26.2 Sabbaths, i.e., the weekly sabbaths (19.3, 30), which may account for the inclusion of vv. 1–2 in this chapter to remind readers that neglecting not only the sabbatical year (vv. 34–35) but also the sabbath day accounts for Israel’s exile.
26.3–13 The conditionality of the blessing is also found in ancient Near Eastern treaties.
26.14–39 Comparable curses are appended to ancient Near Eastern treaties.
26.31 Sanctuaries, the multiple sanctuaries throughout the land before Hezekiah’s reform.
26.34 Sabbath years refers to the sabbaticals, but not the jubilees, since the term “sabbath” is inappropriate for the jubilee.
26.40–45 Remorse and the recall of the covenant. Vv. 40–41a constitute Israel’s confession that it committed sacrilege and stubbornly resisted God, and consequently God brought the people into exile. Vv. 41b–45 constitute God’s response: if Israel truly humbles itself and accepts (the justice of) its punishment, then God will remember the covenant and, as soon as the land has made up its neglected sabbaticals, will restore Israel to the land. The importance of this concession should not be underestimated. It approximates and perhaps influences the prophetic doctrine of repentance, which not only suspends the sacrificial requirements but eliminates them entirely.
LEVITICUS 27
Votive Offerings
1The LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 2Speak to the people of Israel and say to them: When a person makes an explicit vow to the LORD concerning the equivalent for a human being, 3the equivalent for a male shall be: from twenty to sixty years of age the equivalent shall be fifty shekels of silver by the sanctuary shekel. 4If the person is a female, the equivalent is thirty shekels. 5If the age is from five to twenty years of age, the equivalent is twenty shekels for a male and ten shekels for a female. 6If the age is from one month to five years, the equivalent for a male is five shekels of silver, and for a female the equivalent is three shekels of silver. 7And if the person is sixty years old or over, then the equivalent for a male is fifteen shekels, and for a female ten shekels. 8If any cannot afford the equivalent, they shall be brought before the priest and the priest shall assess them; the priest shall assess them according to what each one making a vow can afford.
9If it concerns an animal that may be brought as an offering to the LORD, any such that may be given to the LORD shall be holy. 10Another shall not be exchanged or substituted for it, either good for bad or bad for good; and if one animal is substituted for another, both that one and its substitute shall be holy. 11If it concerns any unclean animal that may not be brought as an offering to the LORD, the animal shall be presented before the priest. 12The priest shall assess it: whether good or bad, according to the assessment of the priest, so it shall be. 13But if it is to be redeemed, one-fifth must be added to the assessment.
14If a person consecrates a house to the LORD, the priest shall assess it: whether good or bad, as the priest assesses it, so it shall stand. 15And if the one who consecrates the house wishes to redeem it, one-fifth shall be added to its assessed value, and it shall revert to the original owner.
16If a person consecrates to the LORD any inherited landholding, its assessment shall be in accordance with its seed requirements: fifty shekels of silver to a homer of barley seed. 17If the person consecrates the field as of the year of jubilee, that assessment shall stand; 18but if the field is consecrated after the jubilee, the priest shall compute the price for it according to the years that remain until the year of jubilee, and the assessment shall be reduced. 19And if the one who consecrates the field wishes to redeem it, then one-fifth shall be added to its assessed value, and it shall revert to the original owner; 20but if the field is not redeemed, or if it has been sold to someone else, it shall no longer be redeemable. 21But when the field is released in the jubilee, it shall be holy to the LORD as a devoted field; it becomes the priest’s holding. 22If someone consecrates to the LORD a field that has been purchased, which is not a part of the inherited landholding, 23the priest shall compute for it the proportionate assessment up to the year of jubilee, and the assessment shall be paid as of that day, a sacred donation to the LORD. 24In the year of jubilee the field shall return to the one from whom it was bought, whose holding the land is. 25All assessments shall be by the sanctuary shekel: twenty gerahs shall make a shekel.
