Introduction to the book of Numbers: Barthel, a confused commentator, writes: The fourth book of Moses, Numbers, also does not have much to offer the modern reader. As its name implies, it is a detailed census report of the twelve tribes of Israel, along with a checklist of the dates prescribed for certain sacrifices and festivals, a survey of the boundaries between the grazing grounds allotted to the various tribes, and a complete itinerary of their early migrations. As usual, the unbeliever does not even have a clue.

Much of Numbers, like the book of Leviticus, is a set of direct quotes from God, and therefore has been all but eliminated from the teaching in God's churches, slandered as we have here, and poorly and inconsistently rendered. All of this is unfortunate because the content of the book of Numbers is fascinating and completely relevant to our lives today. The NIV Study Bible calls Numbers theologically significant;

which is an understatement. As I write this introduction, my personal notes on this book exceed four hundred pages. This will not be some dusty book that, in your program to read through the Bible in one year, that you spend three hours with, recall little or nothing, and have moved on. We will, for awhile, live and breathe this book, and our lives will be the richer for it.

In the final four books of Moses, there is an interesting checkerboarding which occurs. The Exodus covers a period of eighty years,

the last forty years of which is covered in detail. The book of Leviticus does not even cover a period of a month. Then Numbers covers a time period of almost forty years and Deuteronomy is only a few days long in its scope. However, its scope in time does not take from the direct quotes from God, which are plentiful in this book.

Theme: The book of Numbers deals with the various responsibilities of the sons of Israel—it is in this book where we see where the various tribes are stationed with regards to the tabernacle; we are given more specifics concerning the service of the sons of Aaron; and the responsibilities of the Levites are delineated in this book, not in the book of Leviticus.

Another theme found in this book is, and I attribute this to Zodhiates, is that it was easier for God to get Israel out of Egypt than it was for Him to get the Egypt out of Israel. We will find Israel on many occasions in this book recalling their idyllic life in Egypt, resplendent with great foods (Num. 11:4–6 14:2–4 20:4–5 21:5). It is as though they had completely forgotten that the Egyptians compelled the sons of Israel to labor rigorously; and they made their lives bitter with hard labor in mortar and bricks and field labor [with] all their labors which they rigorously imposed upon them...and the sons of Israel sighed because of the bondage and they cried out; and their cry for help because of bondage rose up to God (Ex. 1:13–14 2:23b).

The Title: The Jewish Scribes knew this portion of the Pentateuch as In the Wilderness (or, In the Desert), which is the Hebrew word B^emîd^ebar (ר ַ ׃ד ̣מ ׃ ) [pronounced b'meed^e-BAHR] (?), which is the fifth word in this Num. 1:1. This is a better description of this book than our name, Numbers. In the Wilderness gives us a feel for the entire book of Numbers, as this is where the Israelites spent their time. Our English name is derived from the two censuses which were taken in this book (the Greek and Latin designations are similarly named). In the Greek, the title is arithmoi (AΡIθΜOI), from whence we obviously derive our word arithmetic. Although the numbering of the people for battle—the numbering of the first and second generations—was important, still, this is not the thrust of the book. Although the men were numbered for battle at the beginning of the book of Numbers, that generation failed in every respect in battle. The second generation was also numbered and they enter into several short wars with several peoples, emerging victorious. However, the actually numbering of these Israelites is but two significant events in a book which is packed with important doctrines.

The date of writing: The time during which the book of Numbers was written is dependent upon the time of the Exodus. Unfortunately, that time period is hotly disputed, being dated between 1440 b.c. and 1260 b.c. Conservative Biblical scholars lean toward the earl date, archeologists toward the later. One reknown archeologist—Nelson Glueck—spent ten years (1930–1940) studying the Negev and the Trans-Jordanian area and his conclusions were that the regions mentioned, particularly in Numbers, were large unihabited during the time period quoted by conservative theologians. In fact, it is his contention that that area was populated by other than nomads no sooner than 1300 bc. However, his conclusions were based on surface observations and climatic considerations made several thousand years after the fact, making his conclusions scientifically unviable. As I will state later, the climate during that time was very likely different than the climate is now. There were some dry areas and some areas where Israel went without water; however, they went for a long time when that was not an issue. You cannot judge the state of the Mideast then by how it is today. Since Glueck had published his findings, L. Harding has shown that during the Hyksos period of Egypt (1750–1550 bc), there were well--stocked tombs in the area of Amman (known in the Bible as Rabbath-Ammon). Nomads do not tend to bury their dead in tombs, so this calls into question Glueck's stand for the late date of the Exodus

There are other considerations which point toward the earlier date. Egypt had very little influence outside her realm during this time period (thought to be during the rule of Ikhnaton); which would make sense, since God all but decimated the army of Egypt prior to the Exodus. Furthermore, the run-ins with Midian as recorded in the book of Numbers, is consistant with the historical Midians of this era, but not of any other. During this time period, they did not own much territory, but they exercised control over a lot of territory due to their commercial enterprises which were protected by their military

As I will state in the chronology section, I believe that Moses did the majority of his final draft while Israel cooled her heals in Kadesh-barnea after their spectacular failure in Num. 13–14. This would place the date of writing between 1438 bc and 1400 bc. The events herein described would have taken place between 1439 bc and 1400 bc.

Content: We begin the book of Numbers right after the majority of the Mosaic Law had been given and the construction of the tabernacle had been completed. The children of Israel are at the foot of Mount Sinai and will march into the Land of Promise with the intention of taking the land. Along this march, they are continually beset by their own mental attitude sins and lack of trust in God. Once they reach the land, the size of the occupants frightens them and they fall into serious disfavor with God (this is putting it mildly—God will kill every man, twenty years and older with the sin unto death). So Israel settles into a period of stagnation while God kills many of them off. Once most of that evil generation are destroyed, they approach the land once more, traveling in a much more circuitous route (however, in accordance with God's leading). The book of Numbers takes them right to the Jordan Jericho, just due east of their land, poised and prepared for combat.

Allow me to quote from Scofield's introduction: Redeemed from Egypt, possessing the law, led by Moses, daily loking upon the Tabernacle, and supernaturally guided by cloud and pillar of fire, Israel should have walked triumphantly in in the perfect will of God. Instead they failed repeatedly, as this book records

Like the book of Leviticus, much of the book of Numbers is quoted directly from God. To the untrained eye, the book of Numbers might seem to be an hodgepodge of events, battles, movement, laws and legal addendums. This may be attributed to the authorship of a man who has recently experienced the events herein found and has more to write about than he has time to write. Nevertheless, the book of Numbers tends to be generally chronological, the ordinances and laws recorded here are often an integral part of the events which were occuring at this time. For instance, the Exodus generation, generation X, were dying off in large numbers due to the sin unto death. Therefore, it would make sense to include here laws which dealt specifically with the uncleanness incurred when coming into contact with a dead body—a very common event of that time period only (Num. 9).

Like all of the Old Testament, there are incidents and their meanings which are not completely perspicuous until after the death and resurrection of our Lord. The bronze serpent event, the movement toward and promise of the land of Canaan, the budding of Aaron's rod (Num. 17), the seriousness of the mistake of Moses when he struck the rock twice instead of merely speaking to it (Num. 20), the horrible infiltration of other religions into the life of Israel (Num. 25) and the cities of refuge (Num. 35) all have meaning which go beyond their simple historic recording. All of these events forshadow and foretell the death of our Lord and His resurrection. Their complete meaning is easy to ascertain today, whereas the full import of these events would be less understood, even by their author, Moses. What I am telling you is that you, an individual Christian with whatever background you have, are in a position to have a better grasp of the events of this book and their spiritual import, guided by the ministry of God the Holy Spirit, than even Moses did, likely the greatest man in the history of Israel, and one of the greatest men in the history of the world.

One of the themes running throughout this book is one of the blessings of obedience to Y^ehowah and the cursing and discipline attendant to disobedience. When Israel listened to and obeyed God's Word, they received protection and blessing (Num. 21:21–35). When they rebelled against God and His Laws, God punished them (Num. 21:4–9).

Near the end of the book of Numbers, we not only see the deaths of the faithless Exodus generation, but we read of the unceremonial death of Miriam (she will also be involved in her own little rebellion against God's authority) as well as the death of Aaron, who was revered of the people and who was an honorable man, despite several glaring errors of judgment. Even Moses, in this book, will make one grave mistake—the extent of which, he will not fully understand in his own lifetime—but a mistake, nonetheless, which will keep him from even entering into the Promised Land with those he has led for forty years.

Throughout the Pentateuch, as well as from Joshua to Samuel, the Jews were under a theocracy—that is, they were ruled by God. They did not have a king as did the other nations.

However, there was always someone who stood between the people and God, and, throughout their early history, this was Moses. God began right from the very start to teach that there is a mediator between God and man. We know that Mediator today as Jesus Christ; the Jews had their first mediator in the person of Moses, who, in occupying that office, was a shadow of Jesus Christ.

Outline of Chapter 1: The book of Numbers can essentially be divided into two parts: Part I:Generation X—the Exodus generation. Part II: The Second Generation. Throughout this book, we have a contrast between the fathers and the sons.

A. A census is taken of the adult members of eleven tribes of Israel (Num. 1:1–46)

B. The Levites are not included in this census and their general duties are given (Num. 1:47–54)

E. The Levites are numbered, all males of a month of age and older and given duties (Num. 3:14–39)

H. The three Levitical families are numbered according to those who will actually serve (Num. 4:34–49)

2. Moses complains to leadership God about his position of leadership (Num. 11:10–15)

3. God provides leaders to assist Moses, quail for the people and the Holy Spirit (Num. 11:16–35)

4. Miriam, and Aaron, complain to Moses about their authority and God disciplines Miriam (Num. 12)

2. The spies bring back their report (the majority report is that the inhabitants of the land are too big for Israel to oppose; the minority report is that the land is just as Y^ehowah said it it is; let's go and take it (Num. 13:25–33)

4. God threatens to destroy all of the sons of Israel; Moses intercedes; God will just kill those who are twenty years old and up (Num. 14:11–38)

5. The Israelites, in a burst of emotion, attack the Amalekites and the Canaanites, and Israel is struck down and forced back to Hormah (Num. 14:39–45)

D. God's marvelous grace; His laws for entering into the Land of Canaan (Num. 15:1–31)

1. Offerings to be brought before God upon entering into the land (Num. 15:1–13)

1. Korah, Dathan and Abiram all point to Moses as the reason that the Jews could not take the land of Promise (Num. 16:1–14)

2. Moses and his rebels face off; an earthquake envelops the rebels and lightening kills some of them (Num. 16:15–35)

3. The bronze incense burners of the rebels are hammered into sheets and used upon the altar as a sign to suceeding generations (Num. 16:36–40)

4. The people complain to Moses because of the harsh treatment of the rebels and God disciplines them with a plague (Num. 16:41–50)

A. The death of Miriam and the second generation's no-water test (Num. 20:1–13)

E. The long additional journey causes the people to complain; the bronze serpent (Num. 21:4–9)

A. The influence of the cults of the women of Moab and Midian and the subsequent plague (Num. 25:1–9)

F. Reuben and Gad settle in the lands recently conquered (Jazer and Gilead) (Num. 32)

4. Gad, Reuben and a portion of the tribe of Manasseh settle their families there (Num. 32:33–42)

The author of the introduction breaks the book of Numbers into three parts, with a geographical emphasis. I mention this, so that when we get started, you will have some outlines of what is to occur in the back of your mind. Israel is camped at Mount Sinai for the first ten chapters; in the middle of chapter 10, they move toward the land of promise, and encamp for awhile at Kadesh-barnea; and, after thirty-eight years, move toward the east border of the Land of Promise. For the balance of Numbers (Num. 22:2–36:13), the Israelites remained camped on the plains of Moab.

Chronology: The book of Exodus ends with Now it came about in the first month of the second year, on the first day of the month, that the tabernacle was erected (Ex. 40:17) and the book of Numbers begins in Num. 1:1 with the date Then Y^ehowah spoke to Moses in the desert of Sinai, in the tent of meeting on the first [day] of the second month in the second year after the had come out of the land of Egypt. Although generally in chronological order, later, part way through the book of Numbers, we read: Thus Y^ehowah had spoken to Moses in the desert of Sinai in the first month of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, "Now, let the sons of israel observe the Passover at its appointed time, on the fourteenth day of this month..." (Num. 9:1–3a). We are then told on what day Israel advanced from Mount Sinai: Now it came to pass in the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth [day] of the month, that the cloud was lifted from over the tabernacle of the testimony, and the sons of Israel set out on their journeys from the wilderness of Sinai. Then the cloud settled down in the wilderness of Paran (Num. 10:11–12). Most of the way through the book of Numbers, we are given another date on which to hang our hats: Then Aaron, the priest, went up to Mount Hor at the mouth of Y^ehowah and died there in the fortieth year after the sons of Israel had come from the land of Egypt on the first [day] of the fifth month (Num. 33:38). This tells us that the book of Numbers was not written immediately after these events, and therefore not all of it is in chronological order. However, the beginning and stopping points are clear: the Israelites are exactly one year out of Egypt and the book of Numbers concludes with them at Jordan Jericho (across the Jordan river from Jericho), preparing to enter into the land of Canaan and to dispossess the peoples in it. The book of Deuteronomy begins with: And it came to pass in the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, that Moses spoke to the children of Israel, according to all that Y^ehowah had commanded him [to say] to them (Deut. 1:3). So the time span of the book of Numbers is exactly thirty-eight years, ten months. For those of you like myself, who are very linear and very time-oriented, this should appeal to you.

Previous Date	Earliest Date	Latest Date	Next Date
1/1/2 ae	1/?/2 ae	5/1/40 ae	11/1/40 ae
Ex. 40:17	Num. 9:1	Num. 33:38	Deut. 1:3
Num. 9:1 occurs prior to 1/14/2 ae; however, this passage may refer to a talk which Y^ehowah had with Moses prior to the incidents found in the book of Numbers. However, the date 2/1/2 ae is found in Num. 1:1 and is an integral part of the incidents recorded in that chapter. So, in any case, Numbers begins at least with the second month of the second year and ends no later than the fifth month of the fortieth year.

Authorship: This book was written by Moses, most of which was likely recorded during the thirty-eight silent years. You have no doubt heard theories wherein the Pentateuch was supposedly written by four different sets of authors over different period of time, all long after the actual occurrence of the events herein recorded. Numbers in particular is thought to be the product of more than one man because it is so diverse in its content (it is more diverse than any of the other four books of the Torah). However, diversity does not indicate that Numbers had to be written by a team of authors. Moses, apart from any religious connotation, was one of the greatest men of ancient history who, do to his great intelligence and strength of character, was quite diverse in his abilities and interests. He was raised royalty in the castle of Egypt, which would allow for his great background.

One of the primary reasons those who believe in the theory of documetnary hypothesis (i.e., that the Pentateuch was the result of four sets of people or groups operating several hundred years apart long after the facts recorded) take such a stand is that they despise prophecy. They do not like the fact that God the Holy Spirit regularly predicted the near and the far future for Israel throughout the books of the Old Testatment. It is way too dvinely-inspired for them. Therefore, it is easier to claim that the predictions were written after they occurred. That way, one does not have to deal with things such as divine inspiration. This hypothesis and its refutation are dealt with in great detail in Evidence Which Requires a Verdict, Book II and A Ready Defense, both written by Josh McDowell.

A shorter refutationof this flawed hypothesis can be found in ZPEB, Vol. 4, p. 463.

With what I have examined, it is much easier to argue that the writing of Numbers was done by a contemporary with the incidents recorded (i.e., Moses) as opposed to this being written hundreds of years later or redacted several times hundreds of years later. In fact, let me list some of the things which point to a contemporary, and therefore, Mosaic, authorship:

■ The length of the geneological line found in Num. 3:1–3 extends from Aaron through his sons and goes no further. It reaches backward, in Num. 3:17–21 to Levi; even an author writing a revision or an updating (i.e., a redactor) would have likely included the sons of Aaron's sons, as the priestly line went through Aaron.

