Annotations for Numbers

1:1 tent of meeting. See note on Ex 33:7. Sinai. See the article “Mount Sinai.” first day of the second month of the second year. This chronological statement places the military conscription census during a New Moon feast, a year and two weeks after the exodus, which took place on fourteenth of Aviv (= Nisan), the first month. A comparison with Ex 40 reveals that the tabernacle had been up for a month and the people had been camped at Sinai for nearly a year.

1:2 Take a census. A census for military conscription purposes was common in the Bible and texts of the ancient Near East (cf. ch. 26; 2Sa 24:1–17; 1Ch 21:1–17). In numerous other cases, a simple total of the military conscripted for battle is given. The census involved a head count—the idiomatic Hebrew terminology reads lit. “lift up the head” and “every male by their skulls”—of capable military men, age 20 years and up.

A troop census before going to battle was common in the warfare plans of ancient Sumer, Akkad and Assyria. Sargon of Akkad (c. 2350 BC) had an army of 5,400 who dined at his table after victories in Amurru. His son and heir to the throne fought with armies of 10,000 or more. In terms of the sizes of armies conquered, Shalmaneser I (c. 1275–1245 BC) claims to have slaughtered 14,400 Hittites and Ahlamu troops. Numbers may at times be exaggerated depending on the type of document; e.g., it would not be unusual for an inscription to inflate the number of enemy casualties.

1:3 twenty years old or more. Twenty years of age was the accepted age of full maturity in the Bible for military conscription (cf. 26:2; 2Ch 25:5), even though marriage often took place in a young man’s late teens.

1:47–51 The three clans of the Levites are not counted in the military conscription census because of their noncombatant role. Priests in ancient Near Eastern societies were similarly not required to carry arms in battle but served to carry symbols of the national deity(s) into battle and do other nonfighting functions. Though the Levites are not technically priests—that position is restricted to those in the direct line of Aaron—they perform duties similar to those in the priestly circles of ancient Ugarit, Mari, Emar, Assyria and Babylon.

The duty of the Levites is to restrict access to the tabernacle. Ancient sanctuaries were not public worship centers but residences of deity. In Hittite and Mari texts the priests also served as guards. In Babylon the temple was believed to be guarded by demons or protective spirits.

1:52 standard. Comparison of the Hebrew degel with the usage of Akkadian terms dagalu and diglu in the second millennium BC suggests that this is something that was seen (e.g., a banner or flag) and served as an identity feature for the given tribal troop unit. In later Hebrew and Aramaic this term refers to a military troop unit of a thousand men who lived together with their families and functioned as a legal and economic entity.

3:1 the account of the family. See the article “Genealogies.”

3:2 firstborn. See the article “Inheritance Rights and Birthrights.”

3:10 put to death. The Levites served as guardians of the sanctuary, functioning as a lightning rod for the fiery wrath of God against potential encroachment on the sanctuary. Elsewhere human and divine guardians were positioned to prevent violation of temples and cities; e.g., gargoyles and various creatures in Egypt and Mesopotamia (symbols of divine entities) were positioned at the entrances to temples. Priests at Mari on the Euphrates and at the Hittite capital of Hattusas performed nighttime guard duty, for which improper performance of duty was punishable by death.

3:12 The Levites are mine. Rather than having individual clan rights of primogeniture for maintaining the sanctuary and ancestral worship, Israel had an entire tribe dedicated to the proper worship of God. In the exodus event, the Lord commanded that every firstborn male from among humans and animals be dedicated or sacrificed to the Lord as a sign of faithfulness (Ex 13:1–16). The Levites became the substitute for the firstborn males of Israel.

3:48 money for the redemption. See note on Ex 13:15.

4:6 durable leather. See note on Ex 26:14.

5:1–4 The sacred camp of Israel has been numbered and organized with concentric circles of holiness; the priests and Levites constituted the first level of human presence in proximity to the sanctuary (the tent of meeting). The 12 tribes encamped symmetrically around the central sanctuary and its attendants constituted the second level of human presence in the camp. Now the next level of the encampment is described in terms of relative cultic isolation on the perimeter of the camp of those with various impurities.

5:2 defiling skin disease. See note on Ex 4:6. ceremonially unclean. See note on Lev 21:1.

5:7 full restitution. The sanctity of the community applies to economic relationships, whereby monetary compensation for fraud or extortion between individuals provides stability and justice in society. By comparison, the Code of Hammurapi called for restitution penalties ranging from one-sixth of the value to 100 percent of the value in addition to the principal amount of the damage incurred for defrauding another person under oath. For example, if a person deposited gold or silver with another person in the presence of witnesses and later denied the transaction, the witnesses would be called to testify on behalf of the depositor, and the repayment would then be double the original amount (Lev 6:1–7).

5:11–31 This particular case concerns a woman suspected by her husband of having an adulterous affair. In Mesopotamian law, as well as Biblical law, if a man or a woman was caught having intercourse with another’s spouse, they were both executed. Two laws from the Code of Hammurapi relate to cases of suspected but unobserved adultery. One contains a trial by ordeal, in which the woman is thrown to the divine realm of the river gods: “If a citizen charges a woman with adultery, but has no evidence, then she is to be tried by ordeal in the river to restore the honor of her husband. If she survives she must pay a fine.” Another focuses on false accusation by a husband, whereby the woman must simply swear an oath of innocence: “If a citizen falsely accuses his wife of adultery, and she swears an oath of innocence before the divine patron of her household, then she may return home.” In both cases ultimate adjudication is rendered into the hands of the divine. See the article “Penalties for Sexual Offenses in Biblical and Mesopotamian Law,” for a comparison of Biblical and ancient Near Eastern policies concerning sexual offenses.

5:15 barley flour. The shurpu purification ritual from Assur of the Middle Babylonian Period (c. 1350–1050 BC) used flour in relation to a variety of misdemeanors, including a case in which a man had intercourse with a neighbor’s wife (2.48). A “magic circle of flour” was placed around a brazier, then wiped over the offender in an atonement (ukappar) ritual. This act was accompanied by several sympathetic magic rituals involving onions, dates, matting and wool, which were then thrown into the brazier’s fire with some of the flour.

5:18 loosen her hair. The unbinding of one’s hair was a sign of mourning or disgrace (Lev 10:6; 13:45; 21:10). In ancient Greek literature, the loosening of the hair was a sign of one’s unmarried state or a potential sign of freedom, including sexual immorality and eroticism, but similar customs are not evident in the ancient Near East.

5:24 drink the bitter water. From the archives of Mari comes a case in which a water potion made with dirt from the gate of the city is consumed by the accused and then is followed by an oath before the gods. Water mixed with dust may not be bitter to the physical taste, which would normally be alkaline, but bitter in terms of the potential distress and bitterness of the life situation being tried.

6:19 boiled shoulder of the ram. Normally the breast and the upper portion of the right hind leg were reserved for priestly consumption (Lev 7:30–35). A similar practice seems apparent in Egyptian, Mesopotamian and Hittite texts and murals in which the right thigh was the choice portion for presentation to various deities. The boiling of sacrifices is known from pre-Israelite Lachish and premonarchical Shiloh (1Sa 2:13–14).

6:20 wave offering. To wave or, more likely, to elevate an offering before Yahweh is a ritual act signifying the transfer of the ownership of the offering from the offerer to Yahweh (see note on Lev 7:30).

6:24–26 A phylactery containing two silver scrolls the size of two small cigarettes, on which were written two versions of the priestly blessing, was found in a sixth-century BC burial site (Ketef Hinnom) near Jerusalem. Both inscriptions contain additional appellations to YHWH as “the restorer and rock” and as “the warrior and the rebuker of evil.” These texts had been used as amulets either while these individuals were alive or as burial pendants. The text on the larger one is nearly identical to this passage; an abbreviated version of the second and third blessings is written on the smaller. Containing the oldest attestation to the Tetragrammaton (YHWH = Yahweh) in Jerusalem, these texts indicate the authenticity and antiquity of this “priestly benediction.” Its text became a standardized liturgical form no later than the end of the preexilic period. Ancient Near Eastern texts from the second millennium BC contain parallels to the themes of divine countenance, the lifting up of the face, and the blessing of well-being (shalom).

6:25 the LORD make his face shine on you. The metaphor portraying God’s face as light shining on his people occurs in numerous Biblical (Ps 44:3; 80:3) and extra-Biblical texts. This imagery occurs in several Mesopotamian and Ugaritic contexts, in which the gods bestow gifts and extend mercy to individuals or nations. An Egyptian text from the First Intermediate Period (c. 2134–2040 BC) has a Letter to the Dead inscribed on a tubular jar stand: “You live for (me), The Great One shall praise you, and the face of the Great God will be gracious over you; he will give you pure bread with his two hands.” While this text somewhat parallels the priestly blessing in form and content, its broader context is significantly different insofar as it focuses on petitioning the deceased father for assistance in producing a male heir.

6:27 they will put my name on the Israelites. Placing the name of a deity on a place or a people asserted the claim of deity and established his presence.

7:12–83 The pattern of enumeration here reflects an administrative record following the traditional pattern of temple records of the ancient Near East. The repetitive nature of the material may be primarily theological, to emphasize that every tribe has an equal stake in the worship of God and that each is fully committed to the support of the tabernacle and its priesthood.

8:2 lampstand. See note on Ex 25:31–40.

8:7 shave their whole bodies. Egyptian priests shaved their bodies every three days as a means of purification. The purification ritual sequence of shaving, bathing and washing (clothes) was also practiced among Mesopotamian cultures; e.g., the high priestess at Emar was shaved in preparation for her installation.

The cleansing process ensured ritual purification, so that a level of holiness could be maintained for those in service for the Lord. A slightly higher level of holiness was maintained for the priests who received new clothes when they were consecrated for service (Lev 8:12–13). Recent study suggests that shaving was one way to designate a temporary change in status.

8:10, 12 lay their hands on. See note on Lev 1:4.

8:18 Levites in place of all the firstborn sons. See note on 3:12. The firstborn of all people and animals, and the first of the harvest, belonged to Yahweh. In Mesopotamia it was common to give the choicest products to the gods, whether “firstfruits” or firstborn animals, but there is no indication of firstborn sons being regularly consecrated.

9:2 Passover. See the article “Passover.”

9:15 cloud. See the article “Glory.”

10:2 trumpets of hammered silver. The silver trumpets are to be distinguished from the ram’s horn in function as well as appearance. The ram’s horn announced the Day of Atonement throughout the land (Lev 25:9) and was used in the marching around Jericho (Jos 6:2–21). The bright pitch of the silver trumpet called the people to march through the wilderness and was blown by Phinehas in the battle against Midian (Nu 31:6).

These trumpets were likely styled after those known from Egypt during the Late Bronze Age, examples of which were found in King Tutankhamun’s tomb. These instruments were about 2 feet (0.6 meters) long with narrow tubes; when blown in certain patterns they emitted a bright and piercing sound that communicated clearly to the people the desired intent. In Egypt they were used both in cultic and military contexts.

