Numbers בְּמִדְבַּר
(BaMidbar - in the desert)

CHAPTER 9

The Passover

1 Thus Yahweh spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying,
2 “Now, let the sons of Israel observe the Passover at its appointed time.
3 “On the fourteenth day of this month, at twilight, you shall observe it at its appointed time; you shall observe it according to all its statutes and according to all its judgments.”
4 So Moses told the sons of Israel to celebrate the Passover.
5 And they celebrated the Passover in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at twilight, in the wilderness of Sinai; according to all that Yahweh had commanded Moses, so the sons of Israel did.
6 But there were some men who were unclean because of a dead person, so that they could not celebrate Passover on that day; so they came near before Moses and Aaron on that day.
7 And those men said to him, “We are unclean because of a dead person. But why are we restrained from bringing near the offering of Yahweh at its appointed time among the sons of Israel?”
8 Moses therefore said to them, “Wait, and I will listen to what Yahweh will command concerning you.”
9 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
10 “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘If any one of you or of your generations becomes unclean because of a dead person, or is on a distant journey, he may, however, celebrate the Passover to Yahweh.
11 ‘In the second month on the fourteenth day at twilight, they shall observe it; they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.
12 ‘They shall leave none of it until morning nor break a bone of it; according to all the statute of the Passover they shall celebrate it.
13 ‘But the man who is clean and is not on a journey, and yet neglects to celebrate the Passover, that person shall then be cut off from his people, for he did not bring near the offering of Yahweh at its appointed time. That man will bear his sin.
14 ‘If a sojourner sojourns among you and celebrates the Passover to Yahweh, according to the statute of the Passover and according to its judgment, so he shall do; you shall have one statute, both for the sojourner and for the native of the land.’”

The Cloud Covering the Tabernacle

15 Now on the day that the tabernacle was erected the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the testimony, and in the evening it was like the appearance of fire over the tabernacle until morning.
16 So it was continuously; the cloud would cover it by day, and the appearance of fire by night.
17 Now whenever the cloud would go up from over the tent, afterward the sons of Israel would then set out; and in the place where the cloud settled down, there the sons of Israel would camp.
18 At the command of Yahweh the sons of Israel would set out, and at the command of Yahweh they would camp; as long as the cloud settled over the tabernacle, they remained camped.
19 Even when the cloud lingered over the tabernacle for many days, the sons of Israel would keep the charge of Yahweh and not set out.
20 If sometimes the cloud remained a few days over the tabernacle, according to the command of Yahweh they remained camped. Then according to the command of Yahweh they set out.
21 If sometimes the cloud remained from evening until morning, when the cloud was lifted in the morning, they would move out; or if it remained in the daytime and at night, whenever the cloud was lifted, they would set out.
22 Whether it was two days or a month or a year that the cloud lingered over the tabernacle, dwelling above it, the sons of Israel remained camped and did not set out; but when it was lifted, they did set out.
23 At the command of Yahweh they camped, and at the command of Yahweh they set out; they kept the charge of Yahweh, according to the command of Yahweh by the hand of Moses.

Legacy Standard Bible (Three Sixteen Publishing, 2022), Nu 9.

9.1-23

The two sections or topics covered in this chapter should make many impressions on you as you read them. But more obvious among them is 1) the direct relation between Passover provisions and the path to repentance through Christ in vv2-14 and 2) the clarity seen in obedience to God's direction for staying or moving ONLY as He commands in vv15-23. Look for these things as you read: The opportunity for inclusion even when not part of the group to whom salvation was first offered. The opportunity to become clean, even when contaminated by death. Condemnation if the opportunity to receive salvation was ignored (participation in the Passover was the salvation of the firstborn of every household). The body of the lamb unbroken (prophecy about Christ the Lamb). The lack of distinction between the Jew and the Gentile for participation in the means of salvation. As you read on to the second half of the chapter, note the meticulous attention to the descriptions of when the people would stay or move. The thing that mattered - Yahweh directed it. The thing that didn't matter - anything else. It did not matter whether they had been in a place for a year or only overnight. It didn't matter whether they had become very comfortable or not even unpacked for a meal. Whatever Yahweh directed, they unquestioningly followed. The alternative was to be left behind. When God moved, the people moved. That is the principle we must apply to our lives today - and every day.

