NUMBERS,
BOOK
OF
(j)
propitiation
for
sins
of
ignorance
(^-ai),
(fc)
punish-ment
for
Sabbath-breaking
(32-ae),
q)
tassels
("-*i),
(m)
16
JEP.
Rebellion
of
Korah
(P)
and
of
Dathan.
Abiram,
and
On
(JE).
(n)
17
P,
Aaron's
rod
budded,
(o)
18^-'
P.
Levites
to
be
the
priests'
servants,
(p)
188-32
p.
Dues
to
the
Levites.
(q)
19
P.
Ritual
of
the
red
cow,
to
remove
defilement
by
the
dead,
(r)
20>-i3
JEP.
The
move
to
the
Wilderness
of
Zin
(P);
Miriam
died
at
Kadesh
(JE);
want
of
water
(JE);
the
sin
of
Moses
and
Aaron
at
Meribah
(P).
(s)
20"-2*
JE.
Edom
refused
passage
through
their
territory.
(t)
2022-29
p.
Aaron
died
at
Mt.
Hor,
and
was
succeeded
by
Eleazar.
(w)
21>-3
JE.
Hormah.
(v)
21^-9
JEP.
Departure
from
Mt.
Hor
(P);
circuit
round
Edom;
and
the
bronze
serpent
(JE).
Notes.
—
(b)
Hobab,
not
Reuel,
is
Moaes'
father-in-law;
cf.
Jg
4"
(RVm).
Hobab's
answer
after
v.^
has
been
lost;
but
Jg
1^^
makes
it
probable
that
he
consented
to
accompany
them,
{d)
Into
the
story
of
the
quails
have
been
interpo-lated
w.iif-"'-,
and
also
theaccountof
the
elders.w.i^'-
24b-30_
Some
think
that
the
former
should
follow
Ex
33^-3
and
the
latter
Ex
337-".
(g)
xhe
narratives
of
JE
and
of
P
have
been
combined.
In
JE
spies
went
to
the
S.
of
Canaan,
as
far
as
Hebron
only.
They
brought
back
a
cluster
of
grapes,
and
said
that
the
land
was
fertile,
but
invincible
with
its
giants
and
great
cities.
Caleb
alone
declared
that
they
would
be
able
to
conquer
it.
The
people
determined
to
return
to
Egypt
under
another
captain.
Moses
entreated
J"
not
to
smite
them
with
pestilence.
J"
consented,
but
condemned
all
except
Caleb
to
die
in
the
wilderness.
They
were
commanded
to
go
by
the
Red
Sea,
whereupon
they
suddenly
repented,
and
made
an
attack
upon
the
Amalekites
and
Canaanites,
but
were
repxilsed
witn
loss.
In
P,
the
spies,
whose
names
are
given,
went
through
the
whole
of
Canaan
unmolested.
They
reported
that
the
land
was
so
barren
[as
it
was
in
the
days
of
F]
that
its
inhabitants
could
not
live.
The
people
murmured,
but
Caleb
and
Joshua
[here
first
mentioned
in
Pi
tried
to
encourage
them.
The
glory
of
J"
appeared,
and
the
people
were
condemned
to
wander
40
years,
in
which
all
over
20
years
of
age,
except
Caleb
and
Joshua,
should
die.
{h)
A
scale
of
amounts
of
meal,
oil,
and
wine
to
accompany
various
animals
in
sacrifice.
It
is
a
later,
and
more
carefully
graduated,
system
than
that
in
Ezk
465-'-
i^-
".
(i)
^tiso^
perhaps
means
barley
meal.
'First'
appeais
to
refer
to
the
first
lump
of
dough
made
from
the
material,
(m)
Distinct
incidents
from
JE
and
from
P
have
been
woven
together.
In
JE
a
rebellion
was
raised
by
some
Reubenites
—
Dathan,
Abiram,
and
On
—
against
the
civil
authority
of
Moses.
Moses
warned
the
people
to
depart
from
the
tents
of
the
conspirators,
who
were
then
swallowed
up
in
the
earth.
In
P,
Korah
with
250
princes,
who
were
representatives
of
all
the
secular
tribes,
rebelled
against
the
claim
for
the
special
sanctity
of
the
tribe
of
Levi.
At
J'''s
challenge
they
burned
incense
on
censers
in
front
of
the
Tabernacle;
the
whole
congregation
were
present,
and
the
glory
of
J"
appeared.
Moses
told
the
mass
of
the
people
to
depart
from
the
Tabernacle,
and
the
fire
of
J"
devoured
the
250
men.
