Numbers 35-36: On zoning, murder, and women

Numbers 35: Cities for the Levites / Cities of Refuge / Concerning Murder and Blood Revenge
Numbers 36: Marriage of Female Heirs

Cities for the Levites: Numbers 35.1-8
So what of the Levites - where are they to live? Well, their living arrangements in the promised land will actually be not so dissimilar from their living arrangements in the wilderness. That is, they will not have a place to call their own as a whole tribe, but will rather be split up among the tribes of Israel.

The Levites are to be given cities surrounded by pasture land for their livestock. The pasture land should measure 1,000 cubits out from the city in all directions. The Lord then instructs that the land should measure 2,000 cubits to each side outside the city. That establishes two perimeters, one for grazing 1,000 cubits outside of the city, and one for unspecified purposes 2,000 cubits outside of the city.

The Levites are to possess 48 cities in total. Their distribution among the tribes will vary by tribal population: the more people, the more levitical cities. Six of these cities will serve as cities of refuge, which are explained below.

Cities for Refuge: Numbers 35.9-15
The Lord commands that the Israelites are to designate six cities of refuge for those who commit manslaughter (killing another without intention). Anyone who commits manslaughter - Israelite or alien - may flee there and be safe. Three of these cities are to be in Canaan and the other three "beyond the Jordan," which indicates the land of the Reubenites and Gadites (and perhaps Manassites as well). This particular phrase, "beyond the Jordan" as opposed to in Canaan tells the reader that the author lives in Canaan, on the west side of the Jordan.

Concerning Murder and Blood Revenge: Numbers 35.16-34
The next logical section defines what exactly murder is in this society and designates penalties.

The Lord commands that anyone who intentionally bestows a mortal blow with a weapon or bare hands is subject to death. Death will not just come from anyone, but a designated avenger of blood. The avenger of blood will put put the murder to death in blood vengeance, which has its roots in the eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth idea law of Exodus 21.23-25. The biblical author advocates this for intentional murders only. Unintentional death (manslaughter) will be judge by the congregation, pitting the avenger of blood against the slayer. If it is decided the death was the result of an accident, the slayer will be sent to one of the cities of refuge. The phrasing here is important. The slayer does not flee to the city of refuge, as indicated in the above section. Rather, the person is sent there by the congregation. Therefore there is still a sense of punishment, as the congregation sentences the slayer to life in the town, rather than allowing the slayer to claim sanctuary there.

The slayer shall live in the city of refuge until the high priest dies; afterwards the slayer may return home. This indicates that crimes are considered to be punished under a certain person's jurisdiction, namely the high priest's. With the death of the priest the sentence ends.

Various regulations are then given concerning murder and the death penalty:

The murderer will be condemned only with the evidence of witnesses. The testimony of a single witness is not enough to condemn the alleged slayer.

A ransom may not be accepted in exchange for a murderer's life; murderers must be put to death. Also, ransoms may not be made so that one who killed another unintentionally may return from a city of refuge before the death of the hight priest. The reason given is that the land is not to be polluted by blood (presumably this means by murder). No expiation, save the blood of the murderer, is acceptable. Says the Lord:

"You shall not defile the land in which you live, in which I also dwell; for I the Lord dwell among the Israelites" (Num. 35.34).

Marriage of Female Heirs: Numbers 36
The last chapter of Numbers is similar to the last chapter of Leviticus in that there is no denouement. Therefore it helps to think of the bible as an anthology, a "greatest hits" collection. It is working toward a larger narrative, but in some places the ends to chapters seem rather arbitrary. The bible as literature does not always work on a microscopic scale such as this one. Try not to lose too much sleep over that fact. I don't.

For this story you have to think back to Numbers 27. Zelophehad has five daughters and no sons. Because inheritance traditionally goes to the male next of kin, the daughters sue for the right to their father's property when he dies, so that the land stays within their family. The Lord grants their request.

Today the heads of the clans of the descendants of Gilead son of Machir son of Manasseh (a descendant of Joseph) approach Moses and point out that if the Zelophehad's daughters marry outside the tribe, the land will go to another tribe anyway (and the men of the tribe would lose possession of the land). Moses commands the Israelites based on the words of the Lord that the daughters of Zelophehad may marry anyone they choose - so long as it is a Manassite. This way the land will stay in the possession of the Manassites.

What an excellent example of the sex-marriage economy! In the traditional sex-marriage economy, women are treated as pieces of property that transfer from male to male (i.e. father to husband). The women had won a small measure of victory over the system with the concession of Numbers 27. But here the stipulations that arise from the concession ensure that the women marry a specific type of man, who will bestow the land on his son. The sex-marriage economy is amended to again support men.

Of course, this clan-only marriage law does not apply to men as the laws of inheritance are patrilineal. A man may marry anyone he wants, and his inheritance will remain within the tribe.

And the women marry people within their tribe. The end.

Numbers 34: Precision versus accuracy

Numbers 34: The Boundaries of the Land / Tribal Leaders

The biblical author is a list maker. The biblical author ensures he is as specific as possible in naming names, placing places, and generally ensuring that the bible is as statistically accurate as possible. These specificities lend credence to the stories, and establish benchmarks the reader can understand, even if they are not "historically accurate." To the biblical reader, in fact, the historicity of the statistics would not be as important as the message they conveyed. To the biblical reader, the "truth" of the information is not based on historical accuracy, but literary precision.

Today we will see the layout of the land, as specifically described by the biblical author. We will also learn the names of the Lord's appointed leaders in the promised land. Tomorrow we will receive learn of more statistical data

The Boundaries of the Land: Numbers 34.1-15
The Lord defines the boundaries of Canaan, the promised land. The area given is not historically accurate - Israel never covered the entire area defined by the Lord. Rather, it is an the ideal land of the Israelites as seen by the author. The author certainly did not live in an Israel of this size and in fact, Israel might not have existed as a whole at the time of the writing. So what the writer is trying to do is present the idyllic Israel, a huge territory promised by God promised to his chosen people since Abraham.

I am not going to list the boundaries here because I believe the area would be difficult to visualize. Rather, check out the map of the promised land, or click on the Oremus link above for the biblical passage.

[Thanks, Wikipedia!]

Tribal Leaders: Numbers 34.16-29
Having established the boundaries of the promised land, the Lord appoints through Moses Eleazar and Joshua as leaders of the people to take over where Aaron and Moses left off. [They function as counterparts for the new generation.] Joshua and Eleazar in turn are to oversee the designated men from each tribe who are to apportion the land of Canaan to the Israelites. These men are (with tribe in parenthesis):

Caleb son of Jephunneh (Judah)
Shemuel son of Ammihud (Simeonites)
Elidad son of Chislon (Benjamin)
Bukki son of Jogli (Danites)
Hanniel son of Ephod (Manassites [Josephites])
Kemuel son of Shiphtan (Ephraimites [Josephites])
Eli-zaphan son of Parnach (Zebulunites)
Paltiel son of Azzan (Issacharites)
Ahihud son of Shelomi (Asherites)
Pedahel son of Ammihud (Naphtalites)

Not mentioned are the Reubenites and the Gadites, who already have their land apportioned. This must come from a different source than the one that states that the Manassites settled among the Reubenites and the Gadites. Therefore there are two coexisting (and interwoven) traditions: one in which the Reubenites and the Gadites settle in the land of the Jazer and Gilead (Num. 32.1), and one in which they are joined by the Manassites.

Numbers 33: Israel walks around a lot.

Numbers 33: The Stages of Israel's Journey from Egypt / Directions for the Conquest of Canaan

The Stages of Israel's Journey from Egypt: Numbers 33.1-49
An appendix records the travel of Israel by stages. The biblical author claims it was recorded by Moses, but this version was probably recorded by the biblical author. It follows the following formula:

They set out from X and camped at Y. They set out from Y and camped at Z.

Every now and then some extra information is added.

For simplicity's sake I will only list the places in order, with notable details if I find details to be notable. Be sure to read it all, there is a quiz at the end.

Rameses (First month, fifteenth day, "while the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn." Ouch.)
Succoth
Etham (on the edge of the wilderness)
Pi-hahiroth
Marah (a three-day's trudge into the wilderness)
Elim (has 12 springs of water, 70 palms)
Red Sea (literally "Sea of Reeds")
Sin
Dophkah
Alush
Rephidim (where there is no water)
Sinai
Kibroth-hattaavah
Hazeroth
Rithmah
Rimmon-perez
Libnah
Rissah
Kehelathah
Mount Shepher
Haradah
Makheloth
Tahath
Terah
Mithkan
Hashmonah
Moseroth
Bene-ja-akan
Hor-haggidgad
Jotbathah
Abronah
Ezion-geber
Zin (also known as Kadesh)
Mount Hor (on the edge of Edom; where Aaron died at age 123 on the first day of the fifth month of the fortieth year of wandering)
Zalmonah
Punon
Oboth
Iyeabarim (in Moab)
(This is weird; the set out from Iyim, which is not mentioned before. Perhaps it is synonymous with Iyeabarim?)
Dibon-gad
Almon-diblathaim
Abarim
Jericho (in the plains of Moab by the Jordan)

Quiz: Which Abrahamic faith does Barack Obama subscribe to?
You can submit your answer in the comments. Correct answers only, please.