■ Num. 33:2a calls Moses the author of at least that portion of Scripture, as it reads: And Moses recorded their starting places according to their journeys by the command [lit., mouth] of Y^ehowah.

■ The special instructions concerning Passover and contact with the dead would have special meaning to the second generation, but would mean very little to us (Num. 9:1–14).

■ The careful attention to detail of Num. 33, the naming of the individual stopping places, and the geography, would be logically the work of a contemporary to these travels. An author of several hundred years later would not have been interested in this material, and the names would have corresponded to the cities of his time, not to areas totally lost to history (roughly half the stopping places in Num. 33 have no historical impact).

■ The splitting of the inheritance laws into two disjoint chapters (Num. 27 and 36) would be logically done by a person who recorded these events as they occurred. An author of a later era would more likely group this ruling into one chapter.

■ The events of Korah's rebellion, in Num. 16, have the feel of an eyewitness, as opposed to an author writing about this hundreds of years later. Similar arguments for an eyewitness recording of events could be made for Num. 25, 31 and 32.

■ The fallibility of Moses, as seen in Num. 20, includes material that only becomes truly significant after the death of our Lord and the Pauline dissection of same. Since the Pentateuch was in existence long before Paul wrote, this argues for divine authorship, as well as for Mosaic authorship.

■ There is a lack of detail in the battles found in Num. 21:1–3, 21–25 and 33–35, whereas the event of Num. 21:4–9 is given more attention to detail. As commander in chief, Moses would not go into battle with Israel's troops, therefore what he writes about the actual battles will be quite sketchy (as contrasted to Joshua, who will give details to many of his battles). However, the bronze serpent incident, sandwiched between, is more meticulous with reference to detail, indicating an eyewitness. This would point to a Mosaic authorship. A later author might want to downplay Israel's failure and to boast more of her victories (furthermore, ancient authors would tend to embellish the great exploits of battle, as opposed to neglecting such details, as Moses did).

■ Our Lord and almost every New Testament writer refer to Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (Matt. 8:4 19:7 22:24 Mark 1:44 10:3 Luke 5:14 20:28 John 1:!7 Acts 3:22 Rom. 10:5 II Cor. 3:15 Heb. 9:19 10:28—at least to the last four books), without arguing for it, indicating that was the basic belief during their time, and, because of the divine inspiration of Scripture, this clinches it for any believer. ZPEB points out that Jerome, of the Latin Vulgate translation, was the first early theologian to question the authorship of the Pentateuch.

Allow me to quote from the NASB's introduction to the book of Numbers: Extremes of literary criticism have tried to deny that Moses could have written any of the book and have attempted to partition it into documents dating form several periods of Israel's history. Archaeological discoveries, however, have shown the antiquity of laws, institutions and living conditions described in Numbers. The view that Numbers comes from Moses and the period in which he lived is supported also by the great veneration which the Jews had for Moses and the sacred writings attributed to him.

There is only one portion of the book of Numbers which is curious with regards to original authorship and that is the incident of Balaam being called by King Balak to curse Israel (Num. 22–24). Moses was not an eyewitness to this event, yet it contains great detail. Portions of it, particularly Num. 22:22–35, are very personal to Balaam, yet carry with them a feel of omniscience. The careful quotations of Num. 23 and 24 sound as though they were recorded on the spot by an eyewitness, or soon thereafter. Here, I have a theory or two, but nothing that I am married to. I would think that Balaam might have chronicled these events, and, when faced with death at the hands of the Israelites several months later, he may have offered these writings as proof of his relationship with Y^ehowah. He was still unceremoniously killed and the writings were likely brought back to Moses. Explanation #2 (which I have even less regard for) is that God the Holy Spirit provided all of the details of this occurance to Moses directly. Now, don't misunderstand me here: I have no problem with the ability of God the Holy Spirit to provide us with details of things that we have not seen and with details only an eyewitness would have. My problem with this kind of an explanation is that it goes against the general tenor of Scripture. When events out of the author's realm are recorded, there are often asides concerning this (the book of Luke, for instance, was based on several documents and the interviews of eyewitnesses—Luke did not just lock himself up in a room and say, "Okay, God, lay it on me; what happened?" His was a careful compilation of existing historical material and eyewitness reports. Moses shows the same attention to detail, and is wont to quote his sources (Num. 21:14 and 27 for instance).

In the NASB, The introduction to the book of Numbers reads: Since the Mosaic period is at least thirteen hundred years before christ, the book in its present form has passed through many hands, and even in the Hebrew itself has been transliterated from one type of script to another. Undoubtedly ther are scribal or editorial additions here and there. The NIV Study Bible reads: It is not necessary, however, to claim that Numbers came from Moses' hand complete and in final form. Portions of the book were probably added by scribes or editors from later periods of Israel's history. This does not mean that this book has been rewritten or revised, but that there have been some changes made to the text. Those who have done so have been appropriately punished, as per Rev. 22:18–19: I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book; if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book. Moses himself told the people: "You will not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of Y^ehowah your God, which I command you...Whatever I command you, you will be careful to do; you will not add to nor take away from it." (Deut. 4:2 12:32). This is God's Word, and God is able to preserve His Word.

The Mishna and the Torah are two of the very best arguments today for the preservation of the original text. The Jews fell into legalism and developed the Mishna, the Midrash and the Talmud, whose intention was not unlike that of a Biblical exegete or a Bible commentary, except that they went off the deep end. Their interpretations of certain passages got incredibly intricate, going far beyond that enjoined in the Torah (the Law) of Moses. However, rather than insert some of these ideas and writings directly into Scripture, this information was passed down in written and oral form, and eventually committed to the writings which the Jewish scholars study today. In the Jewish world, these are given a lesser place than the books of Moses, yet they are studied more. However, the point of mentioning these books, is that rather than go into the actual text of Moses with a lot of farfetched ideas and legalistic commentary, even though some groups of Jews held firmly to these beliefs, these writings have remained separate from the Law and their place in Jewish theology is below that of the writings of Moses, generally speaking—and, again, this is a matter of verbal assent; but the reality is different. In Christianity, we also have great verbal deference given to the Word of God; however, those who place it on a pedastal of honor paradoxically rarely study God's Word nor do they obey God' s Word. Also, there is extent today the spiritual gift of textual criticism, which scholars employ to determine what the original text was. My point in all of this is that, yes, there have certainly been changes, additions and adulterations in the text of Moses—on the other hand, these have been very minor, and many of the discrepancies in text will be examined as we study this fantastic book. Bear in mind, that this is God's Word and He has allowed a few adulterations to creep in, and He has given to us people who have devoted their lives to determine what these corruptions are. If you want numbers, let's say that the book of Numbers in the Hebrew is in agreement with the autographs

97–99.9% of the time (and even with that low 97%, much of it is exegetically inconsequential, as we will see).

You must understand that the Scribes who dedicated their lives to copying and recopying the books of Moses so that God's Word would be preserved had a deep and abiding dedication to this task. They did not take their work lightly. Therefore, they would make every attempt possible to achieve accuracy of the original text. ZPEB called the text of Numbers (along with that of the rest of the Pentateuch) remarkably stable.

The variations which we find in the various codices are quite minor (many of thees will be pointed out early in the book of Numbers to give you an idea as to how inconsequential and unimportant they are).

Authority and Inspiration: The book of Numbers was authored, like all Scripture, by God the Holy Spirit (I originally wrote co-authored, but that does not fully convey what occurs). The writing of Scripture is as much the product of divine inspiration as it is a human accomplishment. It is completely and wholy God's Word and completely and wholy the Word of man. The written Word itself is a picture of Jesus Christ, fully human and fully divine. The book of Numbers is not merely inspired, nor does it contain God's Word, but it is God's Word, whether a quote directly from God or a narrative passage. However, just as I have listed several reasons why Moses is indeed the human author of this book, let me list why this book is the work of God the Holy Spirit:

● God continually speaks directly to Moses (and sometimes to Aaron), so that much of this book is quoted directly from God (Num. 1:1 2:1 3:40 4:1, 21 5:1, 11 6:1 etc.). In fact, the NIV Study Bible points out that the book of Numbers says over 150 times that God spoke to Moses and states this in twenty different ways.

● Moses has given us a general enjoinder not to add or subtract from these Laws given by God (Deut. 4:2 12:32).

● Interestingly enough, no writer of Scripture, Old Testament or New, quotes directly from the book of Numbers. However, several of the incidents found in the book of Numbers are mentioned. The Israelites will be fed quails by God in Numbers and this is confirmed as an historical event in Psalm 78:26–30 105:40. I Cor. 10:8–10 carries an admonition against specific mistakes made by the Israelites in the book of Numbers, ending with v. 11: Now these things happened to them as an example and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. One of the most quoted New Testament passage, John 3:16, follows after John 3:14, which confirms the historicity of the bronze serpent of Num. 21: And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; that whoever believes may in Him have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His uniquely-born Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:14–16).

● Taken as a cohesive part of the Pentateuch, this book is given authority throughout the Old and New Testaments (2Kings 14:6 21:8 Dan. 9:11 Mal. 4:4).

● This book is included in the canon of Scripture without any reservation of any textual critic

Chronology of the Writing of Numbers: Now there is another sort of chronology which should be examined and that is the chronology of the writing of this book. Num. 1:1 compared with Num. 9:1 indicates that not everything is in exact chronological order; however, when examining the dates (Num. 1:1 9:1 10:11 20:1 33:3, 38) which are found in this book, there is every indication that it is essentially written in chronological order. Furthermore, an examination of the incidents in comparison to the movement of the troops in Num. 33 gives no contradiction in time of movement nor does it give rise to any serious argument for the contents of Numbers to be in some order other than chronological.

In Num. 1–19, Moses was quite involved with the following activities: the movement of the Israelites through the wilderness area; the census taking; overseeing the removal of the tabernacle and the re-establishing of the tabernacle at every stage of movement; recording the Law as given him by Y^ehowah; speaking to the people as to the contents of the Law; dealing with revolt after revolt after revolt and with the grumbling and complaining that Generation X seemed to do on a regular basis (we only see a small portion of their degeneracy in God's Word); and, Moses was involved quite actively in the court system, hearing some cases as the originated and others on appeal. What I am saying to you that during this period of a year or so, Moses had no time whatsoever to himself. During the thirty-eight silent years, although Moses has most of these responsibilities, the tabernacle is remaining in one place, there is no troop movement, there are no spies to send out, the census taking has been completed, and Moses seems to have no close involvment with the thousands of people who were dying like flies in the desert—so it is my opinion that he compiled most of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus and the first half of the book of Numbers during this stay at Kadesh-barnea. Much of this material had already been written down—chiefly the Laws as given to Moses by Y^ehowah. Moses had been told on several occasions to write this down. Then Y^ehowah said to Moses, "Write this in the book as a memorial and place it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under the heaven." (Ex. 17:14). And Moses wrote down all the words of Y^ehowah (Ex. 24:4a). Then Y^ehowah said to Moses, "Write down for yourself these words, for in accordance with these words, I have made a covenant with you and with Israel." (Ex. 34:17). And Moses recorded their starting places according to their journeys by the mouth of Y^ehowah, and these are their journeys accoridng to their starting places (Num. 33:2). I would think that at Kadesh-barnea, he would have a little more time to reflect, insert historical events, and to essentially complete the bulk of the Pentateuch. Because Moses will not enter the land, there was a time period when the troops of Israel attacked and defeated the Amorites, Midian and the King of Bashan; then the tribes of Reuben, Gad and a portion of Manasseh settled them women and children east of the Jordan. This gave Moses some time to finish the last portion of the book of Numbers and to prepare several farewell sermons to the children of Israel, generation 2.

It is possible that at this point, if not earlier, Moses used an amanuensis, although he did not necessarily need one. Furthermore, the likely candidate for that position would have been Joshua, son of Nun. This would explain the smooth transition at the end of Deuteronomy from the message of Moses to the death of Moses, which, as every author points out, Moses could have written prophetically, but which was likely written by Joshua, God's next choice to rule over Israel. Making copies of the Law was enjoined by the time of Deut. 17:18, where the king was to sit on his throne and...write for himself a copy of the Law on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests.

Geography: The book of Numbers begins at the foot of Mount Sinai after God has essentially given Moses most of the Laws and regulations by which the people of Israel are to live. From there, they will travel up north along the Gulf of Aqaba, probably along a river feeding into the gulf. At some point, much more north than is shown on most Bible maps, they will cut over almost due west to Kadesh-barnea. From there, they will send out spies to examine the land and plan for their first invasion. As the spies are looking over the land, the sons of Israel advance to Hormah and beyond. However, the report of the spies will frighten the people, and they will refuse to go into the land, to take it. Then, after they realize that they have screwed up and that God will discipline them for it, they go up to invade the land, apart form Y^ehowah, and they are repulsed and pushed back to Hormah. They stop and spend thirty-seven silent years in Kadesh-barnea [where perhaps they had left their women and children prior to the invasion?]. After most of the Exodus generation has died out, they travel east and then south, to where the Gulf of Aqaba began in those days (which I believe was much farther north than it is today). They had hoped to go north on the King's Highway, but the Edomites would not give them passage. There are two routes which they may have taken from here. I believe that they went west again, came up on the west side of Edom, and cut across just south of the Salt Sea. However, it is possible that they moved due east or due south, got out of the border of Edom that direction, and then proceeded north up along the east side of Edom's borders. They traveled outside the east border of Moab, cut across between Moab and Ammon, and got into an altercation with the Amorites who had recently taken a large chunk of alnd away from Moab (this is the land east and northeast of the Salt Sea). Then Israel got into an altercation with Og, the king of Bashan, and they conquered the land directly north of the Amorites and took a rather large chunk of land in that invasion. At the end of Numbers, they will stand perched, across the Jordan River from Jericho, from where Moses will deliver his famous Deuteronomic [pronounced DOO-ter-uh-NOME-ik] messages to the new generation of Israelites (the book of Deuteronomy) who are soon to invade the land of Canaan to take it (the book of Joshua)

In this book of Numbers, we will spend more time traveling through the Sinai Peninsula and through the various deserts than we do anywhere else in the Pentateuch. I think that it is important to note that the promised land today is under discipline from God. It is filled with wars and racial and religious strife and intense violence. To look at pictures of Palestine, one does not see a land flowing with milk and honey, but rather a lot of desert area interspersed with some patches of green and disputations. A little water can transform any area, as can the lack of water (Los Angeles is a prime example of what a little influx of water can do to a desert region). At least during the time of the exodus and the early settling of the promised land, there was a lot more rain and a much great agricultural prosperity than we see today. In fact, I believe that the rain was much more pleantiful for perhaps a time period of close to two thousand years. Areas which have water in them only during the rainy season probably had flowing water in them throughout the year. When Abraham and Moses looked out onto the promised land, they saw a land which was lush, and green and inviting, with great agricultural prosperity, unlike it is today. The gulf of Aqaba probably extended at least another 60 miles north, with water flowing between the Salt Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba, at least during the rainy season, if not year round. When I first studied the Pentateuch, instead of the standard translation, the wilderness of Sinai or the wilderness of Zin, I instead rendered it the desert of Sinai and the desert of Zin. However, my studies have caused me to conclude that this was not the desert region then that it is today. The translation wilderness would include some desert regions (obviously a problem at times when the Jews faced the no-water test), but it also included some areas which were basically uninhabited and sometimes difficult to transverse.

