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The next book after Leviticus is a history of Israel's failure to live up to the Law. The title in English is Numbers, because it contains a census of all the tribes of Israel. In Hebrew tradition the book is called "In the Wilderness," and that is a good description of its contents. The book tells how Israel sent forty years wandering through the wilderness between Egypt and the Promised Land.
Why forty years? It was not a terribly long journey: about eleven days under normal circumstances (Deut 1:2). They knew where they were going. It took so long because they failed to trust God.
When they came near the Promised Land, Moses sent spies to check out the land and bring back a report. (Num 2) The report they came back with should have been encouraging. The land was "flowing with milk and honey" every good ting was there. In fact, they brought back a bunch of grapes so huge it took two men to carry it strung up on a pole. (Num 13)
So far it sounded like paradise, "Yet the people who dwell in the land were strong," the spies continued, "and the cities are fortified and very large, and besides we saw the descendants of Anak there." (Num 13)
The descendants of Anak were a tribe of people who seemed frighteningly tall to the Israelites. Most of the spies believed the task before them was impossible: Israel could never conquer Canaan. Two of the spies, Caleb and Joshua were confident they could, but the Israelites were pessimists and once again turned against Moses. "would that we had died in the land of Egypt!" (Num 14)
But Joshua and Caleb had faith in God. But instead of listening to them, the people tried to stone them to death. The Israelites had no faith, and God granted their wish to die in the wilderness. And they would spend the next forty years wandering. Only Caleb and Joshua would live long enough to enter the Promised Land.
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The Book of Numbers
The book of Numbers is often treated as a separate Bible book and as one of the seventy-three books that comprise the entire canon of Sacred Scripture. The book of Numbers is not, however, a separate book but is instead one section of the five-part work of the "Book of Moses", known in Hebrew as the Torah, in Greek as penta teuchos, "five scrolls", and in English as the Pentateuch. The English title of the book of Numbers comes to us from the Greek Septuagint title, Arithmoi, which St. Jerome's Latin Vulgate translated as Numeri.
These are titles taken from the census of the Israelites described in Chapters 1-4 and in Chapter 26. The Talmudic name of Numbers is homes happequddim, "the fifth of the census totals", meaning that Numbers is one of the five Torah books that records the census of Israel (see Mishnah: Yoma 7:1 and Mishnah: Menahot 4:3). The other Hebrew titles for the fourth book of the Torah are taken from the first line of the Hebrew text. The Hebrew title Wayedabber, "and he spoke", comes from the first words "Yahweh spoke to Moses...", while the title Bemidbar, "in the wilderness" is from the fifth Hebrew word in Numbers 1:1.
The title Bemidbar more accurately describes the content of the entire book than the other titles. The book of Numbers records the events of the Israelites' last days at Mt. Sinai and the wilderness wandering of the Israelites after their failure to trust God in their aborted attempt to take possession of the Promised Land. Israel's failure to trust God to fulfill His promises resulted in God's judgment on the Exodus generation. They were condemned to forty years in the wilderness until the next generation was sufficiently matured and trained in holiness to become the warriors God' needed to fulfill the promise He made to the Patriarchs.
Time and Location
The period of time covered in the book of Numbers is about thirty-nine years. The Israelites spent three months traveling from Goshen in Egypt to Mt. Sinai, arriving as the Hebrew text reads in "the third [full] moon" after leaving Egypt (Ex 19:1). After arriving at the mountain in Exodus chapter 19, they experienced a terrifying revelation of God followed by a period of covenant formation, covenant ratification and instruction in Exodus chapters 20-39. Then in Exodus Chapter 40, the Sanctuary was completed on the first day of the first month in the second year after leaving Egypt (Ex 40:2). After the Sanctuary was completed, a month was spent receiving divine instruction in the civil and religious law, the ordination of the priesthood and the establishment of liturgical worship in the consecrated Sanctuary (recorded in the book of Leviticus).
The book of Numbers chronologically begins with the celebration of the second Passover (fourteen days after the Sanctuary was consecrated), the census of the tribes of Israel (one month after the Sanctuary was built), and the events of Israel's last twenty days at Mt. Sinai in Numbers Chapters 1-9. From their arrival on the 15th day of the third month to their departure in the second year on the 20th day of the second month (Num 10:11), the Israelites spent about ten months at Mt. Sinai. The remainder of the narrative of the book of Numbers covers the journey to Kadesh-Barnea on the border of Canaan, the aborted attempt to take possession of the Promised Land, God's judgment on the Exodus generation for their lack of faith, and the thirty-nine years the Israelites lived as nomads in the northeastern Sinai near Kadesh-Barnea. The narrative concludes with the events surrounding the arrival of the new generation of Israelites on the plains of Moab in the fortieth year after leaving Egypt.
- First Passover in Egypt: the 14th of Abib (Ex 12:1-34).
- Israelites left Egypt: the 15th of Abib (full moon in lunar calendar).*
- Arrived at Sinai: fifty days later (as the ancients counted) in the third month after leaving Egypt in the month of Sivan
- The Sanctuary is completed: the 1st of Abib in the second year after leaving Egypt (Ex 40:17).
