CONTENT: What is it About?

Numbers is part four of the five-part

Pentateuch, explaining why the Israelites had
to spend 40 years in the wilderness and
narrating the vast bulk of that time period.
The book also describes the transition from
the first generation, who left Egypt, to the
second generation, who will enter the
Promised Land.
 CONTENT: What is it About?
The book got its name from the two key
chapters, 1 and 26, both of which present a
census of military personnel. The first counts
the men who left Egypt, the second counts
the adult offspring of the exodus generation.
These two censuses mark an important
transition that is a major theme of the book:
the shift from the first generation of
judgment to the second generation of hope.
 CONTENT: What is it About?
Numbers can be outlined according to the
geographical setting of the different parts of
the book.
1:1-10:10 The Israelites are in the camp in the
Sinai wilderness where they had been since
Exodus 19
10:11-20:13 They are in the region around Kadesh
20:14-36:13 They move from Kadesh to the plains of
Moab, which will be the setting for the book
of Deuteronomy
 CONTENT: What is it About?
As we read into the book of Numbers, the
people of Israel don’t leave Sinai until
chapter 10, and they start rebelling against
God in the first verse of chapter 11! They
complain about everything –- the food, the
water, how Moses is running things. At one
point or another, everyone gets involved –-
from the poor folks on the edge of the camp
to the high class and influential Aaron and
Miriam, Moses’ own siblings. (Bergsma, 2012)
 CONTENT: What is it About?
There are in fact, at least nine rebellions
against God recounted in the book of
Numbers. The impression one gets is that the
whole 40 years of wandering was one long
revolt.
One key rebellion takes place in chapter 14,
where 12 spies were sent into the Promised
Land to scout it out. These spies were a
pessimistic bunch and bring back a bad report.
(Bergsma, 2012)
 CONTENT: What is it About?
The report: “We cannot attack these people;
they are too strong for us!” (Nm 13:31NABRE)
The result: people panic, loose their faith,
and want to kill Moses and choose someone
else to lead them back to Egypt. This revolt
was coupled with the refusal to take the land.
God gives them their wish, decreeing that the
whole generation will die in the wilderness, and
the land will be taken by their children. (Bergsma,
2012)
 CONTENT: What is it About?
Their children – the second generation – grow
up in the desert from Nm 14 through 24.
There were high hopes for them especially
after they are blessed four times by a certain
prophet named Balaam. But these hopes are
crushed when they fall into the trap of
worshipping pagan gods, at a place called
Beth Peor in the land of Moab, just outside of
the Promised Land (Nm 25). (Bergsma, 2012)
 CONTENT: What is it About?
So at the end of Numbers, things are pretty
low. The people of Israel have been rebelling
against God for forty years in the wilderness.
The second generation has grown up, but they
are not much better than their parents. If it
wasn’t for Moses’ efforts, the Lord and Israel
would have parted ways long ago. (Bergsma, 2012)
Source
Bergsma, J. 2012. Bible Basics for Catholics: A New Picture of Salvation
History. Foreword by Dr. Scott Hahn. Indiana: Ave Maria Press.
 CONTENT: What is it About?
Main Themes:
1. Human rebellion
2. Divine punishment
The book of Numbers has stories of God killing rebellious Israelites with fire,
plague, and snakes. Sometimes Moses calls to God for help when the
people turn on him—sometimes God punishes them directly.

3. Divine provision
Even though the people prove to be rebellious, God extends mercy to them.
Rather than killing off the whole nation in the wilderness, he waits for the
rebellious generation to die and preserves the younger people. He
continues to provide manna, that mysterious bread from heaven. He even
prevents Balaam, the pagan prophet, from cursing the people.
 CONTENT: What is it About?
Main Themes:
4. More laws
Numbers doesn’t have the big, bulky sets of laws we see in the latter half of
Exodus, Leviticus, and almost the whole of Deuteronomy—but there’s still
plenty of rules in here. This is still the Torah, after all. (cf. examples – Nm 5;
Nm 15:17-21; Nm 19, 28-31)
5. Moses’ leadership
Moses deals with the pressures of leading a new nation, at one point asking
God why he has to bear the burden of leading them to Canaan. He feels like
an unappreciated nanny forced to carry more than 600,000 squalling brats
across the wilderness. Time and time again, God makes it clear to the
people that Moses is his chosen prophet, and Aaron is his chosen priest.
However, due to an episode of Moses’ disobedience (Nm 20:12), he is not
permitted to enter the Promised Land, either (like Aaron, Nm 20:24).
 CONTENT: What is it About?
Main Themes:
6. God’s covenant with Abraham
Back in Genesis, God made a pact with Abraham, saying that one day, his
descendants would inherit the land of Canaan, and through those people all
the nations of the world would be blessed. Furthermore, God promises to
bless those who bless Abraham and curse those who curse Abraham. The
name “Abraham” only shows up once in the book of Numbers, but if you
look closely, you’ll see that God is at work fulfilling his promises to Abraham
throughout the book of Numbers.

Source
Kranz, J. 2017. Numbers: the 40-year journey to the promised land.
Retrieved from http://overviewbible.com/numbers/
 Authorship and Date

Since Numbers is part four of the Pentateuch,

the issue of authorship and dating is the same
as those in Genesis.
 Literary Style

Like Exodus and Leviticus, Numbers continues

with the theological history in the wilderness
in combination with the Law.
Issues

NONE
 Famous Passage
Perhaps the most famous passage from Numbers is
the Priestly Blessing from Numbers 6:24-26, which
is found throughout the liturgies of Judaism and
Christianity:

“May the Lord bless you and keep you;

may the Lord cause his face to shine upon you
and be gracious to you;
may the Lord lift up his countenance upon you
and grant you peace."