26A firstling of animals, however, which as a firstling belongs to the LORD, cannot be consecrated by anyone; whether ox or sheep, it is the LORD’s. 27If it is an unclean animal, it shall be ransomed at its assessment, with one-fifth added; if it is not redeemed, it shall be sold at its assessment.
28Nothing that a person owns that has been devoted to destruction for the LORD, be it human or animal, or inherited landholding, may be sold or redeemed; every devoted thing is most holy to the LORD. 29No human beings who have been devoted to destruction can be ransomed; they shall be put to death.
30All tithes from the land, whether the seed from the ground or the fruit from the tree, are the LORD’s; they are holy to the LORD. 31If persons wish to redeem any of their tithes, they must add one-fifth to them. 32All tithes of herd and flock, every tenth one that passes under the shepherd’s staff, shall be holy to the LORD. 33Let no one inquire whether it is good or bad, or make substitution for it; if one makes substitution for it, then both it and the substitute shall be holy and cannot be redeemed.
34These are the commandments that the LORD gave to Moses for the people of Israel on Mount Sinai.
* * *
27.1–34 An appendix closely associated with ch. 25 by its theme, the redemption of dedications (not votive offerings). It is organized as follows: (1) Redemption does not apply to humans since only their value, not their person, may be dedicated (vv. 1–28; but cf. v. 29). (2) Only impure animals may be redeemed; offerable ones must be sacrificed (vv. 9–13). (3) All land is redeemable because land is unofferable (vv. 14–19, 22–25); only cherem (Hebrew, “devoted”) dedications (man, animal, or land, vv. 20–21, 28–29) may not be redeemed. (4) Firstlings (vv. 26–27) must be sacrificed unless they are defective or impure, in which case they are redeemed or sold. (5) Offerable crop tithe is redeemable; offerable animal tithe is unredeemable (vv. 30–33). One postulate explains these gradations: offerable animals are irredeemable because they must be sacrificed, whereas nonofferable animals and other “holy things” (see 5.14–6.7) are redeemable unless they are cherem (see note on 27.28–29). When male and female valuations are compared, the results show that women, as a class, must have been considered an indispensable and powerful element in the Israelite labor force.
27.1–8 The values in this section probably prevailed in the slave markets. Note that the price of a male infant (v. 6) above the age of one month corresponds with the redemption price of a male firstborn (Num 3.47; 18.16) and that the priest is enjoined to adjust the price according to the economic conditions of the vower (v. 8).
27.13 If it is…redeemed. This rule applies only to the owner, but the sanctuary may sell it to anyone else for the assessment price (v. 27).
27.20 Has, rather “had.” The owner dedicated his field after he sold it.
27.21 Devoted field, i.e., cherem dedications are irredeemable.
27.28–29 Devoted to destruction, more precisely “totally dedicated,” the distinction being that cherem (Hebrew, “devoted”) animals and lands become the permanent property of the sanctuary, whereas cherem persons—probably prisoners of war resulting from cherem vows taken against an enemy (e.g., Num 21.1–3; 1 Sam 15.3, 33)—must be destroyed.
27.30 These tithes differ from those of Num 18.21 (P) and Deut 14.22–29 in that they are assigned to the sanctuary; those in Numbers belong to the Levites and those in Deuteronomy to the owner.
27.32 The only recorded instance of the animal tithe is during the reign of Hezekiah (2 Chr 31.6), an indication that H formed the basis of Hezekiah’s reform. (On P and H, see Introduction.)
NUMBERS
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13
| 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 |
NUMBERS IS THE FOURTH BOOK of the Bible and therefore the fourth in the Pentateuch (“five scrolls”), or Torah, as the first five books are known collectively. Numbers takes its English name from Arithmoi, the title of the book in the ancient Greek translation called the Septuagint, begun in the third century BCE. In Hebrew the book is called Bemidbar, “In the wilder ness,” a word in the first verse of the book and perhaps a more appropriate title given its con tents. The book of Numbers begins with the Israelites encamped in the wilderness of Sinai and spans the forty years of the wilderness wanderings. It ends with the people on the east side of the Jordan River, in the “plains of Moab,” poised for the conquest of Canaan. Lack of faith (chs. 13–14) leads to the almost complete destruction of the exodus generation, which is to be re placed by a new generation born in the wilderness and looking forward to Canaan rather than backward to Egypt.