10:5–7 The trumpets were blown with varying tones and lengths of blast. The two trumpets were likely of slightly different size, producing varying tones so that both could be distinguished. In terms of length of blast, the short blast alerted the camps to break camp and begin a journey (vv. 5–6); the long blast called the assemblies together (vv. 3–4, 7).

10:8 Only the Aaronic priests are to blow the silver trumpets.

10:10 Whole burnt offerings for consecration and atonement, and peace offerings for community celebration, are accompanied by the long blast of the silver trumpets during the pilgrimage festivals of Passover, Weeks and Tabernacles, and during the monthly New Moon rites.

10:29 Hobab son of Reuel. Some suggest the dual names Reuel (Ex 2:18) and Jethro (father of Zipporah, Ex 3:1) may refer to variant patriarchal clan leaders of this tier of the Midianites, with the patriarchal clan founder named “Reuel” and the actual father-in-law of Moses named “Jethro.” Others suggest Jethro and Reuel are the same person, since dual names are common in Bronze Age texts from Mesopotamia and the Levant. father-in-law. The Hebrew hoten can mean “brother-in-law” or “father-in-law” (Ex 3:1).

10:33 three days . . . three days. The Battle Song of the Ark is preceded by a dual chronological marker about the first stage in the movement of Yahweh’s cloud the distance of a three-day journey (i.e., about 35–45 miles [55–70 kilometers]). This journey is reminiscent of Moses’ request to Pharaoh to allow the Israelites to journey three days into the wilderness to worship their God (Ex 8:27).

11:3 Taberah. Means “burning,” which refers to the form of fiery judgment that often comes by means of lightning, though the mode of igniting the fire is not specified. This form of judgment parallels that which was meted out against Nadab and Abihu (Lev 10:1–3), though that fire came out from the tabernacle. Natural disasters such as those caused by lightning were considered acts of divine judgment by people of the ancient Near East, even cases of fire caused by lightning in sacred precincts such as the Esagila in Babylon or the Assur Temple in Assyria. Fire was considered a divine quality that gave light to the people and fire for cooking sacred meals. The fiery judgment of the gods could be summoned by a diviner to bring down destruction upon one’s enemies.

11:4 meat. Meat was available in Israel’s livestock and herds, but those were reserved for festive occasions and their supply of milk products. Their desire for “flesh” leads to their recollection of their more substantial diet in Egypt (v. 5).

11:5 Goshen in the eastern Nile delta was the breadbasket of Egypt, lush with vegetation and abounding with natural and man-made canals, whose waters teemed with fish and were replete with nutrients for abundant crop production. The foods listed here are among the most commonly grown in the region. Several of these are represented in Egyptian tomb murals. All require ample amounts of water for irrigation.

11:7 manna. Its precise identification with known agricultural products of ancient or modern times is somewhat tentative. The association with coriander seed is likely an indicator of its taste, since that seed is used for flavoring (similar to sesame or poppy seeds), in which case “manna” may refer to a variety of small seeds produced by desert plants. Generally manna has been associated with a by-product of the tamarisk tree found in northern Arabia, but this material is only available for a few months of the year and only where Tamarisk trees are present; further, the yield of this product is far lower than the half pound (227 grams) per person per day reported in the text. Israelites would have believed that every provision came from God regardless of whether we might be able to offer “natural” explanations. To date no “natural” explanation has been identified and perhaps never will be.

Eating at the king’s table and tasting “the food of the gods” was part of the culture of the ancient Near East. In the last Babylonian era of 900–705 BC, an already old tradition is recorded concerning Adadnirari III that permitted the kings to eat “remnants” of divine meals offered to the gods. Perhaps the analog here is one of a royal, priestly nation, each and every person receiving food from the table of the Great King.

11:25 prophesied. Though Israelite prophecy generally did not involve ecstasy, the context and the Hebrew terminology suggest that the elders are having ecstatic experiences. Ecstatic prophets are known from the texts at Mari and Babylon, where they were called mahhu (or muhhum; female muhhutum) and function as one category of divination personnel. The mahhu would go into a frenzied trance and speak utterances believed to be derived from gods or goddesses like Ishtar, Nergal or Adad. These “prophets” (or better, “diviners”) were sometimes considered madmen because of their abnormal behavior.

11:31–32 An east wind and a south wind descend on the camp with provision of meat. Writers through history have described the movement of quail (genus coturnix coturnix or coturnix vulgaris) across the Sinai, generally northward in the spring (as here) and southward in the fall. Fowling using low-slung nets is known from several Egyptian tomb murals, including those of Kagemmi at Saqqarah dating to the Sixth Dynasty (twenty-fourth–twenty-second century BC). Israelite fowling with nets is mentioned in Hos 7:12.

The fourteenth-century Arab writer Al-Qazwini described the fowling activity of the people El-Arish in the north coastal Sinai. Arabs are known to have caught between one and two million quail in the autumn migration of these small birds. The extraordinary quantity of quail in the Biblical account is swept in “from the sea” (probably from the Gulf of Aqaba if the wind is from the east), and then downward toward the encampment of Israel.

The magnitude of the quail is measured in three ways. (1) Breadth: a day’s journey in each direction (about 12–15 miles or 20–25 kilometers, hence an area of more than 400 square miles or 650 square kilometers). (2) Height: 2 cubits (3 feet or about a meter) above the ground, referring either to the height of the birds’ flight or the depth of the piles of quail. (3) Quantity: over a two-day period each person gathers at least ten homers, a volume estimated at between 38 and 65 bushels (between 1,350 and 2,300 liters). Some of the birds are eaten right away, while most of them are spread out around the camp, presumably for drying the meat in the hot sun after cleaning and salting them.

11:35 Kibroth Hattaavah . . . Hazeroth. The location of these sites is conjecture and dependent on the location of Mount Sinai (see the article “Mount Sinai”). If Mount Sinai is Jebel Musa, then Hazeroth may be associated with the Wadi Hudeirat region, 40 miles (65 kilometers) northeast of Jebel Musa. If Mount Sinai is located at Jebel Sin Bisher, then Kibroth Hattaavah and Hazeroth may be situated along the route eastward across the central Sinai region toward Elath and Mount Seir.

12:1 Cushite wife. “Cush” has a few possible identifications: (1) On the basis of Ge 2:13; 10:6; Ps 68:31; Isa 18:1, Cush, the first son of Ham, is identified with Nubia in modern Sudan, bordering ancient Egypt on the south. If this connection is assumed, Moses’ Cushite wife would be a woman other than Zipporah, his Midianite wife from the clan of Jethro. Some have suggested that Zipporah died and the Cushite wife is of a recent marriage. (2) The synonymous parallel lines in Hab 3:7 suggest an association of Cushan with the Midianites, giving credence to the identity of the Cushite woman with Zipporah. (3) The term Cushite may refer to a distinguishable physiological trait, such as that of the deeply tanned Midianites from northwest Arabia.

Ethnic purity was an important issue in ancient Israel; note the commands to drive out and/or annihilate the Canaanites from the promised land (33:51–56). The Pentateuch, however, contains explicit instructions that there was to be one code of law for the native Israelite and the sojourning foreigners in their midst. In 9:14, non-Israelites living among the Israelites could even celebrate the Passover if they did so according to the statutes related to its commemoration, including circumcision as an indicator of that individual’s coming under the covenant relationship with the God of Israel (Ex 12:48–49; cf. Nu 15:14–16, 29; Lev 24:22). It would seem, then, that Miriam’s complaint against Moses on the basis of ethnicity is not necessarily the real reason for her objections.

12:10 leprous. See note on Ex 4:6

13:20 grapes. This is the time of the first harvest of the vineyards, hence late summer or early fall, several months after the departure from Mount Sinai in early spring.

13:21–22 Desert of Zin . . . Rehob . . . Lebo Hamath. The 12 Israelite men launched their exploration of the land from the Paran Desert (see the article “Geography of the Wilderness”). They reached as far north as Rehob of Lebo Hamath in southeast Lebanon. The scouts headed north through the hill country regions later known as Judah, Samaria and Galilee, starting in the Negev and going as far north as Lebo Hamath. See notes on vv. 21, 22 below.

13:21 Desert of Zin. The Desert of Zin was the region of the drainage basin around the Nahal Zin, an expanse westward on a line from just south of the Dead Sea that includes the wilderness, as well as Kadesh Barnea to the west (v. 26). Rehob. The exact location of this Rehob is unknown, though the region of Lebo Hamath suggests a site in southern Lebanon, such as Beth Rehob near Tel Dan on the southern flank of Mount Hermon. Lebo Hamath. Has been identified with modern Lebweh on the Orontes River, on the southern border of the ancient kingdom of Hamath and about 14 miles (22 kilometers) north-northeast of Baalbek. Lebo is recounted as a city on the northern border of the promised land (34:7–8) and later of the Israelite kingdom of David and Solomon (1Ki 8:65).

13:22 Negev. Hebrew for “south”; it refers to the dry southland. In the OT, the Negev region stretched south from Hebron (Qiryath Arba) into the Desert of Zin (e.g., 21:1; 33:40; Ge 12:9; 13:3; 20:1; 24:62); in modern geography the term denotes the region from the Arad and Beersheba region south to Elath on the Gulf of Aqaba. Hebron. Formerly known as Qiryath Arba, is located about 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of Jerusalem in the central hill country. It must have been a prominent city at this time because of its comparison here with the Egyptian stronghold of Zoan. Hebron is said to have been fortified seven years before Zoan. Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai. The ancestors of the Hebronites. These names are Semitic in origin, reflecting the fact that the inhabitants of the land spoke a Semitic dialect. Anak. The name is associated with a people feared for their great size and military prowess; it may also be associated with the ethnic phrase Iy-anaq found among the Egyptian Execration Texts of the early second millennium BC. Verse 33 in the Septuagint, the pre-Christian Greek translation of the OT, translates the term as “giants,” and they were associated with the Rephaim in Dt 2:11 (see note there; cf. also Dt 9:2). Remnants of these giants survived into the time of the judges and the beginning of the Israelite monarchy. No extra-Biblical reference to Anak exists, but an Egyptian letter from the thirteenth century BC describes warriors in Canaan that are 9 feet (2.7 meters) tall. Zoan. Located in the eastern Nile delta. This name is the equivalent of the Egyptian Djanet, which was vocalized by the Greeks as Tanis, long identified with the modern site of San el-Hagar.

13:25 forty days. The scouts’ 40-day exploration of the land accords with the approximate time such a journey would have taken on foot. The number 40 is often used in the Bible for an indefinite period in excess of a month. Having trekked from the Desert of Zin all the way to Lebo Hamath and back again means they would have covered 350–500 miles (550–800 kilometers) while reconnoitering the hill country and valleys. According to the annals of the campaigns of Thutmose III and Rameses II, a day’s journey was approximately 12–15 miles (20–25 kilometers).