There are two basic views that I am aware of when it comes to the forty-year wanderings of the sons of Israel. Most authors and commentaries take the stand that the Jews wandered in the desert for forty years. I personally believe that they transversed the wilderness, moving toward Sinai and then toward the land of Canaan in a space of about 2–3 years; then they camped in Kadesh-barnea, because there was no need for them to go anywhere. They were not going into the land. God had begun to kill off large numbers of the exodus generation. They had to deal with the deaths of two million people over a period of thirty-seven years. This would preclude a lot of travel because (1) they had no reason to travel anywhere; (2) they had no place to travel to; and (3) they were constantly busy with the rituals of coming into contact with dead people (cleansing from contact with dead people, although it does not play a prominent part in the book of Numbers, it is still given more time than one would think under normal circumstances). And, finally, (4) the Israelites did not just wander the desert. Now on the day that the tabernacle was erected the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the testimony, and in the evening it was like the appearance of fire over the tabracnle, until morning. So it was continuously: the cloud would cover it, and the appearance of fire by night. And whenever the cloud was lifted from over the tent, afterward, the sons of Israel would then set out; and in the pace where the cloud settled down, there the sons of Israel would camp. At the mouth of Y^ehowah the sons of Israel would set out, and at the mouth of Y^ehowah, they would camp; as long as the cloud settled over the tabernacle, the remained camped. Even when the cloud lingered over the tabernacle for many days, the sons of Israel would keep Y^ehowah's charge and not set out (Num. 9:15–19). Do you follow this? The children of Israel did not wander aimlessly. There is no indication of that anywhere in Scripture. This passage, along with Ex. 13:21–22 and 40:34–38, tell us that God guided them every step of the way. At Kadesh-barnea, after their terrible failure, they had no place to go. God had no reason to lead them anywhere. "Therefore, I was disgusted with this generation. And said, "They continually went astray in their thinking [lit., heart]; and they did not know My ways. As I swore in My wrath, they will not enter My rest." (Heb. 3:10–11 Psalm 95:10–11). What do you think is going to happen? Moses is going to get wanderlust and get up some morning and say, "Let's go for a forced march out into the desert." Do you think the sons of Israel will leave an area of their basic necessities and go back into the wilderness? Do you think that God is going to lift the cloud from above the tabernacle and commence to lead these sons of Israel on a wild goose chase, so to speak? Y^ehowah suddenly says, "I'm bored with us just being here, let's go wander aimlessly until you die." Many of this generation died en route to Kadesh-barnea and many of them will die when they go to enter the land once again from the east side between the two seas. However, many of them will simply die uncermonious deaths out there in the wilderness area of Kadesh-barnea. There is at least parital agreement with this viewpoint by David W. Kerr, Th.M., who wrote the introduction to the book of Numbers. He wrote While these are sually described as eyars of wandering, it is fairly clear that th epeople lived south of Canaan proper, partly in the area known as the Negev, not far from Kadesh Barnea, for about thirty-seven years. During this time the tabernacle was the foacl point of civil as well as religious life, since it was here that Moses carried out his administrative duties. It may be assumed that the people followed the domestic pursuits of nomads, living in tents, pasturing flocks in the semi-arid steppes. This circumstances required special divine provisions of food and water

One quite interesting note, however, is that I cannot recall anything being said about the disposal of the bodies of their dead or rituals concerning burials and memorials. They came out of Egypt where the preservation of some of their dead bordered on fanaticism, however this topic is not even covered in the books of Numbers and Leviticus. My personal thought here is that they kept a large fire burning outside the camp and basically dumped the bodies onto this fire. This may seem rather callous to you, but we have an average of approximately 150 people dying every single day. That is a lot of dead people to bury and that requires a lot of room for burial plots (and, as I mentioned, burial is never discussed in these books).

The Census: One of the greatest contemporary objections to the book of Numbers is the census. The book of Numbers is uncompromisingly consistent in this regard, but many object to this because how could two million people wander in the desert for forty years and live? (6) The Israelites did not wander throughout the desert for forty years; they traveled in the desert for a period of a year and a half, and then another half a year, (roughtly). They cooled their heels in Kadesh-barnea for most of those forty years. (7) The climatic conditions of that area were more favorable at that time toward a large, nomatic group. (8) Too many of us picture the water coming from the rock, an incident which took place in Exodus and was repeated for the second generation in the book of Numbers, to look like maybe a hose was in the middle of the rock. This idea is based upon pictures that we have seen in children's Bible stories. Obviously, two million thirsty people and their cattle cannot get enough water from a garden hose. Try standing at a water fountain behind two hundred people and see how fast your thirst is assauged. Much worst to be standing behind two million people. The first we can comprehend; the large number of the second makes this totally incomprehensible. However, this was not a garden hose-sized stream of water; Psalm 78:20 105:41 both indicate that quite a river was almost an immediate result of this miracle. (9) It was clearly miraculous for such a large group to be fed and clothed during this time in the wilderness. Our God is a God of the miraculous. Many of the miracles pertaining to the preservation of these people are not even recorded in Scripture, and others are alluded to very briefly (e.g., Moses said to the second generation: "And I have led you forty years in the wilderness; your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandal has not worn out on your foot."—Deut. 29:5). For these two generations of Jews, miracles were almost commonplace. They had no excuse for their unbelief.

For these reasons, you may read of many authors hedging on the numbers in Numbers; and some make some very good arguments, reducing the population of Israel to a hundred thousand or two, as opposed to two million. But ultimately, we have a problem that their numbers do not add up; they are not consistent. And such an increase in population from a group of seventy in Egypt would have not only not been noteworthy (as recorded in Ex. 1:7, 20), but, if anything, would indicate moderate growth at best.

Final Comments: Numbers, like much of the Old Testament, has been all but ignored in our day of apostasy; however, this is a great book which demands our attention, earns our interest and gives us invaluable historical data on the people of Israel.

Introduction: In Num. 1 we have the first of two censuses taken in this book of Numbers, so aptly titled. The original plan was for Israel to immediately go into the land and conquer it. However, they will fail a major test at Kadesh Barnea and God will cause them to cool their heels in the desert for an additional forty years until the generation that God loathed dies out.

And Yahweh spoke to Moses in the desert of Sinai, in the tent of meeting, on the first of the second month, in the second year of their going out of the land of Egypt, saying, [Num. 1:1]

Moses has been careful to give us a place and date in order to fix this point in history. He was a methodical person in this way. We were able to determine to the month when the book of Leviticus was written. According to Num. 33:38, the scope of this book is 38–39 years. This is thirteen months after Israel began her exodus from Egypt and Aaron will die on the first day of the fifth month in the fortieth year. That makes this book 38 years and four months in its duration between Num. 1:1 and 33:38. Since the book of Deuteronomy begins on the first day of the eleventh month of the fortieth year, Numbers spans 38 years and 9 months. During this time we will see this evil generation struck down by God.

The NIV points out that dating the time of their wanderings using the anchor of the Exodus is very similar to the Christian quoting dates as being a.d. or b.c. (before or after the year of our Lord). Our Lord's death is the great act of deliverance of our souls, just as the deaths of the first born of the sons of Egypt marked the great act of deliverance of Israel from Egypt.

Here, the Jews had packed up and began to wander through the desert. They had been at the foot of the Sinai mountains, which they had walked along. This was their second time to break a semi-permanent camp. After escaping the Egyptians, they had been traveling through the desert of Sinai and they parked themselves in front of Mount Sinai while Moses received the beginning of the Law from Yahweh (Ex. 19:1–2). They broke camp after the golden calf incident (Ex. 32) and moved along the mountains of Sinai (Ex. 33:1–6). However, they remained near to these mountains (Lev. 27:34).

"Take a census [lit. head] [or, take a head count] of all the congregation of the sons of Israel by their families, by the house of their fathers, in the number of names—every male by their head by head. [Num. 1:2]

Take is the masculine singular, Qal imperative of nâsâ’ (א ָ ָנ ) [pronounced naw--SAW], a word with 46 renderings in the Authorized version, among them: exact, ease, contain, cast, lade, marry, respect, suffer; it means, as we have seen, to lift, to take, to bear, to carry. Moses bears the primary responsibility, so this verb is in the singular, even though Aaron will assist him and the twelve to be mentioned will also assist them. What Moses is to take is a rô’sh (ש אֹר ) [pronounced roshe] and it is from an unused root that means shake, and it generally means head as the head is easily shaken. The closest we have to this idiom is take a head count. This idiom is reasonable since the word head has a variety of meanings (e.g., top, chief, front, choicest, leading division). We find a different word for head, used twice, at the end of this verse.

Moses is about to go into battle with the surrounding Gentiles and needs to know his strength.

"From a son of twenty years and upward, every one going out [to] war in Israel, you will number them by their armies, you and Aaron; [Num. 1:3]

The census is to be taken of all the men able to go to war. The word translated war is tsâbâʾ (א ָב ָצ ) [pronounced tsaw^b-VAW], and it can mean army, war, or warfare. It is usually translated hosts in the KJV, which often is sort of a pansy translation, as you do not realize that we are speaking of war and warfare when you hear the word host. Most people seem to think that we are speaking of a band of angels carrying harps and singing sweet hymns. However, the picture is more of a huge army of angels ready to do battle. In this context, we are speaking of all the sons of Israel who are draft age—who are old enough to go to war. God has clearly given the promised land to Israel; however, they will have to take it, which includes going to war against the present inhabitants. This census is not taken for the purposes of siple information or for taxation purposes, but to determine how many men will be going to war. This is a military census. We will see this phrase another thirteen times throughout this chapter.

"And with you there is a man for each tribe, a man he [is] a head to the house of his fathers. [Num. 1:4]

Moses and Aaron will not personally count each and every person. There will be a man with them from each tribe of Israel, a head to the house of his fathers. That is, there will be a tribal leader from each of the twelve tribes of Israel. There is not word for each in this verse, although some translations have the word each occur twice. What is here twice is the word for man, ‛îysh (שי ̣א ) [pronounced eesh].

God does not even expect Moses and Aaron to choose the men who would stand for the tribes—God chooses these men Himself. This way, there is no popularity contest, no one can resent Moses or Aaron because he was not chosen, and, most importantly, the correct people can be chosen to head up a tribe.

"For Reuben—Elizur [pronounced el-ee-TSOOR], son of Shedeur [pronounced shed-ay-OOR]; [Num. 1:5b]

Ben (ן ∵ ) [pronounced ben] simply means son, a word that we find nearly 5000 times in the Old Testament. What we have here is essentially our equivalent of a first and last name: Elizur ben Shedeur—the primary difference being that the father's name is his father's first name. The tribe of Reuben would be on the south saide of the camp (Num. 2:10). Although Reuben was the eldest of the sons of Jacob, he was called unstable as water—that is, he would take the form of the container that he was poured into—which means that he did not have the characterisitics of a leader. He was not the oldest son to whom his brothers could look up to. Therefore, when offerings were presented by the leaders of the tribes, Elizur ben Shedeur was fourth, not a reflection upon his own character, but upon that of his father, Reuben. Elizur's name means God of [the] rock; his father's name means spreader of light. By their names, they both appear to have some doctrine and some divine viewpoint.

However, other than God choosing him for this important position of leadership, he did not distinguish himself in any way apart from the rest of the heads of Israel and is therefore not mentioned apart from the other tribe leaders. All five references to him in the book of Numbers are the same standard five references given to the other eleven.

"For Simeon—Shelumiel [pronounced shel-oo-mee-ALE], son of Zurishaddai [pronounced tsoo-ree-shad-DAH-ee]; [Num. 1:6]

He and his tribe also camped on the south side with the tribe of Reuben (Num. 2:12). He was the fifth to offer sacrifices to God (Num. 7:36) and also was not distinguished from the other tribal leaders. His name means peace with God and his father's name means rock of [the] Almighty. In the Apocraphyl book of Judith, his name is listed as Salamiel, son of Salasadai (Judith 8:1).

"From Judah—Nahshon [pronounced nahk-SHONE], son of Amminadab [pronounced am-mee-naw-DAWB]; [Num. 1:7]

Although the tribes are being given in order of the birth of their fathers, Nahshon ben Amminadab is one of the pre-emminent of the tribal leaders. Amminadab means people of liberality and Nahshon means enchanter. He was in the line of David (Ruth 4:20–22 1Chron. 2:10), in the legal line of our Lord (Matt. 1:4) and in the matriarchal line of our Lord (Luke 3:32). Furthermore, you may note with the pronounciations that we do not have a correct transliteration here (as well in several other cases). It appears as though the KJV set the standard for the names and most Bible translations go with it. Nahshon's sister became the wife of Aaron (Ex. 6:23). Due to his position in the line of Christ and the fact that his father, Judah, did eventually become a person with character, he gave his offering first of all (Num. 7:12). He is also listed first when his tribe takes a position on the East side in Num. 2:3. Furthermore, he took the lead when their troops set out (Num. 10:14). It just goes to show that you can name your children whatever you want, but unless they are well-trained and use their own volition properly, there is no telling how they will turn out.

"For Issachar—Nethaneel [pronounced neth-an-ALE], son of Zuar [pronounced tsoo-AWR]; [Num. 1:8]

Nethaneel means given of God, and Zuar means small. Although Nethaneel's name occurs several times throughout the Old Testament, the one spoken of here finds his name only five times, where we would expect it to be. Nethaneel gave his offering on the second day.

"From Zebulun—Eliab [pronounced el-ee-AWB], the son of Helon [pronounced chay-LONE]; [Num. 1:9]

"From the sons of Joseph: from Ephraim—Elishama, the son of Ammihud; from Manasseh—Gamaliel, the son of Pedahzur; [Num. 1:10]

Elishama [pronounced el-ee-shaw-MAW] means God of Hearing, Ammihud [pronounced am-mee-0HOOD] means people of splendor, Gamaliel [pronounced gam-lee-ALE] means reward of God, and Pedahzur [pronounced ped-aw-TSOOR] means a rock has ransomed. Elishama shows up in the standard five places of prominence plus one: we find out in 1Chron. 7:26–7 that he is the father of Nun and the grandfather of Joshua. There are six other people in the Bible with his name. Gamaliel sounds as though he should have been a man of great spiritual growth; however, he is found in the typical five places (Num. 1:10 2:20 7:54, 59 10:23).

Abidan [pronounced ab-ee-DAWN] means father of judgement (or, of judge) and Gideoni [pronounced ghid-o-NEE] means warlike. Although Benjamin was the youngest, Abidan made his offering on the nineth day.

Ahiezer [pronounced akh,ee-EH-zer] means brother of help and Ammishaddai [pronounced am-mee-shad-DAH-ee] means people of [the] Almighty. This man, other than being chosen of God, does not indiviudally distinguish himself.

Pagiel [pronounced pag-ee-ALE] means accident of God (for those who thought that birth control and planned parenting is relatively new) and Ocran [pronounced ak-RAWN] means muddler. With names like these, you want these guys to come in first; however, Pagiel shows up in the appointed five portions of God's Word.

Eliasaph [pronounced el-yaw-SAWF] means God [is] gatherer and Denel [pronounced deh-oo-ALE] means known of God. He gave his offering on the sixth day (Num. 7:42); but it only goes to show that you can give children all the advantages in the world (both he and his father have spectacular names), and it means nothing without the proper training.

Ahira [pronounced akh-ee-RAH] means brother of wrong (or, brother [is] evil) and Enan [pronounced ay-NAWN] means having eyes. Ahira was the last one named and the last to give an offering (Num. 7:78). The sons younger than he are Joseph and Benjamin, yet he is named last.

"These [are] those summoned [by popular demand] of the company, princes of the ancestral tribes [or, tribes of their fathers]; they [are] heads of the thousands

of Israel." [Num. 1:16]

There is a word here found only three times in the Old Testament. Qârîy’ (אי ̣ר ָק ) [pronounced kaw-REE] is found only here and in Num. 16:2 26:9. The corresponding verb is qârâ’ (א ָר ָק ) [pronounced kaw-RAW] which we find many times throughout the Bible; it means to read, to proclaim, to summon, to call. In order to differentiate this from the words called, and elected, we will translate the adjective summoned [by popular demand]. It is an organic process where these are practically self-proclaimed leaders and men of reknown who stand before their tribe and are popularly affirmed.

Even though I have spoken poorly of these men, it is only in comparison to the others who were also chosen. This is the Exodus generation, a generation which God spoke of as loathing. Moses will live beyond the time of even these men, the leaders of their generation; God will strike these men down in the desert along with their brothers and sons.