Structure and Sources
THE STRUCTURE OF THE BOOK follows the geographical sequence of the account as well as the change in generations over the forty years of wandering. Geographically, Numbers can be divided into three fairly neat sections: in the wilderness of Sinai, 1.1–10.10; the march through the wilderness to Transjordan, 10.11–22.1; and in the plains of Moab, 22.2–36.13. The book is also, however, divided into two sections by the two military censuses in chs. 1 and 26, which represent the doubting exodus generation and the new generation that takes its place. These two censuses, as well as several other counting episodes, have led to the impression that “numbers” are the principal topic of the book; hence its title in the Septuagint.
Modern scholars believe that the material in the Pentateuch, and therefore in the book of Numbers, was brought together from several sources. It is useful to consider two broad types of sources evident in the book of Numbers: material called “Priestly,” because of its interest in cultic matters pertaining to religious ritual and genealogy, and material drawn from “old epic” sources, which has a lexical and stylistic consistency with similar material elsewhere in the Pentateuch (see Introduction to Genesis). Both Priestly and epic sections preserve ancient traditions, but most modern scholars suggest that the history of the Israelites before their settlement in Canaan was more complicated than the picture in Numbers of the twelve-tribe march from the exodus to the conquest. The biblical traditions themselves contain some ambiguity about this period, for example, concerning the Israelites’ relationships with other Transjordanian peoples and in the contrasting pictures of the settlement that emerge in Judg 1 and the book of Joshua. There is little extrabiblical evidence with which to compare the biblical depictions.
Content
DESPITE A NAME THAT INDICATES a passion for counting and lists, the book of Numbers in fact contains a cast of familiar characters (Moses, Miriam, Aaron, Joshua, Caleb) and some of the best-known passages in the Bible: Balaam’s talking donkey (ch. 22) and the oracles of Balaam (chs. 23–24); the priestly benediction (ch. 6); the spies returning from Canaan with a huge cluster of grapes (ch. 13); the manna and the quails (ch. 11); the water from the rock (ch. 20); Miriam’s “leprosy” (ch. 12); the bronze serpent that healed snakebite (ch. 21); the revolts of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram (ch. 16); the magical budding of Aaron’s rod (ch. 17); the man executed for gathering sticks on the sabbath (ch. 15); the daughters of Zelophehad (chs. 27, 36); the apostasy at Baal-peor (ch. 25); and the rituals for a woman suspected of adultery (ch. 5), for men and women taking a Nazirite vow (ch. 6), and for cleansing pollution from contact with a corpse (the “red heifer,” ch. 19). [JO ANN HACKETT]
The major places and routes that figure in the narratives of Israel’s migration into Canaan (Numbers, Joshua, and Judges).
NUMBERS 1
The First Census of Israel
1The LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tent of meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying: 2Take a census of the whole congregation of Israelites, in their clans, by ancestral houses, according to the number of names, every male individually; 3from twenty years old and upward, everyone in Israel able to go to war. You and Aaron shall enroll them, company by company. 4A man from each tribe shall be with you, each man the head of his ancestral house. 5These are the names of the men who shall assist you:
From Reuben, Elizur son of Shedeur.
6From Simeon, Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai.
7From Judah, Nahshon son of Amminadab.
8From Issachar, Nethanel son of Zuar.
9From Zebulun, Eliab son of Helon.
10From the sons of Joseph: from Ephraim, Elishama son of Ammihud;
from Manasseh, Gamaliel son of Pedahzur.
11From Benjamin, Abidan son of Gideoni.
12From Dan, Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai.
13From Asher, Pagiel son of Ochran.
14From Gad, Eliasaph son of Deuel.
