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Numbers

The Complete Story39:13

Overview

Numbers is the fourth book of the Torah. Its English name comes from the two censuses that frame it (chs 1 and 26); its Hebrew name, Bemidbar, means "In the Wilderness", which describes its setting better. It covers about thirty-eight years, from Israel's departure from Mount Sinai in the second year after the Exodus to its arrival on the plains of Moab, across the Jordan from Jericho.

The book tells of a generation that saw God's power in Egypt and at Sinai yet would not trust him at the border of Canaan, and so died in the desert, and of their children who replaced them. Laws and lists are woven between the stories. Jewish and Christian tradition credits the book to Moses. Many scholars think it was put together from several sources over a long period. Either way, the finished book is clearly shaped as a whole.

The book falls into three parts: preparing to leave Sinai (chs 1–10), the journey and rebellions in the wilderness (chs 10–21), and the new generation on the plains of Moab (chs 22–36).

Part 1 — Ordering the Camp at Sinai (chapters 1–10)

The first census (1). Moses and Aaron count every man of twenty and over able to go to war, tribe by tribe: 603,550 in all. The Levites are not counted with the others, because they are set apart for the tabernacle.

The camp arranged (2–4). The tribes camp in a square around the tabernacle, three on each side, each under its banner, with Judah on the east. The Levites camp closest to the tabernacle. Their three clans (Gershon, Kohath, Merari) are given duties for carrying the tent, its curtains and its holy furniture. The Levites belong to God in place of Israel's firstborn sons.

Purity, the Nazirite and the blessing (5–6). Laws keep the camp clean and deal with wrongs and with a husband's suspicion of his wife. A Nazirite, man or woman, could vow to abstain from wine, leave their hair uncut and avoid contact with the dead. The chapter ends with the priestly blessing: "The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: the LORD make his face shine upon thee… and give thee peace" (6:24–26).

Gifts, Passover and the cloud (7–9). Over twelve days the tribal leaders bring identical offerings to dedicate the altar. The Levites are purified. Israel keeps Passover, with a second date allowed for anyone unclean on the first. The cloud over the tabernacle sets the rhythm of travel: Israel camps when it settles and moves on when it lifts (9:15–23).

Silver trumpets and departure (10). Two silver trumpets are made to call the assembly and signal the march. On the twentieth day of the second month of the second year, the cloud lifts and Israel sets out from Sinai. When the ark moves, Moses prays: "Rise up, LORD, and let thine enemies be scattered" (10:35).

Part 2 — Rebellion in the Wilderness (chapters 10–21)

Complaints, quail and the seventy elders (11). At Taberah ("burning") fire breaks out on the edge of the camp after the people complain. Then they weep for the fish, cucumbers, melons, leeks and garlic of Egypt and despise the manna. Moses says the burden is too heavy for him alone. God puts his Spirit on seventy elders, and when Eldad and Medad prophesy in the camp Moses says, "Would God that all the LORD's people were prophets!" God sends quail in huge numbers, but a plague strikes the greedy, at a place named Kibroth-hattaavah ("graves of craving").

Miriam and Aaron (12). Miriam and Aaron criticise Moses over his Cushite wife and his authority. God says he speaks with Moses "mouth to mouth" and calls him "very meek, above all the men" on earth. Miriam becomes leprous. After Moses prays for her she is shut outside the camp for seven days and then returns.

The twelve spies (13–14). From the wilderness of Paran, twelve spies explore Canaan for forty days. They bring back a cluster of grapes from Eshcol so large that two men carry it on a pole. The land "floweth with milk and honey", but ten of the spies frighten the people: the cities are fortified and the Anakim are giants, "and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers" (13:33). Only Caleb and Joshua urge the people to go in. The people weep, threaten to stone them and talk of choosing a leader to take them back to Egypt. God threatens to destroy them. Moses intercedes, quoting God's own words: "slow to anger, and of great mercy". God pardons them, but none of that generation except Caleb and Joshua will enter the land. They will wander forty years, a year for each day of the spying. The next day some try to invade anyway and are beaten back to Hormah.

Laws for the land (15). Laws about offerings look forward to life in Canaan. A man who gathers wood on the Sabbath is put to death. Israelites are told to wear tassels on their garments to remind them of God's commandments.

Korah's rebellion (16). Korah, a Levite, with Dathan and Abiram of Reuben and 250 leaders, challenges Moses and Aaron: "Ye take too much upon you." Moses proposes a test with censers of incense. The ground opens and swallows the households of the ringleaders, and fire consumes the 250 men. The next day the people blame Moses for the deaths, and a plague begins. Aaron runs into the crowd with incense and "stood between the dead and the living" until the plague stops, but 14,700 have died.

Aaron's rod and the priests' duties (17–19). Each tribe's leader places a staff before the ark. By morning Aaron's staff has budded, blossomed and produced almonds, and it is kept as a sign. Chapter 18 sets out the work and income of the priests and Levites. Chapter 19 describes the ashes of a red heifer, mixed with water, used to cleanse anyone defiled by contact with a corpse.