Directions for the Conquest of Canaan: Numbers 33.50-56
The Lord gives Moses instructions regarding what to do when they enter Canaan.

They shall drive out the inhabitants, destroy their idols (literally "figured stones" and "cast images"), and demolish their temples (literally "high places"). Once in Canaan, they shall divide the land by lot.

Then the Lord gives a command that shows that adherence to the Lord's word is absolutely crucial. They will not only be plagued by the people they did not remove, but the Lord will exact punishment on them equal to what he desired for their enemies. So after all that time, the promised land might not in fact belong to Israel. It's up to them. Let's end with that foreboding quote:

But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land before you, then those whom you let remain shall be as barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides; they shall trouble you in the land where you are settling. And I will do to you as I thought to do to them.
(Num. 33.55-56)

Numbers 32: Autonomy and disobedience

Numbers 32: Settling Down Outside Canaan

Generally dialectical tensions - the disconnect between God's will and human action - involves an expression of disapproval by God, delivered through his intermediary Moses. Today's reading shows Moses directly defending God's will seemingly without God's input. This is an odd position for Moses to take, as he is generally portrayed as a reluctant leader. But he has reason enough to be angry, as we shall see.

Settling Down Outside Canaan: Numbers 32
Two tribes of Israel, the Reubenites and the Gadites, realize the land the Israelites have just captured is great for raising cattle. They approach Moses and ask to live there to raise cattle. The Lord "subdued" this land and they do not wish to cross the Jordan into Canaan.

Moses responds angrily that they are letting down the other tribes, who will have to fight for every inch of Canaan once they cross the Jordan. They are also abandoning the land promised to their ancestors - Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Moses takes their desire to settle down as a fear to fight more, which is in fact plausible. Moses cuts to the heart of the issue, saying that the spies that were sent into Canaan pulled a similar trick, lying about the ferocity and size of the Canaanite warriors so that the Israelites would not have to enter Canaan and fight. This in turn distressed the people so that they lost faith in God. For this reason no one of the Egyptian generation will enter the promised land, with the exception of Caleb and Joshua. Moses essentially accuses the Reubenites and Gadites of attempting to strike a similar fear into the heart of the Israelites. And if the Israelites turn away, or if the Reubenites and Gadites do not remain loyal to God, the Lord will turn away and the Israelites will be destroyed.

R&G strike a bargain with Moses. They will build fortified towns for their women and children, then accompany the rest of the Israelites into Canaan. They will not inherit any land there, and will not return to their towns until every tribe gets its land.

Moses remarkably agrees, but warns that if they back out of the agreement and sin against the Lord, the Lord will see it.

Moses instructs Eleazar, the heads of the tribes, and Joshua of the agreement.

In the end, Manasseh joins R&G in keeping land opposite the Jordan of the Promised Land. A list is then given of the towns each conquers and inhabits.

Ostensibly this warfare is done without God's protection, since God protects Israel as a whole. This is a very interesting demonstration of autonomy, then. These tribes are not really cowardly, because they do fight with the rest of Israel, and fight also without God's protection in other wars. But they do not want the land that was promised to them. They have abandoned the future their ancestors wanted them to have. And that, for the biblical author, is a disappointment.

Numbers 31: Sex and death in the bible

Numbers 31: War Against Midian / Return from the War / Disposition of Captive and Booty

This is the second consecutive post that has "sex" in the title. It is the bible I am writing about, after all. Frequently the bible is not a family-friendly piece of literature by today's standards. I would say xenocide counts as not family friendly by today's standards.

But this is also the story of God's protection, warfare, and how to punish your enemies.

War Against Midian: Numbers 31.1-12
The HarperCollins Study Bible refers to the war against Midian as "holy war" but within a historical and/or literary context, this is not the case. As we saw in Numbers 14, all war must be sanctioned by God in order for the Israelites to be victorious. So really this is not a "holy war" but a war under the protection of YHWH Sabaoth, the almighty Lord of "war." The biblical author presents God as a militaristic protector of the people. So the war is not waged for religious (holy) reasons, but rather for political ones.

In any case, the Lord commands Moses to send 1,000 men of each tribe to fight the Midianites, whose women were so audaciously having sex with Israelite males. Phineas son of Eleazar the priest commands them, and they leave with the "vessels of the sanctuary" and trumpets for battle. The "vessels of the sanctuary ensure God's presence (and therefore Israel's victory).

The Israelites utterly destroy the Midianites, killing every male and the five kings of Midian. They even kill Balaam, who thrice blessed the Israelites and was able to speak with the Lord. The Israelites take the Midianite women and children and all their goods and livestock. They then burn the Midianite towns and encampments.

Little known fact about war: generally the entire opposing army is not slain. Usually some survivors remain. So what the author is trying to do is demonstrate the absolute power of the Israelites. It is like the Midianite army was never even there. They just disappear, along with their homes, which are burned to the ground. But the Israelites must remember that their power is dependent on God's support.

Return from the War: Numbers 31.13-24
Moses, Eleazar, and all the congregation go out to meet the 12,000 who slew the Midianites. When Moses hears what they have done, he becomes angry - but not for the reason you might think. You see, the Israelites have allowed the Midianite women to live, even though it was they who slept with the Israelite men, which invoked the wrath of the Lord and caused the plague to fall upon the congregation. And furthermore, it was on Balaam's addvice that the Midianite women seduced the Israelite men in the first place. Now, this is never mentioned in the text, so it is likely there is a tradition of this tale that didn't make it into the bible. However, the story is plausible, as the story of the worship of Baal and sexual intercourse outside of the congregation comes immediately after the story of Balaam and Balack. Now it becomes clear why the author was sure to point out Balaam's death.

[This type of discovery is pretty common in biblical literature, especially if you read the bible chronologically. Sometimes it seems events happen for no reason, but then in a later passage the reason is given. So reading the bible as a piece of literature involves a lot of looking backwards into the text.]

Moses offers a solution: kill every Midianite woman that is not a virgin (because they might have slept with an Israelite), kill every male child (so the Midianites do not reproduce), and keep the virgin girls (because they are the spoils of war).

Anyone who has killed in battle or touch a corpse is to remain outside the camp for seven days to be purified, and undergo the normal purification ritual. This involves cleaning the body and garments, but Eleazar adds a new dimension. Metals (for weapons) are to be purified by fire and the water of purification.

Disposition of Captives and Booty: Numbers 31.25-54
The Lord gives commands for divvying up the booty. Half will go to the warriors, and half to the congregation. The warriors will be "taxed" 1 item out of every 500, to be given to the Lord. The congregation will be "taxed" one item out of every 50.

The Midianites, it turns out, had the following stuff:

• 675,000 sheep
• 72,000 oxen
• 61,000 donkeys
• 32,000 young virgin girls

It is split up evenly, with the author providing exact amounts of everything, even though the shares are the same for the warriors as the congregation.

Afterwards, the officers and commanders of the army approach Moses and disclose that not a single Israelite died in the massacre. Every officer and commander therefore gives an article of gold (in jewelry form) to Moses and Eleazar. It totals 16,750 shekels, which does not count the gold the troops took for themselves.

Moses and Eleazar bring the gold into the tent of meeting, where it serves as a memorial for the Israelites before the Lord.

Yes, it is have good to have YHWH Sabaoth on your side. Just make sure you honor him.

Numbers 30: The sexist bible

Numbers 30: Vows Made by Women
You know what would get more hits for the blog? If this post was titled "The sexiest bible." But it's not.

Every now and then I consider doing a feminist reading of the bible; mapping out the gender inequalities of a passage. This is one of those times. Doing it too often would make it repetitious and alienate all three of you that read this blog - so I don't do it. But today's passage is rather explicit in its statement. Though I do not recommend reading the Skeptic's Annotated Bible, because it is frequently historically insensitive, theologically misinformed, does not understand the importance of metaphor or symbolism, and begs the wrong questions of the text due to its blindingly literal interpretation. However, it does pick up on the sexism of this chapter. The sexism is a product of the culture that created the document. We can read the historical norms by taking a look at the documents of the past.

Vows Made by Women: Numbers 30
Frequently a passage will begin, "The Lord spoke to Moses, saying..." after which Moses delivers the law given by God to the people. Here this is not the case. Numbers 30 begins: "Then Moses said to the heads of the tribes of the Israelites: This is what the Lord has commanded..." We never see God giving the commandment, but as readers we would generally accept that this is in fact has happened. There is no reason to suspect Moses of making up the law of God; the text provides no evidence, so there is no basis for doubt. In fact, this verse forms a nice repetitious couplet with the previous verse, which closes Numbers 29:

So Moses told the Israelites everything just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
Then Moses said to the heads of the tribes of the Israelites: This is what the Lord has commanded.

