| NUMBERS |
| Explanatory Footnotes |
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| 2:32 How Many Israelites Debate has raged among scholars about the vast numbers of Israelites reported in the censuses of Numbers. Could two-and-a-half million people (counting women and children) have left Egypt in one day and then survived for 40 years in a desolate desert? Those who defend the large numbers point out that climatic conditions might have been very different in those days when, for example, Egypt was the granary of the world. (Also, the Bible gives many indications of God's miraculous supply of food and water.) Opposing scholars note that the Hebrews had different means of counting, and that the word translated "thousand" could have other meanings, resulting in much smaller figures. Regardless, both positions admit to a very large band of people wandering around a desert for a very long time. 3:44 Designated Firstborn At the first Passover (Exodus 13:2) God established the firstborn principle, which held that every firstborn male, human or animal, must be devoted to him. Here, in careful accounting, the Levites are accepted as "designated firstborn" offerings to God. Just as a "designated hitter" in baseball is appointed to bat in place of the pitcher, so here a whole tribe is named to take the place of firstborn members from every family. 5:16 Test for Adultery The strange test for adultery described here resembles other "trials by ordeal" common then in the Middle East. Presumably, either the emotional reactions of the gulty woman would give her away physiologically (much as a lie detector may), or God would reveal true results through the outcome of the ordeal. The public trial may have helped to clear the reputation of wives who had been falsely accused by their husbands. There is no biblical record of the procedure actually being used, and the |