Num 10:11-25:18

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Home > The Old Testament > Numbers > Chapters 10b-25 / Verses 10:11-25:18
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Summary[edit]

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Discussion[edit]

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  • Num 11:1: Consumed them. The Hebrew word akal, translated here "consumed", means "eat, devour or consume." (Cf. Ps 14:4 and Num 14:9.)
  • Num 11:4-5: Wanting more. Contrast the children of Israel here lusting for meat instead of just manna with Paul's attitude in Philip 4:11, "for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content" (cf. 1 Tim 6:6-8 and Heb 13:5).
  • Num 11:17: Put the spirit upon them. Isa 61:1 rhetorically links having the Spirit with being annointed.
  • Num 14: Israelites reject Zion. Zion can be thought of as requiring four components: (1) a king; (2) a people; (3) a place; and (4) a law. (See the discussion of Zion's components at Deuteronomy). At Mount Sinai, the 1st Generation that Moses led out of Egypt rejected both the king and the law of Zion when they made a golden calf to worship, instead of God, and in violation of the very first of the Ten Commandments. (Ex 32:1-8). Here in Numbers, still less than two years out of Egypt, the 1st Generation also rejects the place of Zion. (Num 14:1-4, 10). The Lord therefore rejects Israel as his people. (Num 14:12). Moses intercedes on behalf of Israel (Num 14:13-19), and so it is only the rebellious 1st Generation that is rejected and prevented from entering into the promised Zion of Canaan. (Num 14:20-35).
  • Num 14:9: Bread. The Hebrew word lechem can mean bread or food more generally. The NASB renders this phrase "for they will be our prey." Joshua and Caleb may be suggesting here that Israel will consume their enemies like God consumed the complainers in Num 11:1 (cf. Ps 14:4).
  • Num 15:30: Presumptuously. The Hebrew here means, literally, acting "with a high hand" (byd rmh), but is taken to mean "defiantly" (see the NET translation and footnotes, or NASB or NIV translations). The NRSV preserves the original Hebrew idiom and renders this "high-handedly." This idiom is also used in describing the Israelites defiantly marching out of Egypt in Ex 14:8 and Num 33:3.
  • Num 19:9: Ashes. According to the NET, "The ashes were to be stored somewhere outside the camp to be used in a water portion for cleansing someone who was defiled. This is a ritual that was enacted in the wilderness; it is something of a restoring rite for people alienated from community."
  • Num 20:12: The sin of Moses and Aaron. The actions of Moses and Aaron here is alluded to in verse 24 and in Num 27:14 saying they rebelled. Ps 106:32-33 discusses this incident in terms emphasizing the culpability of the people in provoking Moses and Aaron.
  • Num 22:1: Moab. This is the land named for Lot's son Moab, incestuously conceived in Gen 19:30-37.
  • Num 22:4: Midian. Midian refers to the descendants of Midian, who was the son of Abraham and Keturah (cf. Gen 25:2).

Unanswered questions[edit]

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  • Num 15:35: Why is the punishment compared to the disobedience so much harsher than we would have today for something similar?

Prompts for life application[edit]

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Prompts for further study[edit]

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Resources[edit]

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Notes[edit]

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