This time, though, only the 12 heads of the tribes of the Israelites (all men, of course) are told what God has commanded. God has commanded thus: a man who makes a vow to the Lord or swears a binding oath shall keep his word. That idea is pretty straight-forward.

Moses continues. If a woman makes a vow to the Lord or swears a binding oath in her youth, while still under her father's care, and her father hears it and says nothing, the vow will stand. If the father hears and speaks his disapproval, the vow or pledge will not stand. The Lord will forgive the girl because her father expressed his disapproval.

If a woman is still under the vows "or any thoughtless utterance of her lips" which her father did not disapprove of, and is married, and her husband hears them and does not disapprove,  her vows will stand. But if the husband hears and expresses his disapproval, the vows will not stand. The Lord will forgive the woman because her husband expressed his disapproval.

Every vow a widow or divorced woman makes is binding, presumably because the woman is not under any man's authority.

If a woman makes a vow while married and her husband hears it and does not express disapproval, the vow stands. But if the husband hears and expresses his disapproval, the vow will not stand. The Lord will forgive the woman because her husband expressed his disapproval. A specific commandment is made that a husband can allow or nullify a pledge of fasting.

If disapproval is not expressed for a given vow by the next day, the vow is considered validated and the woman is obligated by it. The husband may nullify it at some later time, but he shall bear the woman's guilt.

So What?
In the sex-marriage economy of the bible, a female is the "property" of her father until she is married, at which time she becomes the property of their husband. This passage demonstrates this idea clearly through the notion of guilt. The woman might bring guilt upon herself by breaking a vow, but her "owner" can clear the guilt if he decides the vow is illegitimate. Only a man is able to make an action that will prevent a woman from incurring guilt. It is the man's responsibility to determine if what the woman has vowed is legitimate, and if it is not, he is obligated to express his disapproval immediately. He will suffer the guilt of a woman breaking her vow if he nullifies the vow after the day it is made.

Logically (and this is explicated) the only way a woman may make a vow that may not be scrutinized for its validity is if she is widowed or divorced. This puts her in the same position as a man.

One argument against this unequal legislation is that women actually receive a free pass and are prevented from making any foolish oaths that they may break. Men, however, are always bound by contracts. This argument champions protectionism. But why should only women be protected for the words they utter? What is it about women's words that makes them subject to scrutiny? Also, the power to "protect" lies only in the hands of males. Women may not nullify an oath of another, whether male or female. And that is unequal treatment.

Speaking of... Tomorrow: War.

Numbers 28-29: Sacrifices by the numbers

Numbers 28: Daily Offerings / Sabbath Offerings / Monthly Offerings / Offerings at Passover / Offerings at the Festival of Weeks
Numbers 29: Offerings at the Festival of Trumpets / Offerings on the Day of Atonement / Offerings at the Festival of Booths

In today's reading the Lord gives Moses instructions concerning offerings on specific days. These offerings are not done by the people, but by the priests on behalf of the people. Offerings are listed first by degrees of frequency, and then are given for the festivals and holy days. These are in addition to votive and freewill offerings, burnt offerings, grain offerings, drink offerings, and offerings of well being.

The bible may be read here as an instruction manual, and a very precise one at that. Repetitions that may seem unnecessary to us are made over and over. As we will see, the offerings are fairly standardized, with 1/10 an ephah of flour being offered with a lamb, 2/10 with a ram, and 3/10 with a bull. This corresponds with the increasing size of each animal. Were offerings still common today, it might be stated at the beginning that lambs are sacrificed with amount X grain, rams with amount Y, and bulls with amount Z. But that is not how the biblical authors wrote. Likewise, the festival of booths could be significantly shortened by stating that for each of the seven days, 2 rams, 14 lambs, and 1 goat are offered. Though if you really want to get technical, the number of bulls each day is represented by the equation:

b = 15 - d 

in which b is equal to the number of bulls to be sacrificed and d is equal to the day of the festival. That would be some serious scripture.

There are many theories regarding offerings - too many to describe here. The Israelites might use sacrifice to acknowledge God's presence and gain God's favor. But as a literary function, the daily offering seems to indicate a sort of communion - the way you might commune with a guest. The scent is pleasing to God and the humans partake of some of the meat, the other parts are dedicated to God or disposed of. It is a way of saying, "this is ours." God refers to the offerings as "my offerings by fire, my pleasing odor," that the Israelites "shall take care to offer to me at its appointed time" (Num. 28.2).

Daily Offerings: Numbers 28.1-8
Two offerings, one in the morning and one at midnight.

1 one-year-old male lamb without blemish with 1/10 ephah flour mixed with 1/4 hin oil and1/4 hin strong drink

Sabbath Offerings: Numbers 28.9-10
Made "In addition to the regular [daily] burnt offering and its drink offering" (Num. 28.10).

2 one-year-old male lambs without blemish with 2/10 ephah flour mixed with oil per lamb and an unspecified drink offering

Monthly Offerings: Numbers 28.11-15
Burnt offerings made at the beginning of the month.

2 young bulls with 3/10 ephah flour mixed with oil and 1/2 hin per bull

1 ram with 2/10 ephah flour mixed with oil and 1/3 hin strong drink
7 one-year-old male lambs without blemish with 1/10 ephah mixed with oil and 1/4 hin strong drink per lamb

1 male goat as a sin offering 
Offerings at Passover: Numbers 28.16-25
Made on the fifteenth day of the first month [the day after passover]. It marks the beginning of the festival of unleavened bread. This offering made every morning for the seven days, in addition to the daily morning burnt offering.

2 young bulls with 3/10 ephah flour mixed with oil per bull

1 ram with 2/10 ephah flour mixed with oil

7 one-year-old male lambs without blemish with 1/10 ephah mixed with oil per lamb

1 male goat as a sin offering 

Offerings at the Festival of Weeks: Numbers 28.26-31
To be offered on the day of first fruits, marking the harvest of new grain.

2 young bulls with 3/10 ephah flour mixed with oil per bull

1 ram with 2/10 ephah flour mixed with oil

7 one-year-old male lambs without blemish with 1/10 ephah mixed with oil per lamb

1 male goat "for atonement" [as a sin offering?]

Offerings at the Festival of Trumpets: Numbers 29.1-6
On the first day of the seventh month the trumpets should be blown and the following offering should be made. These are made in addition to the "burnt offering of the new moon" and the daily offering.

1 young bull with 3/10 ephah flour mixed with oil

1 ram with 2/10 ephah flour mixed with oil

7 one-year-old male lambs without blemish with 1/10 ephah mixed with oil per lamb

1 male goat as a sin offering 

Offerings on the Day of Atonement: Numbers 29.7-11
On the tenth day of the seventh month the following offering should be made:

1 young bull with 3/10 ephah flour mixed with oil 

1 ram with 2/10 ephah flour mixed with oil

7 one-year-old male lambs without blemish with 1/10 ephah mixed with oil per lamb

1 male goat as a sin offering 

Offerings at the Festival of Booths: Numbers 29.12-40
The fifteenth day of the seventh month kicks off the seven-day festival of booths. Offerings are prescribed for each day, with a burnt offering made as well on the eighth day:

Day 1
13 young bulls with 3/10 ephah flour each
2 rams with 2/10 ephah flour each
14 one-year-old male lambs without blemish with 1/10 ephah flour each
1 male goat as a sin offering 

Day 2
12 young bulls with 3/10 ephah flour each
2 rams with 2/10 ephah flour each

14 one-year-old male lambs without blemish with 1/10 ephah flour each
1 male goat as a sin offering 

Day 3
11 young bulls with 3/10 ephah flour each
2 rams with 2/10 ephah flour each

14 one-year-old male lambs without blemish with 1/10 ephah flour each
1 male goat as a sin offering 

Day 4
10 young bulls with 3/10 ephah flour each
2 rams with 2/10 ephah flour each

14 one-year-old male lambs without blemish with 1/10 ephah flour each
1 male goat as a sin offering 

Day 5
9 young bulls with 3/10 ephah flour each
2 rams with 2/10 ephah flour each

14 one-year-old male lambs without blemish with 1/10 ephah flour each
1 male goat as a sin offering 

Day 6
8 young bulls with 3/10 ephah flour each
2 rams with 2/10 ephah flour each

14 one-year-old male lambs without blemish with 1/10 ephah flour each
1 male goat as a sin offering 

Day 7
7 young bulls with 3/10 ephah flour each
2 rams with 2/10 ephah flour each

14 one-year-old male lambs without blemish with 1/10 ephah flour each
1 male goat as a sin offering 

Day 8
1 bull with 3/10 ephah flour each, with drink offering
1 ram with 2/10 ephah flour each, with drink offering

7 one-year-old male lambs without blemish with 1/10 ephah flour each, with drink offering
1 male goat as a sin offering

Numbers 27:

Numbers 27: The Daughters of Zelophehad / Joshua Appointed Moses' Successor

With all of the Egyptian generation dead except for Moses, Joshua, and Caleb, the Israelites are closer than ever to entering the promised land. The second story today will focus on the transition of power from Moses (who will die before entering the promised land) to Joshua.