On
the
next
day
the
people
assembled,
and
murmured
against
Moses
and
Aaron.
A
plague
began,
which
was
checked
by
Aaron's
action
in
running
among
the
people
with
a
lighted
censer.
The
superiority
of
the
tribe
of
Levi
was
then
vindicated
by
the
budding
of
Aaron's
staff
(ch.
17),
and
the
dura
to
be
paid
to
the
Levites
were
laid
down
(on.
18).
Into
P's
story,
however,
later
passages
have
been
interpolated
(168-"-
i6f-
17^-^),which
represent
Korah'a
company
as
Levites,
who
rebel
against
the
claim
of
superior
sanctity
for
the
family
of
Aaron,
(r)
The
events
are
at
the
end
of
the
wandering,
but
no
movements
have
been
record-ed
since
the
events
before
the
40
years
(ch.
13).
The
diffi-culties
with
regard
to
Kadesh
and
the
wanderings
may
be
studied
in
Driver,
Deut.
pp.
31-33.
The
Meribah
narrative
in
the
prraent
section
is
a
combination
of
J
and
P.
(A
Meribah
story
from
E
is
combined
with
a
Maasah
story
from
J
in
Ex
171-'.)
The
sin
of
Moses
and
Aaron
has
not
been
fully
preserved;
v.^**
relates
only
ill-temper
(referred
to
in
Ps
106^'-).
though
V.12
describes
it
as
unoelief,
and
27"
as
rebellion
.
(s)
The
sequel
of
this
is
21«b.
m.
(
JE)
.
(u)
Hormah
is
connected
with
Aerem,
'
ban,'
because
of
the
vow
to
destroy
—
ban
—
the
Canaanite
cities.
The
section
appears
to
be
misplaced,
for
it
is
difficult
to
understand
why
the
Israelites
should
have
turned
away
from
Canaan
immediately
after
such
a
striking
victory,
(v)
The
story
was
probably
to
explain
the
existence
of
the
bronze
serpent
which
Hezekiah
afterwards
destroyed;
it
is
difficult
to
see
how
such
a
figure
in
bronze
could
have
been
manufactured
in
the
desert
with
the
rapid
haste
which
the
occasion
would
demand
NUMBERS,
BOOK
OF
C.
2110-36.
Marches
and
events
E.
of
the
'Arabah
and
the
Jordan.
Contmts.—ia)
2im-2'>
JEP.
Itinerary,
and
two
songs,
(b)
2121-32
JE.
Amorites
refused
passage,
and
were
defeated.
Song
of
triumph,
(c)
2138-36
d.
Defeat
of
Og.
(rf)
22i
P.
Arrival
at
Moab.
(e)
222-2426
JE.
Balaam.
(/)
251-5
JE.
ImmoraUty
and
idolatry
owing
to
seduction
by
the
Moabite
women;
the
worship
of
the
Baal
of
Peor.
(g)
258-18
P.
Perpetual
priest-hood
promised
to
the
line
of
Phinehas
for
his
zeal
in
killing
the
IsraeUte
and
the
Midianitess.
(h)
26
P.
The
second
census,
(i)
271-"
P.
Case
arising
out
of
the
daughters
of
Zelophehad.
(3)
2712-23
p.
Moses
bidden
to
prepare
for
death;
Joshua
appointed
to
succeed
him.
(k)
28.
29
P.
A
scale
of
public
offerings.
(I)
30
P.
Conditions
of
validity
of
a
vow.
(m)
31
P.
The
war
with
Midian.
(n)
32
P.
Gad
and
Reuben,
and
(J)
Manasseh,
settled
on
the
E.
of
Jordan.
(0)
331
-*9
P.
Itinerary
from
Egypt
to
Moab.
3350-36
P.
Laws
relative
to
the
settlement
in
Canaan,
viz.:
(p)
33B0-5S.
Destruction
of
Canaanitish
objects
of
worship,
and
division
of
land
by
lot.
(q)
34i-i6.
The
boundaries
of
Canaan,
(r)
34"-29.
Persons
to
superintend
the
allotment,
(s)
35i-8.
Levitical
cities.
(0
35^-^.
Cities
of
refuge,
(u)
Ch.
36.
Heiresses
(Zelophehad's
daughters)
not
to
marry
outside
their
own
tribe.
Notes.
—
(a)
w.i^-
H"*
P
take
the
Israelite
from
Mt.
Hor
straight
to
a
point
on
the
E.
of
the
'Arabah,
apparently
dis-regardingthe
detour
by
the
Red
Sea
and
by
theE.
of
Edom.