- Celebration of Passover and Unleavened Bread at Sinai: the 14st – 21st of Abib in the second year after leaving Egypt (Num 9:4-5).
- The census of the tribes: the 1st of Ziv/Iyyar (second month) in the second year after leaving Egypt (Num 1:1).
- The tribes leave Sinai: the 20th of Ziv/Iyyar (second month) in the second year after leaving Egypt (Num 10:11).
- The book of Deuteronomy: begins with Israel encamped on the Plains of Moab on the 1st of Sebat (eleventh month), in the 40th year after leaving Egypt (Dt 1:3).
* The Israelite calendar was a lunar calendar. All Old Covenant feast days were (and still are) determined according to the lunar cycle (see Israel's civil and liturgical calendar in the appendix to this lesson).
The Text of the Book of Numbers
The composition of the text of the book of Numbers is the most diverse of the five books of the Pentateuch, including historical narratives, poetry, legal and ritual instruction, and predictive prophecy. It should be noted that the beginning order of events in the book of Numbers is not chronological as events have been in the structure of the Pentateuch as a whole. For example, the census that begins in Chapter 1 occurs on the first day of the second month of the second year. However, Numbers 7:1 looks back to the time of the dedication of the Tabernacle and the consecration of the Levites a month earlier on the first day of the first month of the second year (see Ex 40:17), just fourteen days before Passover. Then, Numbers 9:1-5 continues with the celebration of the Passover fourteen days later. After the account of the celebration of Passover and Unleavened Bread at Sinai, the book moves forward in a chronological pattern.
Bible scholars divide the book of Numbers in various ways. The most common division is probably between the events concerning the old Exodus generation and the new generation of Israelites preparing to take possession of the Promised Land:
- Section I: from Mount Sinai to the death of the Exodus generation (Num 1:1-25:19).
- Section II from the birth of the new generation to the Israelite encampment on the Plains of Moab (Num 26:1-36:13).
Another popular division is to separate the book into three sections determined by travel and geographic location:
- Section I: The Israelites at Mt. Sinai (Num 1:1-10:10).
- Section II: The Israelites at or around Kadesh-Barnea (Num 10:11-19:22).
- Section III: The Israelites on the Plains of Moab (Num 20:1-36:13).
The three-way division of our study is determined by God's interaction with the old Exodus generation, the transition period between the two generations, and the new wilderness generation. See the summary outline below:
SUMMARY OF THE BOOK OF NUMBERS
| Biblical Period | #3 THE TWELVE TRIBES/SINAI COVENANT | ||||||||
| Focus | OLD EXODUS GENERATION | TRANSITION | NEW WILDERNESS GENERATION | ||||||
Covenant | SINAI COVENANT (Covenants with Aaronic Priesthood and Phinehas) | ||||||||
| Scripture | 1:1--------------5:1------------------10:11---------13:1------------15:1----------20:1-------------26:1----------------28:1-------------31:1------36:13 | ||||||||
| Division of Text | Organization of Israel | Sanctification of Israel | Journey to Kadesh | at Kadesh Barnea | In the Wilderness | War; Covenant Ordeal on the Plains of Moab | Reorganization of Israel | Review of Covenant sacrifices & Holy Days | War with Midian; Planning the conquest of Canaan |
| Topic | ORDER | FAILURE / DISORDER | REORGANIZATION | ||||||
| PREPARATION | POSTPONEMENT | PREPARATION | |||||||
| Location | MOUNT SINAI | WILDERNESS | PLAINS OF MOAB | ||||||
| Time | Last 20 days (left Sinai 20th day, 2nd month in 2nd year after Egypt) | 38 years 3 months 10 days | about 5 months | ||||||
The Question of Authorship
The inspired writer is not named, but the book of Numbers records that Moses wrote down the stages of the journey: These were the stages of the journey made by the Israelites when they left Egypt in their companies under the leadership of Moses and Aaron. Moses recorded their starting-points in writing whenever they moved on at Yahweh's order (Num 33:1-2). The authorship of the fourth book of the Torah/Pentateuch cannot be discussed without addressing the authorship of the other books:
- First, as was discussed in the "Introduction to the Pentateuch" (Genesis Lesson One), Scripture identifies Moses as the inspired writer of the five-part book of Moses, and the Pentateuch refers hundreds of time to the direct communication Moses received from Yahweh.
- Second, the clause "Yahweh said/spoke to Moses (and Aaron), indicating direct communication between God and Moses, occurs well over a hundred times in the Pentateuch; sixty times in the book of Numbers alone.(1)
- Third, the information presented in the book of Numbers that includes the customs, traditions, historical data, geographic and climatic conditions and other details contained in the book of Numbers and in the entire Pentateuch fit with what is known about the pre-exile Mosaic age rather than later historical periods.(2)
The Theological Themes of the Book of Numbers
The intention of the five-part book of Moses is to make present the unique history and identity of the people of God for every generation. The central theme of the Pentateuch is that the God of Creation who is the God of the Patriarchs is the same God who called Israel out of slavery in Egypt to be His holy people and His partner in bringing about man's salvation. It is a theme that continues in the book of Numbers. The sub-themes that faith and obedience lead to holiness and God's blessings as opposed to the lack of trust and faith in God that lead to disobedience and divine judgment that were present in the books of Genesis and Exodus are also present in the Book of Numbers. Another secondary theme present in the book of Numbers is the cost of rebellion against the authority of God's ordained leaders who are responsible for ministering to God's ecclesial community. Depending on how you count them, there are six or seven rebellions against Moses' (and at times Aaron's) leadership during the years covered in the book of Numbers. The events in the book of Numbers, like all the events recorded in the Pentateuch, are lessons meant to be examples for every generation and age of God's covenant people, including our own: Now all these things happened to them by way of example, and they were described in writing to be a lesson for us, to whom it has fallen to live in the last days of the ages (1 Cor 10:11).