These passages still echo with the deaths of the men and women who were killed for their faithlessness and participation in Korah's rebellion. The destruction of an entire generation has no doubt taken its toll on Israel both mentally and as a collective group. The two stories today deal with the fallout of disobedience. Even Moses was disobedient, and will be punished for it.

The Daughters of Zelophehad: Numbers 27.1-11
I love it when the bible reveals law through a story. Etiology gives laws a storied background, even if the stories are fiction. I guess it has something to do with the legal system we have in the United States. Laws often have a long history, with plenty of stories to explain when, why, and how they came to be. That's what we have here.

We learned yesterday that Zelophehad, a descendant of Joseph through Manasseh, had only daughters. Their names are Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. They stand outside the tent of meeting before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the leaders, and the entire congregation of Israel to state their case. Their father died in the wilderness "for his own sin" (not in Korah's rebellion) without leaving a male heir. Traditionally property goes to the closest male heir after death. Why should the family name disappear because their father had no son? Essentially, they wish to inherit their father's property and have his name live on.

Moses brings the case before the Lord. The Lord rules that Zelophehad's daughters are entitled to their father's inheritance because they have no brothers. Henceforth inheritance shall be given to the closest kin of the deceased, following this order of inheritance: son, daughter, brother, father's brother, nearest kinsman in the clan. The only way a woman may inherit anything is if she has no brothers.

Joshua Appointed Moses' Successor: Numbers 27.12-23
In a poignant The Lord instructs Moses to climb a mountain in the Abarim range, so that Moses might see the land given to the Israelites before his death. Moses will then die and be gathered to his people because of his (confusing) rebellion at Meribah. Moses will never enter the promised land, but he will get to see it after leading the Israelites towards it for 40 years.

Moses asks the Lord ("the God of the spirits of the flesh") to appoint someone over the congregation to lead them into the promised land, "so that the congregation of the Lord may not be like sheep without a shepherd" (Num. 27.17). The Lord appoints Joshua ("a man in whom is the spirit"). In a ceremony before the whole congregation, Moses is to lay his hand on Joshua and give him some of his authority. Eleazar is to use the Urim to determine God's will concerning Joshua.

The ceremony takes place without incident. However, there are still laws that God must pass down. That is the topic of tomorrow's post.

Numbers 26: The second census

Numbers 26: A Census of the New Generation

A new census is taken of all the male Israelites age 20 and older. This number indicates the number of Israelites who are able to go to war and does not include the Levites, who are in charge of the tent of meeting and do not go to war. This census numbers the generation that is to enter the promised land, and parallels the first census of Numbers 1 that totaled the number that escaped Egypt. The preceding generation was sentenced to die in the wilderness because of their iniquity. Even Moses is to die (Aaron has died already). The last of the Egyptian generation died in Numbers 25, with the exception of Moses, Joshua, and Caleb. Only Joshua and Caleb will see the promised land, a reward for their steadfast faith in the Lord.

A Census of the New Generation: Numbers 26
I'll put this here to save you the trouble: the census records 601,730 men age 20 and older. Compare this to 603,550 of the Egyptian generation. The numbers have not declined so much since the start of the exodus.

Inheritance of land will be determined by the size of the tribe.

Here is how this chart works: The top level is the (deceased) tribal forebear, along with the number of descendants within that tribe. Beneath are his sons. Beneath those are their sons. It might seem a bit strange that the daughter of Zelophehad are all mentioned. This is done for a good reason - as we will discover in tomorrow's reading.

• Reuben (43,730)
• Hanoch
• Pallu
• Eliab
• Nemuel
• Dathan [deceased]
• Abiram [deceased]
• Hezron
• Carmi
• Simeon (22,200)
• Nemuel
• Jamin
• Jachin
• Zerah
• Shaul
• Gad (40,500)
• Zephon
• Haggi
• Shuni
• Ozni
• Eri
• Arod
• Areli
• Judah (76,500)
• Er [deceased - way back in Genesis]
• Onan [deceased - in the same story]
• Shelah
• Perez
• Hezron
• Hamul
• Zerah
• Issachar (64,300)
• Tola
• Puvah
• Jashub
• Shimron
• Zebulun (60,500)
• Sered
• Elon
• Jahleel
• Manasseh (Son of Joseph, whose tribe is divided to maintain 12 tribes with the removal of the Levites) (52,700)
• Machir
• Gilead
• Iezar
• Helek
• Asriel
• Shechem
• Shemida
• Hepher
• Zelophehad (has no sons)
• Mahlah (daughter)
• Noah (daughter)
• Hoglah (daughter)
• Milcah (daughter)
• Tizrah (daughter)
• Ephraim (Son of Joseph, whose tribe is divided to maintain 12 tribes with the removal of the Levites) (32,500)
• Shuthelah
• Eran
• Becher
• Tahan
• Benjamin (45,600)
• Bela
• Ard
• Naaman
• Ashbel
• Ahiram
• Shephupham
• Hupham
• Dan (64,400)
• Shuham
• Asher (53,400)
• Imnah
• Ishvi
• Beriah
• Heber
• Malchiel
• Serah (daughter)
• Naphtali (45,400)
• Jahzeel
• Guni
• Jezer
• Shillem

A census is then taken of the Levites, counting every male age one month and older. The total comes to 23,000.

In fact, two genealogies are given. The first genealogy consists of Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.  This genealogy then descends into the line of Aaron: Kohath is the father of Amram, whose wife is Jochebed daughter of Levi. Amram and Jochebed's children are Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. Aaron's children are Nadab, Abihu (both deceased) Eleazar, and Ithamar.

The second genealogy consists of the Libnites, Hebronites, Mahlites, Mushites, and Korahites.

So What
Again, the Israelites that complained in the wilderness have all died out, with the exception of Caleb, Joshua, and Moses. And Moses will die before the Israelites enter the promised land. The chapter ends:

These were those enrolled by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who enrolled the Israelites in the plains of Moab by the Jordan opposite Jericho. Among these there was not one of those enrolled by Moses and Aaron the priest, who had enrolled the Israelites in the wilderness of Sinai. For the Lord had said of them, ‘They shall die in the wilderness.’ Not one of them was left, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.
(Num. 26.63-65)

Numbers 25: No other gods before me...

Numbers 25: Worship of Baal of Peor

The narrative focus returns to the Israelites who are not exactly living up to God's expectations. Having put their trust in God, the Israelites were able to defeat King Arad, King Sihon, and King Og. And the section immediately before this showed God as extremely protective of his people, who are blessed three times by the Moabite Balaam.

Worship of Baal of Peor: Numbers 25
While at Shittim, the Israelite men have sexual relations with the Moabite women. This leads to the Moabite women inviting the men home to dinner and to sacrifice to their gods, namely the high God, Baal. The Lord is not happy about this, and commands Moses, "Take all the chiefs of the people, and impale them in the sun before the Lord, in order that the fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel" (Num. 25.4). The Lord's anger is retributive, but at least the Lord does not threaten to abandon Israel, as the Lord has done before. No, the Lord only wants a sort of human sacrifice - not in the traditional sense of sacrifice, but more in the Christian Jesus-died-that-we-may-live sense, taking "living" to be life on earth. Moses tells the judges of Israel to kill any of their people that have "yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor."

Just then an Israelite comes by and leads a Midianite woman into his tent, right in front of Moses and the congregation of the Israelites. One can sense the ironic tension of the situation. Here is a man that has not heard the command walking to his own death hand in hand with the Midianite woman. The entire congregation comprehends the horror of what is about to take place - and the horror that awaits them too.

Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron sees this and sneaks off. He takes a spear and follows the Israelite man and Midianite woman into the tent. He kills the two in flagrante delicto, as evidenced by the fact that the spear pierces both the Israelite and the woman through the belly.

[Click to enlarge]

Years from now, when all the locations
of CSI are exhausted, the producers
will be forced to go back in time.

But here we seem to have a mixing of traditions, because the writer informs us that the killing of the man and woman stops that plague that spreads throughout Israel. No plague was threatened before, but now clearly the Israelites have been afflicted - 24,000 die from it.

It was Phinehas' swift action that saved the Israelites from God's wrath. The Lord speaks to Moses and compliments Phinehas on "manifesting such zeal" so as to turn God's anger away from the Israelites. Therefore Aaron's family is granted God's "covenant of peace," a covenant of "perpetual priesthood" awarded for Phinehas' zealous defense of God that was so great it atoned for all of Israel.