15From Naphtali, Ahira son of Enan.
16These were the ones chosen from the congregation, the leaders of their ancestral tribes, the heads of the divisions of Israel.
17Moses and Aaron took these men who had been designated by name, 18and on the first day of the second month they assembled the whole congregation together. They registered themselves in their clans, by their ancestral houses, according to the number of names from twenty years old and upward, individually, 19as the LORD commanded Moses. So he enrolled them in the wilderness of Sinai.
20The descendants of Reuben, Israel’s firstborn, their lineage, in their clans, by their ancestral houses, according to the number of names, individually, every male from twenty years old and upward, everyone able to go to war: 21those enrolled of the tribe of Reuben were forty-six thousand five hundred.
22The descendants of Simeon, their lineage, in their clans, by their ancestral houses, those of them that were numbered, according to the number of names, individually, every male from twenty years old and upward, everyone able to go to war: 23those enrolled of the tribe of Simeon were fifty-nine thousand three hundred.
24The descendants of Gad, their lineage, in their clans, by their ancestral houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, everyone able to go to war: 25those enrolled of the tribe of Gad were forty-five thousand six hundred fifty.
26The descendants of Judah, their lineage, in their clans, by their ancestral houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, everyone able to go to war: 27those enrolled of the tribe of Judah were seventy-four thousand six hundred.
28The descendants of Issachar, their lineage, in their clans, by their ancestral houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, everyone able to go to war: 29those enrolled of the tribe of Issachar were fifty-four thousand four hundred.
30The descendants of Zebulun, their lineage, in their clans, by their ancestral houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, everyone able to go to war: 31those enrolled of the tribe of Zebulun were fifty-seven thousand four hundred.
32The descendants of Joseph, namely, the descendants of Ephraim, their lineage, in their clans, by their ancestral houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, everyone able to go to war: 33those enrolled of the tribe of Ephraim were forty thousand five hundred.
34The descendants of Manasseh, their lineage, in their clans, by their ancestral houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, everyone able to go to war: 35those enrolled of the tribe of Manasseh were thirty-two thousand two hundred.
36The descendants of Benjamin, their lineage, in their clans, by their ancestral houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, everyone able to go to war: 37those enrolled of the tribe of Benjamin were thirty-five thousand four hundred.
38The descendants of Dan, their lineage, in their clans, by their an
cestral houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, everyone able to go to war: 39those enrolled of the tribe of Dan were sixty-two thousand seven hundred.
40The descendants of Asher, their lineage, in their clans, by their ancestral houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, everyone able to go to war: 41those enrolled of the tribe of Asher were forty-one thousand five hundred.
42The descendants of Naphtali, their lineage, in their clans, by their ancestral houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, everyone able to go to war: 43those enrolled of the tribe of Naphtali were fifty-three thousand four hundred.
44These are those who were enrolled, whom Moses and Aaron enrolled with the help of the leaders of Israel, twelve men, each representing his ancestral house. 45So the whole number of the Israelites, by their ancestral houses, from twenty years old and upward, everyone able to go to war in Israel—46their whole number was six hundred three thousand five hundred fifty. 47The Levites, however, were not numbered by their ancestral tribe along with them.
48The LORD had said to Moses: 49Only the tribe of Levi you shall not enroll, and you shall not take a census of them with the other Israelites. 50Rather you shall appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the covenant,a and over all its equipment, and over all that belongs to it; they are to carry the tabernacle and all its equipment, and they shall tend it, and shall camp around the tabernacle. 51When the tabernacle is to set out, the Levites shall take it down; and when the tabernacle is to be pitched, the Levites shall set it up. And any outsider who comes near shall be put to death. 52The other Israelites shall camp in their respective regimental camps, by companies; 53but the Levites shall camp around the tabernacle of the covenant,b that there may be no wrath on the congregation of the Israelites; and the Levites shall perform the guard duty of the tabernacle of the covenant.c 54The Israelites did so; they did just as the LORD commanded Moses.
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