CHAPTER 10

The Silver Trumpets

1 Yahweh spoke further to Moses, saying,
2 “Make yourself two trumpets of silver, of hammered work you shall make them; and you shall use them for summoning the congregation and for having the camps set out.
3 “So both will be blown, and all the congregation shall gather themselves to you at the doorway of the tent of meeting.
4 “Yet if only one is blown, then the leaders, the heads of the divisions of Israel, shall assemble before you.
5 “But when you blow an alarm, the camps that are pitched on the east side shall set out.
6 “Then you will blow an alarm the second time, and the camps that are pitched on the south side shall set out; an alarm is to be blown for them to set out.
7 “When convening the assembly, however, you shall blow without sounding an alarm.
8 “The priestly sons of Aaron, moreover, shall blow the trumpets; and this shall be for you a perpetual statute throughout your generations.
9 “Now when you go to war in your land against the adversary who attacks you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, that you may be remembered before Yahweh your God and be saved from your enemies.
10 “Also in the day of your gladness and in your appointed feasts, and on the first days of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; and they shall be as a remembrance of you before your God. I am Yahweh your God.”

Israel Sets Out From Sinai

11 Now it happened in the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth of the month, that the cloud was lifted from over the tabernacle of the testimony;
12 and the sons of Israel set out on their journeys from the wilderness of Sinai. Then the cloud settled down in the wilderness of Paran.
13 So they moved out for the first time according to the command of Yahweh by the hand of Moses.
14 And the standard of the camp of the sons of Judah, according to their armies, set out first, with Nahshon the son of Amminadab, over its army,
15 and Nethanel the son of Zuar, over the tribal army of the sons of Issachar;
16 and Eliab the son of Helon over the tribal army of the sons of Zebulun.
17 Then the tabernacle was taken down; and the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari, who were carrying the tabernacle, set out.
18 Next the standard of the camp of Reuben, according to their armies, set out with Elizur the son of Shedeur, over its army,
19 and Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai over the tribal army of the sons of Simeon,
20 and Eliasaph the son of Deuel over the tribal army of the sons of Gad.
21 Then the Kohathites set out, carrying the holy objects; and the tabernacle was set up before their arrival.
22 Next the standard of the camp of the sons of Ephraim, according to their armies, set out, with Elishama the son of Ammihud over its army,
23 and Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur over the tribal army of the sons of Manasseh;
24 and Abidan the son of Gideoni over the tribal army of the sons of Benjamin.
25 Then the standard of the camp of the sons of Dan, according to their armies, which formed the rear guard for all the camps, set out, with Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai over its army,
26 and Pagiel the son of Ochran over the tribal army of the sons of Asher;
27 and Ahira the son of Enan over the tribal army of the sons of Naphtali.
28 This was the order of march of the sons of Israel by their armies as they set out.
29 Then Moses said to Hobab the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses’ father-in-law, “We are setting out to the place of which Yahweh said, ‘I will give it to you’; come with us and we will do you good, for Yahweh has promised good concerning Israel.”
30 But he said to him, “I will not come, but rather will go to my own land and kin.”
31 Then he said, “Please do not leave us, inasmuch as you know where we should camp in the wilderness, and you will be as eyes for us.
32 “So it will be, if you go with us, that awhatever good Yahweh does for us, we will do for you.”
33 Thus they set out from the mount of Yahweh three days’ journey, with the ark of the covenant of Yahweh journeying in front of them for the three days, to spy out a resting place for them.
34 Now the cloud of Yahweh was over them by day when they set out from the camp.
35 Then it happened when the ark set out that Moses said,
“Rise up, O Yahweh!
And let Your enemies be scattered,
And let those who hate You flee before You.”
36 And when it came to rest, he said,
“Return, O Yahweh,
To the myriad thousands of Israel.”

Legacy Standard Bible (Three Sixteen Publishing, 2022), Nu 10.

10.1-36

The first section of this chapter signals the other, literally and figuratively. In the first ten verses, Moses is commanded to make two silver trumpets. These long, straight instruments are to be used for signaling. They will signal the people to assemble. On different blasts, the assemblies would be for different groups, i.e., two blasts for all the people or one for just the leaders, and for different occasions, i.e., if they are being attacked or if they are assembling for a feast. The trumpets will also signal that the people may be remembered before Yahweh in war and during their sacrificial offerings. We know what these silver trumpets looked like from historical evidence such as the first-century Bass Relief panels in the Arc of Titus constructed in 81 AD. Several of these panels depict Romans carrying away the spoils of the Temple after the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD. In one such panel, the silver trumpets are seen among the taken artifacts. Having surely accomplished what God tasked him to do, Moses would have indicated to the priestly sons of Aaron to use the horns to signal the movements of the camp that followed. In verse 12, we read evidence of the reasoning behind the Hebrew name of the book we call "Numbers" in English - The Hebrew title for the book is BaMidbar (בְּמִדְבַּר), meaning "In the desert" or "in the wilderness." As Yahweh moves within the cloud (v11), the sons of Israel depart from the wilderness of Sinai. "Then the cloud settled down in the wilderness of Paran." The book of Numbers will resolve according to the time the sons of Israel spend "in the wilderness." When you read of Reuel the Midianite, Moses' father-in-law, in verse 29, do not be concerned that Moses remarried and Jethro is no longer his father-in-law. Hobab is the son of the same man "Jethro." Reuel is merely the other name we see him referred to in Scripture (Ex 2:18).