I placed Aaron's name in parentheses because the verb took is in the masculine singular. Gâqa^bv (ב ַק ָג ) [pronounced gaw-KAH^BV] means pierce, and you may be wondering about this, not seeing this word in this verse. Gâqa^bv is in the Niphal (passive) perfect, meaning that they received the action of the verb. We have seen this verb in Lev. 24:11, 16, when a young man blasphemed (or, pierced) the name of Yahweh (similar usage in Num. 23:8, 25 Job 3:8 5:3). We will see this word to mean a literal piercing in 2Kings 12:9 18:2. However, here it refers to someone who has been designated or distinguished or appointed to a position. What I would like to find, but cannot, is this word used to bore a hole in the ear of a slave which earmarked the slave for lifetime service. That is a different verb entirely (found only in Ex. 21:6).

And all the congregation they assembled on the first of the second month, and they declared their births by thir families, by the house of thir fathers, in the number of names from a son of twenty years and upward, by their polls; [Num. 1:18]

The leaders were all chosen and the men were all assembled all on the same day. Even their leaders did not do a head count, per se, but they assembled in groups and gave the number of males who were twenty years and older from each family. The point is that this was done in an organized fashion.

As Yahweh had commanded Moses; and he numbered them in the desert of Sinai. [Num. 1:19]

God gave Moses the command on the first day of the second month and Moses has everything organized and going on the very same day. Verse 19 summarizes the action and the next 33 verses provide the details. A similar census was taken of the new generation in Num. 26.

So there were: the people of Reuben, Israel's first born—their births by their families, by the house of their fathers, its numbered ones in the number of names by their polls, every male from a son of twenty years and upward, and everyone of draft age [lit., going out to the army]. [Num. 1:20]

Only the males would be numbered here. The word for families is mishpâchâk (ה ָח ָ ׃ש ̣מ ) [pronounced mish-paw-KHAWH] and it means family, clan, class (of people), species (of animals), or sort (of things).

Their numbered ones, for the tribe of Reuben, are 46,500 [lit., six and forty thousand and five hundred]. [Num. 1:21]

One of the theories which I have been exposed to is that there were fewer people of Israel at this time. The key is the word ʾleph (ף ∵ל ∵א ) [pronounced EH-lef], which has several meanings. I first of all examined similar words to make certain that a change in the vowel point would not change to meaning to a similar and also applicable word. No such changes would have likely occurred without rendering this verse nonsense. This word appears to be rendered a thousand most of the time, in some places only that rendering would make sense, such as Ex. 18:21 and 25, which read, in part, leaders of thousands, leaders of hundreds, leaders of fifties, and leaders of tens (see also Ex. 38:25, 29 1Sam. 29:2). The other meaning is families (however, this is not the same word as we find used for families in the previous verse), which rendering is not found near as often (BDB gives the passages Judges 6:15 1Sam. 10:19 Micah 5:2). This same word is translated kine or cattle in Deut. 7:13 28:4, 18, 51; the reference is to the large number of cattle rather than to the animals themselves. In these few passages where this word could mean something other than a thousand, it could be translated a thousand without obliterating the meaning. However, there are a significant number of passages where a rendering other than one thousand would not make sense. Therefore, whereas I have no emotional attatchment to the actualy physical number of Jews included in this census, meaning it doesn't make any difference to me whether there are 200 or 2,000,000 Israelites, I think that we, purely on linguistic grounds, need to stay with the traditional numbering of 46,500. Furthermore, the context of this verse seems to indicate a head count (recall Num. 2:2: Take a census of all the congregation of the sons of Israel, by their families, by their fathers' households, according to the number of names, every male, head by head). The Septuagint offers a slightly different number: 46,400 (for those who are wondering, the words for four and for five are very different in the Hebrew). Therefore, the rendering one thousand is supported by the Hebrew, by the context and by the Septuagint.

There are a lot of men who hold to ’eleph not meaning a thousand and most of that is based upon the fact that this is an incredibly large army; the total population of Israel would have had to have been at least two million, which is a lot of people to be meandering through the desert. We have already seen that God has provided them with a bread-like substance, manna; and meat (quail)—which in itself is miraculous, and even more so considering the large numbers that are being fed. We have examined the growth of the Israelites from 70 to two million and have shown that it is possible; there would just had to have been large families and a population explosion, which the Bible alludes to (Ex. 1:7–12). For your own study, the NIV Study Bible gives several possible explanations in fairness in its introduction to Numbers, but you can tell that the author of Numbers, like myself, still lean toward the large numbers presented here. Gleason L Archer in the Encyclopedia of Bible Dificulties

also lists some of the alternate theories and in more detail. He goes into more detail. With those who hold to the alternate theories, their beginning point is not God's Word, but human logic. They begin with the fact that it is unlikely for two million people to live in the desert for forty years, a valid objection; and list a variety of reasons; along with the point of view that for 70 people to become two million in 400 years, that would be a sizable population explosion. From that standpoint, they rationalize what is found in the Scriptures to fit their viewpoint. I might as well give the alternate theories. We have looked at the concept that ’eleph could means families, clans, but this linguistically does not stand, nor is this the way you take a census to determine how many men you have. In determining your own military strength, you do not settle for one division of 147 families as an accurate census. The other theory is that ’eleph could be the word ‛allûp, which means chiefs, so that we are listing the number of chiefs and the number of enlisted men. Our problem here is fivefold: (1) once or twice a mistake like this can be made with the vowel points, but every single time is not likely; (2) this would put us in disagreement with all the codices; (3) we would have several instances of too many chiefs and not enough Indians—for instance, Manasseh would have 32 chiefs and 300 Indians; (4) the Israelites are just now being counted in preparation to be mobilized for war—no one has even begun to think about military training and officer selection; such a view is premature; and, (5) this interpretation does not jive with all of the other numbers given in the Bible.

For those who wish to read an author who does hold to one of these theories dogmatically, there is Robert W. Faid's A More Scientific Approach to More Biblical Mysteries, pp. 71–78; however, it all boils down to all the Biblical evidence lands on the side of the large numbers and all the human viewpoint lands on the side of smaller numbers.

Some additional points which Gleason brings out: even if you reduce the number of people, 30,000 draft age men in the desert would die from thirst and hunger as easily as 600,000.

In regard to the sons of Simeon—their births by their families, by the house of their fathers, its numbered ones in the number of names by their polls, every male from a son of twenty years and upward, everyone going out to the army— [Num. 1:22]

In regard to the sons of Gad—their births by their families, by the house of their fathers, its numbered ones in the number of names by their polls, every male from a son of twenty years and upward, everyone going out to the army— [Num. 1:24]

In regard to the sons of Judah—their births by their families, by the house of their fathers, its numbered ones in the number of names by their polls, every male from a son of twenty years and upward, everyone going out to the army— [Num. 1:26]

In regard to the sons of Issachar—their births by their families, by the house of their fathers, its numbered ones in the number of names by their polls, every male from a son of twenty years and upward, everyone going out to the army— [Num. 1:28]

The NASB redners this as:Of the sons of Issachar, their genealogical registration by their families, by their father's households, according to the number of names from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go out to war.

In regard to the sons of Zebulun—their births by their families, by the house of their fathers, its numbered ones in the number of names by their polls, every male from a son of twenty years and upward, everyone going out to the army— [Num. 1:30]

In regard to the sons of Joseph: in regard to the sons of Ephraim—their births by their families, by the house of their fathers, its numbered ones in the number of names by their polls, every male from a son of twenty years and upward, everyone going out to the army— [Num. 1:32]

Note that Joseph's tribe is counted as two. Joseph, due to his great spiritual character, received the double portion normally affored to Reuben, the firstborn. Furthermore, the tribe of Levi is not included in this census, so the double portion of Joseph gives us the magic number twelve for the number of tribes.

In regard to the sons of Manasseh—their births by their families, by the house of their fathers, its numbered ones in the number of names by their polls, every male from a son of twenty years and upward, everyone going out to the army— [Num. 1:34]

The Septuagint's number is the same. Note that together, Joseph's children number 72,500, which is the second largest family (after Judah) and almost twice the size of some families, such as Benjamin and Reuben.

In regard to the sons of Benjamin—their births by their families, by the house of their fathers, its numbered ones in the number of names by their polls, every male from a son of twenty years and upward, everyone going out to the army— [Num. 1:36]

The Septuagint's number is the same. It is after this verse that the Septuagint inserts the tribe of Gad.

In regard to the sons of Dan—their births by their families, by the house of their fathers, its numbered ones in the number of names by their polls, every male from a son of twenty years and upward, everyone going out to the army— [Num. 1:38]

In regard to the sons of Asher—their births by their families, by the house of their fathers, its numbered ones in the number of names by their polls, every male from a son of twenty years and upward, everyone going out to the army— [Num. 1:40]

In regard to the sons of Naphtali—their births by their families, by the house of their fathers, its numbered ones in the number of names by their polls, every male from a son of twenty years and upward, everyone going out to the army— [Num. 1:42]

These [are] those numbered, whom Moses numbered—and Aaron, and the princes of Israel, twelve men, each was for the house of his fathers [Num. 1:44]

This is a testimonial to authority and organization, as we got an accurate census taken of over 600,000 men.

And they are, all those numbers of [lit., all a numbering of] the sons of Israel, by the house of their fathers, from a son of twenty years and upward, everyone going out to the army in Israel; [Num. 1:45]

By the numbers given, this tells us that they had a reasonable arithmetic system, not exactly based upon ten digits, but similar to that; furthermore, it should be obvious that they have rounded these numbers off to the nearest fifty men.

This is the same number given in the Septuagint. The numbers given in the Massoretic text do add up to 603,550, whereas the numbers for the Septuagint do not. All of these men, except for Joshua and Caleb, will die in the desert. The total number of men conscripted for the army is mentioned here, in Num. 2:3–32 and Ex. 12:37, which reads Now the sons of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth—about 600,000 men on foot aside from children. A more exact figure is named in Ex. 38:26, a portion of which is evidently an addendum to that passage. This indicates that every figure throughout these portions of Scripture became corrupted—including the codices—or that they stand unabashedly as simply a very large number of Israelites. Recall that Yahweh had made a promise to Abraham that his seed would be as the sand of the sea and the stars of the heavens—and since Abraham had but one son, God had to take up the slack somewhere.

But the Levites, for the tribe of their fathers, have not numbered themselves in their midst; [Num. 1:47]

This is the first place where we will see that God will treat the Levite differently than the other tribes. This was not the case in the book of Leviticus. The general responsibilities of the Levites will be stated in Num. 3:6: "Bring the tribe of Levi near and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may serve him."

Just as in the Book of Leviticus, Yahweh speaks directly to Moses. In the book of Numbers, also a neglected book of the Bible, this particular phrase or one like it occurs over 150 times in 20 different ways. As the NIV Study Bible says, from Num. 1:1 to the last verse, Num. 36:13, this book is filled with direct quotations from God spoken to Moses.

"Only the tribe of Levie you will not number, and you will not take their census in Israel [lit., their heads you will not take up in the midst of the sons of Israel]; [Num. 1:49]

The reason why God is numbering those in Israel, but not numbering the Levites is the Levites will not be involved in the war other than on a spiritual level. The other sons of Israel were numbered because they will be going to war against the cancerous heathen in the land.

"And you are to authorize [or, appoint] the Levites over the tabernacle of the testimony, and over all its articles [or, vessels], and over all that it has; they will bear [or, carry] the tabernacle, and all its articles [or, vessels], and they serve it; and round about the tabernacle, they encamp. [Num. 1:50]

As you will recall, the tabernacle was a temporary tent and the articles of furniture were all desgined so that they could be carried. The Levites were the ones authorized by God to do the moving of the furniture. Their camping about the tabernacle was to guard it. Since the tables of the Law were kept inside the ark, which was inside the tabernacle, this structure became known as the tabernacle of the testimony.

The Law was kept in the Ark of the covenant, and it would be reasonable to assume that Levites were also used to make copies of the Law, as well as to make copies of other documents and other literature. See the Doctrine of the Levites—not finished yet!

"And in the journeying of the tabernacle, the Levites take it down, and in the encamping of the tabernacle, the Levites raise it up; and the stranger who is coming near is put to death." [Num. 1:51]

Here the specific responsibilities of the Levites is given; also, a prohibition of the contact of Gentiles with the tabernacle. In order to have fellowship with God, you must be born again. There is no relationship with God apart from being regenerated. In those days, that meant becoming a Jew. However, in this context, the stranger is anyone who is not a Levite. The Israelites, due to the holiness of God and their own natural depravity, could not approach the tabernacle except as specified in their sacrifices and offerings.

And the sons of Israel have encamped each by his camp, and each by his standard, by their armies. [Num. 1:52]

Chânah (ה ָנ ָח ) [pronounced khaw-NAW] properly means to incline; it is used primarily to pitch a tent, to encamp. This word was used in the past three verses: the Levites were to encamp (Qal imperfect—the Qal is the normal stem of a verb and the imperfect looks at the action of the verb as unfinished or in progress) about the tabernacle; the tabernacle itself is pitched (or, setup) (Qal infinitive—the infinitive is similar to our infinitive where the verb is preceded by to); and the sons of Israel have pitched their tents (Qal perfect—the action is looked upon as one event or as an event or action having been completed) near their tribe, near the standard, or the flag of their tribe.

And the Levites encamp round about the tabernacle of the testmony and there is no wrath on the company of the sons of Israel, and the Levites will keep charge [or, will take custody, or will take the responsibility] of the tabernacle of the testimony. [Num. 1:53]

Encamp is in the Qal imperfect. The Levites camping about the tabernacle are a protection that Yahweh does not bring His wrath down upon the Israelites. There is a play on words which we do not see in my English renderings; it could read: and the Levites will guard what is to be guarded; this is the Qal perfect of shâmar (ר ַמ ָש ) [pronounced shaw-MAHR], which means guard, keep, watch, preserve; and mish'mereth (ת ∵רמ ׃ש ̣מ ) [pronounced mish'MEH-reth] and it refers to something which someone has been given charge of or responsibility for. It is that which is guarded or taken charge of. God would designate only certain people to be able to have contact with the tabernacle; everyone else had to only observe.

And the sons of Israel did according to all the Yahweh had commanded Moses; so they have done. [Num. 1:54]

The word for do is ʿâsâh (ה ָ ָע ) [pronounced ģw-SAWH] which means to do, to make, to construct. It is found twice in this verse, first in the Qal imperfect, which describes the individual responsibilities involved in obeying God's Word; and then it is in the Qal perfect which tells us that they had completed God's commands. Recall that they are only a year plus one month out of the land of Egypt and they have seen many miracles and they have seen the execution of several people. They Jews can handle obedience over a short term, but in the long haul, their old sin natures will win out and God will have to strike them down in the desert.

"The sons of Israel will encamp each man [lit. a man] by his standard, with ensigns of the house of their fathers; they will encamp facing from a distance from round about [or, on every side of] the tent of meeting. [Num. 2:2]

Facing from a distance from is the prefixed preposition mîn and the preposition/adverb neged (ד ∵ג ∵נ ) [pronounced NEH-ghed]. Mîn is a preposition which invovles separation and neged means in front of, opposite to, in the sight of. The Levites were to be close to the tabernacle, thus protecting the other Israelites from God's wrath (Num. 1:53); so this short word tells us that the Israelites were to face the tabernacle and camped a distance away from it. We find a similar usage in Gen. 1:16 Deut. 32:52. A more interesting usage of the same combination can be found in Deut. 28:66 and 2Kings 2:15 (spiritual separation or aloofness is the key in these passages).

Each tribe had a ensign or a banner, different from the other tribes; and each trio of tribes had a standard which they rallied around. The ensign was carried at the head of each tribe and possibly for each subdivision of a tribe; the standard was a much larger field sign. We are not told in the Bible what these flags looked like (if they were flags; however, they were probably more similar to Egyptian standards than our modern flags. Egpytian standards were made of wood and/or metal and the top was shaped like some sacred entity. Freeman gives us some various pictures in his books and at the end of a stick there might be a carved bird or an animal, the head of a Pharaoh or some other symbol.

