Numbers - an Intro

The book of Numbers has always been an interesting name to me and I assumed that it had to do with like the Ten Commandments or something, because those are numbers. I was wrong and apparently the title “Numbers” is only the Christian name for this book and it’s called that because in the first 3 chapters of the book they do a census of the people. The Hebrew name for the book is either “Vayedabber” which means “and He spoke” or, more commonly, “Bemidbar” which means “In the wilderness.” These are so named because Hebrews typically name their written works after the first few words of the text. TB Notes that when the book of Numbers is written, Israel has only been out of Egypt for 1 year which doesn’t seem to be that long of a time considering how much has happened.

The IM notes that “the book does not have many doctrinal discourses, but it gives the necessary understanding to key historical events in the story of the family of Jacob.” It will be interesting to see how long it will take to get through if there isn’t much doctrinal discussion, though it will be interesting to see how much historical context is discussed. There are 36 chapters in Numbers and TB has 36 lectures. For reference, Leviticus has 27 chapters and 42 lectures and Deuteronomy has 34 chapters and 49 lectures, so it might be pretty cut and dry for this book.

The IM says that Numbers convers moving the Hebrews from Mount Sinai to Mount Pisgah which overlooks the promised land of Israel. It also has two censuses, one done initially and then one done after the first generation has died. It covers moving the tabernacle to the new location, why Israel had to wander in the wilderness for forty years, choosing Joshua to lead Israel after Moses, and which lands were given to which tribes.

TB describes Numbers as “one of the most vibrant and informative of all the books in the Bible.” He also notes that, generally, Numbers is divided into 3 sections. The first section is chapters 1-10 “the camp” which covers the census, Levite duties, and how the camp is ordered. The 2nd section is chapters 11-25 called “Narratives of challenge,” also known as the rebellions. It deals with the first 3 rebellions from Israel against God, sending out 12 spies to Canaan, encounters with various other peoples, and then the story of Balaam, “the pagan prophet.” The 3rd section is chapters 26-36 “Preparation for the conquest of Canaan.” This starts after the 40 years of wandering, I think, and starts with another census after the first generation has died, it talks about Holy Days, vow making, some battles, the lay out of the upcoming conquest of the land of Israel.

I have absolutely no idea what to expect with this book so it will be interesting to see how it goes.