Обозрение книги Числа

The review of the book of Numbers in the London Codex begins: “This book is called Numbers because each tribe, by the command of God, was numbered, and in this book the number of the whole people is indicated. And Moses and Aaron, and with them the elder of each tribe, counted the people. The number of those capable of war from 20 years and above turned out to be 603,550, in addition to the rest. Moses and Aaron, according to the word of God, counted the tribe of Levi separately, from one month and upward.” Moses receives the command to number the people from twenty years of age and upward, and there were six hundred three thousand five hundred and fifty people, besides the Levites. The genealogy of the Levites is set forth, and they are numbered, and they are found to be twenty-two thousand from one month of age and upward. Since the firstborn of Israel were twenty-two thousand two hundred and seventy-three, Moses took a ransom for the excess of the firstborn against the number of Levites and gave it to Aaron. The general ransom amounted to one thousand three hundred and sixty-five shekels. Moses determines who should perform the priesthood and who should be Levites, because not everyone was awarded such an honor. Some of them were given the most precious of the vessels of the tabernacle, others less important. The Levites from twenty years of age and above to fifty years of age, who officiated at the services, numbered eight thousand five hundred and eighty-three. Then it is commanded that every unclean thing be removed from the camp, a sacrifice for the crime is spoken of, and the law of jealousy is established so that the wife cannot be slandered in adultery, and the one guilty of adultery cannot hide. A decree is made about the vow of consecration to God and how the priest should bless the children of Israel. When the tabernacle was erected, the elders brought many great gifts. Moses receives a command to purify the Levites and hears that they must serve from twenty years of age and above, and after fifty years of service, end their service. God, through Moses, commands them to celebrate the Passover. “And the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai in the second year after they came out of the land of Egypt, in the first month, saying: Let the children of Israel keep the Passover,” because it was the first month of the second year (Num. 9:1-2). The unclean ones approached Moses, and he asked God about them. God commanded those who cannot celebrate Passover in the first month, either because they are unclean or because they are on a long journey, to celebrate it in the second month, on the fourteenth day. And whoever, being clean and not on a long journey, does not want to celebrate Passover in the first month will commit a sin. “Let you have one rule,” he says, “for both the stranger and the native” (Numbers 9:14). When the cloud rose, the children of Israel rose up from their place; and where it stopped, there they stopped. Moses receives the command to make silver trumpets in order to notify the people with them when it is necessary to set out on a journey, to gather the people for war and for sacrifices, and also to use these trumpets on holidays, in the new moons during burnt offerings. When the children of Israel set out on their journey, Moses convinced Jobab, the son of Reuel, who was also called Jethro, that he too should participate in the journey and in the benefits promised to them. When the ark was raised, Moses said: “Arise, O Lord, and Your enemies will scatter, and those who hate You will flee from Your presence!” (Numbers 10:35). The people began to grumble, and part of the camp was burned, and that place was nicknamed “Tavera” 4 (Numbers 11:3). Moses prayed and the punishment stopped. They began to demand meat and said: “We remember the fish that we ate for free in Egypt, cucumbers and melons, and onions, and onions and garlic; and now our soul languishes; there is nothing but manna in our sight” (Num. 11:5, 6). When Moses was indignant at their grumbling and turned to God, God gave him seventy elders as assistants so that they could participate with him in governance. Here, when Joshua said: “My lord Moses! forbid them” (Eldad and Modad) to prophesy, Moses replied: “Are you not jealous for me? Oh, that all the Lord’s people would be prophets, that the Lord would send His Spirit upon them!” (Numbers 11:28–29). Then corncrakes were sent from the Lord, which they ate. The meat was still in their teeth when they began to die. This is stated in the psalm: “While food was still in their mouths, the wrath of God came upon them and killed very many of them, and cast down the chosen ones of Israel” (Ps. 77:30, 31). This place is nicknamed “the coffins of lust.” Then Miriam said against Moses: “Did the Lord speak to Moses alone” (Num. 12:2)? God said that He was the only one of all the prophets who spoke like this to him, and sent leprosy to Miriam. When Moses prayed for her, God did not allow her to be cleansed before she had been outside the camp for seven days. Moses sends several people from the people to inspect the land of Canaan. Those who examined it brought a bunch of grapes from there and praised the land, but were afraid of its inhabitants, because the people there were warlike. Caleb the son of Jephoniah and Joshua, who were also among the spies, encouraged the people. They wanted to stone them; but God, angry, said that those who grumbled would not enter the promised land, but only their children, and Caleb the son of Jephoniah, and Joshua. “According to the number of forty days,” He said, “in which you searched the earth, you will bear the punishment for your sins forty years, a year for a day, so that you may know what it means to be forsaken by Me” (Num. 14:34). Then all the spies died except Caleb and Joshua, and the people wept. Some went against the Amalekites without God's permission; and the ark remained in the camp with Moses. The Amalekites came out and defeated them. The commandment is given about burnt offerings, about firstfruits, about sacrifices