THE BOOK OF NUMBERS: INTRODUCTION TO THE LITERARY STRUCTURE

Below is a summary of a chapter in my unpublished book The Structure of Scripture. I will forward the unedited chapter to anyone requesting it at elmerphd21@hotmail.com.

The Book of Numbers is a seeming hodgepodge of miscellaneous legislative material, narratives told out of chronological order, and long formulaic lists relieved occasionally by minor literary variations. Childs has collected comments on Numbers characterizing it as “the least unified composition within the Pentateuch,” “difficult to discern any pattern in its construction” and “without any unity of subject matter.”

In addition, the question has been asked whether Numbers should even be considered as a stand-alone text apart from the other books of the Pentateuch. For example, various authors have suggested that the first nine or ten chapters of Numbers should be read in conjunction with Exodus and/or Leviticus. In spite of these intriguing suggestions, many commentators do see a logical arrangement to the material in the Book of Numbers itself. However, there remains a fair amount of disagreement as to what exactly constitutes the overall organization of the book. The key to the book's structure has been variously proposed to lie in (a) the alternation of numerous legal and narrative sections, (b) geographical markers, or (c) chronological notes in the text.

One simple two-part structure for Numbers separates the mainly legal material in 1:1-10:10 from the rest of the book. Alternatively, the two censuses beginning at 1:1 and 26:1 may be used to divide the book into two parts, the second being more positive in tone.  By combining these two criteria, one arrives at the three-part scheme – 1:1-10:10, 10:11-25:18, 26:1-36:13 – favored by many commentators, although others locate the break between the second and third sections differently. It is this basic three-part scheme, with variations, that is defended below with supporting data and further definition. It should be noted parenthetically that this proposed scheme preserves most of the detailed unit divisions identified by Milgrom.

Section I: Order (1:1-10:36)

The first major section of the book has an overall positive tone in which the congregation of Israel is divided by tribes, each in its proper place and with a place of honor for the Levites. Various laws are prescribed by God, and His presence with and blessings on the people are guaranteed. These same elements are given twice in this section according to the scheme shown below. Serving as a rough inclusio are the only occurrences of “banner” in the book, nine times in chapters 1-2 and four times in 10:14-25. Another approximate inclusio consists of the similar time formulas found in 1:1 and 10:11.

Figure 1: The Structure of Section I

A. The Tribes Numbered (chs. 1-2)

B. Levitical Duties (chs. 3-4)

C. Various Laws (5:1-6:21)

D. God's Blessings on the People (6:22-27)

A'. The Tribes Offer Sacrifices (ch. 7)

B'. Levitical Duties (ch. 8)

C'. Passover Laws (9:1-14)

D'. God's Presence with the People (9:15-10:36)

The parallelism between the two halves of this section is evidenced not only in the common themes, but also in the similar starting and ending formulas. Both A and A' begin with reference to “head of house of fathers” and then proceed to “heads of thousands.” Sections B and B' end on the note: “according to all that the LORD commanded to Moses” while C and C' conclude with the words “according to the law.” Many other similarities between the material in B and B' and between that in C and C' have been previously noted.

The parallels between sections D and D' are not as pronounced except in the general theme of Yahweh's closeness to his chosen people. Most commentators see a distinct break after verse 10:10, but the proposed division shown above can be defended on grounds that the concluding verses of ch.10 fit the optimistic tone of the rest of Section I much better than the downbeat nature of the following section. In addition, since D' begins with mention of the cloud of the LORD in 9:15, it is appropriate to conclude with its appearance again at the end of the section (10:34).

Section II: Disorder (11:1-25:18)

The same four basic elements that comprise Section I (order established by Yahweh, the place of the Levites, legislation from Yahweh, and Yahweh's relation to His people) are also present twice in this section, with two major differences: they appear in chiastic, rather than parallel, order and they occur as perversions of the ideal order demonstrated in Section I.