13:26 Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. Kadesh (Barnea) is usually identified with Ain el-Qudeirat in the upper reaches of the Desert of Zin, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southwest of Beersheba. The springs there produce a volume of about 40 cubic meters (about 1,412 cubic feet) of water per hour. Pottery remains suggest this spring area was often the stopping point for nomadic groups since the late Neolithic period through the Bronze Ages. An Israelite fortress was constructed there in the tenth century BC and destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC. The spies’ report concludes with a listing of the various Semitic and non-Semitic tribes living throughout the country (v. 29).

13:27 flow with milk and honey. See note on Ex 3:8. This classic description of the abundance of certain natural resources in Canaan (e.g., Ex 3:8, 17; 13:5; 33:3; Lev 20:24; Dt 6:3; 11:9) is echoed in the Egyptian travel account the Story of Sinuhe, in which the princely emissary describes the land of Yaa.

13:29 Amalekites. A seminomadic tribe descended from Abraham through Esau (Ge 36:12); their origins were in the region of Edom, and they ranged throughout the southern Levant, from North Sinai to the hill country of Samaria. Hormah (Tel Masos in the Negev) may have been one of their cities (14:45; cf. Ge 36:16; Jdg 12:15; 1Sa 15:7). No reference is found to the Amalekites in ancient Near Eastern documents. Hittites. See note on Ge 23:3. Jebusites. A non-Semitic clan living in Jerusalem during the Middle Bronze through Iron I periods (2000–1000 BC); they controlled the city through most of the early history of Israel until the time of David (see Jos 15:8, 63; 18:16; Jdg 1:8, 21; 2Sa 5:6–9). They are unknown outside the Bible, and scholars have suggested they may have been a subclan of the Perizzites or related to the Hurrians. The table of nations in Ge 10:2–29 lists the Jebusites as descendants of Canaan (Ge 10:16). Amorites. The term “Amorite” can refer in general to a number of the ethnic groups inhabiting the Levant, including areas known today as Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel and Palestine. It may also refer more specifically to an ethnic descendant of Palestine as delineated in Ge 10:16. Referred to as the Amurru (“Amorites” or “westerners”) in Akkadian records at Mari and the Martu in Sumerian texts of the third and second millennia BC, some of this people group established city-states in Syria, while others were more nomadic, migrating southeast into southern Sumer and southwest into the Levant. Egyptian records describe their territory as extending from the Negev (see note on v. 22) to the heights of Lebanon. Canaanites. See the article “The Canaanites.” Aside from being the name of Ham’s son in Ge 9, the designation of “Canaan” may derive from the Akkadian kinannu (“red purple”), based on the production of red-to-purple dyes produced along coastal regions of Lebanon from the abundant murex shells found there. Other scholars point to the Semitic root k-n- meaning “to bend, be subdued.” The earliest reference to “Canaan” in extra-Biblical texts comes from the eighteenth century BC in Mari.

13:33 Nephilim. See note on Ge 6:4. Referring to the descendants of Anak as Nephilim was designed to instill fear in the hearts of the Israelites in the face of their enemies, to make them feel like grasshoppers. Grasshoppers were the smallest of edible creatures permitted for Israelite consumption (Lev 11:22).

14:6 tore their clothes. A form of self-debasing lament in the OT; widely practiced in the ancient Near East when mourning for the dead, expressing sorrow over disease or plague, or prefacing a prophetic lament of judgment against an individual or nation.

14:13–14 Everyone in the ancient Near East believed in the patronage of gods, whether for cities or professions (Marduk for Babylon, Thoth for scribes, etc.). Clans had their divine patrons as well, and individuals connected to deities whom they thought of as their “personal gods.” This meant that when a people went to war, their gods fought alongside them. The god(s) of the losing side were discredited and often abandoned by their worshipers. If Yahweh were to destroy the Israelites, it might be interpreted as a failure on Yahweh’s part to fulfill his duties as their patron.

14:25 the route to the Red Sea. The “Way of the Red Sea Wilderness” was the trade route connecting to Ezion Geber on the Gulf of Aqaba/Elath from Kadesh Barnea through the Desert of Zin and the southern Arabah. A second leg of the route then extended westward across the central Sinai peninsula toward Egypt.

15:3 food offerings. The “fellowship” (or “peace”) offering, the “special” (i.e., “vow”) offering, and the “freewill” offering were offerings of the communion type, in which certain portions of animals were offered to God as a savory aroma, and the remaining were consumed by the priests and the offerer in the communal setting of the tabernacle or temple. Hence, the totality of the Israelite community engaged in a corporate meal that celebrated the unity of the community of faith. an aroma pleasing to the LORD. Unlike the descriptions noted in Mesopotamian ritual texts, which depict the gods as consuming the sacrifices as necessary to their survival, God’s pleasure in the Israelite sacrifices is described in anthropomorphic terms of a pleasing aroma that ascends in the smoke into the invisible realm of the heavenly abode.

15:20 the first of your ground meal. During the spring harvest of barley and wheat (the season of Passover, Unleavened Bread and Weeks), the grain firstfruit offering was presented to God. Even the mundane daily practice of kneading dough for making bread was a time of worship and celebration of God’s benevolence and faithfulness. The first or choicest dough made from the first coarsely ground flour of the season was set aside for honoring God. Bread was the essential food staple, and hence a sacred sacrifice was rendered back to God as the giver of life and the provider of grain from which the bread was made. Similarly, wine and grapes from the vineyard, olive oil and olives from the orchard, and fruit juices from the fall fruit harvest were offered to God. According to 18:11–16, all firstfruits and products brought to Yahweh were supplied to the priests.

15:30 sins defiantly. The raised right hand with the outstretched arm was a common symbol of strength and power in ancient Near Eastern literature and iconography. The sinner with a high hand feels no guilt; thus, the offense is not sacrificially expiable. Such a defiant person must suffer the ultimate of judgment: being “cut off.” blasphemes. This is the only occurrence of the Hebrew word translated “to blaspheme” and it means to taunt or revile God such as to deny his authority. This act represents defiance of the law and is so dangerous to the community that it necessitates the perpetrator being “cut off.” cut off. Hebrew karat; it was reserved for the most heinous or sacrilegious offenses. This may involve capital punishment but probably implies divine punishment by the elimination of the family line. A Babylonian text from the sixth century BC charges king Nabonidus with failing to recognize the authority of Marduk; the god abandoned the city and allowed it to fall to the Persians. In the OT, five categories of infractions in which the karat was meted out are identifiable: (1) violation of sacred time, as in the neglect of certain holy days; (2) violation of sacred substance, such as in the consumption of blood; (3) neglect of purification ritual, such as circumcision; (4) illicit worship, such as idolatry or sorcery; and (5) illicit sexual activity, such as incest or bestiality.

15:32–36 This provides a legal etiology concerning the seriousness of the Sabbath regulations and provides a precedent for future violations. Detention of the culprit is temporary until God provides the proper punishment, which is stoning. Executions must be performed outside the camp to prevent contamination from the corpse.

15:38 tassels. In the ancient Near East, special garments were made for priests and royalty that identified them within their communities and to the outside world. Several images of garments with corded fringes are found on the statue of Puzur-Ishtar, governor of Mari in the late third millennium BC, on depictions of Asiatics in the tomb of the Egyptian Khnumhotep II in the nineteenth century BC, and in later Neo-Assyrian murals. Tassels were attached to the outer garment used by Israelite men. Both men and women wore an outer cloak and wrapped it around their bodies or draped it over the shoulder. A belt secured it to protect a person from inclement weather. It functioned as a cover during the night and was considered valuable enough to secure a debt (Ex 22:26–27; Dt 24:10–13). The Black Obelisk (c. 820 BC) contains a picture of King Jehu of Israel with a fringed outer garment laid over his left shoulder.

16:1 Reubenites . . . sons of Eliab. In tribal and clan-structured societies of the ancient Near East, the position of leadership often fell on the eldest son of the family patriarch. The men of Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, sought to claim what they perceived as their rightful positions in Israel, thereby usurping the role of Moses. Rivalries between kinship groups (in this case the Reubenites versus Moses, a Levite) are common in tribal confederations. In this loose political structure, loyalties to smaller kinship groups often supersede loyalty to the larger group. This mixed loyalty remains problematic even into the monarchy (2Sa 20:1–2; 1Ki 12:16–17).

As the Reubenites desire to supplant Moses, so Korah wants to supplant Aaron. Korah’s lineage is traced back fully through three major figures in the Levitical line. As a Kohathite, Korah was among the favored clan of the Levites whose responsibility was to transport the sacred furnishings of the tabernacle after being packed by the Aaronic priests (4:1–20; cf. Ex 6:16–25). All priests are Levites, but not all Levites are priests. The priests are the descendants of Aaron and actually performed the rituals in the sacred areas. Although the Levites are members of the priestly caste, they have less power and privilege than the designated Aaronic priests. Korah is attempting to claim this distinct status for himself.

16:6 censers. Censers for incense were pans or shallow bowls at the end of long handles (Lev 10:1). These pans carried hot coals on which incense could be sprinkled, creating a savory aroma. Such censers are believed to have originated in Egypt, where they were used in the performance of apotropaic magic for driving away evil deities or demonic forces by waving them in a ritual manner.

16:7 incense. Often burned on small incense altars or cultic stands made of bronze, stone or ceramics. In ancient Near Eastern cultic contexts, incense was often offered to pacify or appease the wrath of gods and goddesses and to soothe their spirits. Incense enhanced the sweet-smelling aroma of burning sacrifices that ascended into the heavens, symbolically entering into the nostrils of God (or the gods) (cf., e.g., Lev 1:9, 13, 17; 2:2, 9, 11; 3:5, 16). Incense was produced from the sap, bark, roots and fruits of a variety of trees and shrubs, especially from East Africa and Arabia. The man the LORD chooses. Moses orchestrates a test, ordering the followers of Korah to burn incense before God. This was the exclusive prerogative of the priests and could be dangerous for anyone, priest or not (cf. Lev 10:1–2), who did it improperly.

16:33 the realm of the dead. The grave (Sheol) at this point in Israel’s history was perceived to be a shadowy, unknown realm of the dead—the netherworld of both good and evil where one was gathered to one’s ancestors at death. Normally, one placed a dead person in a cave or man-made tomb, where the body slowly deteriorated. Later the bones of the deceased were added or gathered to those of one’s ancestors in the ancestral burial site. But in this incident the bodies of the rebels (and perhaps their families as well as their possessions) plummeted into a gaping abyss, which soon closed over them with collapsed dirt and rock from the desert terrain. The second census informs us that Korah’s fate was the same as that of Dathan and Abiram (26:10).

