I. THE EXPERIENCE OF THE FIRST GENERATION IN THE WILDERNESS (1:1–25:18)
A. The Preparation for the Triumphal March to the Promised Land (1:1–10:36)
1. Setting Apart the People (1:1–10:10)
a. The Census of the First Generation (1:1–4:49)
(a) The command of the Lord (1:1–4)
(b) The names of the men (1:5–16)
(c) The summary of the census (1:17–19)
(d) The listings of the census by each tribe (1:20–43)
(e) The summary of the census (1:44–46)
(f) The reason for the exclusion of the Levites (1:47–54)
ii. The placement of the tribes (2:1–34)
(b) Details of execution (2:3–33)
(i) Eastern encampment (2:3–9)
(ii) Southern encampment (2:10–16)
(iii) Tent and the Levites (2:17)
(iv) Western encampment (2:18–24)
(v) Northern encampment (2:25–31)
iii. The placement and the numbers of the Levites and firstborn of Israel (3:1–51)
(a) The family of Aaron and Moses (3:1–4)
(b) The duties for the Levites (3:5–10)
(c) The separation of the Levites (3:11–13)
(d) The census of the Levites (3:14–39)
(e) The census and redemption of the firstborn (3:40–51)
iv. The numbers of the Levites in tabernacle service (4:1–49)
(a) The command for the census and a description of duties (4:1–33)
(i) The family of Kohath (4:1–20)
(ii) The family of Gershon (4:21–28)
(iii) The family of Merari (4:29–33)
(b) A description of the census (4:34–45)
(c) A summary of the census and the work of Moses in the census (4:46–49)
b. Diverse Commands and Rituals in Preparation for the Triumphal March (5:1–10:10)
i. The test for purity and the law of jealousy (5:1–31)
(a) The expulsion of the impure from the camp (5:1–4)
(b) Restitution for personal wrongs (5:5–10)
(c) The law of jealousy (5:11–31)
(i) The seed of jealousy (5:11–15)
(ii) The curse of the oath (5:16–22)
(iii) The bitter waters (5:23–28)
(iv) The summary of the law of jealousy (5:29–31)
ii. The vow of the Nazirite and the Aaronic benediction (6:1–27)
(a) The vow of the Nazirite (6:1–21)
(i) The basic prohibition against wine (6:1–4)
(ii) Basic prohibitions concerning hair and dead bodies (6:5–8)
(iii) The specific prohibition concerning accidental death (6:9–12)
(iv) The ritual for the completion of the vow (6:13–20)
(v) The summary of the Nazirite vow (6:21)
(b) The Aaronic Benediction (6:22–27)
iii. The offerings at the dedication of the tabernacle (7:1–89)
(a) The presentation of carts and oxen (7:1–3)
(b) The distribution of the carts and oxen (7:4–9)
(c) The plan of the tribal offerings (7:10–11)
(d) The offerings of the twelve tribes (7:12–83)
(e) The totals of the offerings (7:84–88)
(f) Moses’ conversation with God (7:89)
iv. Setting up the lamps and the separation and age of service of the Levites (8:1–26)
(a) Setting up the lamps (8:1–4)
(b) The separation of the Levites (8:5–22)
(i) Their ceremonial cleansing (8:5–14)
(ii) Their position before the Lord (8:15–19)
(iii) A summary of their separation (8:20–22)
(c) The age of service of the Levites (8:23–26)
v. The celebration of the Passover (9:1–14)
(a) The command to keep the Passover (9:1–5)
(b) The ceremonially unclean (9:6–8)
(c) Divine permission for a legitimate delay (9:9–13)
(d) The rights of the alien at Passover (9:14)
vi. The covering cloud (9:15–23)
vii. The two silver trumpets (10:1–10)
(a) The command to fashion two silver trumpets (10:1–7)
(b) The ordinance for the silver trumpets (10:8–10)
2. Setting Forth the People on the Triumphal March (10:11–36)
a. The March Begins (10:11–13)
b. The Grand Procession of Tribes and Levites (10:14–28)
c. The Request for Hobab to Join the March (10:29–32)
d. The Three-Day Procession behind the Ark of the Lord (10:33–36)
B. The Rebellion and Judgment of a Fearful People (11:1–25:18)
1. A Cycle of Rebellion and Atonement and the Record of Death (11:1–20:29)
a. The Beginning of Sorrows (11:1–35)
i. A judgment of fire (11:1–3)
ii. A surfeit of quail (11:4–34)
b. The Opposition of Miriam and Aaron (12:1–16)
i. The attack on Moses from his family (12:1–3)
