Leviticus ends with a chapter on the repayment of
vows. Lawrence Boadt explains that this chapter was added later to update older
laws that demanded fulfillment of vows no matter what (as in Numbers 30 and
Deuteronomy 23). Eventually, Israel had to provide for monetary substitutions
instead of handing over property where that might prove difficult or
impossible. Leviticus 27 sets a monetary value on different objects.[1]
The book of Numbers gets its name from the Greek
word arithmoi that is used to
describe the census in chapter one of the Septuagint version of this book. The
Hebrew title of this book is: “In the Wilderness”. Friedman writes,
The book of Numbers is the story of a journey…. Numbers
is entirely about movement. The journey as a literary theme has been a
recurring component of world literature from the epic of Gilgamesh, the oldest known book, and the Odyssey to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz…. The journey
in literature can be the experience of an individual or a group. In the book of
Numbers it is both…. It is the only age in the Bible in which miracle is a
daily fact of life [in YHWH’s provision of daily manna]…. The deity is pictured
frequently as speaking and acting in response to human events rather than by
divine initiation. Divine communications are fewer and briefer than in the
preceding books…. Numbers is the story of a people coming to terms with having
a constitution of laws, and coming to terms with their relationship of holiness
with the deity. And in the midst of this stands Moses.[2]
Boadt provides this helpful outline of the book:
Numbers 1:1-10:10 … A series of laws on the order of the camp, the duties of Levites, vows,
feast day ceremonies and offerings.
Numbers 10:10-14:45 … The journey from Sinai to Paran … An attempt to capture Canaan from the
south fails.
Numbers 15 … Laws on sacrifice and ritual actions
Numbers 16-19 ... Challenge to Aaron’s authority and laws for high priest and Levites
Numbers 20-21 … Journey continues to the plains of Moab … the conquest of the kings
Sihon and Og
Numbers 22-24 … The opposition of the Moabites and the prophet Balaam
Numbers 25 … The rebellion and punishment at Baal Peor in Moab
Numbers 26-30 … More laws on census, inheritance, vows, and sacrifices
Numbers 31-34 … Final conquest of the area east of the Jordan River and settling of
some of the tribes there
Numbers 35-36 … An appendix with laws on Levitical cities of refuge for accused, and
inheritance laws
Friedman has a helpful comment on the number of
the Israelites recorded in Numbers 2:32. If the number of the fighting men is
603,550 then that would make the total number of the Israelites at this time to
be about two million. Friedman writes,
It has been calculated that by these numbers, marching
eight across, when the first Israelites reach Mount Sinai, half of them would
still be in Egypt! The extraordinary size of this population is a famous old
problem in traditional and critical biblical scholarship. The numbers appear
far too high; but they do not appear to be entirely invented either, because
what would be the motive for contriving them in all of this tribe-by-tribe
detail for the first four chapters of Numbers? Some suggest that the word for
“thousand” here means rather a “clan,” but that is not correct…. One
possibility is that these are the numbers from the census that is attributed to
King David (2 Samuel 24… There are just three censuses in the Tanak, the two censuses of Moses and the
census of David.) Coming centuries later, in a period in which Israel is
settled in the land, the numbers are more understandable in the Davidic era
(though they are questionably high even for that period). In this scenario, the
records here would have come from old documents among the archives which would
have come to be mixed in with documents that were used as sources for the
Torah.[3]
Furthermore, the number of 22,273 firstborn males
of all ages in Numbers 3:43 presents a complication. Friedman notes that this number
is utterly out of proportion to the number of over 600,000 adult males.
Friedman says he has seen no satisfactory solution to this problem. Personally,
I think that is a very honest and helpful admission. There are some mysteries
in the Bible for which there is no clear solution, perhaps even some errors for
which there is no explanation.
But the important thing as we begin this book is not numbers. What matters is the journey. Where are you in your journey with God? What evidence have you seen lately of his presence with you on the journey?
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