Sheol is described as opening its mouth to receive the dead (Pr 1:12; Isa 5:14; Hab 2:5) in a manner parallel to the Canaanite god Mot. In the Baal Cycle, the champion deity admonishes his emissaries to Mot to beware “lest he put you in his mouth like a lamb, and crush you like a kid in his jaws.” Later Baal himself was mortally wounded and descended into the belly of Mot; Mot “stretched out his tongue to the stars, Baal entered his innards, he descended into his mouth.” Here the realm of Sheol and the dead is under the sovereign power of Israel’s God; since Moses pronounces the curse prior to the event, no one can mistake the judgment as circumstantial.

16:46–47 This plague is a visitation of the destroyer angel who had destroyed the firstborn of Egypt. Aaron burns incense in an attempt to avert God’s wrath, a remedy similar to the blood on the doorposts in Ex 12:7. Although blood sacrifice is more common, incense burned by an authorized priest can expiate sin and guard against God’s anger. Aaron’s walking among the dead is extraordinary, since priests are normally not allowed to come into contact with corpses, and demonstrates the desperate measures required by the situation.

17:2 staff. The official symbol of the tribal chieftain; in Babylonia and Egypt it often was designed so as to signify its owner (see Ge 38:18). The Hebrew matteh means both “tribe” and “staff/scepter” and hence carried some representation of the tribe’s identity. In this context the names were inscribed for unmistakable identification.

The use of wood articles to discern the will of the gods is well documented in the ancient Near East, wherein the wooden symbols of Asherah, Astarte or Ishtar are used in fertility rites. Even in Egypt Asherah was combined with Hathor during the Nineteenth Dynasty (the twelfth century BC) and represented as a nude figure standing on a lion and holding snakes and flowers. In the Ugaritic “Incantation Against Sorcery,” Baal uses his staff to drive off a man’s accuser into the underworld. Such cultic practices were forbidden and condemned elsewhere in the OT; the event here is not to be repeated and is not part of a cultic ritual, and cannot be confused with the divination practices condemned in Hos 4:12.

18:1 offenses connected with the sanctuary. This phrase should be read as “infractions against the purity of the sanctuary.” Impurity was an external force that attached itself to a person. Ridding oneself of this foreign force was the primary purpose of expiation. The priests and Levites provided a layer of security for the nation as a holy and undefiled people and defined its prophetic destiny as God’s people in the midst of a defiled world. Encroachment by any outside or unauthorized person on the holy objects was punishable by death. Priests were also culpable of violating the sanctity of the Holy Place if they allowed an unauthorized person within its defined sacred space. The priests themselves were prohibited from going beyond the curtain and entering the Most Holy Place; only the high priest was permitted to enter that sanctum on the Day of Atonement.

18:3 they must not go near. The full sanctuary of ancient Israel consisted of concentric zones of holiness. Each zone had its own rules of purity and accessibility. See the article “Zones of Purity in the Camp of Israel.”

18:9 most holy offerings. The priestly tribute is divided into two levels of sanctity. The holiest of the offerings, to be consumed only by the priests, were made up of the people’s dedicated offerings presented at the sanctuary—grain offerings, plus sin (purification) and guilt (reparation) offerings (Lev 4:1–35; 5:14–19; 7:1–10). The grain offering (Lev 2:1–13; 6:14–23) was an unleavened mixture of fine flour, oil and incense. A memorial portion was burned on the altar as a sweet aroma to Yahweh, with the remainder eaten by the Aaronic priests (see note on Lev 7:7).

18:11 wave offerings. See note on Lev 7:30.

18:12 firstfruits. The three plant products specified here were the cream of the crop—the very finest of the olive oil, wine and grain. These first processed offerings were distinguished from the normal firstfruit offerings of the first ripe olives, grapes and grain (Lev 2:14). The first yields of what was produced from oil from the olive crushing vats, newly pressed wine and freshly ground flour were to be returned to Yahweh, the owner and giver of all produce. The quality of the produce offered was deemed as the best or choicest of the crops. As the fat of any animal sacrificed or slaughtered was not to be consumed, the fat of the produce from field, orchard or vineyard was also not to be eaten but was to be devoted to Yahweh.

Later in the history of the Israelite kingdoms, prophets such as Hosea illustrated the nation’s unfaithfulness using the imagery of abused firstfruits of the fig season that went to Baal Peor instead of Yahweh (Hos 9:10). Offering the firstfruits to deity was standard practice in the ancient Near East.

18:14 devoted to the LORD. See note on Lev 27:28

18:15 first offspring . . . firstborn. The second part of the tribute list for the priests related to firstborn animals and humans brought to the sanctuary for offering or dedication. The firstborn offspring were the first male issue from the womb of its mother, whether human or animal. Animals defined by the law as clean, such as cattle, sheep and goats, were offered as sacrifices. redeem. Since humans could not be sacrificed physically, nor could unclean animals, a redemption price was set by which a substitutionary value was rendered to the priesthood. According to Ex 34:19 the unclean donkey could be redeemed with a lamb, otherwise its neck was to be broken. Other unclean animals are not discussed, probably since they were of little use to the priesthood or the average Israelite. The process of human and animal redemption had a didactic purpose of reminding the Israelites of their redemption from Egypt, an object lesson of history rehearsed in every generation so the people would not forget the Lord’s benevolence and the heavy price paid for their deliverance to freedom and blessing. No practices comparable to these have yet been found in the ancient Near East.

18:19 covenant of salt. See note on Lev 2:13.

18:21 tithes. See note on Ge 14:20. The concept of tithing is known from ancient Near Eastern sources in the Levant and Mesopotamia. Not only were agricultural goods tithed, but also various commodities such as metals and goods produced by craftsmen. Ugaritic texts evidence a royal temple structure in which contributions to the sanctuary could be used by royalty. A kind of royal priesthood is evidenced in the account of Melchizedek in Ge 14:18–24.

In Babylon of the sixth century BC, cattle contributed as tithes were branded for the temple treasuries, and other goods were earmarked on storage jars and other receptacles. In the Iron II Israelite kingdom period goods collected for the royal provision were inscribed with the term lmlk (“for the king”). Whether some of these may have been dedicated for the temple stores is unknown, but there is little doubt that some means of identifying the tithed goods was employed during the First Temple period.

18:27 grain . . . juice. These were two key agricultural products to be set aside by the Levites for their tithe: the best grain from the threshing floor and the finest juice from the wine vat. From the painted wall murals of Egypt to the hewn murals of the Hittites in central and eastern Anatolia and the Assyrians of Mesopotamia, the activities and products of grain processing and wine production were esteemed as sacred aspects of human endeavor in utilizing these gifts from the gods. Rites associated with bread and wine held significant places in ancient cultic activities, as they did in ancient Israel. Cultic activities were associated with threshing floors and winepresses, as well as olive presses. In Numbers particular attention is given to the bread, oil and wine accompaniments to a number of animal sacrifices.

19:2 red heifer. The process begins with the selection of a quality red cow (a roan or reddish-brown color) that is unblemished and has never been harnessed with a yoke. In that the cow has never been yoked for any physical task, it is probably young and strong. Elsewhere a bull is sacrificed as a sin offering for the high priest and his family (Lev 4:3–12; 16:6, 11) or for the community as a whole (Lev 4:13–21), and so the female is specified here. The cow offers the maximum potential yield of purification ashes so the ritual need not be repeated often. The redness of the cow reflects the color of blood, as do the other sacrificial elements burned with the cow: red cedar wood, scarlet wool and hyssop (see v. 6 and note).

19:6 cedar wood, hyssop and scarlet wool. The use of reddish materials along with other colored elements in ritual sanctification is echoed in texts from the Assyrian holy city of Ashur, known as “The Ritual Followed by the Kalš-Priest When Covering the Temple Kettle-Drum.” The assembly and sanctification of the bronze kettle-drum was accompanied by “cypress, one-half pound [0.23 kilograms] of sweet-smelling reed . . . of roses, ten shekels of aromatic annuba . . . two qa-measures of wine . . . one-half qa-measure of cedar sap . . . white . . . cloth, one red . . . cloth . . . pounds of wool . . . seven pounds [3.2 kilograms] of blue wool,” as well as other materials. hyssop. Probably not the Greek hyssopos (from which the English name was derived) since it is not native to this region. Perhaps it is marjoram, sage or thyme, the leaves of which are very absorbent.

19:7 wash his clothes and bathe himself with water. The priest (Eleazar) who carries out the slaughtering and sprinkling, the assistant who burns the cow (v. 8), and the one who gathers and stores the ashes (v. 10) are each rendered unclean by touching this purification (sin) offering. But this is a lesser state of uncleanness than one who touches a dead body. After taking the prescribed ritual bath, they are permitted to reenter the camp and remain unclean only until evening. Hittite and Ugaritic ritual texts prescribe the wearing of clean clothes and taking ritual baths for both kings and priests, especially to prepare for ceremonial and festival days.

19:10 foreigners residing among them. In future generations this purification (sin) offering and ritual becomes one of the more commonly applied purification (sin) offerings because of the continual potentiality of becoming unclean through the death of someone in the family, of a neighbor or of a sojourner in the land. The ritual guidelines apply to both the native Israelite and to resident non-Israelites. The openness of Israelite ritual law to resident non-Israelites who desire to identify with the community of faith stands in contrast to some other religious practices in the ancient Near East. Hittite temple ritual prohibited foreigners from bringing anything to the gods or even approaching them.

19:11, 14, 16 seven days. The time period of the impurity is the common maximum length for persons who have become unclean. Yet with some forms of impurity, such as contact with the red cow during the preparation process, one is rendered impure only until sundown (v. 7). The attention to death impurity stands in contrast to the prevalent cults of the dead in the ancient Near East, where ritual practice shows no concept of contracting contamination or impurity from a corpse, but a notable Babylonian text evidences a seven-day period of isolation for one who comes in contact with the “dust from a place of mourning.” The ritual includes reciting a namburbi incantation to protect from evil, offering libations to the god Shamash, taking a ritual bath and changing clothes, after which the offender remains secluded in his house for seven days.

The cult of the dead consisted of elaborate rituals on behalf of dead family members in order to assure life in the hereafter and placate the gods of death and the underworld. This process began with funerary rites of the deceased family member and continued well after the initial event. Mesopotamian texts from Mari (eighteenth century BC) prescribed offerings for the dead four times a year, in which the name of the dead person was invoked, food presented and a water libation rendered.

19:13 cut off. See note on Lev 7:20.

20:8–11 The actions of Moses have been examined against the backdrop of Egyptian and Mesopotamian magicians and diviners as well as in the context of the nature of God as seen in the Pentateuch. Magical acts in the ancient world were usually performed after appropriate sacrifices were made, ritual actions performed and incantations recited. In these ways, Moses’ behavior here would not have looked or sounded like that of the Egyptian lector priests (the magicians that he faced during the plagues, see notes on Ge 41:8; Ex 7:11). Nevertheless, Moses’ words (v. 10) and actions (v. 11) were tantamount to those of an idolatrous pagan magician, ascribing miraculous, almost God-like, powers to himself and Aaron.

