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Accounting for light and righteousness in Israel (Numbers 26–27)

After various plagues and judgments over the 40 years of wandering in wilderness, God called for Israel to be counted again. It was also time to divide the Promised Land among the 12 tribes, based on the wisdom of God’s light and righteousness.

Studies in Torah

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After various plagues and judgments over the 40 years of wandering in wilderness, God called for Israel to be counted again. It was also time to divide the Promised Land among the 12 tribes, based on the wisdom of God’s light and righteousness.

Thought questions

  • What does it mean to divide the land by lots?
  • Is the count by אלף elef, by clans or by thousands adding up to 601,000?
    • What is the significance of the word census in Num. 26:2 being the Hebrew word ראש rosh, which means “head”?
    • How many “heads” or “divisions” did each tribe have? (Compare the use of אלף elef in Joshua 6:15.)
  • If the Hebrew words Urim and Thurim mean “light” and “righteousness,” respectively, how does the use of decision-making objects named after those words relate to the division of the Promised Land among the tribes?

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