Key Hebrew words
Hebrew words that are keys to understanding the book of Numbers are the words karev/qareb, samar/shamar, and abad. The word karev in a prohibitive context means "to encroach", as it is used in the formula saying ha-zar ha-karev yumat, "a stranger who encroaches will be put to death." It is a formula saying that is found four times in the book of Numbers (Num 1:51; 3:10, 38; 18:7). In the permissive context the word, karev literally means "to qualify", as it is used in Numbers 3:6 and 18:2. The permissive use of this Hebrew word can also be found in Jeremiah 30:21; Ezekiel 42:13 and 44:16 (Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew-English Lexicon, page 898; The JPS Torah Commentary: Numbers, page 342).
The Hebrew verb abad is a prime root meaning "to work", "to serve or keep"; while the verb samar (shamar) literally means to "hedge about" (as with thorns), meaning "to guard", "to protect." In most English translations where these words are found the Hebrew verb abad is often translated as "to serve," "of service," "to do duty," "to perform duties," "to minister." The verb samar is often translated as "to guard," "to protect," "to keep," "to minister," "to keep charge of," or "to attend" (Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew-English Lexicon, pages 712-13; 1036). Biblical scholar John Sailhamer interprets the commands using the verbs samar and abad to be more accurately translated as "to worship" and "to obey" (The Pentateuch as Narrative, page 101). In the body of the Pentateuch, the verbs samar and abad are only repeated together to describe the religious duties of the priests' and Levites' liturgical service and other duties within the sacred Sanctuary of Yahweh, the dwelling place of the presence of God.
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Census of the Tribes of Israel
Numbers 1:1-19: The Census Ordered and the Official's Named
1:1 Yahweh spoke to Moses, in the desert of Sinai, in the Tent of Meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after the exodus from Egypt, and said: 2 'Take a census of the whole community of Israelites by clans and families, taking a count of the names of all the males, head by head. 3 You and Aaron will register all those in Israel, twenty years of age and over, fit to bear arms, company by company; 4 you will have one man from each tribe, the head of his family, to help you. 5 These are the names of those who must help you:
For Reuben, Elizur son of Shedeur.
6 For Simeon, Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai.
7 For Judah, Nahshon son of Amminadab.
8 For Issachar, Nethanel son of Zuar.
9 For Zebulun, Eliab son of Helon.
10 Of the sons of Joseph: for Ephraim, Elishama son of Ammihud; for Manasseh, Gamaliel son of Pedahzur.
11 For Benjamin, Abidan son of Gideoni.
12 For Dan, Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai.
13 For Asher, Pagiel son of Ochran.
14 For Gad, Eliasaph son of Reuel.
15 For Naphtali, Ahira son of Enan.'
16 These were men of repute in the community; they were leaders of their ancestral tribes, the heads of Israel's thousands. 17 Moses and Aaron took these men who had been named 18 and on the first day of the second month they mustered the whole community. The Israelites established their pedigrees by clans and families, and one by one the names of all men twenty years and over were recorded. 19 As Yahweh had ordered, Moses registered them in the desert of Sinai.
In Exodus Chapter 40 the Israelites erected the Sanctuary and its Tabernacle (Tent of Meeting) on the first day of the first month, in the second year after leaving Egypt, fourteen days before the first anniversary of the Passover sacrifice and the redemption of the firstborn on the first night of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Moses was given the command to take the census a month after the Sanctuary was consecrated on the first day of the second month in the second year after the exodus from Egypt, which establishes the length of time Moses (and Aaron) received the legal and religious legislation contained in Leviticus as a one month period.
Question: Where did Moses' receive God's command to take the census?
Answer: Moses' received God's command while standing in the Holy of Holies of the Tabernacle were God spoke to him from between the cherubim of the Mercy-seat of the Ark of the Covenant.
The people and the newly ordained priesthood no longer had unlimited access to the presence of God (Lev 16:1-2), but Moses, the covenant mediator, continued to enjoy unlimited access to the presence of the God of Israel as he had in the temporary Tent of Meeting before the Tabernacle was completed (Ex 33:7-11).
Question: How are the Israelites organized according to Numbers 1:2-4?
Answer: By tribes, clans and families.
The officials named to take the census in each of their tribes are tribal chieftains (see Num 2:4-31). The phrase "Israel's thousands" refers to clan divisions within each tribe. See Exodus 18:21, 25 where the reference to Israel's "thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens" refers to the justice system Moses established within the various tribes. Also see 1 Samuel 10:19, 21 where there is a reference to the military divisions of clans within tribes.
Question: In what three ways are the men chosen to conduct the census described in verse 16?
Answer: Yahweh calls them “men of repute”, ‘leaders” and “heads” of their tribes.
The New American Bible describes them as “councilors of the community, princes of their ancestral tribes, chiefs of the troops of Israel.” These were men who were called and exhalted by God to justly administer the census and to be leaders of their people.
Question: What was the requirement for the official census? Were all the people counted?
Answer: All the people were listed according to tribes, clans and families to establish their ancestral genealogies, but only the healthy men twenty years or older were registered for military service in Israel's army.
Twenty years old becomes the established age for conscription in Israel's army (also see 2 Chr 25:5). In the classical age of the ancient world, conscription for military service was twenty years old in Sparta, eighteen years old in Athens, and seventeen years old in Rome. The Hebrew word 'edah used in Numbers 1:2 and 16 can be translated as "community" or "assembly." The basic meaning is the entire nation of Israel, including men women, and children. It is reasonable to assume that the entire Israelite population numbered above two million people.
Question: How is the selection for the chieftains for the tribe of Joseph different from the other census officials chosen for the other tribes?
Answer: Joseph's tribe is divided into the two half-tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh. They are the descendants of the two sons of Joseph by his Egyptian wife Asenath (Gen 41:50-52). Each half-tribe has its own tribal official and therefore is given equal status with the other tribes.
Question: In the list of tribal chieftains, what tribe is missing?
Answer: The tribe of Levi.
Question: Of the names of tribal chieftains selected as the census officials, do you recognize the names Nahshon and his father Amminadab of the tribe of Judah? Where have you see Nahshon and Amminadab mentioned previously? See the genealogy of Moses and Aaron in Exodus 6:23.
Answer: Amminadab is the father of Aaron's wife Elisheba; therefore, Nahshon is Aaron's brother-in-law and the uncle of Aaron's sons Eleazar and Ithamar.
Question: Nahshon is God's designated the leader of the tribe of Judah (Num 2:4). He is called a "chieftain" or "prince" of the tribe of Judah in 1 Chronicles 2:10. What other significant role does Nahshon play in salvation history? See Mt 6:22-25; Josh 2:1-21; Rt 4:18-22; Mt 1:3-6; Lk 3:31-33
Answer: Nahshon is the father of Salmon (Salma) who married the heroine Rahab of Jericho. They were the parents/grandparents of Boaz. Boaz married the Moabitess Ruth and they became the parents of Obed the father of Jesse. Jesse's son was David who was anointed king of Israel by Samuel. Nahshon was the g-g-great-grandfather of King David and an ancestor of Jesus of Nazareth.
Numbers 1:20-47: The Census of the Twelve Tribes
The information on the order of the census and the total number of fighting men for each tribe is presented in a series of formula statements. Once again the tribe of Levi is omitted.
Question: Why weren't the Levites included in the count? See Num 3:15.
Answer: The Levites were not included in the census of the tribes but were counted separately. The tribe of Levi was to be set apart from the other tribes. The men of Levi belonged to Yahweh and their mission was to guard and take care of the Sanctuary in addition to assisting the chief priests (Aaron and his sons) in their ministerial duties.
The results of the census of the tribes of Israel (excluding the Levites):
| Census of the Twelve Tribes (Num 1:20-46) | |
| Tribe | Numbers of fighting men |
| 1. Ruben | 46,500 |
| 2. Simeon | 59,300 |
| 3. Gad | 45,650 |
| 4. Judah | 74,600 |
| 5. Issachar | 54,400 |
| 6. Zebulun | 57,400 |
| 7. Ephraim | 40,500 |
| 8. Manasseh | 32,200 |
| 9. Benjamin | 35,400 |
| 10. Dan | 62,700 |
| 11. Asher | 41,500 |
| 12. Naphtali | 53,400 |
| Total Tribe count of men 20 years and older who are fit for military service | 603,550 men |
In the absence of the tribe of Levi, the two half-tribes of Joseph provide the traditional number of twelve tribes even though there are now actually thirteen tribes. Never in Scripture are the children of Israel described as other than twelve tribes. Maintaining the number twelve is significant because of the symbolic nature of the number twelve which represents divinely appointed government.
The lists of the genealogies of the twelve tribes and the Levites were kept by the priests. Genealogies were consulted in determining one's eligibility for the priesthood, the eligibility of a woman to marry a priest (Lev 21:14), and even the amount of the bride price a father could ask for a daughter who could prove an impeccable pedigree. The importance of one's pedigree is seen in the organization of the Gospel of St. Matthew, who according to Church history is said to have been a Levite.
Question: Why do you think St. Matthew began his Gospel by establishing Jesus' pedigree?
Answer: St. Matthew began his Gospel with Jesus' genealogy, proving Jesus' claim to be the descendant of Abraham, the rightful heir of King David's throne and the Redeemer-Messiah promised by the prophets to fulfillment of the covenant God made with David in 2 Samuel 7:12-16.
Question: The tribes listed in the census will be allotted portions of the Promised Land. Why aren't the Levites included in this count?