Jewish tradition, which is not always correct (and rarely has a basis in Bible doctrine) has it that each banner was the color of whatever stone on the high priest's breastplate represented that particular tribe. I don't particularly but that nor is it important, as it is not covered in the Bible. There is also a tradition the the standard fo Judah had the figure of a lion on it; Reuben the figure of a man; Ephraim, the figure of an ox; and Dan, the figure of an eagle (to correspond with Ezek. 1:10 and Rev. 4:7). This is more reasonable and satisfying than the first tradition, but, again, has no basis in fact

The direction of God in our lives is pervausive. It encompasses every portion of our lives. For a new Christian, this is frightening, and for those who are unsaved, it might even put you off. However, God's desire for us is the absolute best and he works in every aspect of our lives. Here he organizes the way that the Israelites will camp. Up until this time, they have just been traveling as a huge swath of men, women and livestock in a width of several miles without any sort of real organization. For our God is not God of confusion...let all things be done properly and in an orderly manner (I Cor. 14:33a, 40b).

"And those encamping eastward towards the sun-rising [are] the standard of the camp of Judah, by their companies [lit., armies]; and the prince of the sons of Judah [is] Nashon, son of Amminadab; [Num. 2:3]

This chapter will be very much like the portion of the previous chapter which was very repetitious. Yahweh will position these men around the camp. You would expect the leading division to be Reuben, as he was the first-born, but it is Judah. "Judah, your brothers will praise you; you hand will be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons will bow down to you. Judah is a lion's whelp; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He bows down, he lies down as a lion; and as a lion, who [dares] wake him up? The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet until Shiloh comes, and to him will be the obedience of the peoples." (Jacob speaking to his sons in Gen. 49:8–10). Reuben was the eldest and he should have been in the lead of the first division. However, when the brothers plotted against Joseph and were about to kill them, Reuben, as the first-born, should have put a stop to it. He meekly offered that they should not kill Joseph rather than take a stand as a leader (Gen. 37:18–30). The next two oldest, Levi and Simeon, viciously killed every man in a city to avenge the rape of their sister, whereas there was but two guilty parties, the rapist, and his overindulgent father, Shechem (Gen. 34). This left Judah, who, although not perfect (Gen. 38:1–24), he could at least admit to being wrong and he did not continue with his injustice against Tamar (Gen. 38:25–26). What these brothers did, did not determine the future of their tribe; however, it set up a pattern or precedence for their progeny. I know you are wondering about the Levites and how we see this pattern in them...fast forward to the time of our Lord and examine the priests in the gospels—Jesus was persecuted and physically attacked by them on several occasions (Matt. 16:21 Mark 11:27 14:55–56 John 18:19–24). As we have seen, Judah will be the line of Christ.

"And his army, and their numbered ones: 74,600 [lit., four and seventy thousand and six hundred]. [Num. 2:4]

This is the same figure found in Num. 1:27, the population of the men in this tribe who were of draft age.

"And those encamped by him [are] the tribe of Issachar; and the prince of the sons of Issachar [is] Nethaneel, son of Zuar; [Num. 2:5]

"The tribe of Zebulun; and the prince of the sons of Zebulun: Eliab ben Helon; [Num. 2:7]

Notice that the sentence structure is not as repetitive. Judah, Issachar and Zebulun are all sons of Leah.

"All those numbered of the camp of Judah: 186,400 [lit., a hundred thousand, and eighty thousand, and six thousand, and four hundred] by their armies; they journey first. [Num. 2:9]

The wording here makes it even less likely that thousand really means chiefs or clans. Judah will take the lead in most of the movement and most of the wars. Our Lord will come from the tribe of Judah.

"The standard of the camp of Reuben: southward; by their companies [lit., armies]; and the prince of the sons of Reuben: Elizur ben Shedeur; [Num. 2:10]

"And his army, and their numbered ones: 46,500 [lit., six and forty thousand and five hundred]. [Num. 2:11]

"And those encamped by him: the tribe of Simeon; and the prince of the sons of Simeon: Shelumiel ben Zurishaddai; [Num. 2:12]

"The tribe of Gad; and the prince of the sons of Gad: Eliasaph ben Reuel;

[Num. 2:14]

Reuben, Simeon and Gad are grouped together. Reuben and Simeon were sons of Leah and Gad was a son of her handmaid, Zilpah.

"All those numbered of the camp of Reuben: 115,450 [lit., a hundred thousand, and one and fifty thousand, and four hundred and fifty] by their armies; they journey second. [Num. 2:16]

Notice, as has been the pattern, all of those numbered in Reuben, Simeon and Gad are combined and the total checks, as it should. When the Israelites move out, they will move as three divisions, with Judah's triad in front, Reuben's triad second, Ephraim's third and Dan's will be in the rear.

"And the tent of meeting, the camp of the Levites in the midst of the camps as they encamp; so shall they set out each in position standard by standard. [Num. 2:17]

The book of Numbers begins to give the tribe of Levi, a son of Leah, a place in God's plan. They were to surround the tabernacle and protect the surrounding troops from being in too close of contact with a holy and just God. We have become so informal in our thinking about God that some men, seeing our Lord Jesus Christ would go right up to Him and shake His hand and introduce themselves. Maybe they would say a nice thing about our Lord. We have lost sight of the fact that we are corrupt in His sight; our sins caused the worst pain and suffering ever known to man to our Lord; our old sin nature and our personal sins keep us afar from a holy and just God. God is not some namby pamby, sit out on the lawn with all of us holding hands and smelling flowers. He is the perfect God of the universe who demands no less than perfection and our sins sentence us to no better than everlasting torment in separatin from Him. God cannot come into contact with sinful man. The Levites formed a barrier from God's Presence and the Israelite.

"The standard of the camp of Ephraim by their companies [lit., armies]—westward [lit., on the sea-side]; and the prince of the sons of Ephraim: Elishama ben Ammihud; [Num. 2:18]

When compass directions are given, they are always given in terms of Israel. East is often described as the sun rising and west is often described as the sea as the Mediteranean Sea is West of Israel. The word found here is yâm (ם ָי ) [pronounced yawm] and it does not mean west strictly speaking, but sea. We find this word used in Gen. 1:10, 22, 26, 9:2 as well is a half dozen references to compass direction (Gen. 12:8 13:14 28:14 Ex. 10:19 26:22, 27, etc.). Ex. 10:19 has yâm used twice and translated both sea and west. In fact, until 1Chron. 12:15, there is no specific word for west in the Hebrew. However, here, the people have not been in the land and its lay out is unknown to them. This tells us that a great Sea is on their west side for this to make sense to them. West of them is the Gul of Suez, which they have crossed over. They do not realize that east of them is the Gulf of Jordan. Now, God is speaking and God is consistent; therefore, He will refer to that which is on the west by using the word sea. However, this would not have made any sense to the Israelites unless they also had a sea on their western side at this time. One of the unfortunate things when a translation is made to help clarify what is being said is that some things are lost. His helps us place the Jews on the map. Tradition has them on the Sinai Peninsula and this verse is consistent with that.

Ephraim led the division on the West side. Jacob gave precedence to Ephraim over Manasseh (Gen. 48:13–20). But Israel stretch out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh's head, crossing his hands, although Manasseh was the first-born...When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on Ephraim's head, it displeased him; and he grasped his father's hand to remove it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head. And Joesph said to his father, "Not so, my father, for this one is the first-born. Place your right hand on his head." But his father refused and said, "I know, my son, I know; he also shall become a people and he also will be freat. However, his younger brother will be greater than he, and his descendants will become a multititude of nations." Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh (Gen. 48:14, 17–19, 20b).

"And his army, and their numbered ones: 40,500 [lit., forty thousand and five hundred]. [Num. 2:19]

If these numbers are incorrect, it is amazing that we do not have hundreds of contradictory manuscripts.

"And by him: the tribe of Manasseh; and the prince of the sons of Manasseh; Gamaliel ben Pedahzur; [Num. 2:20]

"The tribe of Benjamin; and the prince of the sons of Benjamin: Abidan ben Gideoni; [Num. 2:22]

Jacob was in love with Rachel. He served seven years as a slave, thinking that he was serving this time for her. So Jacob served seven years for Rachel and they seemed to him but a few days because of his love for her (Gen. 29:20); one of the most romantic verses of the Bible. His father-in-law to be deceived him and gave him Rachel's sister instead and they had sex before Jacob realized that she was not Rachel. Jacob served Laban, his evil father-in-law, for another seven years and took Rachel as his second bride. Rachel produced two sons, Joseph and Benjamin and Josephj later had two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. It is Benjamin, Ephraim and Manasseh who form the third division of the Israelite army.

God is very careful to inform us of the census figures. There is a reason for that.

"All those numbered of the camp of Ephraim: 108,100 by their armies; they journey third. [Num. 2:24]

The division is then totaled, not as a check to Moses or Aaron, but as a check for us reading God's Word.

"The standard of the camp of Dan: northward; by their companies [lit., armies]; and the prince of the sons of Dan: Ahiezer ben Ammishaddai; [Num. 2:25]

"And those encamped by him: the tribe of Asher; and the prince of the sons of Asher: Pagiel, ben Ocran; [Num. 2:27]

"The tribe of Naphtali; and the prince of the sons of Naphtali; Ahira ben Enan; [Num. 2:29]

	Asher	Dan	Naphtali

Manasseh	Levi			Issachar
	Levi		Levi
Ephraim		The Tabernacle		Judah

Benjamin		Levi		Zebulun

	Gad	Reuben	Simeon

This shows the positioning of the troops around the tabernacle

"All those numbered of the camp of Dan: 157,600 by their armies; they journey second. [Num. 2:31]

Again, God provides us with a checking figure, rubbing our noses in the fact that there were over 600,000 men in the army of Israel, and over two million Jews that God guided through the desert, an extraordinary miracle.

"The are those numbered of the sons of Israel by the house of their fathers; all those numberdd of the camps by their armies: 603,550. [Num. 2:32]

Again, this figure matches the one from Num. 1 and is a sum of the four divisions of Israel's army.

"And the Levites have not numbered themselves in the midst of the sons of Israel, as Yahweh had commanded Moses. [Num. 2:33]

"And the sons of Israel did according to all that Yahweh commanded Moses; so they have encamped by their standards, and so they have journeyed, each by his families by the house of his fathers. [Num. 2:34]

The Israelites went from total disarray wandering through the desert to a very orderly camp, which is quite impressive for a group of this size. For all intents and purposes, they have been a mob (witness the golden calf incident or the murmuring prior to the water coming from the rock). Our armed forces have found out that the first step in molding a fighting unit out of a bunch of undisciplined, egocentric young men, is to first instill discipline and orderliness.

You may be wondering throughout this chapter why was this recorded. It is fine that God wanted the sons of Israel to assemble in a certain way and group together in a certain way, but why the repetitive details? Why number the four divisions? Why even name the number of men if this has already been done in the previous chapter? Whereas this is certainly not anyone's favorite passage, it shows us that God has a specific plan for our lives to which we must adhere for blessing. There are no alternatives and the Christian life is not a seat of the pants experience. God has a direct will within which we will find our greatest earthly blessing. Often what is emphasized in teh Christian life is what we cannot do and how much fun we are missing. What is missed is that in following God's Word, we enter into the greatest earthly life that we can have. God gives us His very best here on earrth and then gives us even greater blessings in eternity. However, I have strayed fromthe questions which I raised. What is most important is that we have some checks and balances to the numbers found in Num. 1. God knew that during our time period, many authors and many Christian men would take issue with the numbers presented in the first chapter of Numbers. However, we are given even more checks and balances in this chapter. They are groups by three's and those populations are summed; then the final summation comes at the end. Furthermore, we will have a census of the next generation and it will be reasonable, considering the numbers that we have here. God is telling us that he has done the impossible. He has fed and protected and guided over two million people in the desert between Egypt and Israel, a miracle which is as great as those which accompanied the exodus from Egypt. God knew there would be skepticism so he just rubbed it in verse after verse. Each verse has more men than human viewpoint scholars would like to see, but these people were sustained in the desert beause God is able. We have an analogous situation in the first chapter of Genesis. So there is no confusion as to the time period alluded to, over and over in Genesis we have a literal 24-hour day presented repetitively in language that can only be understood to mean six literal days. Those who hold to the day--age theory skim that chapter lightly, as those who hold to the various theories concerning a small population here skim the verses lightly.

Introduction: Num. 3 covers the Levite tribe, their genealogy and their background.

And this is the genealogy of [lit., these are the generations of] Aaron and Moses in the day of Yahweh's speaking with Moses near mount Sinai: [Num. 3:1]

Tôwl^edâh (ה ָד ׃ל ) [pronounced to-L'DAWH] means generations and usually refers to the account of a man and his descendants (as BDB puts it). The writer is not the person at the top of the list, but he is often either at the end of the list or he is the second to the last. In the book of Genesis, the author generally began with a far ancestor and worked his way down to himself. Genealogy is a good modern translation (Young uses the word births). We are used to seeing the emphasis upon Moses and when Moses and Aaron are named in Scripture, Moses comes first. However, in v. 2, we will examine the line of Aaron, so he takes precedence in this verse.

This is a title of sorts, one which we have seen repeated several times throughout the book of Genesis. What this often connoted was there was a new author and he was about to cover his own genealogical information which would end with himself or with his sons.

And these [are] the names of the sons of Aaron: the firs-born [was] Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar; [Num. 3:2]

You will notice that for the past book plus two chapters, we have been reading one long extended quote from God to Moses or to the people of Israel. It was certainly given over various points in time for the past several weeks and now Moses records some personal information. This begins in this verse and continues in v. 17.

These

[are] the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed priests, whom he ordained as priests [lit., whose hand he has filled to function as a priest]. [Num. 3:3]

When one receives a responsibility or is ordained into an office, this is spoken of as filling one's hand. The last word is the verb cognate for the noun priest; we have no easy way to translate this word except to perform the duties of a priest, to function as a priest, to perform priestly functions. Just bear in mind that is one word.

And Nadab died—Abihu also [lit., and Abihu]—before the face of Yahweh, in their approaching with strange fire before Yahweh, in the desert of Sinai, and sons they had not; and Eleazar—Ithamar also—acts as priest before the face of Aaron, their father. [Num. 3:4]

Moses has written an awful lot of material and realizing that one may just pick up this portion of God's Word in the middle and begin reading, Moses gives a brief history of what happened to the first two sons of Aaron (Lev. 10:1–2).

"Cause the tribe of Levi to approach and cause it to stand before Aaron, the priest, and they will serve him. [Num. 3:6]

Aaron only had two sons and there was far too much to do with the sacrifices to think about doing anything else. They did not have the time to move the articles of furniture and the rest of the tabernacle. Therefore, God will assign certain responsibilities to the Levites. There is a great many things about the Levite tribe in this book and this book ought to have been named Leviticus.

"And they will guard his commission and [the] commission of the whole congregation before the face of the tent of meeting to serve [or, work] the labor of the tabernacle. [Num. 3:7]

We have a pair of cognates here; they will guard his guarding, and to serve the service or to work the work of the tabernacle is what is actually said in the Hebrew. All of Israel had a responsibility before Yahweh—they may not have known the full extent of it quite yet, but they did have spiritual responsibilities as well as the sons of Aaron had specific spiritual responsibilitities and the Levites were to assist in these. These will be specified:

"And they will take responsiblitiy for [lit., keep or guard] all the furniture [lit., vessels] of the tent of meeting, and the responsibility [or, charge] of the sons of Israel to labor in the labor of the tabernacle. [Num. 3:8]

Again we have a general and a more general responsibility: they are to take charge or take responsibility of the furniture of the tabernacle. That is, it will need to be cleaned, moved, repaired, etc., and they are to see to those responsibilities. In doing so, they will be doing the work of the tabernacle.

"And you will give the Levites to Aaron and to his sons; in their being given, they are given to him.