The biblical author then gives the names of the slain lovers. The man is Zimri son of Salu, head of the Simeonites. The woman is Cozbi daughter of Zur, the head of a Midianite clan. Both were important members of their nations, which in hindsight makes their deaths all the more meaningful. It was not just any Israelite, but the head of an ancestral house, that sullied himself with the Midianite woman. Corruption extends to the leadership of Israel. Also, the death of Cozbi instigates something of a blood feud between the Israelites and the Midianites. Only it is the Israelites who are on the offensive, with the justification that Cozbi was a corruptive force.

Israel has done a lot to upset the Lord while in the wilderness, and many have suffered God's wrath. But as we shall see tomorrow, the new generation that enters the promised land will have nearly as many people as the generation that fled Egypt.

Numbers 22-24: Outside the Israelite point of view

Numbers 22: Balak Summons Balaam to Curse Israel / Balaam, the Donkey, and the Angel
Numbers 23: Balaam's First and Second Oracles
Numbers 24: Balaam's Third and Fourth Oracles

Much of the Hebrew Scriptures is written in either third person omniscient or third person limited point of view. Though the narrative focuses on one group, the Israelites, the author also reveals the thoughts and actions of non-Israelite characters, such as the Egyptians. Kings are an especially popular type of character to which thoughts and emotions are ascribed. This is third person omniscent. When the narrative concerns only God and his people, we may refer to the narrative as third person limited, because the narrative is limited to these people. This is a frequently used narrative point of view.

The story of Balak and Balaam is unlike anything written up until this point. It entirely focuses on Balak and Balam, the Moabite king and one of his men (perhaps a priest) that can bestow blessings and curses. The narrative is written in a third person limited point of view that takes us away from the Israelites. However, the author's intention seems to be to glorify Israel from an outsider's perspective. So while this story takes place entirely separate from the goings on of Israel, it still can be used to support the idea of their, er, "manifest destiny" promised by the divine covenant.

P.S. Easy way to remember Balak and Balaam: Balak is the leader whose name sounds like Barack, the other leader. Let me clarify this. Neither are Muslims. Balaam, on the other hand, does not sound like Barack, so he is not the leader.

Balak Summons Balaam to Curse Israel: Numbers 22.1-21
Balak, son of Zippor and king of the Moabites, sees what Israel has done to the Amorites and is overcome with fear. This fear, for the biblical author, is self-serving, presenting Israel in its best, most fearsome light. Balak sends the elders of Midian to summon Balaam to curse the Israelites, "for I know that whomever you bless is blessed, and whomever you curse is cursed" (Num. 22.6; this is also a role that God fulfills).

Balaam says he will confer with the Lord. This might seem a bit strange to a modern audience, but this is a polytheistic society. As a sort of prophet with the ability to bless and curse, Balaam would be able to confer with any number of deities. But because the author is trying to illustrate the Lord's power over these other gods, Balaam is shown only conferring with him. Though Balaam is not an Israelite, he is an intermediary, and God speaks to him.

The God of Israel comes to Balaam and tells him not to return to Balak with the elders of Midian, because the Israelites are a blessed people. The elders return to Balak, only to find themselves back with Balaam with an offer of great honor. Balaam declines, saying he would not curse the Israelites for Balak's house and his riches.

But in the night, God tells Balaam he may return with the elders.

Balaam, the Donkey, and the Angel: Numbers 22.22-40
So it's a bit confusing when the next verse after Balaam leaves is, "God's anger was kindled because he was going." Didn't God just allow it? What we have here is a  glimpse into the author's writing process. The biblical authors and editors did not mind inconsistencies, as long as a story was told. Inconsistencies or contradictions could always be explained away. For example:

God's allowing Balaam to leave in verse 20 is repeated in verse 35. So really what the narrative does is give us a short version of the story, then a long version.

What follows, then, consitutes the long version of Balaam's permission. It is a rather humorous account, complete with a talking donkey.


Balaam is confronted by the angel of the Lord three times. Or more accurately, Balaam's donkey is confronted - Balaam cannot see the angel and strikes his donkey each time for its misbehavior. During the third encounter, the donkey finds himself in a tight spot facing down the angel of the Lord, and decides to lie down. Balaam strikes his donkey with a staff, to which the donkey magically responds something like, "What the hell, man?" In fact, it was the Lord that gave the donkey speech. In any case, though, Balaam does not seem too astonished by his talking donkey (perhaps it is difficult to surprise prophets) and carries out a conversation with a donkey that appears to possess superior skills in logic. Why, after all, would the donkey act so strangely if he did not have a good reason?

God opens Balaam's eyes, and Balaam immediately falls on his face. The angel of the Lord rebukes Balaam and informs him that his donkey saved him from death. Balaam admits he has sins and asks to return home. But the angel allows him to go with the elders of Midian.

Whose God is more powerful now?

When Balak sees Balaam, Balaam says, "I have come to you now, but do I have power to say just anything? The word God puts in my mouth, that is what I must say" (Num. 22.38). And indeed, Balaam serves the Lord's purpose from that point forward.


Balaam's First Oracle: Numbers 22.41-23.12
Balak takes Balaam to Bamoth-baal, where he can see part of Israel and curse them. Balaam tells Balak to make seven altars and prepare seven bulls and seven rams, one of each on each altar. Balaam tells Balak to stay with the offerings and wanders off to with God. Balaam returns with an oracle that blesses Israel.

Oops.

Balaam's Second Oracle: Numbers 23.13-26
Balak takes Balaam to the field of Zophim, where he can see part of Israel and curse them. Balaam tells Balak to make seven altars and prepare seven bulls and seven rams, one of each on each altar. Balaam tells Balak to stay with the offerings and wanders off to with God. Balaam returns with an oracle that blesses Israel.

Oops.

Balak tells Balaam something like, "Alright, don't curse or bless them." But Balaam responds that he must speak as the Lord tells him.

Balaam's Third Oracle: Numbers 23.27-24.14

Balak takes Balaam to Peor, where he can see part of Israel and curse them. Balaam tells Balak to make seven altars and prepare seven bulls and seven rams, one of each on each altar.

This time Balaam does not wander off. He sees that the Lord wishes Israel to be blessed, so he sets his face toward the wilderness, where he sees Israel camping tribe by tribe. This must have been a fantastic sight, all the Israelites camped together in the wilderness. Then the spirit of God comes upon Balaam and he utters an oracle that blesses Israel.

Oops.

Just think - Balaam is not even an Israelite. And yet he is the perfect vessel to convey God's message that his people will be protected. Balak lashes out against Balaam, but Balaam responds that he can only recite the words of the Lord (who is not even his god!)

Before he leaves, Blaam utters one final oracle concerning the fate of the Moabites.

Balaam's Fourth Oracle: Numbers 24.15-25
The fourth oracle foretells the destruction of the Moabites, Amalekites, and Kenites in violent but compelling poetry. I have not done justice to the poetry of these oracles, and recommend you check them out on your own time.

So What?
So what indeed. The section was quite comical - the talking donkey, Balaam's failure to curse the Israelites and Balak's growing frustration. This is a very folkloric tale with its focus on the human condition and its prophetic poems woven throughout. If you have time to read it on your own, I would highly recommend checking it out.

Numbers 21: Travel, Battle, Storytelling

Numbers 21: King Arad Defeated / The Bronze Serpent / The Journey to Moab / King Sihon Defeated / King Og Defeated

Three themes permeate today's reading: travel, battle, and storytelling. The storytelling comes from outside sources, which as we will see, can be rather strange.

King Arad Defeated: Numbers 21.1-3
This passage strangely lacks Moses' presence. Until now, the wandering Israelites have been led and represented by Moses, but Israel is seen as an autonomous group.

King Arad, a Canaanite living in the Negeb, hears the Israelites are approaching by way of Atharim. He fights Israel and captures some of their people. Israel vows to God that if he delivers these Canaanites into their hands, they will utterly destroy their towns. God agrees, the Israelites wreak havoc, and so the place is called Hormah, meaning "destruction."

The Bronze Serprent: Numbers 21.4-9
The Israelites manage to make one final complaint in the wilderness. They speak against God and Moses that they were brought out of Egypt to die of hunger and thirst in the wilderness. There is no scene of Moses falling before the people or the Lord declaring his anger. These scenes have already been well-established in the mind of the reader. Instead, the Lord simply sends poisonous serpents that bite the Israelites, so that many die. The people come to Moses and confess that they have sinned. They entreat moses to pray for the Lord to take away the serpents.

But the Lord does not take away the serpents. Instead, the Lord instructs Moses to make a bronze serpent and put it on a pole. Whenever someone is bitten, they merely need to look at the bronze serpent, and they will live.

It is consistent with his character that God creates a solution to the problem rather than simply removing the problem. God acted similarly when he allowed the children of the Israelites to enter the promised land, while disallowing entry anyone born in Egypt. God has a remarkable way of sticking to his guns, as it were, and instead adding a new variable to the equation, rather than just removing the previous variable he instituted.