Answer: The mission of the tribe of Levi is to serve God. God is to provide their portion of the blessings of the land through tithes and offerings from the other tribes.
Question: What do you notice about the count of the fighting men for the tribe of Judah compared to the other tribes?
Answer: Judah is by far the largest tribe with 11, 900 more fighting age men than the next largest tribe (Dan) and more than double the fighting men in the combined tribes of Manasseh and Benjamin.
Question: Compare the numbers of fighting men recorded in Numbers 1:46 to the number of fighting men recorded in the march out of Egypt. What does the difference in numbers suggest to you? See Ex 12:37.
Answer: Exodus records that there were about 600,000 men who marched as an Israelite army out of Egypt. The census in Numbers records that there were 3, 550 more men fit for military service then there were a year earlier. In the past year since leaving Egypt, it makes sense that in a population that must have numbered at least 2 million people that over three thousand young men had reached the age required to be conscripted into the Israelite army.
Numbers 1:48-54: Statute for the Levites.
The Levites, both chief priests and the lesser Levitical ministers (like our deacons) are set aside for liturgical service. God is their inheritance (Num 18:20). The chief priests of the Levites prefigure our New Covenant priests. They were appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins, and to restore communion with God by sacrifices and prayer (Heb 5:1; also see Ex 29:1-30; Lev 8; Mal 2:7-9).
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INTRODUCTION
The book of Deuteronomy is the fifth and final part of what Christians call the Pentateuch (five-part book) and Jews call the Torah. It is the book that announces the end of the Mosaic Age and the beginning of the Age of the Conquest of Canaan. The Hebrew title of this book is 'elleh haddebarim, "these are the words", a title which is drawn, as is the ancient custom, from the first words of the first line of the Hebrew text. Our English title comes from the Greek translation of the Old Testament known as the Septuagint. The Greek title, deuteronomios, was taken from the Greek translation of Deuteronomy 17:18 where the phrase "copy of the Law" was understood by translators as "a second Law". It was a misreading of the verse which called for every new king of Israel to write down the words of Deuteronomy for his own use and was not a "second law" apart from the Law God revealed to Moses at Mt. Sinai (Sailhamer, The Pentateuch as Narrative, page 423). It is the same Law, containing commands and prohibitions given by God to Moses at Mt. Sinai, which Moses taught to the new generation of Israelites on the Plains of Moab in the book of Deuteronomy.
However, the book of Deuteronomy is not simply a second rendition of the covenant Law God revealed to Moses at Mt. Sinai. Knowing that he will die before the Israelites begin the conquest of the Promised Land (Num 27:12-14), Moses gave three last homilies to Israel's vital, new wilderness generation. His homilies in the book of Deuteronomy recount the history of their fathers' Exodus liberation and covenant formation with Yahweh at Mt. Sinai, the reason for the forty years judgment in the wilderness wandering, and the renewal of the Sinai Covenant for the generation who was to fulfill Israel's destiny to be conquerors of the land promised to their forefathers (Gen 15:18-21; 26:3-5; 28:13-14).
One of the key words in Deuteronomy is the Hebrew word torah. This Hebrew word is usually translated into English as "law", a word that only carries a negative prohibitive meaning rather than the mostly positive meaning of the Hebrew word that is better translated as "instruction." Derived from the Hebrew word horah, "to teach, to instruct", Torah refers to instruction in religious, social and civil law, prophetic teaching, moral exhortation, and didactic narrative (JPS Torah Commentary: Deuteronomy, page 5).
Deuteronomy is Moses' instruction/commentary on the Law of the Sinai Covenant with adjustments to the legislation necessary for the Israelites who were no longer a pastoral, semi-nomadic people but a people who were to be permanently settled in Canaan after the conquest. It is the great prophet's explanation of the Law to the new generation in whom the Sinai Covenant will be renewed, and the generation that will have the covenant duty of faithfully transmitting Israel's history and Yahweh's Law to their children, a covenant duty of every succeeding generation of Yahweh's people.
The Covenant Treaty Format in the Deuteronomy
Thus says Yahweh, Israel's king, Yahweh Sabaoth, his redeemer: I am the first and I am the last; there is no God except me.
Isaiah 44:6
Like the covenant treaty between God and Israel at Mt. Sinai, the restatement of Israel's covenant with Yahweh on the Plains of Moab follows the classic outline of ancient Near Eastern covenant treaty documents with the exception of the witnessing of the treaty by pagan deities. A question that has been the focus of speculation for many scholars has been why was the form of the vassal treaty used to express Israel's covenant with Yahweh?
According to Old and New Testament Scripture and Jewish and Christian tradition, the inspired writer of the Pentateuch is Moses (see the chart on the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch). Moses was raised in the royal court as the Egyptian Pharaoh's grandson (Ex 2:10) and would have been educated in the academy of royal princes. Sons of the Pharaoh's family were trained in three professions:
- They were trained to be Egypt's military leaders
- They were trained to be the royal governors of the nation's provinces
- They were trained to be Egypt's diplomats to other kingdoms
If Prince Moses was trained in the diplomatic service, it is reasonable to assume that he would frame the covenant between Israel and Yahweh in the standard form of ancient covenant treaties. The oldest surviving copy of such an Egyptian document is the treaty that ended the war between the Hittites and Pharaoh Rameses II after the Battle of Kadesh-On-The-Orontes in c. 1285 BC. The structure of this treaty most closely resembles the covenant treaty format found in Deuteronomy, but unlike the Sinai Covenant, which is a treaty document between Israel as a vassal people bound to Yahweh the Great King, the treaty between the Egyptians and the Hittites is a peace treaty between two equal powers.