Figure 2: The Structure of Section II

A. God's Wrath (ch.11)

B. Rebellions Against God's Leadership (chs.12-14)

C. Various Laws (ch.15)

D. Rebellion Against Levitical Authority (16:1-35)

E. God's Wrath (16:36-50)

D'. Restoration of Levitical Authority (17:1-12)

C'. Various Laws (chs.18-19)

B'. Result of Rebellion Against God's Leadership (20:1-21:3)

A'. God's Wrath (21:4-25:18)

One similarity tying together sections IIA and IIA' is that each contains an apparent example of Yahweh changing his mind without explanation (at 11:33 where Yahweh smites the people with a plague after giving them quail to eat and in ch. 22 where He opposes Balaam's visit to Balak after giving him permission to go). These incidents perhaps demonstrate the sovereignty of Yahweh's decisions and His right to display wrath on whomever He chooses.

There are a number of parallels between sections IIB and IIB'. The rebellions of Miriam and Aaron in B lead to their deaths in B'. The lack of faith displayed by the people in B when the spies give their report leads to their inability to enter Canaan on their own in B'. Similarly, God's pronouncement in B dooming the present generation from entering Canaan is paralleled by the same judgment against Moses himself in B'. Moses and Aaron fall on their faces in both sections (14:5; 20:6) in narratives where the glory of Yahweh appears, emphasizing the proper response of man to Yahweh in contrast to that evidenced by the congregation of Israel.  In both sections, the same order of events occurs: complaining by the people, response of the leaders, appearance of God's glory, and an oracle given.  Stubbs points to the irony of the people complaining about the lack of figs, vines and pomegranates in 20:5 when those are the very items brought back from Canaan by the spies in 13:23-24. In spite of these reverses, a surprising turn of events can be seen if one compares the final verses of sections B and B'. In the first instance, the people are defeated in battle at Hormah. In the second instance, God leads them to victory, signaling an upturn in Israel's fortunes.

The sections labeled C and C' above contain ritual material and are unified by the phrase “a perpetual statute throughout the generations,” which occurs exactly ten times between the two sections. Both sections end with dual mention of offenders being “cut off” from the people (15:30,31; 19:13,20).

At the center of this section is the story of the Korahite rebellion in Numbers 16-17, divided into three separate but related units according to the scheme of Ashley. The negative situation of ch. 16 culminating in the death of thousands is given a positive slant in the subsequent chapter with the budding of Aaron's rod. And although Aaron dies, Israel is given a new priest in Eleazer. The wrath of Yahweh directed against the people of Israel in Section IIA is redirected toward her enemies in IIA'. And, most telling, the abortive war with the Canaanites in IIA (14:39-45) is turned into a victory in IIA' with the “seemingly misplaced report (Levine)” of 21:1-3.

The important final unit of Section II centers around the Balaam incident, which has been called “in some ways the centerpiece of the book of Numbers. As examples of unity within IIA', this section contains (a) exactly seven occurrences of the pair “Jacob/Israel” (followed by the deliberate switching of this order in a final occurrence) and (b) exactly seven uses of the noun masal referring to an oracle.

Section III: A New Order (26:1-36:13)

The literary structure of this last section is the most complex in the book, incorporating the parallel arrangement of Section I and the chiastic structure evidenced in Section II. The intended unity of this section is best seen in the use of the phrase “in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho” at its start (26:3) and conclusion (36:13).

Figure 3: The Structure of Section III

A. The Tribes Numbered (26:1-56)

B. Levites Numbered (26:57-65)

C. Inheritance Laws for Daughters of Zelophehad (27:1-11)

D. End of Moses' Leadership (27:12-23)

E. Final Legislation Before Crossing Jordan (ch. 28-29)

F. Women's Vows (ch. 30)

E'. Final Narratives Before Crossing Jordan (ch. 31-32)

D'. Summary of Moses' Leadership (33:1-49)

A'. The Tribes' Inheritance (33:50-34:29)

B'. Levites' Inheritance and Cities of Refuge (ch. 35)

C'. Inheritance Laws for Daughters of Zelophehad (ch. 36)

The outer elements in the above structure (A, B, C and their parallels) are very similar to, and occur in the same order as, the corresponding sub-sections of Section I (see Fig. 1). As in Section I, an enumeration of the tribes (A and A') is followed by a special emphasis on the Levites (B and B') and the description of a new piece of legislation. The last case is especially striking since sections IIIC and IIIC' deal with the same specific issue (noted by most commentators), and the present division of its discussion into two separate passages is incomprehensible outside of a structural rationale such as shown above. These paired sections are of special importance to feminist interpreters in recognizing that “these women are also entitled to a self-sufficient and financially secure life, independent of men.” (Tiemeyer) These narratives present the daughters as positive models of the new generation in the wilderness.

