The english name of the book comes from the septuagint the prechristian greek translation of the ot and is based on the census lists found in. Sin is against the lord ultimately v6, and there must be atonement v8, in christ. It reminds believers of the spiritual warfare in which they are engaged, for numbers is the book of the service and walk of gods people. The book has a long and complex history, but its final form is. The book is called numbers because at the start god ordered a counting of the people a census in the twelve tribes of israel. You can learn more about the shortest books of the bible here. The majority of the book talks about the wilderness experience of the people of israel. After counting all the men who are over twenty and fit to fight, the israelites began to travel in wellordered divisions, with god in the middle of the ark of the covenant. Youll get fresh and indepth biblical insight from our popular bible. Tom constables expository notes on numbers this is also available in the net. The name numbers is a translation of arithmoi, from the septuagint, titled thus because the book contains many statistics, population counts, tribal and priestly figures, and. Learn what the bible teaches in the book of numbers.
Moses is the central figure within the book, and in at least two instances numbers mentions him recording events by the lords commands numbers 33. Command the israelites to put out of the camp everyone who is leprous, or has a discharge, and everyone who is unclean through contact with a corpse. These are all of the chapters of the book of numbers. Underlines the importance of the passover, fulfilled in christ. The israelites disobedience and lack of faith caused god to make them wander in the desert until all the people of that generation had diedwith a few important exceptions. The book of numbers is important in this debate esp. Ill be docking more facts here as i keep studying and writing about the. The hebrew name for these books is the torah, which means law. For the 1973 american crime film, see book of numbers film. The book of numbers is the fourth book of the law of moses, also known as the torah or pentateuch. An account is given of their murmuring and unbelief, for which they were sentenced to wander in the wilderness nearly forty years. Chapter 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36. Numbers gets its name from the two censuses, or numberings, of the people of israel.
Numbers is so named because a census of israel is taken twice in the book. The second took place at the end of the 40 years in the wilderness as the nation was preparing to finally enter the promised land. There are about significant numbers in the holy bible that have some special symbolism. An introduction to the book of numbers an argument of the book of numbers. Shortest book of the old testament is obadiah with 1 chapter, 21 verses and 670 words, and of new testament and of whole bible is john 3 with 1 chapter, verses and 299. Moses is the central figure within the book, and in at least two instances. The book draws its name from the census made of the people, a necessary step toward their organization and future government.
Moses was the author of the book of numbers, which he wrote between 14501410 bc. The interpretation of numbers in the bible is quite different from how numbers are interpreted under popular numerological methods. The number seven is also the most common in biblical prophecy, occurring 42 times in daniel and revelation alone. It extends from the giving of the law at sinai, till their arrival in the plains of jordan. This is the exact same place where the israelites have been hanging out since god freed them from slavery back in exodus. The law includes the books of genesis, exodus, leviticus, numbers, and deuteronomy. Book of numbers simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Numbers chapter 12 kjv king james version patricia, if youre referring to the matter in numbers 12. The book of numbers is the fourth book of the hebrew bible, and the fourth of five books of the jewish torah. The title is probably derived from the two occasions in the book where a census is taken num. They are preparing militarily, hence the english name of the fourth book of the bible is numbers, since they are organizing and counting their ranks. The book of numbers in the bible is the fourth book in the old testament.
The greek title in the translation of the ot lxx was. Once again its name is derived from the septuagint via the vulgate. Biblical numerology is defined as the study of the spiritual significance of numbers used in the bible. The book of numbers was written between 1440 and 1400 b. Use highlighting, underlining, and take notes while you study the bible. Key personalities include moses, aaron, miriam, joshua, caleb, eleazar, korah, and balaam. The purpose of the book of numbers is to tell about how israel prepared to enter the promise land, but sinned and was punished.
The fourth book of moses called numbers the argument for as much as god hath appointed that his church in this world shall be under the cross, both because they should learn not to put their trust in worldly things, and also feel his comfort, when all other help faileth. The hebrew title is bemidbar or in the wilderness rbdmb of sinai. Thus, it is reasonable to conclude that every word is significantand this includes numbers. It continues the story of that journey begun in exodus, and describes briefly the experiences of the israelites for a period of thirtyeight years, from the end of their. Interesting facts about numbers barnes bible charts meaning. The book of numbers derives its name from the account of the two censuses taken of the hebrew people, one near the beginning and the other toward the end of the journey in the wilderness chaps. The first 5 books in the bible are called the 5 books of moses. The book of numbers is the fourth of five parts which comprise what scripture calls the book of moses. The message of the book of numbers is universal and timeless. The prince of bible numbers, it is used 562 times, including its derivatives e. Other lost books mentioned in the old testament include the book of jashar mentioned in joshua and the acts of solomon mentioned in kings.