The Journey to Moab: Numbers 21.10-20
Numbers 21.10-20 chronicles the Israelites' movements as they journey to Moab. They camp at Oboth, then Iye-abarim, then the Wadi Zered, then the wilderness on the boundary of Moab. Here the biblical author cites "the Book of the Wars of the Lord" to describe the place. This book is today unknown, but the "Lord of Armies", YHWH Sabaoth is a well-known figure. This characterization of God is an important one in the bible, as God is to lead his people on many campaigns.

The Israelites continue to Beer (which means "well") and God here decides to provide them with water. There is no evidence of complaint, and in fact the Israelites sing a song of joy at the digging of the well. This song is likely from another outside text, just like "the Book of the Wars of the Lord." Quoting outside sources bolsters and embellishes your story.

From the wilderness of Mattanah (how the Israelites got there, it is not mentioned) the Israelites head to Nahaliel, and from there to Bamoth, and from there to a valley in Moab that overlooks a wasteland.

King Sihon Defeated: Numbers 21.21-32
Israel asks King Sihon of the Amorites for safe passage through his land. This scene is what as known as a "type scene" because there are multiple scenes of the same "type." Yesterday's post contained the story of the king of Edom refusing passage through his nation (Num. 20.14-21).

The message in yesterday's reading begins by bring the king up to date on the history of Israel, recounting the migration to Egypt, oppression, escape from Egypt, and wandering in the wilderness. The message then asks for safe passage, stating that the Israelites will not not pass through (and thereby destroy) fields or vineyards, and that they will not drink the water of wells; the Israelites will stay on the King's Highway.

Today's message, however, cuts right to the chase, only asking for safe passage. However, it is asked for in the same exact way as the precious story. And in fact it is not Moses that asks for safe passage, but Israel as a whole. Why wasn't the history of Israel included? One possibility is that the Amorites do not has the familial attachment that the Edomites have with the Israelites. If this is the case, the difference in the two type stories indicates the importance of family to the author, as Moses confides in Edom the family history since they last saw each other.

In any case, the Israelites are again refused permission to pass. And in addition, King Sihon sends his army out to fight with Israel, something that the king of the Edomites did not do. Israel kills King Sihon and takes possession of the land. They settle in the Amorite town of Heshbon, and all its villages. This land, the author tells us, was captured from the Moabites by King Sihon. What then follows is a very peculiar poem, a song that commemorates the victory of the Amorites over the Moabites. The reason for this is very unclear, and the ballad seems to be something of an anomaly in an Israel-centric work.

Moses then sends out spies to Jazer, and the Israelites capture the Amorite towns and dispossess the residents.

King Og Defeated: Numbers 21.33-35
The Israelites head up to Bashan, and face off against King Og. The Lord tells Mosds not to be afraid, for the Israelites will defeat King Og and all his people. And indeed, they kill the king, his sons, and all his people. There are no survivors of the slaughter.

Numbers 20: Israel on the Move

Numbers 20: The Death of Miriam / The Waters of Meribah / Passage Through Edom Refused / The Death of Aaron

After some statutes and commandments, we shift into narrative. The story flashes forward some 38 years, to the 40th year of wandering in the wilderness. The generation that did not trust in the Lord has died out. As commanded by God, it is their children that will enter the promised land. What happened during those missing 38 years was probably some more doubting of God, birth, death, and plenty of eating of manna. Don't take my word for it. Use your imagination instead.

The Death of Miriam: Numbers 20.1
A brief formulaic verse informs us that Miriam (Moses' sister) dies and is buried in Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin. This is in the "first month" and though the year is not given, commentators assume it is the fortieth year of wandering.

The Waters of Meribah: Numbers 20.2-13
Deja vu. This scene has already happened before, in Exodus 17. But the tale here takes a strange twist.

The people complain against Moses and Aaron that they were taken into the wilderness for the sole purpose of dying of thirst along with their livestock. They consider those previous complainers, their parents, lucky: "Would that we had died when our kindred died before the Lord!" (Num. 20.3). Some things never change - the apple doesn't fall far from the tree - like father like son - you get the point. The Israelites complain and lose faith in God.

Aaron and Moses approach God, who gives them a plan for procuring water from a rock, an old trick used for the previous generation. Moses takes his staff, addresses the "rebels" strikes the rock twice, and water flows out abundantly. The people and livestock drink.

Here is where it gets weird. The Lord tells Moses and Aaron that they will not lead the assembly into the promised land "because you did not trust in me, to show my holiness before the eyes of the Israelites" (Num. 20.12). What? The mistrust is never explicated, so exactly how Aaron and Moses doubted the Lord is a mystery. Moses was not punished when he previously consulted the Lord - so why would it be a problem now? Moses is the Lord's intermediary, after all.

This means that the only two people of Moses' generation that will enter the promised land are Caleb and Joshua. This exception makes the Moses mystery all the more confusing. Moses was a reluctant leader, but is never shown as doubting the Lord. Why, then, is he lumped with all the other Israelites? This is a question to keep in mind as we continue to read through Numbers and Deuteronomy.

Passage through Edom Refused: Numbers 20.14-21
Here begins Israel's diplomatic and military struggles as they near the promised land.

Edom has a strange relationship with the Israelites. The nation of Edom is descended from Esau (also called Edom), who of course is the brother of Jacob (later named Israel). The brothers had something of a strained relationship, and Jacob stole his brother's birthright and the blessing of the father. There might be a little residual bitterness a few generations later. Perhaps. But the refusal of the king of Edom is given without explanation, so the real reason for this is unclear. [This section is a terrific example of the bible's at-times-frustratingly laconic nature]

Moses sends messengers to the king of Edom to request passage through his territory. The message begins by bring the king up to date on the history of Israel, recounting the migration to Egypt, oppression, escape from Egypt, and wandering in the wilderness. The message then asks for safe passage, stating that the Israelites will not not pass through (and thereby destroy) fields or vineyards, and that they will not drink the water of Edomite wells; the Israelites will stay on the King's Highway.

The message allows the reader to quickly be brought up to date on the Exodus story, and reveals the intentions of the Israelites to travel through Edom peacefully.

The king does not allow the Israelites to pass. Even when they promise to remain on the highway, their request is denied.

The Death of Aaron: Numbers 20.22-29
The Israelites set out from Kadesh and come to Mount Hor, which stands on the border of Edom. The Lord reminds Moses that he and Aaron will not enter the promised land for "rebelling" at Meribah. The Lord then gives instructions that Aaron and his son Eleazar are to go up to the top of Mount Hor. Aaron must be stripped of his vestments, which will be given to Eleazar. Aaron shall be gathered to his people and will die there.

When the congregation learns that Aaron has died, they mourn thirty days.

Think back to Numbers 19's command that Eleazar is to sacrifice the red heifer. All of a sudden, God's specificity about the sacrificier makes a lot more sense. Since Aaron will not be around to sacrifice the heifer, his son must do it. The bible is interesting in this way - the reasons for seemingly inexplicable actions are sometimes revealed much later.

Numbers 18-19: The place of Levites and priests in society

Numbers 18: Responsibility of Priests and Levites / The Priests' Portion / The Levites' Portion
Numbers 19: Ceremony of the Red Heifer

Yesterday's reading closed with the Israelites fearing for their lives after the violent deaths of those who approached the Lord where only priest should tread: "We are perishing; we are lost, all of us are lost! Everyone who approaches the tabernacle of the Lord will die. Are we all to perish?" (Num. 17.12-13). Today's reading offers a response clarifying the roles of the priests and Levites as the Israelites wander in the wilderness.

Responsibility of Priests and Levites: Numbers 18.1-7
The Lord directly tells Aaron that he and his sons shall be held responsible for offenses committed by the priests. The Levites are added for offenses connected with the sanctuary - probably meaning that if a Levite goes near the sanctuary, he will die. The Levites are to serve the priests in the day-to-day tasks of ministering to God and the people, actions connected with the tent. However, they may not approach the utensils of the sanctuary or the altar, otherwise the Levites, Aaron, and Aaron's sons will all die. Duties of the sanctuary and the altar are the responsibility of the priests only.

God declares Aaron's priesthood to be a gift, and the Levites to be a gift as well. But Aaron and his sons must be diligent in their priestly duties to avoid death.

The Priests' Portion: Numbers 18.8-20
The Lord declares to Aaron that he and his sons are in charge of the sacrifices, and for that reason receive the leftovers of the most holy offerings (grain, sin and guilt), whether bread or grain or animal.

Elevation offering belong to all of Aaron's family, the women included.

The best of the wine and grain and the first fruits also belong to the entire family, as well as every devoted thing to the Lord and the firstborn of all creatures (except for the firstborns of humans and unclean animals, which are redeemed).