ii. The defense of Moses by the Lord (12:4–9)
iii. The punishment of Miriam (12:10–15)
c. The Twelve Agents and the Mixed Report (13:1–33)
i. The command of the Lord (13:1–2)
ii. The roster of names (13:3–16)
iii. The instructions of Moses (13:17–20)
iv. A summary of the reconnaissance (13:21–25)
v. The mixed report (13:26–33)
d. The Rebellion of the People and Defeat by the Amalekites (14:1–45)
i. The final rebellion of the faithless people (14:1–4)
ii. The words of the faithful warning against rebellion (14:5–9)
iii. The appearance of the Lord to withstand the rebels (14:10–12)
iv. The pleading of Moses on behalf of the rebellious people (14:13–19)
v. The judgment of the Lord against the rebels (14:20–35)
vi. The death of the evil agents (14:36–38)
vii. Defeat by the Amalekites (14:39–45)
e. Laws on Offerings, the Sabbath, and Tassels on Garments (15:1–41)
i. Teaching on special offerings (15:1–16)
ii. Instructions for the cake offering (15:17–21)
iii. Instructions about offerings for unintentional sins (15:22–29)
iv. Instructions about punishment for sins of defiance (15:30–31)
v. A man who violated the Sabbath (15:32–36)
vi. Instructions for tassels on garments (15:37–41)
f. The Rebellion of Korah and His Allies (16:1–50)
i. The beginning of revolt (16:1–3)
iii. Moses’ warning to the rebels (16:8–11)
iv. Confrontation with Dathan and Abiram (16:12–14)
v. Judgment on his enemies (16:15–35)
vi. The aftermath of the contest—more distress (16:36–50[17:1–15])
g. The Budding of Aaron’s Staff (17:1–13 [16–28])
i. The test for the true priest (17:1–7 [16–22])
ii. The outcome of the ordeal (17:8–13 [23–28])
h. The Priests and the Levites (18:1–32)
i. Their general duties (18:1–7)
ii. Their offerings and support (18:8–13)
iii. The firstborn offerings and redemptions (18:14–19)
iv. Aaron’s special portion (18:20)
v. The tithes and the Levites (18:21–24)
vi. The contributions of the Levites (18:25–32)
i. The Red Heifer and the Cleansing Water (19:1–22)
i. The statute of the red heifer (19:1–10)
ii. Application of cleansing waters (19:11–13)
iii. Specifics of uncleanness (19:14–16)
iv. Application of the cleansing waters for uncleanness (19:17–22)
j. The Ultimate Rebellion in the Sin of Moses (20:1–13)
k. The Resistance of Edom (20:14–21)
l. The Death of Aaron and the Succession of Eleazar (20:22–29)
2. A Climax of Rebellion and Hope and the End of Their Dying (21:1–25:18)
a. The Destruction of Arad (21:1–3)
c. The Journey toward Moab and the Song of the Well (21:10–20)
d. The Defeat of Sihon of Heshbon (21:21–31)
e. Israel’s Defeat of Og of Bashan (21:32–22:1)
i. The “call” of Balaam (22:2–20)
ii. The donkey story (22:21–41)
g. Balaam’s Seven Oracles (23:1–24:25)
i. Balaam’s first oracle (23:1–12)
(a) The setting of the oracle (23:1–6)
(b) The oracle: The blessing of Israel is irrevocable (23:7–10)
ii. Balaam’s second oracle (23:13–26)
(a) The setting of the oracle (23:13–17)
(b) The oracle: the source of Israel’s unique blessing (23:18–24)
iii. Balaam’s third oracle (23:27–24:14)
(a) The setting of the oracle (23:27–24:2)
(b) The oracle: the beauty and strength of Israel (24:3–9)
iv. Balaam’s fourth oracle (24:15–19)
v. Balaam’s fifth oracle (24:20)
vi. Balaam’s sixth oracle (24:21–22)
vii. Balaam’s seventh oracle (24:23–25)
h. Israel’s Final Rebellion with the Baal of Peor and the Death of the First Generation (25:1–18)
i. The involvement of Israel in the worship of Baal Peor (25:1–3)
ii. The judgment of the Lord on his errant people (25:4–5)
iii. The zeal of Phinehas (25:6–9)
iv. The Lord’s covenant with Phinehas (25:10–13)
v. The aftermath of the rebellion (25:14–18)
II. THE PROSPECTS FOR THE SECOND GENERATION TO ENTER THE PROMISED LAND (26:1–36:13)
A. The Preparation for the Triumphal March to the Promised Land, the Second Generation (26:1–32:42)
1. The Second Census, That of the New Generation, Who Will Enter the Land (26:1–65)
