituted for first-born Israelites who would otherwise have to serve at the Tabernacle (Ch. 3.). Each of the three branches of Levites from 30 to 50 years of age is numbered, and their special duties defined, the total number coming to 8,580 (Ch. 4).

Laws and customs

"Lepers" and other ritually unclean persons are excluded from the camp. Restitution must be made for wrongs committed against another person. "Each man's sacred gifts are his own, but what he gives to the priest will belong to the priest."

If a man suspects his wife of infidelity, he is to bring her to the priest with an offering. A ritual is to be performed in which the woman swears and oath and drinks "bitter water." She will suffer a horrible curse if her oath is false (Ch. 5).

Ordinances are instituting concerning the taking of the vow of a Nazarite. The famous priestly blessing is formally pronounced:

The Lord bless you and keep you;

the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you;

the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace. (Num. 6:24-27)

The Tabernacle

The Tabernacle is finished, and each of the chiefs of the 12 tribes brings a rich offering. The golden Menorah is lit, and the Levites are formally consecrated to begin their duties. The retirement age for Levites is set at 50 years. The Passover holiday is instituted and celebrated. The penalty for not celebrating Passover is to be cut off from membership in the people of Israel. Aliens are permitted to celebrate Passover under the same regulations as Israelites. The Israelites continued on the journey, settling when the holy cloud of God settled over the Tabernacle, and moving on when the cloud lifted (Ch. 7-9)

Moses makes two silver trumpets for convoking the congregation and announcing the recommencement of a journey, and the various occasions for the use of the trumpets are stipulated.

Leaving Sinai

The Israelites begin their first journey afte the construction of the Tabernacle, stopping at the Desert of Paran. Moses invites his brother-in-law, Hobab the Midianite to join them. He declines at first but agrees after Moses implores them to act as their guide through the desert (Ch. 10). At Taberah, God become angry upon hearing the complaints of the people and sends fire to consume some of those on the outskirts of the camp. Moses, hearing continued grumbling from the people over the monotony of having to eat only manna, loses patience and complains to God that his burden of leadership is too heavy. God tells him to choose 70 elders to assist him in the government of the people. God also provides quail for the people to eat. The 70 elders are brought close to the sacred tent. The elders are touched by the Spirit that was formerly only on Moses and immediately prophesy. At Kibroth Hattaavah, Yahweh provides abundant quail as promised, but smites the people with a plague for having complained about his earlier gift of manna (Ch. 11).

At Hazeroth, Miriam and Aaron criticize Moses for having married a Chushite woman, claiming that they, too, are prophets. God calls them to the sacred tent and explains that, while Moses siblings indeed are prophets, Moses' authority is not to be challenged because he speaks with God "face to face." Miriam is punished with a skin disease and is shut out of camp for seven days, at the end of which the Israelites proceed again to the wilderness of Paran (Ch. 12).

Spying in Canaan

God commands Moses to send spies into Canaan, one leader from each of the tribes. After 40 days, the spies return and report to Moses, Aaron, and to the whole assembly at Kadesh in the wilderness of Paran. They report the land to be rich and "flowing with milk and honey." However, they also bring intelligence that the towns are walled and heavily fortified. Caleb urges an aggressive course, confident that the land can be taken. The other spies, however, counsel caution, spreading a "bad report" about giant Nephilim and other formidable foes that inhabit the land (Ch. 13).

That night, treason against Moses and Aaron spreads in the camp, and there is talk of electing a new leader who will lead the Israelites back to Egypt. Joshua and Caleb remain loyal, imploring the people to have faith that God will deliver victory to them. Their speeches, however, are to no avail. God again becomes angry and tells Moses that he plans kill all of the Israelites and begin a new nation descended from Moses. Arguing that the Egyptians and Canaanites will think that Yahweh is powerless to fulfill his promises and will think badly of him, Moses convinces God to relent. Moses even quotes scripture to its Author: "Yahweh is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion." God is apparently moved by Moses' entreaties and agrees to forgive. However, his mercy is limited, as he tells Moses and Aaron that he will cause all of the generation who witnessed the early miracles of the Exodus to die in the wilderness, the two exceptions being Joshua and Caleb alone. God sentences the Israelites to 40 years of wandering, one year for each day of spying. The fickle Israelites immediately repent and determine to march immediately into Canaan. Moses forbids this and refuses either to join them or to allow the Ark of the Covenant to serve as their standard. Without divine support, the army is badly beaten by a coalition force of Canaanites and Amalekites, and the Israelites are forced to retreat to Hormah (Ch. 14).

Israelites and aliens

God reveals various ordinances regarding future life in Canaan. Non-Israelites are allowed to participate in the sacrifical worship of Yahweh, but a required to follow the same standards as Israelites:

The community is to have the same rules for you and for the alien living among you; this is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. You and the alien shall be the same before the Lord. (15:15)

Sin offerings are provided for the atonement of those who sin unintentionally. But those who sin willfully are guilty of blasphemy and must be "cut off." An immediate demonstration is provided as man is caught carrying wood on the sabbath. God commands Moses to have him stoned to death, and them man is taken outside the camp and executed for his crime (15).

