The inner sanctuary items were so holy that the sons of Aaron had to cover them before the Levites could come an carry them away. The chapter goes on to mention the names of the families of Levi who were designated to perform the various tasks of the sanctuary. Chapter 5 seems to take a divergent path with instructions on how a jealous husband can find out whether his wife committed adultery. In chapter 6, that will be a little more clear.
This chapter is the culmination of the tragic story of Amnon and Tamar. It’s been three years since the death of Amnon at Absolom’s hands and David’s heart is still heavy. Joab convinces a wise woman to tell an elaborate story to tug at David’s heart to convince him to allow his son Absolom to return to Jerusalem.
For many, the book of Numbers is the most boring book of the Bible because it seems to focus so much on numbers. God did not put this book in the Bible to bore us but to educate us.
Some have asserted that the huge numbers of people listed in various places in Exodus and Numbers are impossible or unlikely for a number of real-world reasons. Those include lack of mention of such big numbers in Egyptian and other secular accounts, archaeological estimates of populations at the time, food supply and other logistics for such huge numbers during the Exodus, number of years Israel was in Egypt, smaller numbers mentioned in the Bible hundreds of years later, trepidation of Israel to invade the Land despite having huge army, etc.
Rather than exegesis — a critical examination of a text from the text — this is eisegesis — a critical examination of a text from considerations outside the text.
What follows is a close study of the numbers listed in Numbers 1 (cf. Ex. 12:37 and 38:26), the pattern for which is used in following chapters and elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible. The plain reading of the text is that the Hebrew word אלף ’elef (Strong’s lexicon No. 505) means “thousand,” rather than “clan,” “chief,” or “group.”
In this next chapter, Yeshua travels away from His anointing at His baptism and is sent “by the Spirit” to the wilderness to suffer temptation at the hands of the Adversary. These temptations, His reaction to them and how He overcame them were a crucial training ground to prepare Him for His final mission of crucifixion and resurrection.
Some Jewish and Messianic scholars are feverishly debating whether the word “elef” (Strongs 504 and 505) in Numbers 1 and the counting of the fighting men of the 12 tribes means “clans” or “thousands.” There’s more controversy in Judaism over this one Hebrew word than any other Hebrew word in the Tanak. Richard explains the controversy and gives us some tools on how to wade through all the scholarly debates on this issue. Judges 6 and the book of Chronicles gives us some insight into this controversy as well.
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2nd Samuel 13 — tying up loose ends
This discussion wraps up some dangling questions about the events that lead to Amnon’s death, Absolom’s exile and Absolom’s eventual return to Jerusalem. We also learn more about how cunning Jonadab really is and how this story gives us insights into the character of the Messiah and Satan.