CHAPTER 11

The People Complain

1 Now the people became like those who complain of calamity in the ears of Yahweh. And Yahweh heard it and His anger was kindled, and the fire of Yahweh burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp.
2 The people therefore cried out to Moses, and Moses prayed to Yahweh, and the fire died out.
3 So the name of that place was called Taberah because the fire of Yahweh burned among them.
4 And the rabble who were among them had greedy desires; and also the sons of Israel wept again and said, “Who will give us meat to eat?
5 “We remember the fish which we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic,
6 but now our appetite is dried up. There is nothing at all to look at except this manna.”
7 Now the manna was like coriander seed, and its appearance like that of bdellium.
8 The people would go about and gather it and grind it between two millstones or beat it in the mortar, and boil it in the pot and make cakes with it; and its taste was as the taste of cakes baked with oil.
9 And when the dew fell on the camp at night, the manna would fall with it.

Moses Complains

10 Now Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, each man at the doorway of his tent; and the anger of Yahweh was kindled greatly, and it was evil in the sight of Moses.
11 So Moses said to Yahweh, “Why have You allowed this evil toward Your slave? And why have I not found favor in Your sight, that You have laid the burden of all this people on me?
12 “Was it I who conceived all this people? Was it I who gave birth to them, that You should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom as a nurse carries a nursing baby, to the land which You swore to their fathers’?
13 “Where am I to get meat to give to all this people? For they weep before me, saying, ‘Give us meat that we may eat!’
14 “I alone am not able to carry all this people because it is too heavy for me.
15 “So if You are going to deal thus with me, please kill me at once, if I have found favor in Your sight, and do not let me see my wretchedness.”

The Spirit Rests Upon the Elders

16 Yahweh therefore said to Moses, “Gather for Me seventy men from the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and their officers, and take them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there with you.
17 “Then I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take of the Spirit who is upon you, and will put Him upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you will not bear it all alone.
18 “And say to the people, ‘Set yourselves apart as holy for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat; for you have wept in the ears of Yahweh, saying, “Oh that someone would give us meat to eat! For it was good for us in Egypt.” Therefore Yahweh will give you meat, and you shall eat.
19 ‘You shall eat, not one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days,
20 but a whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you; because you have rejected Yahweh who is among you and have wept before Him, saying, “Why did we ever go out from Egypt?”’”
21 But Moses said, “The people, among whom I am, are 600,000 on foot; yet You have said, ‘I will give them meat, so that they may eat for a whole month.’
22 “Should flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, to be sufficient for them? Or should all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to be sufficient for them?”
23 And Yahweh said to Moses, “Is Yahweh’s power limited? Now you shall see whether My word will happen for you or not.”
24 So Moses went out and told the people the words of Yahweh. Also, he gathered seventy men of the elders of the people and had them stand around the tent.
25 Then Yahweh came down in the cloud and spoke to him; and He took of the Spirit who was upon him and placed Him upon the seventy elders. And when the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But they did not do it again.
26 But two men had remained in the camp; the name of one was Eldad and the name of the other Medad. And the Spirit rested upon them (now they were among those who had been registered, but had not gone out to the tent), and they prophesied in the camp.
27 So a young man ran and told Moses and said, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.”
28 Then Joshua the son of Nun, the attendant of Moses from his youth, said, “Moses, my lord, restrain them.”
29 But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the people of Yahweh were prophets, that Yahweh would put His Spirit upon them!”
30 Then Moses returned to the camp, both he and the elders of Israel.

The Quail and the Plague

31 Now there went forth a wind from Yahweh, and it brought quail from the sea, and let them fall beside the camp, about a day’s journey on this side and a day’s journey on the other side, all around the camp and about two cubits over the surface of the ground.
32 And the people spent all day and all night and all the next day, and gathered the quail (he who gathered least gathered ten homers), and they spread them out for themselves all around the camp.
33 While the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the anger of Yahweh was kindled against the people, and Yahweh struck the people with a very severe plague.
34 So the name of that place was called Kibroth-hattaavah because there they buried the people who had been greedy.
35 From Kibroth-hattaavah the people set out for Hazeroth, and they remained at Hazeroth.

Legacy Standard Bible (Three Sixteen Publishing, 2022), Nu 11.