Covenant Treaty Format of Deuteronomy
| 1. Preamble | Deuteronomy 1:1-5 |
| 2. Historical Prologue | Deuteronomy 1:6-4:43 |
| 3. Ethical Stipulations | Deuteronomy 4:44-26:19 (Deuteronomic Code = chapters 12-26) |
| 4. Sanctions | Deuteronomy 27:1-28:68 |
| 5. Succession Arrangements | Deuteronomy 29:1-34:12 |
Michal E. Hunt © 2011 | |
Since Yahweh is both the Great King and Israel's God, it is Yahweh who is responsible for judging the covenant failures of His vassal, Israel (Dt 29:24/25-28/29).
Our study of the book of Deuteronomy will follow this basic outline:
SUMMARY OF THE BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY
Biblical Period | #3 THE TWELVE TRIBES/SINAI COVENANT | ||||
Covenant | SINAI COVENANT | ||||
Scripture | 1:1--------------4:44--------------------------------------------29:1--------------------------------34:12 | ||||
Focus | FIRST HOMILY | SECOND HOMILY | THIRD HOMILY | ||
Division of Text | Preamble and Historical Review | Ethical Stipulations of the Sinai Covenant and the Sanctions for covenant failure | Succession Arrangements: Renewal of the Covenant with the new generation | ||
Topic |
God's actions for Israel | Israel's obligations to God: religious, civil and social laws (Deuteronomic Code) | Covenant blessings for obedience and curses/judgment for covenant failure |
What God will do for Israel in the future if Israel is obedient |
Joshua's ordination & the Song of Moses |
Location | On the Plains of Moab near the Jordan River across from Jericho | ||||
Time | |||||
Michal E. Hunt © 2011 | |||||
Since the events that are recorded in the book of Deuteronomy are linked to previous events in the books of Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers, please review some of the significant past events in the time-line below. The time-line records events from the day of the first Passover and the Exodus out of Egypt the next day, to the arrival of Israel's new generation forty years later on the Plains of Moab where they encamped on the east side of the Jordan River across from the Canaanite city of Jericho:
| Year | Day and month | Event | Scripture |
| Year 1 | 14th day of 1st month (Abib = March/April) | The first Passover sacrifice in Egypt on the day before the 10th plague that struck at midnight (sundown became the next day). | Ex 12:1-14, 29-30 |
| 15th day of 1st month (Abib = March/April) | At sundown, when the day became the 15th, the people ate the sacred meal of the Passover victim. At dawn they began their journey out of Egypt. | Ex 12:8, 29-34; Num 33:3 | |
| 1st day of the 3rd month (Sivan = May/June) | The Israelites arrived at Mt. Sinai. | Ex 19:1 | |
| Year 2 | 1st day of the 1st month (Abib = March/April) | The Desert Sanctuary was consecrated. | Ex 40:1, 17 |
| 1st week of 1st month (Abib = March/April) | The Aaronic priests were ordained over a 7 day period and began their ministerial service on the 8th day. | Ex 1, 12-15; Lev 8:1-36; 9:1 | |
| between the 9th and 13th of the 1st month (Abib = March/April) | The Levites were dedicated as lesser ministers. | Num 8:5-22 | |
| 14th of the 1st month (Abib = March/April) | The Israelites commemorated the Passover at Mt. Sinai. | Num 9:1 | |
| 1st of the 2nd month (Ziv = April/May) | The census of the tribes was taken. | Num 1:1 | |
| 14th of the 2nd month (Ziv = April/May) | All those Israelites who were ritual unclean and could not participate in the Passover on the 14th of Abib celebrated the Passover a month later. | Num 9:9-12 | |
| 20th of 2nd month (Ziv = April/May) | The Israelites left Mt. Sinai/Horeb. | Num 10:11 | |
| 30th of the 2nd month (Ziv = April/May)* | The Israelites arrived at Kadesh-Barnea where their failure to trust God led to a judgment of 38 years of desert wandering until the last of the adults of the Exodus generation died. The Israelites wandered a total of 40 years, counting from the year of the Exodus from Egypt. | Num 14:32-35; Dt 1:2; 2:14 | |
| Years 2 - 40 = the years of wilderness wandering | |||
| Year 40 | ? of the 1st month (Abib = March/April) | Miriam died and was buried at Kadesh. | Num 20:1 |
| 1st of the 5th month (Ab = July/ August) | Aaron died on top of Mt. Hor. He was buried at Moserah and was succeeded as high priest by his son Eleazar. | Num 20:22-29; 33:38; Dt 10:6 | |
| 1st of 11th month (Sebat = January/February) | The new generation of Israelites arrived at the Plains of Moab, camping on the east bank of the Jordan River across from Jericho. | Num 22:1; Dt 1:13 | |
| Michal E. Hunt © 2011 | |||
* Counting as the ancients counted with the first day in the sequence counting as day #1, it was eleven days from Mt. Sinai/Horeb to Kadesh-Barnea (Dt. 1:13).