In exchange for this means of sustainment, Aaron and his family are not allotted land, and their possessions are to be shared with all the Israelites.

The Levites' Portion: Numbers 18.21-32
Likewise, the Levites receive no allotment of land or inheritance. They survive on the tithes of grain and wine from the Israelites. These tithes are in turn tithed and given to God. That is, they are given to the Aaronite priests for their own use. (As if the Levites were not angry enough already!) The best of all the tithes is given over to Aaron and his sons. The rest is "payment for you service in the tent of meeting" (Num. 18.31). To profane the holy gifts is to invite death.

In contrast to what is stated above, the Lord explicitly commands Aaron that the Levites will bear responsibility for their own offense. Huh.

Ceremony of the Red Heifer: Numbers 19

Now that that is all cleared away, it is time to lay down some commandments. Oh yeah.

The Lord commands that the Israelites bring a red heifer to Moses and Aaron. The red heifer is to be without blemish or defect and a yoke must never have been laid on it. The heifer will be given to the priest Eleazar, who will slaughter it outside the camp. Eleazar will take some of the blood and sprinkle it seven times before the tent of meeting. The heifer should then be burned by another, and the priest will throw cedar, hyssop, and crimson material on the fire. The priest and the one who burns the heifer must then wash their clothes and body. They may reenter the camp, but will remain unclean until evening.

A clean person is to take the ashes and deposit them in a clean place outside the camp. The ashes will be used in the water for cleansing. This person too shall wash his clothes and will be unclean until evening.

What follows are commandments regarding the water for cleansing.

Anyone who touches a dead body will be unclean seven days. They will purify themselves on the third and seventh day with the water of cleansing, and become clean. Those that do not will be cut off from the Lord. If a person dies in a tent, every person who enters the tent as well as the tent itself must be cleansed with the water.

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The red heifer will feature more prominently into later stories. Just you wait.

The red heifer, it is said by some, is a requirement if the Third Temple of Israel is to be built. See more on the history and modern implications of the red heifer at the Temple Institute web site. [The Temple Institute is an organization in Jerusalem whose long-term goal is to "do all in our limited power to bring about the building of the Holy Temple in our time."]

For more on the contemporary fundamentalist Christian take on the red heifer, check out The End of Days by Gershom Gorenberg. It takes a look at religion and politics inside and outside of Israel, exploring the tensions, similarities, and differences between them. Though written before September 11, 2001, its look at religious fundamentalism in the Middle East and America is indispensable.

Numbers 16-17: Why narrative strands don't necessarily matter

Numbers 16: Revolt of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram
Numbers 17: The Budding of Aaron's Rod

The HarperCollins Study Bible offers the following footnote for Numbers 16:

"In this section on the revolt of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, there is some mixing of traditions: the complaints are against Moses or Aaron or bother; the complaints are about secular or sacred leadership; either Levites or Reubenites or even the whole community are the rebels; the rebels are swallowed whole or burned by fore from the Lord."

Yikes! That's quite some weaving! But keeping track of the myriad strands keeps us from realizing what the author is truly trying to say: that the Israelites are wary of leadership, wayward in their faith of God, and generally disobedient. And really, the biblical author could be saying this about humankind in general. There will always be the dissenters and the people that think they could do it better. But in the biblical narrative, we are shown that there is a supreme leader - the Lord. And if the Lord is not obeyed or the Lord's intermediaries are not obeyed, tragedy will strike the guilty. With few exceptions (see Job) the bible is fairly straightforward in this respect: Obey God and all is well. Disobey God and all is not well. Yet it is the obedience and disobedience that drive biblical narrative. Dialectical tensions between God and the Israelites - the tensions between divine will hand human freewill - ensure the lively narrative we know.

I will try to tell the narrative as completely as possible, but the important part is the message.

Revolt of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram: Numbers 16
Korah (a Levite), along with Dathan and Abiram (both Reubenites) gather 250 Israelite men and confront Moses [or Moses and Aaron]. They tell Moses: "You have gone too far! All the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. So why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?" (Num. 16.3).

There are actually two separate and contradictory arguments here. The first is an argument for a sort of theological communism. Because God resides in the tent of meeting among all the Israelites, all the Israelites deserve equal access to him. The second argument, which runs contrary to the first, is that the Levites should have as much access to God as Moses and Aaron because they have been declared separate from the rest of Israel. The first argument equalizes all the Israelites. The second only equalizes the Levites with Moses and Aaron.

Moses responds to the second argument (argued by Korah, as it concerns the Levites only) with a test. The next morning, Korah and his company of 250 are to light censers (trays that hold coal on which incense are burned). The one that the Lord has chosen will then become apparent. Moses then rebukes the Levites for their pride, asking, "is it too little that" God has set them apart so that they may serve him. They are in a favored position, and yet they want more.

Moses then responds to the first argument by calling for Dathan and Abiram (who made this argument because they are members of the lay people and therefore would believe in equality for all). They respond using the same phrasing Moses used to rebuke the Levites: "Is it too little that" Moses brought the Israelites out of Egypt to die in the wilderness. In their estimation, Egypt is "a land flowing with milk and honey," why not then return? Clearly they have forgotten about their oppression.

Angered, Moses tells the Lord to pay no mind to the offering of the people that doubt the Lord.

The next day, the people gather before the tent of meeting and God appears in a pillar of cloud. The Lord speaks to Moses and Aaron, telling them to step aside so he may consume the congregation. Moses and Aaron intercede on behalf of the people a la Abraham: "O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one person sin and you become angry with the whole congregation?" (Num. 16.22). The Lord changes his command, telling Moses that the congregation should get away from the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.

Korah, Dathan, and Abiram stand at the entrance to their tents along with their wives and children [this shows that God's wrath extends to the children of sinners]. Moses stands before them and declares that the congregation will know that the Lord sent Moses if the men and their families are swallowed up by the ground and they go down alive to Sheol [not hell, but a shady underworld].

As soon as Moses finishes speaking, the ground "opened its mouth and swallowed them up" along with their families and household goods [the passage of Numbers 16.31-33 mentions only Korah, though the spirit of the story would have the others swallowed up as well]. The earth closes up over where they stood. This thoroughly freaks out the congregation, which does not respond by acknowledging Moses as their leader, but rather by running away fearing they too will be swallowed up. That seems to be a pretty rational response, actually.

Meanwhile, the 250 men [probably Levites, as they are actually allowed to handle the censers] offering incense are all consumed by the fire of the Lord, a la Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu. The moral of the story seems to be obey God and Moses.

Interestingly, the censers are purified by the blaze, as the sacrificers become the sacrificed and sanctify the censers. The holy bronze censers, consecrated in the fire of the Lord [comprised of the burning of unfaithful men] are hammered out as a covering for the altar. This serves as a reminder that only the descendants of Aaron, the priests, may offer incense before the Lord.

What follows is one of the tensest cinematic moments of the Bible.

The next day there is backlash as the Israelites accuse Moses and Aaron of killing the people of the Lord. The two turn around and find God has appeared in the form of a cloud in the tent of meeting.

God has had it with these people.

God tells Moses, "Get away from the congregation, so that I may consume them in a moment." At this Moses falls on his face, as a way of begging the Lord not to do so. Moses tells Aaron to quickly take incense into the congregation, because God has cast a plague on them. The plague has already begun by the time Aaron gets there, and people are dying all over the place. Aaron makes atonement for the people with the incense. "He stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stopped" (Num. 16.48). A vengeful God, however, has killed 14,700 by the plague, in addition to those who died along with Korah and the 250 burned improperly offering incense.

The Budding of Aaron's Rod: Numbers 17
There is one final display of Aaron and Moses' divinely-granted leadership, a response to the first argument above. The Lord tells Moses to get a staff from each ancestral house and write each man's name on the staff. Aaron's name is to go on Levi's staff (having already proved his authority over them). The staffs are placed before the Lord in the tent of the covenant. The next day, Aaron's is discovered to have sprouted, a symbol that Aaron is divinely chosen.

God attempts to use the staff as a deterrent against rebellious Israelites: "Put back the staff of Aaron before the covenant, to be kept as a warning to rebels, so that you may make an end of their complaints against me, or else they will die" (Num. 17.10).

As today's reading has shown, however, constancy is hard to come by. And if the congregation always has something to complain about. Having lost the battle for equality, they mourn, "We are perishing; we are lost, all of us are lost! Everyone who approaches the tabernacle of the Lord will die. Are we all to perish?" (Num. 17.12-13. The answer is no. If the people stay away from the tabernacle and allow the Levites to perform their sacrifices, no one will die.

Numbers 15: Building a contextual narrative out of non-narrative units

Numbers 15: Various Offerings in the Promised Land / Penalty for Violating the Sabbath / Fringes on Garments

One way of viewing the bible is as an anthology - a collection of works by different authors. But anthologies generally contain all the same types of literature, whether it is poetry, prose, or songs. The bible as anthology is a postmodern treasure trove in which a statistical census is followed by commandments and prohibitions, which are then followed by narrative and poetry.