Vv.iib-20
E
contain
places
on
the
northward
march
from
Ezion-geber
on
the
Gulf
of
Akabah;
Dt
10^-8
gives
the
previous
march
southward
from
Kadesh.
(6)
The
last
clause
of
the
song
(29^)
may
be
a
gloss.
The
whole
interoretation
of
the
song
depends
upon
its
presence
or
absence
(see
Gray
on
the
passage),
(c)
Practically
identical
with
Dt
31
-3;
the
only
passage
from
D
in
the
book,
(g)
The
introduction
of
a
Midianitess
can
hardly
have
occurred
in
Moab.
The
mention
of
foreign
wives
in
v.'
may
have
caused
the
passage
to
be
placed
here.
The
narrative
is
only
partially
preserved,
for
nothing
is
said
of
the
sending
of
'
the
plague
'
(3'
■
)
.
(j)
Vv.i2i3
are
closely
related
to
Dt
32*3-60;
whether
they
are
incoipo-rated
in,
or
derived
from,
Dt.
is
uncertain,
(fc)
The
scale
of
offerings
incidentally
contains
a
list
of
the
fixed
feasts
or
sacred
seasons,
via.
Sabbath
(28^'-).
New
Moon
(H),
Passover
(w).
Unleavened
Cakes
(i^,
Feast
of
Weeks
(^),
Feast
of
Trumpets
(29i)
,
Day
of
Atonement
(')
,
Feast
of
Booths
(i2-38j
.
(0
These
are
concerned
chiefly
with
women's
vows,
which
are
treated
nowhere
else,
(m)
The
story
is
of
the
nature
of
a
midrash;
the
numbers
of
the
Israelites^
and
of
the
slain
and
the
spoils,
are
artificial;
nothing
is
said
of
the
march
to
Midian,
or
of
the
place
of
fighting.
The
narrative
appears
mainly
intended
to
illustrate
the
rules
of
the
distribution
of
booty
(2s-30)^
and
the
removal
of
uncleanness
by
contact
with
the
dead
(i''-^^).
(«■)
The
term
'Gilead'
is
very
elastic.
In
1-
29
it
refers
to
land
south
of
the
Jabbok,
but
in
3^
to
land
north
of
it,
while
in
Jos
229-
13
jt
covers
the
whole
land
E.
of
the
Jordan.
The
towns
assigned
to
Reuben
and
Gad
conflict
with
P's
theory
in
Jos
131^-38,
which
is
represented
in
most
maps
of
Palestine,
according
to
which
Gad
is
to
the
north
and
Reuben
to
the
south
of
the
N.
end
of
the
Dead
Sea.
In
the
present
passage
the
towns
of
Reuben
lie
between
Gadite
towns
situated
to
theN.
and
theS.
of
fthem.
Vv.39-42
(J)
repre-sent
theManassite
settlement
on
the
W.of
Jordan
as
older
than
thaton
theE.
The
verses
are
a
fragment,
similar
to
Jg
1
and
the
older
parts
of
Joshua.
(0)
The
itinerary
falls
into
four
parts:
^-1^,
Rameses
to
the
Wilderness
of
Sinai;
i3-35^
thence
to
Ezion-geber
on
the
E.
arm
of
the
Red
Sea;
36,
thence
to
Kadesh
=
Wilderness
of
Zin
(one
stage
of
70
miles);
37-49
thence
to
the
steppes
of
Moab.
(p)
The
objects
mentioned
are
'figured
stones'
(if
that
is
the
right
rendering;
Lv
26i
only),
molten
images,
and
'
high
places.'
(g)
The
boundaries
are
ideal,
at
least
on
the
west,
for
the
IsraeUtes
never
occupied
a
spot
on
the
coast
until
Simon
Maccabseus
cap-tured
Joppa
(1
Mac
14^).
(s)
The
Levites
receive
48
plots
of
land,
each
of
about
207
acres,
and
containing
a
town
and
pasture
land.
Jos
21
states
the
number
of
plots
allotted
in
each
tribe.
Like
Ezekiel's
scheme
(483-"),
the
arrangement
is
purely
ideal
—
^for
(1)
in
a
mountainous
country
like
Palestine
plots
of
207
acres
would
be
impossible;
(2)
earlier
writings
show
that
Levites
had
no
landed
property,
but
were
commended
to
the
charity
of
the
rest
of
Israel;
(3)_priests
are
found
living
in
such
towns
as
Nob,
Shiloh,
and
Bethel,
which
are
not
in
the
list
of
Levitical
cities,
(t)
The
earher
laws
of
asylum
are
given
in
Ex
2I12-1?,
Dt
IQi-^^;
the
develop-