In his three homilies to the new generation of Israelites in the book of Deuteronomy, Moses emphasized that Israel's relationship with Yahweh was not just a bond through a legal document but that it was a spiritual and emotional bond. He reminded the Israelites that it was because of God's love for their ancestors that God set His heart on loving them (Dt 4:37; 7:7-8, 12-13; 10:14-15; 23:5/6), and he called the wilderness generation to love God in return with all their "heart, soul, and strength" (Dt 6:5).
It is the same bond of love experienced by every generation of the New Covenant people of God. We awaken daily to the on-going love affair between Jesus and His Bride, the Church, through the remembrance of our love story in observing the Holy Days of Obligation and other feast days in the Liturgical calendar, in participating in the Sacraments Christ gave us to heal us and to strengthen our relationship with Him, and in the continuation of obedience to the New Covenant in our participation in the sacrifice of the Mass-Christ offering Himself: Body, Blood Soul and Divinity to His beloved.
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THE BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY
Part I of Moses' first homily (Dt 1:6-3:29) was devoted to a general summary of the historical events in chronological order from Mt. Sinai to the encampment on the Plains of Moab near Beth-Peor. It was critical for the new generation of Israelites to understand the history of their relationship with Yahweh through the events that brought them from the revelation of Yahweh at Sinai to their encampment on the east side of the Jordan River across from Jericho. Up to this point in Moses' first homily, in recounting the historical events that brought the Israelites to their final encampment, the focus of his homily has been Yahweh's faithful preservation of the people, in spite of their unfaithful actions and God's subsequent divine judgment (as in the forty years of desert wandering). It was Moses' message that Israel's victory over her enemies and prosperity in the Promised Land was assured but only if the new generation of Israelites continued to have faith in God and were obedient to the commands that bound them to Yahweh's covenant.
Deuteronomy 1:1-5 The Preamble: Introduction to the Renewed Covenant Treaty
The first five verses are the Preamble to the renewed covenant document, identifying the works of Yahweh on Israel's behalf to bring them to their encampment on the Plains of Moab. The first words in verse 1: "These are the words", provide the Hebrew title of the book.
Question: What information does verses 1-5 provide for the reader? There are five significant points.
Answer: Verses 1-5 identify these significant 5 points:
- The time and location of the address: on the east side of the Jordan River on the 1st day of the 11th month in the 40th year after leaving Egypt (verses 1 and 3).
- The speaker who is the prophet Moses (verses 1 and 5).
- His audience: the entire camp of Israel including priests, Levites, tribal leaders, the council of elders, and the common people (verse 1).
- The subject of Moses' homilies, which are not his own words but are only what Yahweh ordered him to tell the Israelites (verse 3).
- That it was Yahweh who brought the Israelites victory over their enemies in the Transjordan campaign (verse 4).
The words "beyond the Jordan", identifying the Israelites' encampment near the east bank of the Jordan River will be connected to a major event in the New Testament that is celebrated annually as a feast day in our Liturgical calendar on the first Sunday after the Solemnity of the Epiphany.
Question: What was the significance of that New Testament event on the east side of the Jordan River in God's plan for man's salvation? See Josh 1:1-2, 6; Mt 3; 1 Jn 1:28-34; CCC 535-36.
Answer: In preparation for the coming of the Kingdom of God that was to be proclaimed by the Redeemer-Messiah, St. John the Baptist was baptizing the covenant people in a baptism of repentance on the "far side", "beyond the Jordan", on the east side of the river. It was on the east side that Jesus, whose name in ancient Hebrew is Yahshua (Yahweh saves) or Yehoshua in the 1st century AD (Joshua) was baptized by St. John the Baptist: This happened at Bethany, on the far side of the Jordan where John was baptizing (Jn 1:28), purifying the waters for Christian baptism. After His baptism by John, Jesus crossed the river from east to west, like the first Joshua, leading the new conquest to liberate God's people from sin and death and to open the way to the true Promised Land of heaven.
Moses Speaks to Israel (19th-century engraving Henri Philippoteaux)
Moses' First Homily: The Historical Prologue
Deuteronomy 1:5b-18The Review of the Final Instructions before Leaving Horeb
Moses first homily in Deuteronomy 1:6-4:40 begins by recounting the history of the Israelites from the time when God commanded them to leave Mt. Sinai/Horeb, in the second year of the Exodus, to their arrival in the Transjordan when they came to Pisgah on the Plains of Moab within site of the Jordan River, in the fortieth year after the Exodus out of Egypt. There is, however, some historical information concerning earlier events. The three homilies are presented in a first person narrative form with Moses as the speaker and the Israelites as his audience.
Question: What were the three promises God made to Abram/Abraham if he would leave his people and travel to the land of Canaan? See Gen 12:1-3; 15:5; 17:4-8 and 22:17-18.