20:8 Take the staff. The staff was taken from the Lord’s presence, implying this is the staff of Aaron that budded, blossomed and produced almonds in the divine confirmation of his priestly authority after the Korah rebellion (ch. 17). It was kept before the ark of the covenant law as a sign to any future grumbling rebels so that their murmuring might be summarily dismissed (17:10).

20:11 Water gushed out. No parallel accounts exist in the ancient Near East of deities providing water in this way. While geographers and Biblical interpreters have written of the extensive aquifers that exist beneath the surface of the sedimentary rock strata of the Sinai peninsula, aquifers would not normally provide nearly enough water to care for the needs of a group the size of the Israelites.

20:14–17 The message to the king of Edom follows classical Hebrew epistolary form and protocol. The content has all the earmarks of ancient Near Eastern diplomatic correspondence usually delivered by royal messengers.

20:14 king. The Hebrew term (melek) may range from a reference to internationally acclaimed kings of Egypt, Assyria, Babylon or Persia of the ninth to fifth centuries BC to simply the rulers of lesser towns such as Sodom and Gomorrah (Ge 14:2) or Jericho, Ai, Jerusalem, Yarmuth, Lachish and Debir of the period of the Israelite conquest (Jos 10:1–12:24). Edom. See note on Ge 36:9. Edom seems to have been organized under chieftains at this time, the head of which may have been designated broadly as a king.

20:17 The Israelites promise to respect Edomite dominion. Israel will not be a burden to Edom or disturb their agricultural activities. not go through any field or vineyard. The seasonal description indicates springtime, and the grain fields are near harvest time. Thus it is important to assure the Edomites that their crops will not be trampled or scavenged. water from any well. Water rights were of great concern in the ancient Near East (as they are even today). The Israelites will presumably bring their own water from Kadesh during their passage of perhaps two days through the Edomite highlands. King’s Highway. This famous north-south trade route connected the Damascus trade center with Arabia, Sinai and Egypt via a route through the Transjordan tablelands and the southern mountains, paralleling the Arabah on the eastern side. Egyptian kings such as Thutmose III passed along this road in their conquests of Transjordan and the eastern Levant. From southern Arabia caravanners brought the highly prized commodities of incense, spices, perfumes and precious jewels, as well as copper from the Sinai and the Desert of Paran.

20:19 We will go along the main road. The attempt at diplomatic correspondence carries alternative stipulations, the only part of which is preserved in v. 19. Israel again avows to ascend into the mountainous territory of Edom by the most direct route, the “main road” used by trade caravans and military troops. The suggestion of payment for safe passage is in keeping with ancient Near Eastern protocol, as often tolls were exacted from trade caravans traversing the regions of Mesopotamia and the Levant. Thus, this is not an unusual request, though the strong-handed military response to the second appeal is unusual (v. 20).

20:26 gathered to his people. See note on Ge 25:8. This phrase conveys the idea of being reunited with one’s ancestral families in Sheol, the place of the dead (see note on 16:33). Being left unburied or “ungathered” was viewed as an ignominious end of life (cf. Jer 8:2; see note on Dt 21:23).

21:6 venomous snakes. “Venomous” (serapim, “burning”) may refer to the burning pain from the lethal injection of venom through the serpents’ fangs or to a species of snake whose bite caused a burning sensation. The carpet viper (Echis carinatus or Echis coleratus) is a highly poisonous viper known from Africa and the Middle East—thus a likely candidate. Other suggestions include the puff adder and sand viper, neither of which is as lethal as the carpet viper.

21:8 Make a snake and put it up on a pole. The function of the image resembles a form of homeopathic and apotropaic ritual, whereby a votive form of the source of the disease (homeopathic element) is used in a ritual to ward off evil (apotropaism)—here, death from snake bite.

The use of a copper or bronze serpent in a worship context was found in the excavated remains of a temple to Hathor. Temple remains from the later Midianite occupation included a 5-inch-long (12.7-centimeter-long) copper snake with a gilded head, representative of some deity in the local cult. A coiled copper snake form that was about 8 inches (20 centimeters) long was excavated at Tel Mevorakh in the northern Sharon Plain, dating to the Late Bronze Age. Some Egyptians wore miniature models of serpents as amulets in order to prevent snakebites.

21:14 Book of the Wars of the LORD. This document is not preserved, but probably consisted of victory songs and tales of the deeds of Yahweh and the leaders of Israel. This book, along with the Book of Jashar (Jos 10:13; 2Sa 1:18), indicates that the composition of the Biblical narrative was based at least in part on cultural memories.

21:21 sent messengers. Diplomatic envoys were sent to negotiate passage northward along the King’s Highway in the Transjordan highlands and then westward down the hillsides to the shores of the Jordan River. Amorites. A large ethnic group that formed in Upper Mesopotamia near the end of the Early Bronze Age and extended westward to the Mediterranean coastlands (see note on 13:29). Sometimes “Amorite” is used generically in the Bible as a reference to the population of Canaan.

21:22 field or vineyard . . . well. See notes on 20:17, 19. King’s Highway. See note on 20:17.

21:29 Chemosh. First appears among the deities at Ebla about 2600–2250 BC and is associated with production of mud brick. He is mentioned 12 times in the Mesha Stele, including in the appellation Ashtar-Chemosh, as the god who enabled Mesha to break the yoke of Israel’s domination and recapture and rebuild a number of his cities, including Jahaz (l.19; cf. Nu 21:23), Dibon (l.21; also Dibon Gad in Nu 33:45–46), Beth Diblathiam (l.30; cf. Nu 33:46–47), and Medeba (l.30; cf. Nu 21:30). Heshbon is not preserved in the Mesha inscription, though it remained a vital city of this period in Moab’s history.

As national god of Moab, Chemosh stood in opposition to Yahweh as Moab did against Israel. His cult is similar to Yahweh’s and he too was credited with providing victory in battle and land to his people. This may indicate that the expectations placed on gods by their people were similar from one nation to another.

21:33 Bashan. Situated east-northeast of the Sea of Galilee and north of the Yarmuk River. The modern Golan area in Israel covers some of this territory, but in ancient times Bashan extended to Mount Hermon in the north and to the Yarmuk River in the south, and was bounded on the west by the Jordan Valley and on the east by the great eastern desert. It was lush and fertile and noted for its rich grazing lands. Ashtaroth, Og’s capital, was due east of Galilee on one of the tributaries of the Yarmuk River. It was mentioned in Egyptian, Assyrian and possibly Ugaritic texts and is designated as Tell Ashtarah today.

22:1 plains of Moab. This area is the broad plain between the Transjordan highlands and the Jordan River, extending about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from just north of the Dead Sea. From this locale the campaign into the promised land of Canaan will be launched.

22:2 Balak. Unknown outside the Bible, he is called a “king of Moab” (v. 4), meaning he was the titular head of an emerging tribal confederation (one of several groups in Transjordan, such as the Edomites and Ammonites). Territorial borders of these clans were not well defined until the Iron Age (beginning around 1200 BC), when classical Moab extended from the Wadi Zered border on the south with the Edomites to the Arnon River gorge on the north, and from the Dead Sea on the west to the desert on the east.

22:3 Moab. See note on Dt 2:9.

22:4 elders of Midian. The Midianites have their origins in northern Arabia and southern Transjordan; they were descendants of Abraham and Keturah (Ge 25:1–6). Their loose-knit, seminomadic culture carried them from Arabia to Sinai and Egypt (10:29; Ex 2:15–22); occasionally they made forays into Canaan as traders (Ge 37:25–36) and as invaders (Jdg 6:1–6). In this narrative a group of Midianite elders (note that no king is cited) joins the emissaries from Balak in enlisting the services of Balaam to curse Israel.

22:5 Pethor, near the Euphrates River. Pethor is likely Pitru, situated 13 miles (21 kilometers) south of Carchemish on the Sajur River tributary west of the Euphrates River. Pitru is cited in the annals of Shalmaneser III (859–824 BC), and earlier a Pedru is mentioned in the annals of Thutmose III (c. 1467 BC). The distance from Pethor to Moab exceeded 400 miles (650 kilometers), making each leg of the journey by the emissaries and Balaam a 20- to 25-day trek. in his native land. This phrase is probably better rendered “in the land of Amaw,” a region west of the Euphrates possibly mentioned in Egyptian and Mari inscriptions.

22:6 curse. Ancient Near Eastern texts recount the power of diviners, magicians and sorcerers to discern, intervene and even manipulate the will of the gods through divination, special sacrificial rituals such as extispicy (ritual reading of a liver or other entrails), and incantations aimed at blessing or cursing an individual or group, forecasting the future, and advising kings and other leaders.

The reading of omens through the observation of various aspects of nature was considered a skilled science. Glossaries of omens and detailed lists of animals and objects and their potential use in divination are found among the texts of the Hittites, Babylonians, Assyrians, Egyptians and other peoples. Knowledge of the ways, workings and occasional whims of the divine and the skill of cajoling these deities into bringing beneficial or detrimental results was a highly prized craft.

22:7 fee for divination. This Hebrew phrase describes the men “carrying divination in their hands,” which various scholars have translated as a divination fee, divination equipment or an idiom describing the emissaries of Balak as men “versed in divination.” Several parallel contexts from Mari describe situations in which objects used in the process of divination were presented, dispatched and used in the negotiation with the recipient of the divination. These included such items as clay models of intestinal entrails, livers or other parts used in the practice of extispicy, the art of ritual dissection. The equipment referred to may well have included baked clay models of the entrails predicting Moab’s downfall. Fear of the Israelites may have so alarmed Balak’s own trained diviners that they sought a person of great renown, as is Balaam, who might exercise his expertise in allaying Moab’s potential destruction by cursing Israel.

22:18 the LORD my God. There is no reason to think that Balaam (the Mesopotamian prophet who spoke in the name of many gods) served Yahweh exclusively. The familiar language may indicate that he is aware of Israel’s God at least by reputation (cf. Rahab in Jos 2:9–11) or that he refers to any god in this personal manner to demonstrate prophetic authority.

22:21–35 Three times (vv. 22–23, 24–25, 26–27) Balaam’s female donkey observes the angel of the Lord in a manner more perceptive than that of the renowned seer of the gods. The vineyard scene (vv. 24–25) indicates that the theophany took place in the arable highlands of Transjordan, probably between Damascus and Rabbah Ammon.

22:22 the angel of the LORD. See note on Ex 3:2.

22:24 walls. Piles of stones gathered from the area for planting were used to create boundaries between neighboring vineyards.

22:28 opened the donkey’s mouth. Tales of talking animals in the ancient world often contain warning, irony or satire. In the Egyptian Story of Two Brothers, a cow advises one of the brothers to flee because his brother was seeking to kill him with a lance. From the Aramaic Words of Ahiqar (seventh century BC) comes a conversation between a lion, a leopard, a bear and a goat, each representing a human characteristic in facing the struggles of life before the gods.