[Num. 3:9]

We have a repetition of the verb for give, set, place both times in the masculine plural, Qal passive participle. The Qal is the common stem; the passive voice means that God places them before Aaron or gives them to Aaron. They repetition of the verb means that this is a solemn gift of great importance. "And observe that I, even I have taken your brothers the Levites from among the sons of Israel; they are a gift to you, given to Yahweh, to perform the service for the tent of meeting." (Num. 18:6). We will see more spiritual responsibilities dropped into the lap of the Levites in Numbers 4 and Deut. 17 and 31. In Deut. 31, we will review the responsibilities of the Levites.

You may be wondering why did God choose the Levites; why not the tribe of Judah or Issachar? Ex. 32:25–29 reads: Now when Moses saw that the people were out of control—for Aaron had let them got out of control to be a derision among their enemies; then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, "Whoever is for Yahweh, to me!" And all the sons of Levi gathered together to him. and he said to them, "Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, 'Every man put his sword upon his thigh and go back and forth from gate to gate in the camp and kill every man his brother, and every man his friend and every man his neighbor.' " So the sons of Levi did as Moses instructed and about 3000 men fell that day. Then Moses said, "Dedicate yourselves today to Yahweh—for every man has been against his son and against his brother—in order that He may bestow a blessing upon you today."

"And you have appointed Aaron and his sons and they have taken the responsibility of their priesthood; and to the stranger who approaches, he will be executed." [Num. 3:10]

There is a play on words which I do not entirely get. It is this very difficult verb pâqad (ד ַק ָ ) [pronounced paw-KAHD]. This is the verb used for taking a census and ggenerally translated numbered. However, this is also the verb often translated appoint, visit, punish; and these are all meanings from the Qal stem. The Levites did not have to be numbered as they served Aaron and his sons, who had been numbered [appointed] by Moses. As I said, it is there in the Hebrew, but I don't quite grasp precisely what is being said.

As for the execution of the stranger; this is not just for the non-Jew. No one but the priest could come into the temple. Being able to come to God is an act of mercy. However, there were strict rules and regulations set up in order to present God's holiness and righteousness and ceremonies which clearly revealed the gospel of Jesus Christ to anyone who was positive toward God at God-conciousness. Those who feel that God is their best friend or that He overlooks their shortcomings out of love is confused as to Who and What God is. Just as the Jews could not approach God directly, neither can we. Our approach to Godis done only in the power of the Holy Spirit through our Lord Jesus Christ. There is no worship in whatever way you feel is correct and God will bless your sincerity—it was God's way or no way at all, and His policy has not changed.

This remained God's policy even beyond the need for the tabernacle (which became a temple). Only the priests could enter into the Holy Place and only the High Priest, once a year, was allowed into the Holy of Holies. None of the disciples went into the sanctuary, nor did our Lord (although He would have been qualified). When our Lord taught in the temple, this would be the temple enclosure. As The Amplified Bible points out, the Greek word used is always the outer area (hieron) and never the sanctuary (naos). Our Lord, at His death, entered into the true Holy of Holies, the throne room and Presence of God.

There is one time in God's Word where a king attempted to enter into the Holy Place; King Uzziah attempted to go into the sanctuary in order to burn incense to God. Eighty priests forced him out and he became a leper for this transgression (I1Chron. 26:16–21).

The Levites were to surround the tent of meeting. They were the only one authorized in the service to the tabernacle. Only the priests could go into the tabernacle. There was to be absolutely no contact between the sons of Israel and any part of the tabernacle or its furniture. They could at best come into the courtyard and observe what was being done. What a marvelous picture of our salvation. All the work was done by Aaron, his sons and the Levites—just as all of our salvation was provided for us by God the Son. Everything for our lives on earth have been provided for us by God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. They have given to us a whole host of angels as guardian angels, our wall of fire, a protection that is about every single one of us. The Israelites could bring a lamb or a goat without spot and without blemish, as we come to God in Christ. Then the Jew could at best, just observe as this aimal is slaughtered before him. Again, the incredible shadow presented here. It was the Jews, the corrupt, unregenerate Judas, along with the chief priests and the elders of the people (Matt. 26:47b), who came and seized our Lord and brought him before the various courts to be tried and executed. Aaron, who is in charge, is analogous to God the Father; he is the spiritual head of the tent of meeting. One of his two sons kills the sacrifice, putting his hand on its head and identifying with it—analogous to our Lord Jesus Christ. The second son is there doing work which we do not see—analogous to God the Holy Spirit. The Levites, a great number of people, were responsible themselves for taking care of a great many things which we do not see—analogous to the ministering angels given us by God. The Jews who day after day bring forward the sacrifices represent both the sinner coming to God with nothing but the sacrifice of our Lord in his hand; and also representative of the unregenerate Jews who seized our Lord and brought him to be crucified.

"Observe, I, even I have taken the Levites from the midst of the sons of Israel instead of every first-born opening a womb among the sons of Israel, and the Levites have been mine. [Num. 3:12]

Prior to this, the first-born had been set apart to God: "Set aside to Me every first-born, the first offspring of every womb among the sons of Israel, both of man and beast; it belongs to Me." (Ex. 13:2). This is because God struck down every first-born of Egypt. This was a substitution; God paid for every first-born of Israel with the death of the first-born of Egypt. See also Ex. 11:4–5 12:21–29 13:11–16. The substitution of one for another is a major theme in Old Testament Scripture.

Those who will serve as ministering saints to God are the Levites, taken from among the Jews. Recall that previously, the Jews were a disorganized mob which God had recently organized and from out of this disorganized mob, He pulled out the Levites to serve Him, as the believers are taken out of this world. We are in a mob which we are taken out of by God. This is the mob of the unregenerates in the world and we are thoroughly mixed in with them, insofar as the world sees. In fact, many believers lives do not even begin to reveal a separation. However, we are pulled out to serve our Lord, rather than those who would be the pre-emminent, the first-born. We are all a family, brothers, as the family of the Levites—called to serve God.

"For every first-born is mine. In the day of My striking every first-born in the land of Egypt, I have sanctified to Myself every first-born in Israel, from man to beast; they are Mine; I [am] Yahweh." [Num. 3:13]

Jesus Christ, when He slaughtered the first-born of the Egyptians, in this sacrifice, He set aside the first-born of Israel for Himself. You are not your own, for you have been bought with a price; therefore, glorify God in your body (I Cor. 6:19b–20). God has paid a fair price for each of the first born of the Israelites—a first-born for a first-born. When our Lord died for our sins, His death was far more painful than we could ever imagine as He took upon Himself the sins of all of us from Adam down to the last sinner in the millennium. See the Doctrine of the Firstborn.

God is no longer speaking to Moses near Mount Sinai but in the desert region of Sinai, which means that the mountains should be far out of view.

""Number the sons of Levi by the house of their fathers, by their families; every male from a son of a month [in age] and upward you will number them." [Num. 3:15]

So this is after they have begun their forced march, as they are now in the desert of Sinai. Number is the same word used for visit, punish, appoint. Here, a census is being taken of the Levites.

And Moses numbered them according to the word of Yahweh, as he had been commanded. [Num. 3:16]

And these are the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari. [Num. 3:17]

We have this information in the records of Genesis (Gen. 46:11) and Exodus (Ex. 6:16–25). Moses has already traced his lineage back in Exodus. This is done so that the various tribes of Levi could be separated.

And these [are] the names of the sons of Gershon by their families: Libne and Shemei. [Num. 3:18]

And the sons of Kohath, by their families [are] Amram and Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel. [Num. 3:19]

And the sons of Merari by their families [are] Mahli and Mushi; there are the families of the Levites by the house of their fathers . [Num. 3:20]

Of Gershon [is] the family of the Libnite, and the family of the Shimite; ther are the families of Gershonite. [Num. 3:21]

The purpose of recalling the family line is so that the Levites can be counted and organized as each family will have its own function and place to be.

Their numbered ones, in number, every male from a son of a month and upward, their numbered ones [are] 7500. [Num. 3:22]

The families of the Gershonite, behind the tabernacle, do encamp westward [lit., toward the sea]. [Num. 3:23]

When it comes to their position with regard to thee tabernaclee, theey will be on the westward, sea side. By this we know they have traveled past the Gulf of Suez but they could not sea the Gulf of Aqaba (which would be to the east or to the southeast).

And the prince of a father's house for the Gershonite [is] Eliasaph ben Lael. [Num. 3:24]

Eliasaph means God gathers and Lael means [belonging] to God. Eliasaph is obviously not the same Eliasaph that we saw in Num. 1:14 and 2:14; That Eliasaph was also chosen as a great leader, but he was the son of Deuel (or, Reuel) in the Gaddite tribe.

And the responsibility of the sons of Gershon in [lit., out of] the tent of meeting: the tabernacle, and the tent, its covering

and the veil at the opening of the tent of meeting; [Num. 3:25]

Our second Eliasaph was in charge of the tabernacle coverings, the curtains fo the court and the main altar. There was a curtain at the entrance to the courtyard (Num. 4:26); at the entrance of the tabernacle itself (Num. 4:25); and between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies (Num. 4:5). The tribe of Gershon was responsible for these coverings.

And the hangings of the court and the veil at the opening of the court, which [is] by the tabernacle and by the altar round about, and its cords, in regard to all its service. [Num. 3:26]

This family took the responsibility of the care of these items and the protection of them when moved.

And of Kohath, the family of the Amramite, and the family of the Izharite, and the family of the Hebronite, and the family of the Uzzielite; these are the families of the Kohathite. [Num. 3:27]

In number, all the males from a son of a month and upward: 8600—keeping the responsibility of the sanctuary. [Num. 3:28]

With the lack of verbs, this reads more like a list than prose. Moses in this verse records the census result and their general function with respect to the tabernacle. The Septuagint reads 8300 here and 8300 is the proper amount needed so that the total would be 22,000. This is one of the very few places where the minority of manuscripts support a number which is incorrect. Likely this was a copiest error.

The families of the sons of Kohath encamp by the side of the tabernacle southward. [Num. 3:29]

And the prince of a father's house for the families of the Kohathites: Elizaphan ben Uzziel. [Num. 3:30]

Elizaphan means God of treasure (or, possibly, God has protected) and Uzziel means strength of God (recall that El means God).

And their responsibility: the ark and the table and the candlestick and the altars and the furniture [lit., vessels] of the sanctuary with which they serve, and the veil and all its service. [Num. 3:31]

The general statement was in v. 28 and the more specific duties, or responsibilities, are listed here. They are responsible for the articules of furniture within the tabernacle.

And the prince of the princes of the Levites: Eleazar ben Aaron, the priest: the oversight of those who perform the duties of the sanctuary [lit., the keepers of the charge—or, guardians of the responsibility—of the sanctuary]. [Num. 3:32]

A prince of princes (or, a chief of chiefs), where a noun in the Hebrew is repeated in the genative plural, is an expression of a very emphatic superlative. There is no superlative in the Hebrew, so it is often expressed using a figure of speech like this, known technically as a polyptoton [pronounced po-LYP-to-ton].

The Levites will not have four chiefs over them, but one, to whom the four chiefs will report. We have a God of order and authority. Aaron's son will assume that authority. At this point I do not know how old this son is, however, Aaron is approximately 85, so this son is probably between 40-60 years of age.

Of Merari, the family of the Mahlite, and the family of the Mushite—these [are] the families of Merari. [Num. 3:33]

Ex. 6:19. We have the interesting figure of speech here: an epanadiplosis [pronounced EP-an-a-di-PLO--sis], which where we have the same word at the beginning and the end of a sentence. What is implied is a complete circle, which in this case draws attention to the completeness of the statement.

And their numbered ones, in number, all the males from a son of a month and upward: 6200. [Num. 3:34]

Note that the population of the Levites, even combined, is among the lowest of the the populations of the other tribes. The other tribes numbered the males who were twenty years and older; these are males who are a month old or older. The reason this numbering is done is that these men are not being numbered for war but for service to yahweh, which can begin at any age beyond the age of accountability (and training prior to that is a must, as we will see).

And the prince of a father's house for the families of Merari: Zuriel ben Abihail; by the side of the tabernacle they encamp northward. [Num. 3:35]

Zuriel means rock of God and Abihail means father (or, possessor) of might. Zuriel is mentioned only here in God's Word.

And the oversight—the responsibility of the sons of Merari: the boards of the tabernacle, and its bars and its pillars and its sockets and all its vessels and all its service; [Num. 3:36]

So that we understand here, every tribe and every subdivision had a specific function, a specific part to play in God's plan. Today, we all have specific functions and a specific plan for our lives, found only by being filled with the Holy Spirit, remaining in fellowship and studying God's Word (and not on our own).

And the pillars of the court round about and their sockets and their pins and their cords. [Num. 3:37]

Someday I will know—when I am in heaven—why those who set up the verses would stop midway in a sentence, midway in a thought, and then finish it in the next verse.

	Asher	Dan	Naphtali

Manasseh	Merari			Issachar
	Gershon		Moses, Aaron and Aaron's sons
Ephraim		The Tabernacle		Judah

Benjamin		Kohath		Zebulun

	Gad	Reuben	Simeon

This shows the positioning of the Levite families around the tabernacle

And those encamping before the tabernacle eastward, before the tent of meeting at the east: Moses and Aaron and his son, keeping the responsibility of the sanctuary for the responsibility of the sons of Israel, and the stranger who approaches is executed. [Num. 3:38]

Again, the stranger is anyone outside of the Levite tribe. The eastward side, or the side of the sun rising, is the most honored place, in general. This reasonably belongs to Moses and Aaron and also to the tribe of Judah, which would produce King David, King Solomon and our Lord Jesus Christ.

All those numbered of the Levites whom Moses numbered—Aaron also

—by the command of Yahweh, by their families, every male from a son of a month and upward: 22,000. [Num. 3:39]

This means that there were probably 10,000-15,000 males who were of age 20 and above.

And Yahweh said to Moses, "Number every first-born male of the sons of Israel from a son of a month and upward, and make a list of their names [lit., take up the number of their names]. [Num. 3:40]

"And you have taken the Levites for Me—I Yahweh—instead of every first-born among the sons of Israel and the cattle of the Levites, instead of every firstling among the cattle of the sons of Israel." [Num. 3:41]

The Levites were to be in place of the first-born, which belonged to God. The Levites would belong to God instead. God has paid for the first-born of Israel, which in turn paid for the Levites.

And Moses numbered, as Yahweh had commanded him, all the first-born among the sons of Israel. [Num. 3:42]

And all the first-born—male—by the number of names, from a son of a month and upward, of their numbered ones, are 22,273. [Num. 3:43]

This is the first exact figure which was taken and you will note that there are just enough Levites to stand in the steads of the first-born. We should exmaine some numbers now: if, say, 200,000 of the men of the 600,000 are married and have children, then the number for first-born would reasonably be between 20,000 and 60,000. If a higher number of men are married, that would increase these figures. Well, this is going to cause us some problems with the large population of the Israelites. Under any one of the theories proposed, this number of first-born would have been far too large. However, if you read this carefully, the number of first-born being 20,000 would appear to be too small. This would mean that each family would average ten children, which is excessive at this point. The key here is that the sanctification of the first-born did not occur until Ex. 13:1–2; prior to that, the first-born were not set aside to God. So from that point on, the first-born belonged to Yahweh. This gives us a great many births between Ex. 13 and now (less than two years later). This may not be too large a number; this means that for a period of less than two years, 1 out of 30 men age twenty or above, got married, or were recently married, and they sired their first-born since the Exodus. The population of Israel had grown had a good rate during their persecution; this probably leveled off with the tremendous pressures put upon them by the Egyptian Pharaohs, and this sudden freedom probably blossomed into many marriages and first-born children. This is not too unlike the baby boomer generation of the United States which generated a tremendous populatoin growth immediately following World War II.

Alfred Eldersheim in his book Bible History Old Testament, points out that you cannot judge past population figures by present growth. He gives the example of Austria that, in 1851, saw roughly one marriage for every ten people; which country in 1854, had less than one marriage per 100 people.

He also gives the example of England increasing in population by a million in the space of three years, whereas, during the same time period, the number of marriages decreased by 11, 000.

I am beginning to think that not only did the worst translators get assigned to Leviticus and Numbers, but the very worst guys when it came to dividing up verses.

