The Book of Numbers No 1
The Book of Numbers The Hebrew title is taken from the words of the scroll, “the LORD said” but when translated into Greek LXX, the title became, arithmoi (our word arithmetic), translated into the Latin Vulgate it becomes “Numbers.” It begins and ends with 2 censuses, - the first was taken when they left Sinai, the number of Israelites was 603,550 (males). The second was taken at Moab, prior to their entering the Promised Land, when the number of Israelites was 601,730 (males), almost 40 years later. These were men who could be conscripted to fight (age 20+). There were over 38 years between the 2 censuses, one whole generation had perished in the wilderness, except for Joshua and Caleb. This is therefore a tragic narrative, with such loss of lives, in actual fact the Israelites could have reached the Promised Land in 11 days on foot, but instead it took 13,780 days with the loss of a whole generation. Following the narrative of the Jews from Egypt, the journey began on the night of the Exodus and the crossing of the Red Sea. The Children of Israel journeyed from there to Mount Sinai, a journey of about 2 months (Ex.13-18), a summary of that journey is given in Ex.19:1-3). The Israelites encamped at Sinai, through to Numbers 10:11, Moses was preparing Israel for their departure for the Promised Land. The Israelites camped there for about a year and it was here that their first rebellion occurred while Moses was with the LORD in the holy mountain, when
New Life Radio – Talk No 26
4 Derrick Harrison
07/04/2021