Interpretation of this Biblical event has given rise to two general options: (1) God gave the animal the power of speech similar to how he empowered Ezekiel to speak after a prolonged period of silence (Eze 3:27; 33:22); (2) the donkey’s normal braying was heightened such that it was perceived and interpreted by Balaam in a human manner. The scene is replete with irony in that the donkey is more perceptive of God and is able to speak God’s word in a manner superior to the internationally renowned expert. Balaam is reminded that he will only be allowed to speak what Yahweh, God of Israel, permits him to speak.

22:41 Bamoth Baal. A cultic center dedicated to a primary deity of the region (Baal, the champion of creation in the mythology of Ugarit). Balak apparently thinks that Yahweh, God of Israel, might be more apt to be manipulated from there. Bamoth (“high places”) is found in several compound names in the OT, but does not occur as a topographic name anywhere but in Moab.

23:1 seven altars. Multiple altars are not attested elsewhere in the OT, though the number seven denotes completeness or fulfillment. The importance of the number seven is reflected in the days of creation, the sanctity of the Sabbath, the sprinkling of the blood of the sin offerings on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) and the series of sevens in the NT book of Revelation. A parallel use of seven is found in a Babylonian text in which a worshiper is instructed to “erect seven altars before Ea, Shamash, and Marduk, to set up seven censers of cypress, and then pour out [as a libation offering] the blood of seven sheep.”

23:2 a bull and a ram. In ancient Near Eastern culture, the bull and ram were the most prized of animals and the obligatory sacrifices for persons from the upper echelon of society. These animals are also a regular part of special offerings in the Canaanite-type culture at Ugarit in the mid-second millennium BC. For a divination context, this is a large offering reflecting the importance of the situation—a king acting on behalf of his people in an international crisis. Usually a sacrifice performed in connection with divination required just one animal whose entrails were then examined for an answer. Here Balaam offers the sacrifices in order to try to induce Yahweh to deliver prophecy through him.

23:3 Stay here beside your offering. Here the king himself acts on behalf of the Moabite people, performing a priestly role not uncommon among Northwest Semitic people.

23:19 change his mind. Unlike the gods of Mesopotamia, who were often whimsical and malleable, Israel’s God was unchangeable and therefore of incomparable integrity. Mesopotamian gods were believed to be capable of exploiting the ambiguity of omens to their pleasure. Ishtar, a principal Mesopotamian goddess, is known for possessing paradoxical, and at times mutually exclusive, traits. change. Here it denotes making idle or deceptive promises or failing to follow through on one’s word.

23:22 strength of a wild ox. Israel’s strength was totally in God; by his power Israel is compared to a ravaging wild ox. Hammurapi of Babylon declared himself to be like “the fiery wild ox who gores the foe.” Ancient Near Eastern deities were often depicted as horned bulls or as humans with the head and/or horns of a bull. Baal is depicted as wearing the horns of a bull or wild ox in a sculptural relief from Ugarit.

23:23 no divination against Jacob. Israel did not need augurs, sorcerers, diviners or magicians; in fact, these were condemned. (Augury included reading cloud patterns, bird movements and other activities in the skies.) Israel’s defense came from no such activity, nor could such powers be used effectively against Israel. God would use a pagan diviner to communicate divine revelation for the purpose of blessing those whom Balaam had been expected to condemn.

24:7 Agag. He ruled the Amalekites (see note on 13:29) at the time of King Saul (1Sa 15:8). The Amalekites were Israel’s greatest enemy during Moses’ lifetime, having been routed by Israel soon after the exodus (Ex 17:8–16). The Amalekites defeated Israel after Israel rejected the gift of the land (Nu 14:43–45). Agag seems to have been a dynastic name among the Amalekites, and this oracle depicts a future victory in the exaltation of Israel.

24:10 struck his hands together. Fierce clapping of the hands was a sign of derision or defiance (Job 27:23; 34:37; La 2:15). The same meaning is evident in Esarhaddon’s Prism Inscription, where the gesture accompanies mourning in response to what he calls the wicked behavior of his father.

24:17 star. It is difficult to document the star being used as a symbol or metaphor for kingship in ancient Near Eastern literature. In later literature, this passage served as a basis for the star used on the coinage of Alexander Jannaeus (103–76 BC) to elevate the status of his kingship. Rabbi Akiba in the second century AD proclaimed Simon bar Kosiba to be Bar Kokhba (“son of the star”), thereby claiming fulfillment of this Messianic passage. scepter. Symbolized royal power in both heavenly and earthly realms, as seen in royal monuments of the ancient Near East in iconographic and epigraphic forms. Thutmose III subdues his captives with his scepter in a relief from the temple of Amon at Karnak.

24:22 Kenites. A nomadic clan living in the eastern Sinai region; their roots are traced Biblically to the descendants of Cain and are associated with metallurgical craftsmanship (Ge 4:17–22). In Jdg 1:16 the association is made between the Kenites and Moses’ in-laws (the Midianites), the descendants of whom settled in the Negev near Arad. Later Kenites are found living as far north as the territory of Naphtali (cf. 10:29–32; Ex 2:11–3:1; 18:1–5; Jdg 4:17; 5:24–27). The present text notes a group of Kenites who, like some Midianites, become enemies of Israel and are eventually subdued. Ashur. Probably refers not to the later Assyrian Empire of the ninth to seventh centuries BC, or even the Middle Assyrian peoples of the Late Bronze Age, who seldom ventured west of the Euphrates. Rather, this denotes the relatively unknown Ashurites, a nomadic group of the Negev region mentioned in Ge 25:3, 18; Ps 83:8. They were descendants of Abraham and his concubine Keturah.

24:24 Cyprus. In several OT passages the term is used generically for the islands of the Mediterranean and their inhabitants (Jer 2:10; Da 11:30). The inhabitants of Cyprus—also called Kittiyim in ancient literature after Cyprus’s major city Kition—mentioned in the Arad inscriptions are probably Greek and Cypriot mercenaries serving in the Judean army in border fortresses. During the Hellenistic age “Kittim” became a byword for the archenemies of God, a prominent motif in the Qumran scrolls in reference to the Greeks and then the Romans.

25:3 Baal of Peor. This is the first occurrence in the Hebrew Bible of the god Baal, who becomes the primary antagonist to Yahweh for the hearts of the Israelites. In the latter half of the Late Bronze Age, Baal was emerging as one of the major operative deities in Canaan. From Ugaritic texts Baal was the agent of the creative order, who with his consort Anath defeated the forces of evil, namely, Yamm (Sea), Mot (Death) and Lotan (Leviathan, “Sea Monster”).

Baal was a lesser-known deity in Mesopotamia during the Early Bronze Age and in the beginning of the Middle Bronze (patriarchal) period (2200–1550 BC). His first appearance as a prominent deity in Canaan surfaces in Hyksos-period texts from Egypt in the latter half of the Middle Bronze Age (c. 1720–1570 BC). The Egyptians bemoaned the fact that the “foreign rulers” from the land of the Hurru and Retenu were not worshipers of Amon-Re, but of a god called Baal-hazor, which they associated with their god Seth. With the emergence of the classical Canaanites in the southern Levant, apparently a mix of Northwest Semitic peoples and some non-Semitic elements such as the Hurrians and Hittites, came the emergence of Baal as a primary deity in the cults of the land.

25:4 Take all the leaders of these people, kill them and expose them in broad daylight before the LORD. Lit. “Take all the leaders of the people and impale them to Yahweh before the sun.” That is, Moses must round up all the tribal leaders, those representatives of the people who presumably should have either prevented the idolatrous activities or carried out the punishment of the guilty members of their tribes, and execute them by impaling them on poles so that their bodies hang out in broad daylight. The term “impale” is a rare Hebrew verb that has been variously translated as “kill, execute, impale, dismember.” The instructions given to Moses are severe but necessary to accomplish the purging of the sins of the people.

Exposure to the elements usually followed this form of execution, as with Saul’s sons (2Sa 21:8–13). Such public exposure was reserved for only the most heinous of crimes in ancient Israel and Mesopotamia. Later Assyrian sculptural relief murals depict rebellious vassals impaled on poles and left for public viewing, presumably to deter further insurrection. That the guilty parties were to be executed as “unto Yahweh” means that they were rendered unto Yahweh in order to expiate the divine wrath as evidenced in the plague.

25:6 brought into the camp. The offense here is probably not a violation of ethnic purity (since exogamy is allowed under certain circumstances), but rather something involving ritual intercourse. Alternatively, the intercourse could involve a ritual tied to the cult of the dead, perhaps an appeasement ritual regarding the plague in v. 3, where the “camp” in question is the ancestral spirits.

25:8, 9 plague. This is not the word used for the ten plagues in Exodus, but it is the same word for plague that is used in Nu 14:37; 16:46–50. It is some sort of epidemic.

25:9 24,000. May be 24 clans rather than 24,000 people since the Hebrew words are nearly identical.

26:4 Israelites who came out of Egypt. This second census of Israel’s military provides genealogical information not listed in the first census (in ch. 1; see the article “Genealogies”). Lists of successive kings of Sumer, Assyria and Babylon were common among the cuneiform texts excavated at Nineveh and Babylon. The genealogical census lists in Numbers connect the second generation of Israelites with the first generation, whom God delivered from Egypt. The familial relationships also form the basis for the land distribution by lot noted in vv. 52–56; 33:53–54.

26:51 601,730. See the article “Numbers in Numbers.” If one takes the interpretation of elep (“thousand”) as “troop, clan,” the second census total is 596 troops, totaling 5,730 men (an additional 180 men).

26:55 distributed by lot. The antiquity of this directive is echoed in the practice of census taking in the ancient Near East of the second millennium BC. Census taking for military and land distribution purposes is known from the royal archives of Mari dating to the nineteenth century BC. The principle of proportion is described in explicit terms—greater territory for larger tribes, smaller portions for the less populated tribes. Clan apportionment is assumed under the aegis of their ancestral tribe.

The proportional distribution takes into consideration the percentage of arable land available or accessible by clearing or irrigation. Joshua will later challenge tribes to harvest forested areas for ample farming acreage (Jos 17:17–18). The second principle governing land allocation is that of providential probability. The Lord oversees the tossing of the lots and thereby brings his decision to pass. Distribution of land for tribal inheritance follows this method; the assigned inheritance is to remain within the tribal family for posterity.

27:1 daughters of Zelophehad. In the two census tallies only male descendants are registered. If a man dies without a male heir, a male relative will redeem the land so that the territory remains within the clan. The levirate land responsibilities are outlined in Lev 25:23–28 for cases in which land is sold to pay one’s debts, and in the Year of Jubilee land debts are fully restored (Lev 25:8–17).