a. The Command of the Lord to Take the Census (26:1–4)
b. The Enumeration of the People by Their Ancestral Tribes and Clans (26:5–50)
i. The tribe of Reuben (26:5–11)
ii. The tribe of Simeon (26:12–14)
iii. The tribe of Gad (26:15–18)
iv. The tribe of Judah (26:19–22)
v. The tribe of Issachar (26:23–25)
vi. The tribe of Zebulun (26:26–27)
vii. The tribe of Manasseh (26:28–34)
viii. The tribe of Ephraim (26:35–37)
ix. The tribe of Benjamin (26:38–41)
x. The tribe of Dan (26:42–43)
xi. The tribe of Asher (26:44–47)
xii. The tribe of Naphtali (26:48–50)
c. The Grand Celebrative Number, to the Praise of the Lord (26:51)
d. The Allotment of the Land on the Basis of the Names of the Families of Israel (26:52–56)
e. The Families and Numbers of the Levites, the Holy Tribe of Israel (26:57–62)
f. A Recapitulation of the Point of the Census: This Is the New Generation (26:63–65)
2. The Inheritance of Women on Entering the Land (27:1–11)
3. The Successor to Moses (27:12–23)
a. Regular Offerings (28:1–15)
i. The daily offerings (28:1–8)
ii. The Sabbath offerings (28:9–10)
iii. The monthly offerings (28:11–15)
b. Festival Offerings (28:16–29:40)
ii. The Feast of Weeks (28:26–31)
iii. The Feast of Trumpets (29:1–6)
iv. The Day of Atonement (29:7–11)
v. The Feast of Tabernacles (29:12–38)
i. The issue of vows to the Lord (30:1–2)
ii. The vows of a woman who lives with her father (30:3–5)
iii. The vows of a (newly) married woman (30:6–8)
iv. The vows of a widow or a divorced woman (30:9)
v. The vows of a married woman (30:10–15)
vi. A summary statement (30:16)
5. The Reprisal against Midian, Moses’ Last Campaign (31:1–54)
a. The Report of the Battle (31:1–24)
i. The instructions for the battle (31:1–6)
ii. The report of the victory (31:7–12)
iii. The destruction of the women and boys (31:13–18)
iv. The purification of the soldiers (31:19–20)
v. The purifying of the goods (31:21–24)
b. The Division of the Spoils (31:25–54)
i. The share for the soldiers (31:25–41)
ii. The share for the people (31:42–47)
iii. The extra share for the Lord (31:48–54)
6. The Settlement of the Transjordan Tribes (32:1–42)
a. The Request of Reuben and Gad to Settle in Transjordan (32:1–19)
i. The original request (32:1–5)
ii. The angry response of Moses (32:6–15)
iii. The assurances of Reuben and Gad (32:16–19)
b. The Decision of Moses for Their Settlement (32:20–30)
c. The Public Declaration of the Agreement (32:31–32)
d. The Territories of Reuben and Gad (32:33–42)
1. The Stages of the Journey in the Wilderness (33:1–49)
b. The Point of Departure (33:3–4)
c. The Stages of the Journey from Rameses to Mount Hor (33:5–37)
d. The Events at Mount Hor (33:38–40)
e. The Stages of the Journey from Mount Hor to the Mountains of Abarim (33:41–47)
f. The Encampment in Moab as the Staging Area for the Assault on the Land of Canaan (33:48–49)
2. Words of Warning and Encouragement to the Second Generation (33:50–56)
C. An Anticipation of the Promised Land (34:1–36:13)
1. A Preview of the Land (34:1–26)
ii. The southern boundary (34:3–5)
iii. The western boundary (34:6)
iv. The northern boundary (34:7–9)
v. The eastern boundary (34:10–12a)
b. The Inheritance in Transjordan (34:13–15)
c. The Personnel of the Inheritance (34:16–29)
2. Levitical Cities and Cities of Refuge (35:1–34)
a. The Levitical Cities (35:1–5)
b. The Cities of Refuge (35:6–33)
i. The basic concept of the cities of refuge (35:6–8)
ii. Further details on the cities of refuge (35:9–15)
iii. Basic stipulations concerning the taking of life and the cities of refuge (35:16–21)
iv. Cases to be decided concerning the taking of life and the cities of refuge (35:22–32)
v. The divine perspective on murder and the land (35:33–34)
3. A Review of the Inheritance of Women (36:1–13)
a. Concerns of the Gileadites for the Daughters of Zelophehad (36:1–4)
b. The Law for the Marriages of the Women Who Inherit Familial Land (36:5–9)
c. The Compliance of the Daughters of Zelophehad (36:10–12)