Korah's rebellion

Korah, a grandson of the Levite leader Kohath, leads a movement that attempts to democratize the priesthood, claiming: "The whole community is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is with them. Why then do you set yourselves above the Lord's assembly?" Supporting him are 250 well respected members of the community. Moses challenges them to meet at the sacred altar the next morning and let God decide the matter, claiming the Korah and his Levite followers have rebelled not against Aaron's priesthood but against God himself. Moses prays that God will not accept the offering of the would-be priests.

In the morning, God commands Moses and Aaron to have the rest of the assembly move away from the tents of Korah and his followers. The families of the rebels are promptly killed as the ground opens up to swallow them. God then sends fire to slay the usurper-priests standing at the altar. When the remaining people hold Moses responsible for the slaughter, God sends a plague upon the entire camp, killing and additional 14,700 people until Aaron succeeds in placating God with an offering of incense (16).

God confirms his support of Aaron's priesthood by having Moses gather one rod from each of the tribes and causing Aaron's rod alone to bloom miraculously (17).

More on priests and Levites

Aaron and his family are declared by God to be responsible for any iniquity committed in connection with the sanctuary. The Levites are again appointed to help Aaron and his sons, the priests, in the keeping of the Tabernacle. The priestly portions and tithes given to the Levites are specified. The Levites must in turn tithe to the priests (Ch. 18). Aaron's son Eleazer models a rite of purifcation through the sacrifice of a red heifer. Other laws of purification are also instituted (Ch. 19).

The Sin of Moses

After Miriam's death at Kadesh, the Israelites blame Moses and Aaron for the lack of water. Moses, ordered by God to speak to the rock, grows furious with against the Israelites and disobeys by striking the rock instead of speaking to it. Water is produced, but Moses and Aaron are punished by the announcement that they will not be allowed to enter Canaan: "Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them."

As the Israelites near Canaan, the king of Edom refuses permission for them to pass through his land. Aaron's dies on Mount Hor in the territory of Edom, and is succeeded as high priest by his son Eleazer (20).

The bronze serpent

King Arad of the Canaan is defeated at Hormah and several Canaanite towns are utterly destroyed by the Israelites.

Having been denied passage through Edom, the Israelites retrace their route from Mount Hor to the Red Sea. On the way, they are bittle by a horde of by "fiery serpents" after speaking against God and Moses. When the people repent, God commands Moses to fashion a bronze image of a serpent, which heals any Israelite who gazes at it.

Moving north toward the valley of Moab, the Israelites ask permission of Sihon, king of the Amorites, to pass through his land. When he refuses, they defeat him and take over his lands. They also conquer another Amorite king, Og of Bashan, and take control of his terriories (21).

Chapters 22-24

The episode of Balak and Balaam.

Chapters 25-27

The Israelites encamped at Shittim commit abominations with the daughters of Moab and join Baal-peor. A plague carries off 24,000 Israelites. Phinehas slays Zimri. The new census, taken just before the entry into the land of Canaan, gives the total number of males from twenty years and upward as 601,730, the number of the Levites from a month old and upward as 23,000. The land shall be divided by lot. The daughters of Zelophehad, their father having no sons, share in the allotment. Moses is ordered to appoint Joshua as his successor.

Chapters 28-29

Prescriptions for the observance of the feasts, and the offerings for different occasions: every day; the Sabbath; the first day of the month; the seven days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread; the day of first-fruits; the day of the trumpets; the Day of Atonement; the seven days of the Feast of Tabernacles; the day of solemn assembly.

Chapters 30-32

Laws concerning vows of men and of married and unmarried women. The conquest of Midian by the Israelites and the massacre of the Midian population. The Reubenites and the Gadites request Moses to assign them the land east of the Jordan. After their promise to go before the army to help in the conquest of the land west of the Jordan, Moses grants their request. The land east of the Jordan is divided among the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. The cities built by these tribes.

Chapter 33-36

Enumeration of the stations at which the Israelites halted during their forty years' wanderings in the wilderness. While in the plains of Moab the Israelites are told that, after crossing the Jordan, they should expel the Canaanites and destroy their idols.

The boundaries of the land of which the Israelites are about to take possession. The land is to be divided among the tribes under the superintendence of Eleazar, Joshua, and twelve princes, one of each tribe.

The forty-eight cities assigned to the Levites, and the six cities of refuge. Laws concerning murder and the cities of refuge, and female inheritance.

See also

• Torah
• Balaam
• Priestly Blessing
• Wilderness of Sin
• Torah portions in Numbers: Bamidbar, Naso, Behaalotecha, Shlach, Korach, Chukat, Balak, Pinchas, Matot, and Masei

External links

Online versions and translations of the Book of Numbers:

• Original text:
  • במדבר Bamidbar - Numbers (Hebrew - English at Mechon-Mamre.org)

• Jewish translations:
  • Numbers at Mechon-Mamre (Jewish Publication Society translation)
  • Numbers (The Living Torah) Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan's translation and commentary at Ort.org
  • Bamidbar - Numbers (Judaica Press) translation with Rashi's commentary at Chabad.org

• Christian translations:
  • Online Bible at GospelHall.org
  • Numbers at bible.oremus.org (New Revised Standard Version)
  • Numbers at Wikisource (Authorised King James Version)

• Translations identifying sources according to the documentary hypothesis:
  • Numbers with sources highlighted, at Wikisource

Related articles:

• Book of Numbers article (Jewish Encyclopedia)

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