Book of numbers facts for kids kiddle encyclopedia. As with the exodus, it is difficult to establish the exact route that the israelites took, but it is generally believed that they headed east from mount sinai until they reached the red sea, where they turned northward to the top of the gulf and on to kadesh. Book of numbers encyclopedia of the bible bible gateway. The book of numbers was named after the first key word bemidbar in hebrew scripture, which appropriately means in the desert, the place where the israelites. This book is called numbers from the several numberings of the people contained in it. It is called a book of moses because it contains the story of moses and the israelites when they wander throughout the wilderness before ending up at israel also known as canaan or palestine, where god promised they will settle. Was moses a very quiet and humble man, or a very proud and arrogant man. Clicking on a chapter will show you the text of that chapter of numbers in the bible king james version. This is the word assigned by the lxx the septuagint a greek translation of the ot, due to the two numberings of the people in chapter 1 and 26. Theyve been in this same spot for about a year and now theyre getting ready to start out on their journey to this land flowing. Apart from moses himself, other key figures in this book also feature aaron, joshua, caleb, miriam, balaam, and korah. The longest book of the bible is psalms with 150 chapters, or psalms. Numbers follows moses and israel s journey from the foot of mount sinai which is where leviticus ends to the edge of the promised land of canaan. Numbers bible book with full chapters king james version.
Introduction to the book of numbers learn religions. Book of numbers quotes community the lord spoke to moses, saying. You can learn more about the longest books of the bible here. If the lord delights in us, then he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land which flows with milk and honey. The book of numbers the book of numbers gets its title from the greek word arithmoi. They contain gods instructions about how his people should live. If this were a regular road trip of the time, the journey would only take about two weeks.
The first census was completed while the israelites were still at mount sinai chapters 12, and the second one came 38 years later when they arrived at the borders of canaan at the end of their wanderings in the wilderness chapter 26. The book of numbers is largely narrative history as far as its genre. The promised land the land we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. Numbers 1 generation that grew up in the wilderness took place on the plains of moab. This summary of the book of numbers provides information about the title, author s, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of numbers. It is called a book of moses because it contains the story of moses and the israelites when they wander throughout the wilderness before ending up at israel also known as canaan or palestine, where god promised they will settle the book is called numbers because at the start god ordered a counting of the people a. Numbers the bible project videos israel takes an epic road trip through the wilderness on their way to the promised land. Interpreting biblical numbers the bible is the divine revelation of the true and living god and every jot and tittle in his word is deemed important. If you make a list of words in each book of the bible and then a list of commands in the same book, the book with the highest concentration of words is the book of james. It is called a book of moses because it contains the story of moses and the israelites when they wander throughout the wilderness before ending up at israel also known as canaan or palestine, where god promised they will settle the promised land. We will skip the numbering details in the first 4 chapters.
The fourth book of moses called numbers geneva bible 1599. What were the names of moses brother and sister, and why did they at one point oppose him. The precision with which the bible numbers all fall into their places cannot be accounted for except by the supernatural power and wisdom of a god who is infinite ibid. It continues the story of that journey begun in exodus, and describes briefly the experiences of the israelites for a. The bible was written by more than 40 traditional authors. It is called numbers because it contains the census of the people who wandered in the wilderness. The book right before it, 2 john, is the secondshortest book of the bible. It continues the story of that journey begun in exodus, and describes briefly the experiences of the israelites for a period of thirtyeight.
Over 100 million copies of the bible are sold each year. Longest book of ot and of bible is psalms with 150 chapters 2,461 verses. The english title is a translation of the septuagint greek title referring to the numbering of the tribes of israel in chapters. The shortest book is 3 john with only 1 chapter and 299 words.
But things go horribly wrong as israel rebels and almost misses their chance to enter the land. When the book of bamidbar literally, in the wilderness begins, the israelites are in the wilderness, having left egypt and received the torah, and are preparing to travel to israel. The book of james is the bossiest book of the bible. Numbers is the fourth of five books commonly called the pentateuch genesis through deuteronomy.