Many potential schemes are possible for dividing the miscellaneous central material constituting 27:12-33:49. The divisions of Fig. 3 were obtained by the following reasoning:

1. There are similar endings for Sections D, E and F.

“as the LORD directed through Moses” (27:23)

            “as the LORD had commanded Moses” (29:40)

            “which the LORD commanded Moses” (30:16)

2. Although sections D' and E' are not as clearly delineated, each consists of two separate subjects tied together with a repeated key phrase:

a. Section D' contains an enumeration of the encampments made by the people in the wilderness (33:1-49) and a command by Yahweh to utterly destroy the inhabitants of Canaan (33:50-56). The enumeration ends with the same phrase used to begin the command: “in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.”

b. Section E' contains two narratives: the war with the Midianites (ch. 31) and the decisions involving Reuben and Gad (ch. 32). These somewhat diverse texts provide two prominent examples of legislation prompted by narrative events and are unified by mention (at 31:12-13 and 32:2) of the key leaders: “Moses and Eleazar the priest and....the congregation.”

The most prominent features of the structure shown in Fig. 3 are its three centers of emphasis. The stress in the parallel repetitions A, B, C and A', B', C' falls naturally on the last elements, the laws guaranteeing a fair inheritance for the daughters of Zelophedad. The emphasis in the center chiasm is on Section F – regulations protecting women from rash vows, a section of the book that appears to have no obvious relationship with what has proceeded or with what follows. This amazing preoccupation with women's rights in a so-called patriarchal document has been noted by Ashley, who comments, “At the beginning, middle and end of this unit the rights of a normally underprivileged group are addressed. Yahweh's land would be a place where all God's people would find rest.”

Sections I and III

Taken as a whole, the Book of Numbers with its three major sections has an ABA' pattern with the correspondence of the first and last sections most clearly indicated by the way in which they both begin: with a census of the people and similar instructions given to Moses by Yahweh. Another more subtle parallelism can be seen in the similarities between the vows occurring at the center of each section.  Many other similarities between the first and third sections have been cited in the literature.

Overall Structure

In the first major section of the book, the strength of Yahweh's people is first measured, and their relation with Him is detailed through the Levitical duties and various commands that must be obeyed. The end result is a blessing on the people. This four-fold pattern is given twice in Section I.

In Section II, all the elements of the first section are seen to be in disruption. The people, including the Levites, are aligned against Yahweh and his appointed leadership; the laws given in this section concern transgressions by the people and the Levites; and Yahweh's wrath, not His blessing, falls on the people. Within this section, however, are hints (through its chiastic structure and various reversals that occur in the second half) that the situation is not irredeemable, especially for the next generation.

Section III begins and ends with three of the elements found in the first two sections:

a. The strength of a new generation (stressed in 26:64 as containing “not a man numbered by Moses...in the wilderness of Sinai”) under Yahweh's leadership is assessed.

            b. The particular position of the Levites is noted, including their place in the new land to be                    occupied.

c. A sticky legal issue, this time related again to the inheritance of land, is resolved.

What will be the fate of the army of Yahweh as it proceeds to carry out its mission to occupy the Promised Land? Will it rely on His strength to lead them to victory or fall back into a pattern of grumbling and disbelief? It appears that two literary devices have been used in the last section to purposely leave the reader in suspense regarding the outcome. First, by combining in Section III the literary pattern of the optimistic Section I (repetition) with that of the pessimistic Section II (chiasm), the reader is left with no structural hint as to the subsequent conclusion. The second, and most important, consideration is the element present in the first two sections of the book but missing in the third: Yahweh's relationship with the congregation of Israel. Will it be one of wrath or blessing? Only a subsequent reading of the books of Joshua and Judges will resolve these questions.

Stubbs aptly characterizes this final section of the book as being “a bittersweet portrait of the new generation” in which “almost every chapter is marked with a sense that while everything is better, it is not quite as it should be.”  Reaching his conclusion by an independent line of reasoning, Olsen  echoes the above comments on this intended open-ended effect of Numbers: “The concern of the book is to establish a model or paradigm which will invite every generation to place itself in the place of a new generation.”