Answer: God promised Abraham:
- Land/kingdoms
- Descendants as numerous as the stars
- A world-wide blessing
Each promised blessing became part of the three-fold covenant formed with Abraham and ratified in a sacrifice and oath swearing in Genesis 22:13-18.
Question: Were all three of these promises perfectly fulfilled in the nation of Israel? See Rom 4:11-12, 13-17; Gal 3:6-9, 29.
Answer: No, the first two promises were only partially fulfilled in the nation of Israel, later in the period of the monarchy and in Israel's healthy and fertile people. However, all three promised blessings were perfectly fulfilled in Jesus Christ: the righteous King of all the earth, in all His faithful followers who were reckoned as true spiritual descendants of Abraham, and the world-wide blessing of the Gospel of salvation. Christians are the true heirs of the promised blessings of Abraham.
Question: How did the Amorite peoples and the extent of the land mentioned in Deuteronomy 1:6-8 figure in God's sworn oath to Abraham, a promise that was extended to Isaac and Jacob? See Gen 12:7; 15:7, 16-21; 26:2-5 and 28:13-15
Answer: God told Abraham that his descendants would take possession of the Promised Land of Canaan when the iniquity of the Amorites reached its fullest measure. The extent of the land the Israelites were to occupy mentioned in Deuteronomy 1:7 is the same as in the extent of the land God promised to Abraham in Genesis 15:18-21.
Deuteronomy 1:19-33 The Retelling of Israel's Failure at Kadesh
Deuteronomy 1:18-46 recounts the events surrounding Israelite's failure to begin the conquest of Canaan, when they failed to have faith in Yahweh to fulfill His promise to give them the land. The episode is a retelling of the events in Numbers chapters 13-14, although there are parts of the story that are missing from the earlier account.
Deuteronomy 1:34-46 Yahweh's Judgment at Kadesh
Deuteronomy 1:34-35: 'Yahweh heard what you were saying and in his anger swore this oath, 35"Not one of these people, this perverse generation, will see the fine country I swore to give your ancestors ... Oath swearing was a part of the ritual of covenant formation (i.e. Gen 21:22-23, 27:15-18; 31:44, 53; Ex 6:8), but oath swearing was also part of a covenant lawsuit judgment leveled against those who broke Yahweh's covenant (i.e. Num 14:26-35). The Hebrew word translated "perverse" in the word 'ra, literally "evil". Notice the contrast between the "evil" generation and the "good" land God swore to give the descendants of Abraham. It is ironic that the desert that was the gateway to life for a newly freed people after slavery in Egypt became the gateway to death for the Exodus generation. The rebellion at Kadesh-Barnea was a turning point. It was the crisis that marked the end of Act II in the great Exodus drama (the end of Act I was the arrival at Sinai). Act III was devoted to how Israel finally became a holy people capable of fulfilling the destined that Yahweh had planned for them. Just as the first Creation event ended in crisis and destruction in the Great Flood, followed by a re-creation of a renewed earth after the flood, so too now, the birth of Israel as a new people ends in crisis and destruction to be followed by the rebirth of a holy nation in the wilderness generation.
CHALLENGE: “If we’re not supposed to determine our religious beliefs by Scripture alone, name some apostolic Traditions that aren’t in the New Testament.”
DEFENSE: Which examples one will find persuasive depends on one’s theological viewpoint, but there are some that should be convincing to all traditional Protestants.
One is that there are to be no more apostles. The college of apostles did not continue past the first century. The task of shepherding the Church devolved from the apostles upon their successors, the bishops, but the two offices are not identical (CCC 860–62).
The cessation of the apostles did not have to be. Although membership in the Twelve required being an eyewitness of Jesus’ ministry (Acts 1:21–26), there were other apostles, such as Barnabas and Paul (Acts 14:14).
Paul, in particular, wasn’t an eyewitness; Jesus only appeared to him later (Acts 9:1–9; cf. 1 Cor. 9:1). The fact that Jesus did this for Paul means he could have continued appearing and making new apostles down through history, but he didn’t.
Some individuals in history have claimed to be new apostles, but orthodox Christians have rightly rejected their claims. Related to the passing of the apostles is the fact that public revelation has ceased (CCC 66 ), and thus the canon of Scripture is closed.
There are to be no more books of Scripture. This also did not have to be. God could have continued to inspire authors, enabling them to write new books of the Bible. The authors wouldn’t even have to be apostles, for some of the original New Testament authors (e.g., Mark and Luke) were not apostles.
Yet Christians recognized that just as the apostles ceased, so did the writing of Scripture. Of course, individuals have claimed to receive new books of Scripture (e.g., Joseph Smith), but, again, orthodox Christians have rightly rejected these claims.
The closing of the age of the apostles and the age of Scripture are elements of the deposit of faith, or apostolic Tradition, but they are not attested in Scripture. The Bible nowhere says or implies that Jesus will not continue to appear to people and create new apostles. Neither does it say or imply that God will not continue to inspire authors to write new books of Scripture. These are thus elements of apostolic Tradition not in Scripture.
Jimmy Akin, A Daily Defense: 365 Days (Plus One) to Becoming a Better Apologist
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