11.1-35

At the opening of this chapter, the people grumble about their circumstances even though God has provided for their every need. This kindles Yahweh's anger, and He responds by burning the fringes of the camp, from which the complaints are most likely coming. Moses intervenes, and the divine judgment ceases. Any parent who has ever told their child, "I can't wait for you to have kids of your own," will understand the irony of what happens next - The people continued to complain to Moses, and then so did Moses - to God. Moses complained to God because he was tired of the people complaining. But God was patient with Moses. God commands Moses to select 70 elders, upon whom He will place His Spirit. Here, we observe in Scripture the first instance of what is later described in the New Testament as Tongues. This is the first instance in Scripture of such an event. The prophesying was no doubt an ecstatic utterance, not exactly beyond control but certainly beyond the origination of those who prophesied. The Hebrew יִּֽתְנַבְּא֖וּ Yitnabbu literally means "was caused to pour forth," carrying the meaning that those who spoke the words were the vessels for the voice of the Holy Spirit and not themselves. This would have been much like what Luke wrote of in Acts that occurred at Pentecost. Not prophesying in the ordinary sense, but inspired glorification of God and declaration of His wonderful works. The statement that they did not do it again may also be rendered as "did not repeat," or they "ceased" לֹ֥א יָסָֽפוּ׃ Lo Yasafu. This harkens to 1 Cor 13:8 -"but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease." The action of the Holy Spirit testified to the authority of the prophet, but it was not necessary beyond the establishment of the prophet's legitimacy and, therefore, ceased.

CHAPTER 12

Miriam and Aaron Speak Against Moses

1 Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had taken as a wife (for he had taken a Cushite woman);
2 and they said, “Has Yahweh indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us as well?” And Yahweh heard it.
3 (Now the man Moses was very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth.)
4 Suddenly Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron and to Miriam, “You three come out to the tent of meeting.” So the three of them came out.
5 Then Yahweh came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the doorway of the tent, and He called Aaron and Miriam. And then both came forward,
6 and He said,
“Hear now My words:
If there is a prophet among you,
I, Yahweh, shall make Myself known to him in a vision.
I shall speak with him in a dream.
7 “Not so, with My servant Moses,
He is faithful in all My household;
8 With him I speak mouth to mouth,
Indeed clearly, and not in riddles,
And he beholds the form of Yahweh.
Why then were you not afraid
To speak against My servant, against Moses?”
9 So the anger of Yahweh burned against them, and He went away.
10 But the cloud withdrew from over the tent, and behold, Miriam was leprous, as white as snow. And Aaron turned toward Miriam, and behold, she was leprous.
11 Then Aaron said to Moses, “Oh, my lord, I beg you, do not place this sin on us, in which we have acted foolishly and in which we have sinned.
12 “Oh, do not let her be like one dead, whose flesh is half eaten away when he comes from his mother’s womb!”
13 And Moses cried out to Yahweh, saying, “O God, heal her, I pray!”
14 But Yahweh said to Moses, “If her father had but spit in her face, would she not bear her dishonor for seven days? Let her be shut up for seven days outside the camp, and afterward she may be received again.”
15 So Miriam was shut up outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not set out until Miriam was received again.
16 Afterward, however, the people set out from Hazeroth and camped in the wilderness of Paran.

Legacy Standard Bible (Three Sixteen Publishing, 2022), Nu 12.

12.1-16

Despite Miriam and Aaron's status as prophets (Ex 4:15-16, 15:20), they had become jealous of Moses' other family, whose status likely increased following Jethro's interjection of the need for Moses to divest sole responsibility judging Israel (Ex 18:13-26). This was likely Zipporah about whom they were complaining rather than a new second wife. Miriam being named first suggests she was likely the instigator of speaking against Moses (v1). This is also likely the reason she bore the brunt of the wrath in Yahweh's response. The uncleanliness of leprosy would also have interrupted Aaron's priestly service. The statement about Moses' humility in verse three may imply that Moses was unaware of their anger, necessitating Yahweh's own immediate intervention before their dissension spread to more of the camp. The justification was as plain as the direct communication God declared He used between Himself and Moses. "Moses, He is faithful in all My household; with him I speak mouth to mouth, Indeed clearly" (vv7b-8a). Paul provides clarity for this passage's application to us today in 1 Cor 12:12-26. There, we are reminded that just as each member of the body has its own purpose, neither should any member seek to function as if it were something it is not. "If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be..." (1Cor12:17a). Nonetheless, despite Miriam's need for reproof, Aaron and Moses intervene for God's mercy. Consistent with His nature, God reproves and restores. Paul shows a similar understanding of respect toward those who hold lesser offices in the body (the church): "On the contrary, those parts of the body that are weaker are indispensable." 1 Cor 12:22.

Numbers בְּמִדְבַּר (BaMidbar - in the desert)

9.1-23

10.1-36

11.1-35

12.1-16

Numbers בְּמִדְבַּר
(BaMidbar - in the desert)