"Take the Levites instead of every first-born among the sons of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle; and the Levites have been Mine—I [am] Yahweh. [Num. 3:45]

The Levites are kept alive as an even trade for every first-born, just as our Lord was raised again and stands as a perfect substitute for our deserving death uponm the cross.

"And those ransomed of the 273 (who are more than the Levites) of the first-born of the sons of Israel; [Num. 3:46]

There are an excess of first-born sons who are not covered by the Levitical population. There were 22,000 Levites (Num. 3:39) and 22,273 firstborn (Lev. 3:43). Therefore, God required Israel to pay a ransom for the excess of 273 men.

"You will take five shekels each by the poll—by the shekel of the sanctuary you will take; twenty gerahs the shekel; [Num. 3:47]

A gerah is approximately 1/40th of an ounce, making a shekel about ½ an ounce (other sources read 4/10ths of an ounce).

Yahweh will not ignore this disparity. Similarly, every sin that we have ever committed and will commit was paid for on the cross. God did not allow a single sin to go without being paid for.

"And you will give the money to Aaron and to his sons, whereby those over and above are ransomed." [Num. 3:48]

And Moses took the ransom money from those over and above those ransomed by the Levites; [Num. 3:49]

God requires an exact accounting for every last person. This 273 first-born which were not redeemed man-for-man by the Levites, were redeemed with silver at five shekels each.

From the first-born of the sons of Israel he took the money, 1365 [shekels] by the shekel of the sanctuary. [Num. 3:50]

The Levites were taken as God’s firstborn, instead of the firstborn from every family, as a tribe dedicated to Him. Num. 3:12, 45, 50 The close association with the number of Levites as compared to the number of firstborn was to indication (1) that redemption was involved in setting apart the firstborn; (2) setting apart the Levites as firstborn was analogous to God setting apart Jesus as His firstborn; and (3) the redemption had to be exactly the right amount. Jesus could not just go and suffer on the cross for awhile, and that would do the trick; He had to pay for the sins of all mankind.

And Moses gave the money of those ransomed to Aaron and to his sons, according to the word [lit., mouth] of Yahweh, as Yahweh had commanded Moses. [Num. 3:51]

Introduction: Num. 4 deals even more specifically with the duties of the Levites; primarily it covers their responsibilities in a move.

Again, this is a direct quote from God. Whoever developed the idea of a red-lettered edition of the Bible did not take it far enough.

"Take up a numbering [lit., a head count] of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi by their families and their fathers' houses; [Num. 4:2]

Rôʾsh (ש אֹר ) [pronounced roshe], as we have seen, means shake, and it generally means head count, as an idiom, although it is used in several other ways. Initially, you should be confused; didn't we just take a census of the sons of Kohath? However, the key here is that this is an unfinished sentence.

"From a son of thirty years and upward, even till a son of fifty years, everyone going in to the service [lit., army], to do the work in the tent of meeting. [Num. 4:3]

The word here used for service is the same one used for the men entering the armed forces. The Levites are entering into a spiritual battle, the likes of which we learn from God's Word, but will never completely appreciate until we are face to face with the Lord.

This is to the Levites: from twenty-five years old and upward they will enter to perform service in the work of the ten of meeting; but at fifty years they will retire from service in the work and not work any more (Num. 8:24–25). Apparently between ages twenty-five and thirty, the Levites went through an apprentice program of sorts.

"This [is] the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting, the holy of holies: [Num. 4:4]

This will be a list of the services that they will perform, primarily with respect to the moving of the tabernacle. The Kohathites have one of the most sacred positions of responsibility—they will be handling the furniture of the Holy Place and from the Holy of Holies. However, they are not to touch it directly (v. 15) or even look at it (v. 20); or they will be executed by God. The Kohathites were under the direct supervision of Aaron and his sons, who would help to keep them from violating God's holiness.

There is a continual emphasis in the Old Testament on the absolute holiness of God and the fact that man can have no direct contact with God. Those who claim to have a casual, friendly relationship with God the Father or with Jesus Christ have not read the Scriptures and do not realize how painfully sinful we are in the light of His perfection.

"And Aaron will go in and his sons when the camp is to set out; and they will take down the veil of the hanging and have covered with it the ark of the testimony. [Num. 4:5]

The weil hanging between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies is used to cover the ark.

"And they will put on it a covering of animal skin, and they will spread

a garment completely of blue [possibly, violet] above, and have placed its poles. [Num. 4:6]

We do not know really what kind of a skin is being talked about here. Various translations use badger or dolphin; so you can see there is no real agreement. The poles being placed are those poles which are used in order to carry the ark. The idea here is simple: the Ark represents Jesus Christ, and what was seen of the Ark, the gold plating, represented His deity. Man cannot look directly upon God’s deity, due to man’s inherent sinfulness. Therefore, the Ark had to be covered when it was moved. We have one incident when the Ark was transported on the orders of King David, that one of the men reached out to steady the Ark, and God struck him dead for that irreverence (2Sam. 6:2–7).

"And on the table of the Presence, they will spread a garment of blue [or, possibly violet], and they will place on it the dishes and the spoons and the bowls and the cups of the libation, and the perpetual bread [lit., bread of continuity] is on it. [Num. 4:7]

Qas^ewâh (ה ָו ׃ ַק ) [pronounced ka-S'WAWH] does not mean covers as the KJV has, nor does it mean basins, as implied by The Emphasized Bible; they are simply cups or jugs and this word is found only here and in Ex. 25:29 37:16 1Chron. 28:17.

The perpetual bread or the bread of continuity is simply bread which is always there; the bread speaks of fellowship and even though God and Israel are now estranged, there is a place in God's plan for every single Israelite, both now and in the future. Furthermore, this fellowship with the nation Israel will be restored in the future when Israel returns to the Lord Who bought her.

We might go down to the local liquor store and pick up a few boxes in order to pack the breakables; however, they did not have that luxury; therefore, the related items were placed over the garment which was on the table.

"And they will spread over them a garment of scarlet, and have covered it with a covering of animal skin; and the will place its poles. [Num. 4:8]

The first garment, from a practical viewpoint, holds everything in place; and the animal (of whatever kind) skin, holds everything in place as sort of a ballast. These things which are holy are surrounded by a cloth of blue, which speaks of the third heaven; by a cloth of scarlet, speaking of our Lord's blood; and an animal skin, speaking of our Lord's sacrifice. The latter two items may seem as though they overlap, but recall in the Lord's supper, we partake both of the body and the blood of our Lord (symbolically).

"And they will take a garment of blue [possibly, violet] and they will cover the candlestick of the lamp, and its lights, and its snuffers, and its snuff-dishes, and all its oil vessels with which they minister to them. [Num. 4:9]

God is very explicit as to how these articles of furniture will be moved. There is no use your best judgement here. It is the same for our lives; there is the correct way to conduct ourselves and the incorrect way. God has a perfect pa=lan for our life and we can fulfill that plan. The only way that we can have complete fulfillment in our lives is through fulfilling His plan for our lives. It is the difference between competing in a sporting event on the sdie of the winning team and watching the game from the bench on the sidelines. Our team will win; there is no doubt about that. We will all share in the glory. However, there will be greater prestige and rewards for those who actually played. They will feel the greatest about our final victory of the Devil and his angels.

"And they will place it and all its utensils [lit., vessels] into a covering of animal skin and they will place it on the carrying frame [or, pole]. [Num. 4:10]

We have a tough word here: môwţ (טמ ) [pronounced mote] and it means wavering, fall. This is found only six times in the Old Testament (Num. 4:10, 12 13:23 Psalm 66:9 121:3 Nahum 1:13). This is apparently a pole used to carry things on, although in the Psalms it refers to stability or possibly dependence and reliance.

"And on the golden altar they are to spread a garment of blue, and they will cover it with a covering of animal skin, and they will place [or, position] its poles. [Num. 4:11]

Each article of furniture was to be covered, partially to keep it from being marred or bruised, and partly to shield it from the Israelites as its holiness was just too great.

"And they will take all the utensils [lit., vessels] of service with which they serve in the sanctuary, and they will place [them] into a garment of blue, and they will cover them with a covering of animal skin, and the will place [them] on the bar. [Num. 4:12]

Like the other items of the sanctuary which are carried, these were also placed between the garments and the skin to be carried in a protective way.

"And they will remove the fat-ashes of the altar and have spread over it a garment [of purple]; [Num. 4:13]

It is the altar that the garment is spread over. This tells us that the altar was a repository for ashes.

"And they will put on it [the garment] all its vessels with which they serve about it, the censers, the hooks and the shovels and the bowls, all the utensils [lit., vessels] of the altar, and they will spread on it a covering of animal skin, and will placed its poles. [Num. 4:14]

To remind you, vessels was an all purpose term; it did stand specifically for bowls and containers, but it was a general designation for anything which was used for the altar (or for any of the other pieces of furniture of the tabernacle).

"And Aaron will finish—and his sons also—covering the sanctuary, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, in the journeying of the camp, and afterward the sons of Kohath will come in to carry [it]; however [lit., and] they do not come into the Holy Place, or they will die; these [things are] the burden of the sons of Kohath in regards to the tent of meeting. [Num. 4:15]

The tenses of the Hebrew language are very difficult to translate consistently as time is not a major concern of the Hebrew tense system. An imperfect tense can be used to describe ongoing past action, present action, or even future action, which is not looked at from an accomplished standpoint. However, the perfect tense, which is usually a completed action, can also stand for an event which is past, present or future. In any case here, the sons of Aaron and their descendants see to the disassembly of the tabernacle before the sons of Kohath move anything.

One portion of this verse may seem awkward—the relative adjective these (referring to the duties enumerated in this passage) and the predicate nominative (as we would know it in the English) of burden, which is in the singular. However, I have added a couple of words to help smooth out the translation.

"And the oversight of Eleazar, son of Aaron, the priest: the oil of the lamp and the spice-perfume, and the present of continuity, and the anointing oil, the oversight of the sanctuary, and in regards to its vessels." [Num. 4:16]

The noun found here is a difficult one: p^equddâh (ה ָ ֻק ׃ ) [pronounced p'kood-DAWH] are the noun cognate for pâqad (ד ַק ָ ) [pronounced paw-KAHD], which we have translated appoint, set, make, committed, laid up, authorize, delegate, designate, number or install. We find p^equddâh used to mean visitation in Jer. 8:12 10:15 and it appears to be a time when God has particular contact with someone, whether it be a positive or a negative visitation (recall the verb is used to visit and to punish in Lev. 18:25 Isa. 13:11 26:14; but also it has been used to visit and to bless or to take care of in Gen. 50:24–25). What appears to be implied here is direct contact with God; so in this context, Eleazar will have direct contact with the items named; that is, they will be under his oversight or under his visitation. Only the High Priest was allowed this kind of contact with the most holy of things here on earth, representing God's perfection and righteousness. Even he, being human, could only enter into that Holy of Holies once a year. He merely represent our Lord, Who is perfect and can draw near to God the Father. It is important to note that all this is merely representative of God's perfection and our inadequacies. This will help us to understand David's transport of the ark in a more casual manner in 2Sam. 6.

The oil speaks of the Holy spirit, the spice-perfume of propitiation and satisfaction with our Lord's work upon the cross; the present of continuity (the bread) is fellowship; the anointing oil is the function of the Holy spirit in a person's life—these things are all the responsibility of the priest, who represents the God-man. A priest is a go between God and man and represents Jesus Christ in that way, Who was indwelt by the Holy Spirit, empowered by the Spirit, Who was in fellowship continually with God the Father; whose death on the cross was a sweet-savor, inasmuch as it brought us all to God.

"You will not cut off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from the midst of the Levites; [Num. 4:18]

I am nonplussed here; why is Moses being told not to cut the Kohathites out of the loop?

"But do this to them and they will live and do not die in their approaching the Holy of Holies; Aaron and his sons will enter, and they will place them, each man in accordance with his service, and to his burden; [Num. 4:19]

This explains v. 18; if the Kohathites just barge into the Holy of Holies, then God will kill them, thus cutting them off from the midst of the Levites. Therefore, there will be a specific procedure which will be followed whenever the Jews break camp.

"And they will not go in to see when the holy thing is swallowed, so that they don't die." [Num. 4:20]

Bâla׳ (ע ַל ָ ) [pronounced baw-LAHĢ] does not mean even for a moment, as some Bibles translate it (RSV and NASB, for instance) but it means engulf, swallow up. We saw this same word used when the seven thin ears of corn swallowed up the seven fat ears in Joseph's dream (Gen. 41:7, 24) and when the earth swallows up the degenerate idolaters in Ex. 15:12. All this means is that the holy things will first be covered by the sons of Aaron before these Levites have anything to do with them.

This is a continuation of the responsibilities and the regulations concerning the Levites.

"Take up the number of the sons of Gershon also they, by the house of their fathers, by their families; [Num. 4:22]

The sub-tribe of the Gershonites are examined next. The they belongs in v. 22, even though it is not found in many of the English translations.

"From a son of thirty years and upward, till a son of fity years, you will number them, everyone who is going in to serve the host [lit., army], to do the service [lit., to serve the service] in the tent of meeting. [Num. 4:23]

The NASB gives another meaning for number here: muster. Moses would be not necessarily counting these Israelites but determining how many they were and delegating certain duties to each set which He interviewed.

The use of the verb and its cognate give great emphasis to these words; it is almost equivalent to the superlative in the Hebrew (even though there is no superlative, strictly speaking, in the Hebrew).

The tribes of the Levites are examined one at a time. Again, spiritual service is equivalent to going to war. We are in a constant warfare against Satan and his angels. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual [forces] or evil in the heavenlies (Eph. 6:12).

"This is the service of the families of the Gershonite, to serve—and for burdens: [Num. 4:24]

"And they will bear the curtains of the tabernacle and the tent of meeting, its covering and the covering of the animal skin, which is on it above, and the veil at the opening of the tent of meetings; [Num. 4:25]

Their responsiblities include primarily the curtains and the coverings for the tabernacle.

"And the hangings of the court, and the veil at the opening of the gate of the court which [is] by the tabernacle, and by the altar round about, and their cords and all the vessels of their service, and all that is made for them—so they will serve. [Num. 4:26]

"By the word [lit., mouth] of Aaron and his sons will be all the service of the sons of the Gershonite in regard to all their burden [or, responsibility] and in all their service; and you have laid a responsibility [or, charge] on them concerning the responsibility [or, charge] of all their burden. [Num. 4:27]

A chain of command is set up where the Gershonites report to Aaron and his sons.

"This is the service of the families of the sons of the Gershonite in the tent of meeting; and their charge [is] by the hand of Ithamar, son of Aaron, the priest. [Num. 4:28]

"The sons of Merari, by their families, by the house of their fathers, you will number them; [Num. 4:29]

This is the third sub-tribe of the Levites which will be counted and given spiritual responsibilities.

"From a son of thirty years and upward even to a son of fifty years will you number them, everyone who is entering into the host [lit., army], to perform the service of the tent of meeting. [Num. 4:30]

Like the other tribes, these are numbered as to their involvement in the service to God.

"And this [is] the responsibility of their burden: of all the service in the tent of meeting; the boards of the tabernacle, and its bars and the pillars, and its sockets [or, bases]; [Num. 4:31]

"Also [lit., and] the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets [or, bases], and their pins, and their cords; [Num. 4:32a]

The Amplified Bible ...and all their accessories for service; and you will assign to them by name the articles which they are to carry [on the march].

The Emphasized Bible ...to the extent of all their articles, to the extent of all they labour,—and by names shall ye put under their care the articles of their charge of burdens.

KJV ...with all their instruments, and with all their service; and by name ye shall reckon the instruments of the charge of their burden.

NASB ...with all their equipment and with all their service; and you shall assign each man by name the items he is to carry.

NIV ...all their equipment and everything related to their use. Assign to each man the specific things he is to carry.

NRSV ...with all their equipment and al their related service; and you shall assign by name the objects that they are required to carry.

Young's Lit. Translation ....of all their vessels, and of all their service; and by name ye do number the vessels of the charge of their burden.

It is a matter of how carefully you want to read this; if you are trying to get the general idea of what is occurring, after reading through the various translation, you have it. All the stuff which is related to the framework of the tent and the court is what they are responsible for; each person will have a specific assignment—specific items which they are responsible for and which they will carry. That is all fairly clear. From the standpoint of a translator, this is kind of a mess because the actual vocabulary is so different and inconsistent with the same words being used elsewhere in the Old Testament.

At the beginning of the sentence, we have the pillars of the court followed by three conjunctions, three nouns and three masculine plural suffixes, meaning the next three things belong to the function of the pillars: their sockets, their pegs and their cords. Then the sentence structure changes and we have the lâmed prefixed preposition (to, for, in regard to), the word for all the noun for vessels (and a masculine plural suffix), a conjunction and lâmed again with the word for all and another noun. This change in sentence structure means that we are now talking not about the pillars or anything to do with the pillars, but this refers backs to the sons of Merari—they are the masculine plural suffix here. So it should read: in regards to all their [the sons of Merari's]....and in regards to their [the sons's of Merari's]...

The first noun in use is specifically vessels; this became an all-purpose word. In the ancient world, a vessel was used for a great many things and it could take all shapes, forms and sizes. Things were stored in vessels, including food, utensils, clothing; vessels were used to carry liquid, to be used to drink from, to be used as food containers for a meal. They had such a wide variety of uses, that anything connected with a particular function in life was grouped under the general title of vessel. It doesn't matter that some of the items alluded to were not themselves vessels; therefore, we have the renderings of accessories, articles, instruments, equipment. You see, a vessel can mean different things depending upon what it is a vessel for. That is, it does not even have to mean specifically something in which you could place water if it is attached to a function which has nothing to do with that. I will translate this word component parts; these are the things they will carry. This word is found twice in the plural at the end of this verse, which is why most translations have the same word repeated. Others translators did not do this purely because it would sound funky to the English ear.

Then we have the same sentence structure (and with regard to all of their...) and the word burden, which, in the Hebrew, is ׳ă^bvôdâh (ה ָדֹב ֲע ) [pronounced ģu^b-vo-DAWH] and it means labour, service. In a more modern vocabulary, we might use load, cargo, freight, payload. It is that which is lifted and carried; however, this refers to the act of service as well as to that which is lifted. In other words, the specific things which the sons of Merari are carrying are covered in Num. 4:31b–32a and this last portion of v. 32 is an all purpose phrase naming that these are the freight and responsibilities of the sons of Merari. Strong’s #5656 & 5647 BDB #715.

At the end of the verse we have a verb which has many applications. It is the Qal imperfect of pâqad (ד ַק ָ ) [pronounced paw-KAHD]. We have looked at this word in the Hiphil, the causative stem, and translated it appoint, set, make, committed, laid up, authorize, delegate, designate, or install. This is the word that we have used in taking a census; we have translated it number. What is being done is that each component part is being assigned or matched to a different person, just as each person was numbered in the census. They are being counted off and assigned a particular piece of freight. This is preceded by the word for name, which is preceded by the prefixed bêyth conjunction, which means in, into, at, by; proximity is

"In regards to all of their [referring to the sons of Merari] component parts [lit., vessels], and with regard to all of their service [or, freight]; and by name you will assign [or number] the component parts [lit., vessels]

of the responsibility of their burden [or, load]. [Num. 4:32b]

Even though what is occurring may seem trivial or unimportant to us, it is still nice to have a correct translation and a reasonable understanding of what is occurring here.

"This is the service [or, responsibility] of the families of the sons of Merari, for all their service, in the tent of meeting, by the hand of Ithamar and Aaron the priest." [Num. 4:33]

This is a summary statement, meaning that we will go onto a slightly different subject, we will go into an overall summary of this chapter or a fulfillment of the directives of Yahweh.

And Moses numbered—and Aaron also, and the leaders of this assembly—the sons of the Kohathites, by their families, and by the house of their fathers. [Num. 4:34]

The imperfect tense for numbering means that Moses took some time to do this census taking; the verb examines this as a process and a continuing action and not as a completed action. This verse tells us it is the Kohathites who are numbered here.

From a son of thirty years and upward, even to a son of fifty years, every one who is entering to to the host [lit. army], for service in the tent of meeting. [Num. 4:35]

This is a reasonable portion of the males to fall between the ages of 30 and 50 given the previous numbers that we have had.

These [are] those numbered of the families of the Kohathite, every one who is serving in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the commandment [lit., mouth] of Yahweh by the hand of Moses. [Num. 4:37]

This tells us what was done, who took the census; that the census was taken as God spoke (meaning not while God spoke but in the manner prescribed by God); and that Moses was in charge.

And those numbered of the sons of Gershon, by their families, and by the house of their fathers; [Num. 4:38]

This short passage is a summary of the census taken of the sub-tribe of Gershon. Notice how they are spoken of slightly differently than the Kohathites. We speak of the families of the Kohathite and the sons of Gershon.

From a son of thirty years and upward, even to a son of fifty years, every one who is entering to to the host [lit. army], for service in the tent of meeting. [Num. 4:39]

This is a reasonable portion of the males to fall between the ages of 30 and 50 given the previous numbers that we have had.

These [are] those numbered of the families of the sons of Gershon, every one who is serving in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the commandment [lit., mouth] of Yahweh. [Num. 4:41]

This tells us what was done, who took the census; that the census was taken as God charged Moses.

And those numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, by their families, by the house of their fathers; [Num. 4:42]

Finally we move to the exact numbers of the sons of Merari; notice that they are named in even a different way than the Kohathites. I don't know how noteworthy that is.

From a son of thirty years and upward, even to a son of fifty years, every one who is entering to to the host [lit. army], for service in the tent of meeting. [Num. 4:43]

This is a reasonable portion of the males to fall between the ages of 30 and 50 given the previous numbers that we have had. This means that the large numbers overall which have been given are probably accurate. From the standpint of human viewpoint, we may not like them, but God's plan does not depend upon human viewpoint.

These [are] those numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the commandment [lit., mouth] of Yahweh by the hand of Moses. [Num. 4:45]

This tells us what was done, who took the census; that the census was taken as God spoke to Moses.

All of those numbered, whom Moses numbered—and Aaron also—, and the leaders of Israel—of the Levites, by their families, and by the house of their fathers; [Num. 4:46]

This is a final summary verse of the census taken overall of the Levites population which fell between the ages of 30 and 50.

From a son of thirty years and upward even to a son of fifty years, every one who is going in to do the work of the service, even the service of burden in the tent of meeting; [Num. 4:47]

By the command [lit., mouth] of Yahweh, he has numbered them, by the hand of Moses, each man by his service and by his burden, with his numbered ones [or, thus they were numbered by him], as Yahweh had commanded Moses. [Num. 4:49]

The last phrase of this verse was translated according to the western Samaritan, the Targum of Jonathan, the Septuagint, the Syriac and the Vulgate codices; in the Masoretic text, this reads: ...thus they were numbered by him were they whom Yahweh command Moses.

Yahweh commanded Moses to number the people and Moses obeyed, delegating the responsibility out as a good leader should do. Furthermore, each man and each group was given their particular responsibilities during the numbering. As we have seen, the word to number can refer to taking a census and it can refer to an assignment of duties.

I ntroduction: In the first portion of Num. 5, we will see certain defiled people removed from the camp of Israel. Then we quickly examine restitution when the person to be compensated is no longer on the scene. Finally, in part II, we will see a test applied to determine whether one has committed adultery or not. These are not necessarily connected in anyway—these are three different topics presented that way. The fact that they are in the same chapter is nothing more than a convenient man-made division, which has been quite helpful, but not necessarily inspired.

A true red-lettered edition of the Bible would just about run out of red ink in Leviticus and Numbers. The parallel passage for the next four verses is Lev. 15:1–33.

"Command the sons of Israel, and they will send out of the camp every leper and everyone with an issue and everyone defiled in regard to the dead body [lit., in regard to the soul]. [Num. 5:2]

According to the NIV Study Bible, these discharges from the body were primarily continual discharges from the sexual organs. This is not merely confined to sexually transmitted diseases, but could also refer to women who are hemorrhaging, as in Luke 8:43–48.

We might look upon this as cruel, but the camp of Israel is illustrative of those who are set aside for Yahweh and the only ones who can be set aside are those who are without spot and without blemish. Everyone else is dismissed from the camp, as they are illustrative of what it means to be lost. The NIV Study Bible called them object lessons. The concept of uncleanness was not left abstract nebulous; but God gave Israel concrete illustrations of uncleanness. Any uncleanness whatsoever, and you are kept from fellowship with God and from God's blessing. In this day and age when so many people claim to visit face to face with Jesus while they are shaving, or visit with God the Son in between watching Lavern and Shirley,

we have totally lost track that God is perfection; God is holy. Contact with God is not some whimsical notion. God does not have any contact with that which is unclean.

The ultimate, if you will, in the realm of uncleanness, was that of a dead body. This is a person whose entire earthly existence has stopped; his internal organs no longer function; his body has run out of energy and has begun to decay. It illustrates the absolutely lost state that we find ourselves in with no way out of this life except death. This is why contact with the dead is considered an act of uncleanness. We are not speaking of punishment here or wrongdoing, but contact which makes one unclean. Just as the entire earth and the entire realm of humanity became unclean due to the sins of Adam and the woman; so now we, as of the earth, are unclean. Our Lord, whose work on the cross cleanses us from all unrighteousness, had contact with the dead, as in the case of the daughter of the synagogue official in Mark 5:41—His contact gave her life instead of making Him unclean, as He that is in us is greater than he that is in the world.

"From male even to female, you [plural] will send out—outside the camp; so that [lit., and] they will not defile their camps in the midst of which I am temporarily dwelling. [Num. 5:3]

We are going to look at a couple of prepositions in the verse and the final verb:

׳Ad (ד ַע) [pronounced ahd] is used in four entirely different ways: it can be a noun which means perpetuity, a noun which means booty, prey, a preposition that means as far as, even to, up to, until, while, and a conjunction that means until, until that, to the point that, so that even. Here is a preposition which clearly states that every single person is subject to this ban from the camp.

Describing where one is sent with regard to the camp is two prepositions. ʾEl (ל ∵א) [pronounced el] and it is a preposition which denotes direction and is often rendered in, into, unto. It is followed by the prefixed preposition mîn (ן ̣מ) [pronounced min], a preposition which denotes separation (away from, out from, out of from). The noun which follows means outside. They are being sent in the direction of the outside of the camp away with everyone else. This is all said by placing these two little prepositions prior to the word outside.

After the first person pronoun, the final verb is the Qal active participle of shâkan (ן ַכ ָש) [pronounced shaw-KAHN], the verbal cognate for our word tabernacle (tent). This is why many translations render this where I tabernacle. God dwelling in the camp of Israel, in the tent of meeting, speaks of fellowship on earth and of an eternal relationship in heaven.

In the Bible, we have distinctions between the sexes—that is the laws are applied differently. We have areas where either the man or the woman is named, but what is covered is applicable to both sexes. And, there are passages like this where it is made clear that uncleanness cuts across sexual lines. So there is no confusion, all males and females alike were cast outside the camp. A marvelous illustration, untouched here but implied: what of the man whose wife is unclean and put outside the camp, yet he loves her? What are his options? He chooses to join her in the area of the unclean outside the camp, just as our Lord Jesus Christ left the throne room of God to pursue His beloved Israel, who is outside the camp through uncleanness.

God's Presence remained with Israel in the tent of meeting, foretelling what would occur in eternity. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the tent of God is among men and He will dwell among them and they will be His people and God Himself will be among them. And He will wipe away ever tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be death; there will no longer be mourning, or crying or pain; the first things have passed away." And nothing unclean and no one who practices abomination and lying will ever come into it [the new Jerusalem], but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life (Rev. 21:3–4, 27).

"And the sons of Israel did so, and they sent them outside the camp; as Yahweh had spoken to Moses, so have the sons of Israel done. [Num. 5:4]

Our often used verb for to do, manufacture, make—׳âsâh (ה ָ ָע) [pronounced ģaw-SAWH]—is found here twice; first in the Qal imperfect tense, referring to a process; and then in the Qal perfect, meaning the action was completed. The rounded up those who were with physical defects, which took time—this is a process; and finally, they were removed from the camp. That was the completed (perfective) action. This in no way means that these persons were unbelievers or that they had no chance of being saved. They played a part in God's plan. We all have a place in God's plan and their was outside the camp to portray God's absolute perfection and holiness.

We covered the doctrine of inspiration back in Genesis; however, it does not get much more inspired than this. There are people who try to draw a connection between v. 4 and v. 5 (and between vv. 10 and 11; however, there is no need for such a relation to exist. This are presented as different periods of time when Yahweh spoke to Moses. Therefore, just because they appear in the same chapter, does not mean they hae to be related or connect, nor is there necessarily a natural segue between these three portions of scripture.

"Speak to the sons of Israel, man or woman, when they do any of the sins of mankind, in regard to acting unfaithfully in unfaithfulness against Yahweh and that person is guilty. [Num. 5:6]

The direct vocabulary of God is sometimes more complex than what I am able to deal with without examining it. There are two different words for man here, the first, with woman, is without the definite article and is therefore rendered by some Bibles as a man or a woman; and the second word for man has the definite article and is more of a generic term. Since it is in the singular, I have gone with mankind. This is a sin which was against another person, which is why it is called a sin of mankind. This is followed by the verb and its cognate, acting unfaithfully and unfaithful. This gives great emphasis upon the transgression.

The Bible so far has already given us a list of transgressions against God. Now we are going to deal with those who have transgressed against Him.

"And they will confess their sin which they have done and he will make restitution [for] his guilt with its principal [lit. full amount], and it fifth is added to it, and he will give it to him in reference to whom he had been guilty. [Num. 5:7]

Confess is the Hithpael perfect of yâdâh (ה ָד ָי) [pronounced yaw-DAWH]. This word is used sparingly to cast or throw when found in the Qal or the Piel;

in the Hiphil, the causative stem, it is used to give thanks (1Chron. 16:4 23:30 Psalm 106:47) and occasionally to confess (1Kings 8:33, 35 Job 40:14—this is usually the infinitive and the imperative), and to praise (Psalm 54:6 76:10 99:3—this is usually in the imperfect tense). Finally, in the Hithpael, which is the reflexive intensive (the reflexive of the Piel stem), it means confess (Lev. 5:5 2Chron. 30:22 Ezra 10:1). In all of these examples, we are throwing something down; we are placing our thanks before Yahweh, we are throwing our confession before Him.

Shûw^bv (בiש) [pronounced shoo^bv] is found over a thousand times in the Old Testament. In the simple Qal stem, it just means to turn back, to return (Gen. 16:9 Josh. 2:23 Judges 15:19); however, in the Hiphil (the causative) stem, it can mean to be caused to return (2Sam. 19:11 2Chron. 6:25), to bring (Gen. 14:16 28:15), or to return something, to restore, to make restitution. (Neh. 5:11 Prov. 24:12 Lam. 3:64).

Obviously what has happened it that the guilty party has defrauded or caused harm to the plaintive, and he is restoring to him what was due plus 20%.

V. 8 is somewhat confusing. It's difficult to tell whether the guilty party is making restitution to a kinsman or whether the kinsman is making restitution on his behalf. The translations read:

The Amplified Bible But if the man [wronged] has no kinsman to whom the restitution may be made, let it be given to the Lord for the priest, besides the ram of atonement with which atonement shall be made for the offender.

The Emphasized Bible But if one have no kinsman unto whom he may make good that wherein he is guilty then that wherein he is guilty, which is to be restored to Yahweh shall be the priest's,—besides the ram of propitiation, wherewith a propitiatory covering is to be put over him.

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Numbers 21	Numbers 22	Numbers 23	Numbers 24	Numbers 25
Numbers 26	Numbers 27	Numbers 28	Numbers 29	Numbers 30
Numbers 31	Numbers 32	Numbers 33	Numbers 34	Numbers 35
Numbers 36
Numbers Introduction

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