The bible contains a narrative that is mostly consistent, though it is interrupted by commandments and asides. These interruptions, however, generally serve a larger thematic purpose, or introduce material that will be necessary to understanding a later story. Today's reading contains commandments as well as narrative, all serving thematically to advance the biblical story.

Today's reading of Numbers 15 begins with commandments for offering sacrifice in the promised land. A section of narrative concerning obedience of the law follows. The reading concludes with a final commandment that is thematically connected with the story.

Various Offerings in the Promised Land: Numbers 15.1-31
Read separately from the surrounding narrative, verses 1 through 31 of Numbers 15 seem like any other set of non-contextual commandments. But their location within the biblical narrative and the language used make it so that the section is thick with irony. It is the context in which we find this passage that allows this irony to appear. Without the surrounding material, the irony would not be possible.

Yesterday's reading showed the Israelites again disobeying the Lord's commandments. Their punishment? No one over the age of twenty would survive to see the promised land. Only the children of the Israelites will see the land flowing with milk and honey. So there is irony when the Lord tells Moses in verse 2: "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: When you come into the land you are to inhabit, which I am giving you..." The people this is addressed towards actually will never see the promised land. A better reading might therefore be "When your children come into the land..."

This irony is no doubt caused by different traditions or a translation (the movement kind, not the into-another-language kind) of the passage from an earlier part of the narrative to here. But reading the bible as a piece of literature, a very nice irony may be observed.

Anyway.

This passage involves offerings made to the Lord once the Israelites enter the promised land. The proportions of oil and wine and grain used in animal offerings are made greater, perhaps because the Israelites will be in a more stable situation and able to cultivate grapes, olives, and grain more easily. Goats and lambs require less oil, grain and wine than a bull.

Israelites and aliens alike shall make sacrifices to God - a single statute applies to both.

God has already made statutes concerning the first fruits and the firstborn animals and humans, but here the law is extended. A loaf of the first batch of dough is to be dedicated to the Lord.

If the Israelites as a whole unintentionally fail to observe one of the Lord's commandments, the whole congregation shall offer a bull along with its grain and drink offerings as a burnt offering, and a goat along with its grain and drink offerings as a sin offering. All the Israelites and aliens residing with them will be forgiven.

If a single Israelite or alien among the Israelites sins unintentionally, a year-old female goat should be offered as a sin offering.

If a single person, Israelite or alien, sins intentionally, he or she shall be cut off from the people.

Penalty for Violating the Sabbath: Numbers 15.32-36
Generally the Lord gives commands that are obeyed, but occasionally a person will act in a way that requires new legislation (see Leviticus 24:10-23). These events merit a narrative to explain the problem, and are resolved with God as judge creating the new law and the Israelites enacting the law. This section logically follows the punishments for sins, which have gotten less lenient with every command.

A man is found gathering sticks on the sabbath and is brought before Moses, Aaron, and the congregation. He is put into custody because the Israelites are unsure of the punishment. The Lord tells Moses that the man should be stoned outside the camp. The man is stoned.

Fringes on Garments: Numbers 15.37-41
What follows the stoning story thematically links retribution for disobeying commands with a provision for remembering the commands.

The Lord tells Moses to tell the Israelites that they should have fringes on the corners of their garments, and that there should be a blue cord on the fringe. Says the Lord:

You have the fringe so that, when you see it, you will remember all the commandments of the Lord and do them, and not follow the lust of your own heart and your own eyes.
(Num. 15.39)

Had the man had fringes on his garments, perhaps he would have remembered God's prohibition against doing work on the sabbath. [However, he might have disobeyed because he did not fear the Lord. If this is the case, there is really not too much that can be done.]

The fringe ensures that the Israelites constantly have YHWH on their minds. The Lord is omnipresent in the community and in the community's thoughts. Tangible displays of the Lord's presence reinforce this. Adherence to the commands of the Lord should override any of the worldly desires of the Israelites.

And so God is a centering force in Israelite society. If the people act as God commands, they are rewarded. If they act contrary to God, they are punished.

Numbers 14

Numbers 14
Yesterday, the twelve spies that were sent into Canaan returned with varying reports of the land. The first unanimous report is that the land is rich and flows with milk and honey, and yet the people are strong and their cities are fortified. The people don't react well to this and Caleb urges them that the Israelites are able to overcome their foes. The other eleven spies disagree and exaggerate their story; now the land "devours its inhabitants" and the people in it are giants.

The land is given to the Israelites by God, so not taking it runs contrary to God's will. The plot of the bible - the continuing tensions between God and God's people - is here exposed. This is what the bible is all about. And not obeying God's orders - well, no good comes of that.

The Israelites are recalcitrant in running against God's will. God saved them from Egypt, and now they wish to return, because the future is unsure. Slavery, in their minds, is a better fate than the unknown. For an author writing for a rebellious or anxious audience, this is the perfect story to demonstrate God's greatness and the importance of obeying him.

Did you know you can make a compromise with God?

The People Rebel: Numbers 14.1-12
The congregation is distressed at the news from the spies, and weeps through the night. They then make the classic accusation against Moses and Aaron:

Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us into this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become booty; would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?
(Num 14.2-3)

The Israelites go so far as to suggest choosing a captain to return them to Egypt, right back into the hands of their captors.

Aaron and Moses fall on their faces before the assembly, an action generally reserved for a deity. However, the situation is dire for Moses and Aaron and they must truly feel at the mercy of the congregation. It is two of the spies - Caleb and Joshua - who speak up for Moses and Aaron. They assure the congregation that the Israelites will conquer the land, but only if they trust in the Lord. The people "are no more than bread for us," easily defeated if the Israelites' trust in the Lord outweighs their fear of the foreigners.

The response of the congregation is to threaten to stone the two of them.

The glory of the Lord appears in the tent of meeting, and gets to the heart of the chapter, and the biblical narrative as a whole:

How long will this people despise me? And how long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them? I will strike them with pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.
(Num. 14.11-12)

This is not the first time that God has threatened to end all life on earth and start over. However, after Noah, God promised to never again wipe out all life on earth - so something must be done.

Moses Intercedes for the People: Numbers 14.13-25
Moses intercedes on behalf of the Israelites. But unlike Abraham, who intercedes on behalf o his brother with an appeal for righteousness, appeals to God's pride. God, it turns out, is a prideful character, and image is very important to him.

Moses' arguments goes like this: You brought the Israelites out of Egypt and everyone knows that you, unlike those other deities, reside with your people. You can be seen in the pillars of cloud and fire. if you kill your people, the surrounding nations will think it is because you cannot provide for them. That is totally against your character. After all, you promised (paraphrased from in Exodus):

The Lord is slow to anger,
and abounding in steadfast love,
forgiving iniquity and transgression,
but by no means clearing the guilty,
visiting the iniquity of the parents
upon the children
to the third and the fourth generation.
(Num. 14.18)

You are a God of forgiveness, so forgive the people!

The Lord agrees. Sort of. The Lord will not allow anyone who lived in Egypt and tested him to see the promised land. The land instead will belong to their ancestors, and Caleb, who has followed the Lord from the beginning.

This is a remarkable compromise. The Israelites continue to live, but God in effect gets a new people in the promised land, a congregation that has not disobeyed him. From a God-centric point of view (which is the view I have pretty much been reading the bible with until this point) everyone gets what they deserve. Except for Moses, perhaps.

An Attempted Invasion Repulsed: Numbers 14.26-45
[This begins a different tradition, though one that is pretty consistent with the previous one. In effect, it rephrases God's punishment, and includes Joshua in the saved.] The Lord describes the terrors that will befall the wicked of the Israelites. The Lord does not have to be particularly creative about the punishments. Instead he just inflicts on the Israelites the terrors that they have feared will come, disregarding the God that will protect them.

The bodies of the Israelites over the age of 20 will fall in the wilderness, and only Joshua and Caleb will see the promised land [see above where only Caleb survives]. The numbers of the census will go from 603,550 to 2. The children will survive as shepherds in the wilderness until the last person dies. The Israelites will bear their iniquity forty years, one year for every day they spied in the promised land [a suitable punishment because the report of the land was a lie].

Indeed, ten of the spies die, and only Joshua and Caleb remain.

The people mourn their wickedness/stupidity and try to prove themselves by heading into the hill country in the morning. This is a pretty bad idea because the Lord is not with them, and not leading them in battle. Moses points this out - that the Israelites will not have the Lord's protection against the Amalekites and Canaanites. Even if you want to conquer the land, thereby fulfilling God's will, you must first ensure that God wants you to conquer the land at that time.

The people disobey God again, are defeated by the Amalekites and Canaanites, and retreat as far as Hormah.

Lesson: obey God. God might seem a bit of a tyrant, but not obeying God leads to dire consequences.