Kadesh: Miriam's death and the waters of Meribah (20). Miriam dies at Kadesh. When there is no water, God tells Moses to speak to the rock. Instead Moses strikes it twice and says, "Must we fetch you water out of this rock?" Water flows, but because Moses and Aaron did not honour God as holy before the people, neither will lead Israel into the land. Edom refuses to let Israel pass through its territory. On Mount Hor, Aaron's priestly garments are put on his son Eleazar, and Aaron dies.

The bronze serpent and first victories (21). When the people speak against God and Moses, fiery serpents bite them. Moses makes a bronze serpent on a pole, and anyone bitten who looks at it lives (later recalled in John 3:14). Israel defeats the Canaanite king of Arad, then Sihon king of the Amorites and Og king of Bashan, and so takes the land east of the Jordan.

Part 3 — The New Generation on the Plains of Moab (chapters 22–36)

Balak and Balaam (22). Balak king of Moab is afraid of Israel and sends for Balaam son of Beor, a well-known diviner from Pethor on the Euphrates, to curse them. God forbids it and then lets Balaam go on condition that he speaks only God's word. On the road the angel of the LORD blocks the way with a drawn sword. Balaam's donkey sees him and turns aside three times. When Balaam beats her, the donkey speaks, and then Balaam's eyes are opened.

Four oracles of blessing (23–24). Balak builds seven altars at three different high places, but every oracle Balaam gives is a blessing: "How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed?" "God is not a man, that he should lie." "How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob." The last looks far into the future: "There shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel" (24:17). Jewish and Christian readers later took this line as messianic.

Baal of Peor (25). Where cursing failed, seduction succeeds. Israelite men take part in Moabite and Midianite sacrificial feasts and bow down to Baal of Peor. A plague kills 24,000. Phinehas, Aaron's grandson, kills an Israelite man and a Midianite woman in the act, the plague stops, and he is given a "covenant of an everlasting priesthood".

The second census (26). Israel is counted again: 601,730 men. "There was not left a man of them" from the first count except Caleb and Joshua (26:65). The land is to be divided by lot and in proportion to each tribe's size.

The daughters of Zelophehad and Joshua's commissioning (27). Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah ask to inherit because their father died without sons. God rules, "The daughters of Zelophehad speak right," and a general inheritance law follows. God lets Moses see the land from the Abarim range. Moses asks for a leader so the people will not be "as sheep which have no shepherd", and he lays his hands on Joshua in front of Eleazar and the people.

Offerings and vows (28–30). A calendar of daily, Sabbath, new-moon and festival offerings is given, followed by rules on vows, including when a father or husband may cancel a woman's vow.

War with Midian (31). Israel sends a thousand men from each tribe against Midian, with Phinehas carrying the holy vessels and trumpets. The five kings of Midian are killed, and so is Balaam, who had advised the seduction at Peor. The spoil is purified and divided between the soldiers, the community and the sanctuary.

Reuben, Gad and half of Manasseh (32). These tribes have large herds and ask to settle in the pasture land east of the Jordan. Moses at first sees a repeat of the spies' failure, then agrees provided their fighting men cross over and fight until the land is won: "Be sure your sin will find you out."

The journey and the land (33–36). Chapter 33 lists forty-two stages of the journey from Rameses to the plains of Moab. Israel is told to drive out the inhabitants of Canaan and destroy their idols. Chapter 34 sets the borders of Canaan and names the tribal leaders who will divide it. Chapter 35 gives the Levites forty-eight towns, six of which are cities of refuge where someone who has killed by accident can flee from the avenger of blood until the case is tried. The book ends with a follow-up to the daughters of Zelophehad: heiresses must marry within their own tribe so that tribal land stays in the tribe (36).

Key themes, and the bridge to Deuteronomy

  • God present in the camp. The tabernacle stands at the centre of Israel's life, and the cloud and fire guide each move. God's holiness is a gift that gives life, and it can also be dangerous to those who treat it lightly.
  • Grumbling and unbelief. The book is full of complaint and rebellion: Taberah, the quail, Miriam and Aaron, the spies, Korah, Meribah and the serpents. The worst failure is at the border, where Israel refuses the gift it was given. Later Scripture (Psalm 95; 1 Corinthians 10; Hebrews 3–4) remembers this as a warning.
  • Mercy alongside judgement. God punishes, but he also pardons, heals by the bronze serpent, stops the plague at Aaron's censer and keeps his promise to the next generation.
  • Leadership tested. Moses intercedes, bears the people's burden and is humble, yet he too fails at Meribah. Aaron dies, Eleazar succeeds him, and Joshua is appointed to lead.
  • Blessing that cannot be reversed. In the Balaam story a foreign diviner, hired to curse, can only bless. God's purpose for Israel stands.
  • A new generation. The second census marks a fresh start. The children of the doubters now stand at the edge of the land, with laws for inheritance, worship and justice ready.

Numbers ends with Israel camped on the plains of Moab by the Jordan, opposite Jericho. The old generation is gone, Joshua has been appointed, and the land is in sight, but Moses will not enter it. Deuteronomy follows directly: before Israel crosses the river, Moses gives this new generation his farewell speeches, retelling the journey and restating the covenant.