The account in vv. 1–11 provides an example of the development of casuistic legislation early in Israelite history. (1) The specific case is presented at the entrance to the tent of meeting (vv. 1–4). (2) Appeal is made to divine legislative authority (v. 5). (3) A precedent-setting decision is issued, accompanied by derived principles (vv. 6–11). Zelophehad “died for his own sin” (v. 3) without a rightful male heir through which his family would receive its share in the allotment of the land. The concern shared by his daughters was that their family would be passed over in the apportionment and thus their name would be forgotten in posterity (v. 4).

The potential disappearance of one’s family name is a matter of grave concern, often associated with divine judgment leading to societal abandonment. The entreaty within the clan allotment derives from the principles set forth in 26:52–56. Thus the daughters of Zelophehad desire status and inheritance rights within the Makirite clan of Manasseh. Later the Makirites receive an inheritance in the Gilead region of Transjordan (32:39–42).

Parallels to female inheritance in the Pentateuch occur in ancient Near Eastern texts from several countries. Ancient Sumerian law from Nippur and the decrees of Gudea of Lagash (c. 2150 BC) allowed a woman to inherit property when there were no sons. Z. Ben-Barak cites numerous other cases from Babylon, Nuzi and elsewhere, including one from sixth-century BC Athens that stipulated that the woman marry within the family. Egyptian laws seem to develop progressively from the Middle to New Kingdom periods, moving from a case in which a woman’s husband has provided for her in his will to a general case in which a woman received one-third of an estate. Verses 1–11 establish the legal rights of women within the sphere of property law with respect to possession and inheritance.

27:18 the spirit. Nothing in the OT text suggests that this is the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity; neither is it the Spirit of God that comes on the OT prophets; rather it is Joshua’s God-given skills as a leader (hence the NIV “spirit of leadership”). The recognition of empowerment by God becomes the criterion by which political authority is recognized by the tribes. lay your hand on him. The divine selection of Joshua son of Nun to succeed Moses is conveyed via the laying on of hands—the means of officially transferring authority from one leader to another. Among the rock-cut tombs of El-Amarna in Egypt of the fourteenth century BC is a scene depicting the pharaoh conferring authority to his officials by extending his hands over their heads.

27:21 Urim. See the article “Urim and Thummim.”

28:2 appointed time. Most ancient Near Eastern cultures held annual agricultural festivals celebrating the gifts of the gods and goddesses in the flocks, herds and grain in the spring, and wine and oil in the fall. From Ugarit comes the annual fall festival for the offering of new wine, and perhaps other cyclical festivals as well. In the Hittite “Instructions to Priests and Temple Officials,” the firstfruits of animals and grain were presented “for the pleasure of the gods.” In texts from Emar of Upper Mesopotamia a six-month ritual calendar is outlined, beginning with the Zukru festival in the fall month of Zarati and extending to the spring. During the Emar rituals, sacrifices of sheep, grain (bread) and beer (strong drink) are listed.

The Israelite cycle of holy days combine the agricultural calendar with celebrations of God’s dynamic acts in history. Daily, monthly and annual offerings are prescribed for purification and atonement, consecration, and celebration in the covenant relationship between God and his people. The Gezer Calendar delineates eight periods in the 12-month cycle for various harvest periods in ancient Israel, beginning with the fall harvest of the olive orchards.

28:7 fermented drink. The addition of one-fourth hin of strong drink (shekar, see the article “Nazirites”) completes the collection of agricultural products that combine to produce a savory smell when consumed by fire. Wine and other fermented liquids were considered special gifts from God (or the gods) in the ancient Near East and thus were to be reciprocated as part of the array of sacrifices.

28:11 On the first of every month. Lunar calendars dominate the time-reckoning measurements in the ancient Near East, and the New Moon feast held an important place in the cycle of religious observances. In northern Mesopotamia the moon-god Suen (Sin) was honored, and in Emar the New Moon of Dagan was celebrated by drinking wine and burning birds. Ram’s horns and/or trumpets were sounded over the burnt offerings (10:10; Ps 81:3) on Rosh Hodesh (the first day of the month), and commerce was suspended (Am 8:5).

During the eighth century BC, this celebration and other rituals became contemptible in the eyes of Yahweh because of social injustice and religious idolatry in the nation (Isa 1:13; Hos 2:11). The lunar month set the sequence of the annual holy days and festivals (e.g., “on the first day of the seventh month” [Lev 23:24]). The sizable quantity of sacrificial elements offered on this day bespeaks the status of the holiday for the Israelite community.

28:26 Festival of Weeks. Originally called the Festival of Harvest (Ex 23:16), the Festival of Shavuoth (Weeks) celebrated the completion of the grain harvest season begun at Passover/Unleavened Bread. The early barley harvest bore a direct connection to the end of the wheat harvest by the counting of the omer grain offering during the 50-day period. The celebration also included the offering of two portions of new grain baked with yeast as a sign of the fullness of God’s blessing in comparison to the earlier week-long consumption of unleavened bread, the sign of poverty and affliction (Lev 23:15–22; Dt 16:3).

Shavuoth included a goat for a sin (purification) offering and was also designated as a Sabbath. The timing of the two festivals in the first and third months led to the association of Shavuoth with the giving of the law on Mount Sinai (Ex 19:1). Unlike most holy days, this festival was not connected to the lunar calendar cycle. For the Messianic Qumran sectarians, the festival was the most important of their solar calendar year and given the name “Feast of the Renewal of the Covenant.”

29:12 On the fifteenth day of the seventh month. This was the Festival of Tabernacles (Sukkot). The sukkah was a hut or tent constructed during the wilderness period to protect from the elements of the desert. First called the Festival of Ingathering (Ex 23:16b), the celebration commemorated God’s provision in the fall harvest of the vegetable crops, vineyards and olive orchards.

Such a celebration was common among ancient Near Eastern cultures, such as the Emar Zukru (“remembrance”) rituals on the eighth and fifteenth days of the seventh month of Zarati. When the Israelites settled the promised land, they were to imitate their ancestors by building a sukkah adjacent to their home and live in it during the seven days of the festival (Lev 23:39–43) to remind them of God’s protection and provision during the 40-year sojourn. The association of Sukkot with the exodus from Egypt provided a continuation of the salvation-redemption-providence-preservation motifs of Passover, Unleavened Bread and Pentecost.

There are more animals sacrificed during this festival than during any other festival: 71 bulls, 15 rams, 105 lambs, and 8 goats, with accompanying food and drink offerings.

30:2 When a man makes a vow. Vows were binding on all community members, with special exceptions for women. Making vows was voluntary, but anyone who did so or swore an oath in an obligatory relationship had to fulfill that commitment. Vows involved a verbal act of commitment to a task or to consecration of oneself or one’s property to the Lord; sacrificial offerings were part of the obligation, and in the case of the Nazirite also an oath of abstinence. Biblical vows were made only to deity, intensifying the solemnity of the pledge. To break a vow in which God’s name had been evoked was to profane that name (see Lev 27).

Vows to the gods for favors were common in the ancient Near East in requests for victory in battle, healing, deliverance, childlessness or the love of a woman. The recitation of a vow was often inscribed on a stele. Examples include those made by kings and other worshipers in Mesopotamia, Ugarit and Aram. In the New Kingdom of Egypt, several prayers of the poor reflect vows to praise the god Ptah in response to his beneficent acts.

30:9 widow or divorced woman. A woman no longer under the patriarchal authority of her father or her husband, whether by his death or by divorce, possessed the same status and responsibility of a man with regard to vows and obligations. Independent women were afforded a significant position in Israelite society, being permitted to buy and sell property, negotiate contracts, operate businesses, and make vows and pledges (cf Pr 31:10–31 for similar activities by a married woman).

30:10 a woman living with her husband. Vows that might be detrimental to the woman, her husband or the husband-wife relationship could be annulled by the husband. Special considerations were given to the circumstances and time sequence of when the wife took a vow or oath, when the husband was apprised of the commitment, and when and how he responded to the information. Childlessness was a common concern in the Bible and the ancient Near East (e.g., Hannah in 1Sa 1:11; the mother of Samson in Jdg 13:1–23), and that would be a common focus of a woman’s vow. In Mesopotamia severe childhood disease or mortality is deemed the result of unpaid vows.

31:3 vengeance. The action against the Midianites is sometimes compared to the way that the Israelites were supposed to treat the peoples of the land in the time of Joshua, but the same term herem (see the article “Divine War”) is not used here. Unlike Joshua’s actions against the Canaanites, here a specific offense serves as the backdrop, and it is that offense that is the basis for vengeance. The actions of the Canaanites are not acts of vengeance. Here plunder can be taken and even some of the people can be assimilated. This bears more resemblance to how Israel was instructed to treat the people and cities who were not inside the land that Yahweh was giving to them (Dt 20:10–15).

31:6 articles from the sanctuary. Scholars have debated which holy implements may have been taken from the sanctuary into battle. Some have suggested the ark of the covenant law, but it seems that if the ark of the covenant law were intended by this phrase, it would have been mentioned as when the Israelites tried to use it against the Philistines in the battle of Aphek-Ebenezer (1Sa 4:3–11). Others suggest these vessels were the Urim and Thummim, but this is unlikely since they were kept by the high priest. More likely these are the signal trumpets, which were kept in the sanctuary for their regular cultic usage and for waging battle (see notes on 10:2, 5–7, 8).

31:8 Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur and Reba. The names of the five kings are recounted again in the same order in the battle summary of Jos 13:21, where they are called “Midianite chiefs” and “princes allied with Sihon.” The precise political relationships among the Amorites, Moabites and Midianites remain somewhat nebulous. These Midianite chieftains may have been subject to Sihon prior to the defeat of the Amorites and then gained their independence through the earlier Israelite victory. Zur. The father of Kozbi, the Midianite woman killed by Phinehas along with her Israelite paramour, Zimri son of Salu (25:14–15). Zur and Zimri are both regarded as patriarchal clan leaders. kings. See note on 20:14.

31:19 purify yourselves. The purpose of holy war was the eradication of all impure elements from the geographic region or ethnic territory placed under the ban. Coming on the heels of an idolatrous and adulterous affair at Baal Peor involving Israelite and non-Israelite participants, a cleansing of the camp was needed for the sanctity and purity of the community. The violence of war brings death and a state of ritual impurity through contact with the dead.

31:22–23 Gold, silver . . . put through the fire. This new ordinance has to do with the purification of metallic products by means of fire because they can withstand the high temperatures. Perishable goods such as glass beads, clothing, wood, leather, animals and other organic commodities are to be purified with water, probably through washing, and then put through the waters of purification made from fresh water and the ashes of the red cow (see ch. 19).

31:27 Divide the spoils equally. This instruction for distributing the spoils of war among the community members sets the standard for the coming campaigns in the promised land. In many other marauding cultures of the ancient Near East, the warriors retained whatever goods or persons they captured during and after battle, with certain portions being allocated to the king and his court and other portions rewarded to the priesthoods of the patron deity of that people.

