Numbers

The English title “Numbers” comes from the Greek title (Arithmoi) and the Latin Vulgate (Numeri).^[1] In our estimation, the Hebrew title (“In the Wilderness of Sinai”)^[2] captures the major contents of the book better. The narratives in Numbers relate to the 40-year Wilderness Wandering. Regarding the central theme of the narrative, Cole writes, “The land and its produce were to be the crowning evidence of God’s goodness and faithfulness, yet an unfaithful and rebellious generation would rather die in the barrenness of the desert than inherit God’s richest blessing.”^[3]

Authorship

Numbers claims to be written by Moses (Num. 1:1; 33:2), and “nearly every section begins ‘The Lord spoke to Moses’ or with some similar remark.”^[4] Furthermore, the account gives clear, eyewitness details.[5] The NT authors allude to Numbers (Acts 7, 13; 1 Cor. 10:1-11; Heb. 3), and Jesus himself referred to the serpent in the wilderness in Numbers 21:9 (Jn. 3:14). For more on the authorship of Numbers, see our earlier article titled “Authorship of the Pentateuch.”

Date

Since Moses wrote the book, this would date the events in this book from 1440-1400 BC.

Themes in Numbers

The nation’s rebellion doesn’t stop God’s faithfulness. This is at the heart of the book. The people grumble and complain—even wanting to return to Egypt. God disciplines them by letting the parents die in the Wilderness over a 40-year stretch. But in the end, he remains faithful to the nation as a whole.

The battle for belief. The Israelites forfeited God’s promise because they were so focused on the size and ferocity of the Canaanites. They refused to walk into the promises that God had given them. Archer writes, “It was not the size of their army that mattered, but only the size of their faith.”^[6]

The importance of the land. While Exodus focuses on God’s deliverance from Pharaoh and Leviticus focuses on the worship of God, Numbers focuses on the land promises given to Israel.

God’s rest. Multiple NT authors refer to the failure of faith as a missed opportunity to experience God’s rest (1 Cor. 10:1-10; Heb. 3:7-4:13; Jude 5, 8, 11).

Consulted Commentaries

Ronald B. Allen, “Numbers,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 2 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1990).

Gordon J. Wenham, Numbers: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 4, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1981).

R. Dennis Cole, Numbers, vol. 3B, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000).

^[1] Gleason L. Archer Jr., A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, 3rd ed. (Chicago: Moody Press, 1994), 262.

^[2] Hebrew Bibles get their title from the first word of the text “[YHWH] spoke [to Moses]” (wayedabbēr) and later the fifth word of the text “in the wilderness [of Sinai]” (b^emiḏbār). This is more common in modern Hebrew Bibles. See R. Dennis Cole, Numbers, vol. 3B, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000), 23.

^[3] R. Dennis Cole, Numbers, vol. 3B, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000), 59.

^[4] Gordon J. Wenham, Numbers: An Introduction and Commentary, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries 4 (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1981), 21.

[5] For a list of historically confirmed details, see Gordon Wenham, Numbers (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1981), pp.27-29.

^[6] Gleason L. Archer Jr., A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, 3rd ed. (Chicago: Moody Press, 1994), 265.