for sin. A man who was collecting wood on the Sabbath was captured and stoned. It is commanded to make tassels on the edges of clothes. The revolt of Korah, Dathan and Abiron and their punishment. The rest of the people did not understand this, but again rebelled against Moses, and fourteen thousand seven hundred died. Then Aaron's rod flourished. It is indicated and determined what the Levites and the great priest should receive. The law is given regarding the ashes of a heifer, from which the water of purification was prepared. Some think that this heifer was an image of the suffering of our Lord Jesus Christ. The ashes of the heifer were used to cleanse those who were made unclean by touching a dead person. The people came to Cadiz, and Mariam died and was buried there. Having no water, the Jews grumble again; but Moses and Aaron are commanded to bring water out of the stone. Moses hit the stone, saying: “Shall we bring water for you from this rock?” and water flowed. “And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron: Because you did not believe Me, to show My holiness in the sight of the children of Israel, you will not bring this people into the land that I am giving them” (Num. 20:10, 12). Moses sends envoys to the king of Edom so that he will let them through; but he did not allow it, and the children of Israel went away from him. When they reached Mount Hor, then, at the command of God, Moses, taking Aaron and his son Eleazar, led them up the mountain and clothed Eleazar in Aaron’s clothes. Aaron died on the mountain, and the people wept for thirty days. The Israelites defeated the Canaanites and put them under a curse. Having come to the Red Sea, they walked around the land of Edom, began to be faint-hearted and murmur against Moses, and God sent serpents against them, who killed them. Moses prayed and, at the command of God, made a copper serpent. The bitten one looked at the snake and remained alive. The Gospel says about this serpent: “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up” (John 3:14). Moses sends envoys to the Amorite king Zion. This Zion had previously fought with the king of Moab and taken his land. When he entered into war with the Israelis, he was severely defeated by them, and the Israelis took all his cities. Having entered into war with Og, the king of Bashan, they subjected him to the same disastrous fate as Zion, and took the land and all its cities. King Balak sends to the sorcerer Balaam so that he curses the people of Israel. God at first prevented this; but when he urgently urged the sorcerer, God allowed him to go, but not curse, and turned the curses into blessings - not because the sorcerer’s curses had any power, but because the people were in poverty, were ready to believe his oaths and could be condemned there for their weakness. Balaam prophesies about Christ, saying: “A star rises from Jacob and a rod rises from Israel” (Num. 24:17), because the Spirit of God was with the sorcerer. When Balaam departed, the sons of Israel came together with the daughters of Moab and served Bethphegor. Then Moses commands everyone to kill the brother who committed idolatry. Phinehas the son of Eleazar pierced Zimri the Israelite and Hasvi the Midianite with him with a spear; and it was imputed to him as the truth. Then the children of Israel were numbered from twenty years old and upward, and they were six hundred three thousand and thirty; and the Levites from one month of age upward were twenty-three thousand. This calculation was made in Araboth of Moab, on the other side of the Jordan. Among them there was not a single person among those whom Moses had previously numbered in the Sinai wilderness, except Joshua and Caleb the son of Jephoniah. The daughters of Zalpaad from the tribe of Manasseh come and ask that their father’s inheritance and property go to them, since he died without male children. God commanded that it be given to them; (and it is commanded) if someone dies without a son, then his daughter should inherit; if there is no daughter, then the brother, and if there is no brother, then the father’s brother. God shows Moses the Promised Land from Mount Nabab, and Joshua is ordained in his place. Then the commandments are given to the children of Israel about burnt offerings, about daily sacrifices, on the Sabbath, on the new moon, on the Passover, on the day of weeks and in the seventh month; it is also commanded about vows, i.e. what vows can you make? Then twelve thousand Israelites armed themselves against the Midianites, and Phinehas with them, and the five kings of Midian and Balaam the sorcerer killed them. They brought the firstfruits of the spoils to God, and divided the rest among themselves. The tribes of Reuben, Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh approached Moses and asked for land on the other side of the Jordan. Moses gave it to them, having made them promise in advance to fight along with the rest of the Israelites and cross the Jordan with weapons to fight for their brothers. Here Moses narrates the journey from Egypt until they came to Jericho; commands them to destroy all pagan idols; tells them about the boundaries of the earth, where it begins and where it ends; makes orders about the land that the Levites were to receive, and about six cities of refuge, so that the unwitting murderer would run there and escape danger, living there until the great priest dies. If he is captured outside the city and killed by a relative of the murdered man, then the avenger will not be punished. The laws regarding murder are briefly discussed. The leaders of the tribe of Manasseh come and say to Moses: since it has been decided that the daughters of Zalpaad should receive the inheritance, what will happen if they happen to marry someone from another tribe? A section of our knee will go into that knee. Then Moses commanded that everyone take a wife from his own tribe, so that the inheritance would not pass from one tribe to another. The paragraphs in the text were arranged by us – Editorial staff of “ABC of Faith” You might be interested in: