Getting
Started with Numbers
By Ted Hildebrandt
Copyright © 2012
Introduction to Numbers
The
book of Numbers is one of the most neglected yet fascinating books of the
Pentateuch. Its diverse structure baffles the modern critics as it oscillates
effortlessly between ritual instructions and historical narratives, reflecting a
medley of diverse literary forms including civil law (Num 27:1ff), cultic law
(7:10-88), a priestly blessing (6:24-26), census lists (chs. 1, 26), a travel
itinerary (ch. 33), a victory song (21:27-30), narratives (chs. 11-14) and even
a diplomatic letter (20:14-19). Numbers also includes a poem from the Book of
the Wars of the Lord (20:14-15) and prophetic oracles from a Mesopotamian
prophet, Balaam (chs. 23-24), as well as royal correspondence attempting to secure
his cooperation from Balak, King of Moab (22:5-6; 16-17). Thus Numbers
provides us with a wealth of literary diversity.
The English title is derived from the Greek Septuagint (LXX) “Arithmoi”
through the Latin Vulgate “Numeroi” into our English title “Numbers.” These
titles probably reflect the two foundational censuses that are recorded in
chapters 1 and 26. The title of the Hebrew Massoretic Text (MT) is taken from
the fourth word: “In the Wilderness.” The Hebrew title is more descriptive of
the actual contents of the book which narrate the Israelites 40 years in the wilderness,
wandering from Mount Sinai to the plains of Moab.
Historically, Numbers resumes from the ending of Exodus where the
Tabernacle has been set up and the glory-cloud of God has come down (Exod
40:17; cf. Num 1:1). Leviticus was a hiatus from the historical narrative so
that the ritual instructions given on Mount Sinai could be recorded, giving
ritual instructions while they were at Mount Sinai. Numbers begins with preparations
for the journey from Mount Sinai to Kadesh Barnea and, after an extended stay
at Kadesh, finishes up on the plains of Moab in Transjordan (33:38; 36:13; cf.
Deut 1:3; see map below). The setting of the book of Deuteronomy picks up the
storyline on the Transjordan plains of Moab with the renewal of the covenant
just before the death of Moses and the entrance of the Israelites into the Promised
Land in Joshua.
Content of the book of Numbers
While the flow of the content of the book of Numbers is
problematic whether one takes a chronological, thematic or geographical
approach, Olson has insightfully observed that the book is built around the two
censuses in chapters 1 and 26. The first census features the first generation that
had left Egypt, highlighting how they repeatedly rebelled in the wilderness and
faced death as a result of their unfaithfulness (chs. 1-25).
The second census lists the new generation, after which there is
not a single mention of rebellion, unfaithfulness or death as a result of
judgment (26:64-65; chs. 26-36). Instead, the second generation is filled with
hope and a foreword looking perspective that expresses their expectations and
plans for settling in the Promised Land.
The book opens with the Lord speaking to Moses in the Tent of
Meeting at Sinai on the first day of the second month of the second year after
coming out of Egypt (1:1). Numbers 7:1 and 9:1, however, describe the setting
up and consecrating of the tabernacle which took place a month before the
opening verse (1:1) in the first month of the second year. It is apparent that
a strict chronological order is not being used to order the events of Numbers.
Chapters 1-10 describe the plans for leaving Mount Sinai. Chapter
one is the first census of the old, or first, generation that had come out of
Egypt and who had received the law at Sinai. Each tribe is listed and every man
over twenty counted totaling 603,550, excluding the tribe of Levi which was commissioned
to carry the tabernacle and its furnishings. The Levites were chosen in place
of Israel’s firstborn (3:12). The camp arrangement is specified in chapter 2
with the tabernacle in the center.
 |
Chapters 3 and 4 describe the duties of the three
Levitical clans (Gershon, Kohath and Merari) and what each of their
responsibilities were in carrying the furnishings of the tabernacle. The
priests were taken from the family of Aaron who was from the tribe of Levi. Purity
is featured in chapters 5 and 6 with chapter 5 detailing the ordeal of a wife with
a jealous husband and chapter 6 describing the requirements for the Nazirite vow.
Samuel and Samson were born as perpetual Nazirites while Paul, in the New
Testament, takes a temporary Nazirite vow (Acts 18:18). Chapters 7-8 describe
the offerings for the dedication of the tabernacle and the consecration of the
Levites. Numbers 9-10:10 concludes this first “old” generation’s preparation
for the journey from Sinai with the second Passover and a description of the
divine glory-cloud taking the lead as the Israelites begin their journey.
Israel embarks on its trek through the wilderness from Mount Sinai
to Kadesh Barnea after being instructed on the ordering of the tribes for the
journey (ch. 10). In chapters 11-21 there are a series of incidents demonstrating
Israel’s unfaithfulness to the Lord in spite of his miraculous provisions in
the wilderness.
|
Reference/Name |
Problem |
Divine Response |
Moses Intercedes |
Result |
|
11:1-2
|
Complaining about hardships |
Fire burns |
Prays |
Fire dies down |
|
11:4-34
|
No meat, only manna |
Plague –after eating the meat |
Moses laments burden too heavy |
God takes the Spirit on Moses and puts it on 70 elders, sends quail meat in |
|
12:1-16 |
Miriam/Aaron oppose Moses’ wife |
Miriam gets leprosy—turns white |
Prays for sister |
Miriam healed and after 7 days her cleanness is restored |
|
13:1-14:44 |
Spies say can’t conquer giants |
Plans to wipe them out |
Intercedes: Egyptians will hear, slow to anger |
Spares nation, nation attacks anyway defeated after attacking -- Hormah |
|
16:1-17:12 Korah rebellion |
Korah (Levite) rebels against priests |
Ground swallows them |
Moses separates them from Israel |
Aaron’s rod buds; Aaronide priesthood established among the 12 tribes |
|
20:1-13
|
No water |
Speak to rock |
Moses hits rock |
Moses can’t enter Promised Land |
|
21:4-9
|
People speak against God/Moses |
Serpents bite |
Prays and put up serpent on pole |
People look at snake on pole and live (John 3) |
In the midst of these rebellion cycles there are a
couple of ritual texts for supplementary offerings (ch. 15), tassels for
garments (ch. 15), and water of cleansing with the red heifer (ch. 19). It is
interesting that the chapter where Moses disobeys by striking the rock instead
of speaking to it is the very chapter where the deaths of Miriam and Aaron are
recorded (ch. 20). In chapter 21, during the journey to the plains of Moab,
the first victories are recorded at Arad and the defeat of Sihon king of the
Amorites at Heshbon and Og the king of Bashan, followed by the poem of Heshbon
(21:27-30).
The Balaam narrative (chs. 22-24) and the lapse with the Midianites
(ch. 25) complete this section that highlights the flaws of this old generation
(chs. 1-25). Balaam, a prophet from Mesopotamia who knew the Lord, after being
exhorted to truly proclaim God’s word by his talking donkey, comes to Balak,
king of Moab, to curse/bless Israel. He can only render blessings on them in
his four prophetic oracles. He foretells, “A star will come out of Jacob; a
scepter will rise out of Israel…” (24:17) which many have taken as a Messianic
prophecy. Balaam ultimately betrays his calling and likely instigated the
Midianite women seducing the Israelite men to worship their gods. Those who
participated are slain at Baal of Peor, and Phineas in particular slays a man
and his Midianite mistress, thereby stopping the plague (25:7ff).
The second census is in Numbers 26 marking the transition from the
old, dying, rebellious generation of the wilderness to the new, faithful generation
that would possess the land promised to Abraham. There is an inclusio
in this section as the new generation thinks about inheriting the land and discusses
the inheritance rights of women with the daughters of Zelophehad in the opening
of this section (ch. 27). The section closes with the marriage of the daughters
of Zelophehad and the preservation of their inheritance (ch. 36). Chapters 28
and 29 describe the daily, Sabbath, and monthly offerings as well as reiterate
the annual feasts of Israel. The Transjordan tribes, Reuben, Gad and half of
Manasseh want to settle in their land (ch. 32) but Moses orders that they must
help take the land of Canaan even though they have received their inheritance already
in Transjordan. Chapter 33 gives a travel itinerary. Chapter 34 describes the
boundaries of Canaan and chapter 35 identifies the Levitical towns and the six
cities of refuge. The Levites were to inherit no tribal territory because the
Lord was their inheritance.
Difficult issues in Numbers
Critical approach to Numbers
Many critical scholars see Numbers as being composed largely of
the priestly tradition (P: post-exilic, ca. 500 BC) with some narratives of JE
mixed in. Milgrom has demonstrated that many of the terms, such as
“congregation,” “assembly,” “tribe,” and “chieftan,” died out in usage after
the 9th century BC and are not found in post-exilic texts. Thus
Numbers must have been written prior to the 9th BC contrary to those
pushing a post-exilic P source. Milgrom also notes things such as the square
camp around a central tent sanctuary that fits the time of Rameses II (ca. 1200
BC) and not the later period which used a round camp. Likewise the ecstatic
prophets (11:25) and use of trumpets for worship and war (10:1-10) fit with an
earlier date, corroborating the historical veracity of the Scriptures.