31:28 tribute. The Hebrew term (mekes) occurs three times in this chapter but nowhere else in the Hebrew Bible. This term is attested in Ugaritic (mekes) and Akkadian (miksu) and occurs often in later rabbinic sources. The tradition in Abraham’s day was a tithe of 10 percent presented to the temple priesthood, as he did with the spoils of war confiscated from the battle against the four kings of Mesopotamia (Ge 14).

31:32–35 These totals are much higher than those confiscated in the campaign of Thutmose III of Egypt (c. 1460 BC) during his campaign against Megiddo and other northern Canaanite cities. The Karnak temple account lists plunder of 1,929 cattle, 2,000 goats, 20,500 sheep and 2,503 slaves (men, women and children), along with a variety of physical objects such as gold bowls and ebony statues. In ancient cultures, numbers were sometimes more than mere quantities—numbers could have rhetorical value.

31:52 16,750 shekels. The amount of the gold offered by Israel’s commanders on behalf of their troops exceeds the minimal requirement of one-half shekel per person, a ransom of some 6,000 shekels, or about 2,500 ounces (71,000 grams), which equals 158 pounds (71 kilograms) of gold. Instead, they present nearly three times the minimal amount, with a combined weight of the armlets, bracelets, signet rings, earrings and necklaces totaling 16,750 shekels, or about 7,000 ounces (200,000 grams), which equals 440 pounds (200 kilograms) of gold.

This much gold seems phenomenal considering the seminomadic nature of the Midianites, and it is important to keep in mind that numbers can be chosen for rhetorical value rather than as reports of actual quantities. Yet they traveled the caravan routes into Arabia and beyond, by which such wealth could have come, and adornment in gold is still prized today among Bedouins. Samples of such wealth occasionally find their way into burials. Note the excavation of Tel Beth Shean, in which material goods from a child burial from the Middle Bronze II (Hyksos) period (c. 1700 BC) include an ornate white alabaster vase, four gold earrings and a gold ring with an etched amethyst mounted on it with gold thread.

32:1 lands of Jazer and Gilead. Having journeyed through the more arid regions south of the Arnon (such as Edom and Moab), the Gadites and Reubenites observe how the more northern region of Gilead is more fertile with highland grassy regions for grazing, and with valleys and hillsides suitable for grain and fruit orchards. Jazer. An arable region northwest of Amman, generally associated with the area around Khirbet Jazzir, located about 10 miles (16 kilometers) west-northwest of Amman and 12 miles (20 kilometers) south of the Jabbok River. Gilead. Extended through the Transjordan highlands from the Bashan and Golan regions in the north to the Jabbok River in the south, rising to more than 4,000 feet (1,200 meters) in elevation. Rivers such as the Yarmuk, Jabesh, Jabbok and their tributaries, as well as the numerous springs in the region, provide ample water supply for humans and animals alike. Gilead is perhaps gld mentioned in the texts from Ugarit, and ga-ala[a]-(za) of Akkadian texts of Tiglath-Pileser III, a possible reference to Ramoth Gilead bordered on the north by the Arameans.

32:3–5 After the list of the cities conquered from the Amorites (v. 3) and an acclamation that Yahweh their God was responsible for granting them the victory (v. 4), the Gadites and Reubenites make a request of Moses and Israel’s other leaders (v. 5). A similar entreaty for a land grant in proper protocol format is found in diplomatic correspondence of the ancient Near East, including the basic letter writing language found in the Lachish, Arad and Samaritan ostraca.

32:16 pens. The Hebrew (gidrot tson) means “stone pens for sheep” or simply “sheepfolds.” They are perhaps the V-shaped stone enclosures found in Transjordan and the Arabah for protecting sheep, goats and cattle during times of danger.

32:20 If you will do this. The compromise proposed by the Gadites and Reubenites is structured as a covenant with stipulations in the formula of blessing and curse: “If you do X, then you will have Y blessing; but if you do not do X, then Z curse will come to you.” The covenant between the tribes of Gad and Reuben and the other ten tribes has Moses as the mediator and Yahweh as the witness and guarantor of the commitment made by the two tribes.

32:34–36 The Gadites are allocated land grants in the southern part of the former kingdom of Sihon of the Amorites, most of which are cited in v. 3. Gad shares its northern border with the half-tribe of Manasseh. The cities listed for Gad in the OT suggest a narrow strip of land in the Jordan River plain extending from the Jabbok River to the Sea of Galilee. Aroer (modern-day Arair) was located on the King’s Highway, just north of the Arnon River. The Gadite cities are detailed in Jos 13:24–28.

32:37–38 The Reubenites receive the area and cities generally allocated south of those belonging to Gad. Among the cities is Heshbon, the former capital of Sihon’s Amorite kingdom.

32:39–42 The allocation to the half-tribe of Manasseh is generally north of Gad, extending from the region of Gilead into Bashan and the Golan.

33:1–49 The list of the stages of Israel’s departures and encampments from Rameses in Egypt to the plains of Moab stands in the tradition of itineraries of ancient Near Eastern kings in their travels and conquests. This compares with the Late Bronze Age itineraries of Thutmose III from Karnak, which were both military and economic expeditions that included topographic, geographic and toponymic information. Later in the ninth and eighth centuries BC, Assyrian kings such as Shalmaneser III and Tiglath-Pileser III listed cities and geographic features in their conquest annals.

33:52 cast idols. Molten cast images of deities are those in which clay or molten metal, such as copper or bronze, was poured into a pottery mold forming the shape of the deity. Numerous deity forms and their molds have been uncovered in excavations throughout Israel/Palestine. high places. Translates the Hebrew bamot, which may or may not refer to an elevated site or structure. With the variety of usage in the OT, a generic phrase such as “sacred site” or “cultic installation” may better render this kind of worship center. Such a site may include (1) an altar on which animal, grain, vegetable, incense or other product is rendered to the deity; (2) cultic symbols and/or figurines; (3) standing stones (matstsebot); or (4) other cultic instruments.

34:2 Canaan. A definable geographic entity in Egyptian lists of names of cities and regions as early as the fifteenth century BC, since Egypt controlled much of Canaan (Retenu) during the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Dynasties (mid-second millennium BC). Though the detailed borders are not as explicitly demarcated in the Egyptian records of the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages, the cities and towns listed in both sets of documents encompass substantially the same region.

35:2–15 Limited portions of land on the perimeter of 48 cities were prescribed for Levite use in pasturage and farming, including the six cities of refuge. Parallel to the encampment of the priests and Levites around the tabernacle during the wilderness journey (ch. 2), the Levites provided a constant visible presence among the 12 tribes to remind them of the need for holiness and righteousness as God’s people. This distribution parallels the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egyptian administration of Canaan in which royal land grants were made, administered by the priesthood. These fortified cities collected tribute from the region, providing wealth to the priesthood in Egypt.

Instead of being granted a designated portion of the land, the Levites’ inheritance is Yahweh himself (18:20). The Levitical pasturelands around the grant cities are to extend outward 1,000 cubits (about 1,500 feet or 450 meters) from the wall of the city, and the territory is described as 2,000 cubits (about 3,000 feet or 900 meters) on each of the sides. Levite presence facilitates the rendering of the tithes by the Israelites (18:21–24, 30–32) to the Lord. The Levite land grants are primarily for pasturing animals, not for crop production (Jos 21:11–12). On the specific areas where the Kohathites, Gershonites and Merarites lived, see Jos 21.

35:11 cities of refuge. Six cities were set aside to provide refuge for a person who caused the accidental death of someone else (cf. Dt 4:41–43). The accused was to flee to the appointed city immediately after committing the act to be afforded the opportunity for refuge from a potential avenger of blood. For the names and placement of these six cities, three on each side of the Jordan River and all somewhat equidistant from each other, see Jos 20:7–8.

35:12 the avenger. The avenger (Hebrew goel; cf. “avenger of blood “in vv. 19–27) is the same term used of the “guardian-redeemer” in Ru 2:20; 4:3, 6; he is someone who “redeems” property or persons from another. In Lev 25:33 gaal denotes the redemption of property of the Levites that has been sold, and in Lev 25:47–54 it relates to the redemption by a relative of persons sold into slavery. The “avenger of blood” (vv. 19–27) was a relative who redeemed the lost life of a relative by exacting the life of the murderer. The responsibility to carry out this judgment fell to the nearest surviving relative (father, then eldest brother and on down the line). The city of refuge provided a safe haven for the accused until the community had opportunity to discover the nature of the crime and determine whether murder or manslaughter had been committed.

35:16–29 Case laws governing murder and manslaughter are stated in a formula of option, with the first set of laws governing murder and the avenging adjudication by the avenger of blood (vv. 16–21), and with the second set of laws governing manslaughter and the responsibilities of the community in such cases (vv. 22–29).

35:22–28 According to Jos 20:4, one seeking asylum was to appear at the entrance to the city gate, where the city’s elders and judges heard and settled a variety of judicial cases. If the case was determined to be accidental, the Levitical city would offer asylum and sanctuary. The sending of a person convicted of manslaughter “back to the city of refuge” (v. 25) suggests that the trial took place just outside the city walls, whereby also a person convicted of murder could be rendered readily to the avenger of blood for execution. One convicted of manslaughter had to remain in the city of refuge until the death of the high priest (vv. 25, 28), which marked the end of an era in Israelite cultic history, similar to the ancient practice of a king or governor granting amnesty or pardon to convicted felons. In effect the death of the accused individual or the high priest ransomed the death of the victim.

35:30 No one could be executed on the basis of a single witness to a crime; a minimum of two witnesses was necessary for conviction of a capital crime. This is consistent with cases delineated in Deuteronomy as well as ancient Near Eastern law collections, such as the Code of Hammurapi. Bribery, ransom or other forms of compensation for the death of a human being were strictly prohibited, whether the death was murder or manslaughter.

36:1–12 The particular concern of the larger Gileadite clan is the possible loss of land to another Israelite tribe should the daughters of Zelophehad marry outside the tribe of Manasseh. Under the Lord’s direction, Zelophehad’s daughters were granted territorial inheritance rights, thereby setting a legal precedent that the land should remain within the family or tribe. The Gileadite leaders brought to the judicial proceedings the other legal precedent of the Lord’s direction for the distribution of tribal territory by lot, and territorial sovereignty of each tribe was to be maintained.

With these two precedents on the judicial table, the Gileadites presented their case in two parts before Moses and the Israelite leadership for a legal decision. First was the question of one of the daughters of Zelophehad marrying outside the tribe of Manasseh, in which case the property would accrue to the husband’s tribe, thereby violating tribal territorial sovereignty. Tribal sovereignty was maintained by requiring Zelophehad’s daughters to marry within the tribal clan. This decision settled a potential conflict within property laws related to the Year of Jubilee, during which property reverted to its original tribal or clan owner and indentured slaves were emancipated (Lev 25:13–55). Since the Jubilee statutes applied only to purchased property and not to inherited property, this case set a precedent for future potential litigation.