Numbers: Sanctions and Dominion
The book of Numbers is the Pentateuch's book of sanctions: point four of the biblical covenant model. It is the fourth book.
It begins with the numbering of Israel's war-age males as a prelude to war with Canaan (rejected) and it ends 40 years with another numbering, a prelude to the wars against the Canaanites immediately outside of the Promised Land.
Chapter 1: The numbering of the army, which was an army of priests. It was done twice in Numbers: at the beginning and the end.
Chapter 2: Military planning is centralized. It is suitable for warfare. It is not suitable for peaceful exchange.
Chapter 3: The tribe of Levi was a hierarchy of priests: different levels of responsibility within the three clans. The tribe received tithes of the rural land, because members could not normally own rural land.
Chapter 4: God made the Levites the sacrificial substitutes for the firstborn sons. He separated them from the other tribes for priestly service.
Chapter 5: The sons of Aaron, who were high priests, could offer blessings. They did so by invoking God's name.
Chapter 6: The altar offering was a form of subordination before God. The hierarchy was two-fold: downward from the priests and upward from the people.
Chapter 7: The Israelites in the wilderness whined against God, who repaid them with negative sanctions. They did not like manna, which was like tofu. They wanted roast quail. They got it, seasoned with plague.
Chapter 8: Token offerings acknowledged that God owned the land. These sacrifices were small when compared with the blessings. The sabbath also was a token of submission.
Chapter 9: Korah and Dathan were revolutionaries. They were dealt with by God appropriately.
Chapter 10: The Levites had no inheritance in rural land. They had the tithe. They were not tied to rural land. This made them the national tribe, not just local leaders. But they prospered when local rural communities prospered.
Chapter 11: Moses tapped a rock with his rod twice. That cost him entrance into the Promised Land. Why? Because he was imitating magicians: ritual over obedience to God.
Chapter 12: The psychology of victory is a foundation of success. Israel had victories outside the land before the nation entered the land.
Chapter 13: Balaam was a court prophet. The king paid him to give negative prophesies against Israel. Kings always have court prophets. We call them intellectuals these days" the "brains trust."
Chapter 14: The Promised land was divided by casting lots. Why? To prohibit political favoritism. But this system also included legitimate need. It was a hybrid system.
Chapter 15: Daughters could inherit rural land under some circumstances (no brothers). But they could marry only tribe members. This restriction retained political decentralization.
Chapter 16: Oaths to God must be kept. Women had the right to make them. The male over them had 24 hours to revoke it.
Chapter 17: Israel's army had to bring home wives and daughters of defeated nations and their children. These women were not to be left for capture by invading armies. This law put Israelite wives into the peace movement.
Chapter 18: There was a law governing the booty taken in war. The army got half. The congregation -- government -- got half.
Chapter 19: Two and a half tribes chose land outside of Canaan. It was suitable for cattle. They were cattlemen. They wanted complementary capital for greater output. God allowed this.
Chapter 20: Inheritance requires disinheritance. It is a zero-sum process. Winners disinherit losers. Boundaries keep others out. This is the meaning of private property. Israel inherited by disinheriting Canaan.
Chapter 21: There were six cities of refuge in Israel. Their function was to reduce clan feuds. An innocent man who committed accidental manslaughter was protected from the blood avenger -- the geographically nearest of kin -- if he could run to a city of refuge.
Chapter 22: Rural land was inherited tribally. It could not be sold permanently. This kept politics decentralized in Israel.