Large Numbers in Numbers
One of the outstanding problems of Numbers is the difficulty
with the large numbers recorded in the censuses. The totals are given as
603,550 in 1:46 and 601,730 in 26:51. These numbers are confirmed in counts
recorded in Exodus 12:37; 38:26 and illustrate the fulfillment of the Abrahamic
covenant of many descendants.
The problems in the scribal transmission of numbers is well known.
For example, the missing numbers in the age and length of the reign of Saul (1
Sam 13:1) and in comparing the 700 chariots in 2 Samuel 10:18 and the 7,000 in
1 Chronicles 19:18. Yet there are no significant variants in the text of
Numbers.
Several things call for shrinking these large numbers. Why would
an army of over half a million fear taking a small town like Hebron or Jericho with
about 10 acres housing under a couple thousand people? How would 2-3 million
people survive in the Sinai desert? Would Pharaoh’s 600 chariots really
terrify an army of 600,000? The Levite population replaced the firstborn but
that doesn’t fit well with what is known about family sizes (Num 3:42-47). Why
is there the fear of being too few so that the animals would overrun the land
(Exod 23:29; Deut 7:22)? The size of an ancient army of 600,000 is almost
unheard of. More typical is the tribe of Dan that goes up to conquer Laish
with 600 armed men (Judg 18:11).
Several solutions have been proposed: ‘eleph, the word for
thousand, really means “clans” (1 Sam 23:23) or “chiefs” (Gen 36:15ff.). Yet
this interpretation doesn’t seem to work. Others have proposed a gematria
meaning a large number stands for some meaning like how the 375 proverbs in the
book of Proverbs is equal to the name Solomon or how 14 in Matthew 1 references
David. Again it doesn’t seem to work in Numbers. Saying it is simply
hyperbolic language also doesn’t deal with the specifics of the situation.
Thus it is probably best to realize that we must await a solution to this
problem.
Theology
God
It is amazing to watch God’s dynamic interaction with his
people in the book of Numbers. God gets angry (11:1, 33) and the people are
punished with fire, snakes and the ground swallowing them down. What is so
fascinating is to watch God change his mind as a result of Moses’ intercessory
prayer. In Numbers 14:12 after the refusal to go up and take the Promised
Land, God proclaims, “I will strike them down with a plague and destroy them….”
Moses prays and God responds, “I have forgiven them, as you asked” (14:20).
This is no mere anthropomorphism or testing of Moses, rather this reflects a
God who is responsive to the prayer of his servant Moses. Surely his character
and promises are unchangeable (23:19), yet in the rough and tumble of life in
the desert God is engaged and interactive not static, distant and locked into
his own predeterminations regardless of what humans do. The book of Numbers
declares God’s faithfulness in the face of Israel’s continued rebellion and
unfaithfulness. God’s presence (9:15ff) is a blessing (6:24-27) that demands
purity and it is something that must be reckoned with.
Moses
The
character of Moses as an intercessor for the nation is huge in the book of Numbers
(11:2; 14:13, 20; 21:7). His humility was well noted (12:3). He graciously desired
to democratize the gifts of the Spirit (11:29) rather than clutching onto them
in an attempt to maintain power. His relationship with God is contrasted to
the normal prophets to whom God spoke through dreams and visions but with Moses
he spoke “face to face” (12:8). Yet even Moses due to his unbelief faced a
disappointing death (20:12). There is much in this book that is relevant to
leadership and the struggles leaders face (Num 11:11ff.; 12:2; 16:3ff).
People of God
One
is amazed at how fickle, rebellious and unfaithful Israel is portrayed in
Numbers contrary to the fact that they had seen God’s repeated miracles at the
sea, with the manna and with the provision of water in the desert. Seeing miracles
and God’s activity does not always guarantee belief. Furthermore, what other self-reporting
ancient document portrays their forefathers in such a realistic manner? Even
Moses is seen struggling (ch. 11) and faltering (ch. 20). This again confirms
the historical realism of Scripture.
Land
As
there are two generations, so there are two lands contrasted in Numbers. The
wilderness is full of trials, chaos, struggles, need, disorientation, and death
while the Promised Land is full of hope, permanence, promise, abundance, order,
and life.
Questions to think about
1)
How is the ordeal of the woman with the jealous husband to be understood in
light
of ancient Near Eastern customs (Num 5)?
2) How do you understand Number 12:3 on Moses’ humility and Mosaic authorship?
3) How do you understand God changing his mind at the request of Moses’
intercessory
prayer (Num 14:12-21; cf. 23:19)?
4) How is the role of leadership developed in Numbers?
5) What role does Numbers play in the rest of Scripture (1 Cor 10; Heb 3-4; Ps
78; 106)?
6) How do you understand God’s anger and his slaying of Israelites in Num
11:1-2;
16; 21:4ff; 25:1-13)?
