Numbers wrap-up. Yayyyy! Numbers works like a prelude to a new season. The Israelites have traveled all the way from Egypt over decades, and now the only thing that lies between them and the land they’ve been promised is the Jordan River (and a few thousand citizens. Meh.).
The ending of Numbers, too, has left us knowing that Moses will die but not how or when. It’s left us wondering who will lead when he’s gone. Who will join Eleazar as next in line? We’ve heard of Joshua, Caleb and Phinehas. It’s getting exciting, folks!
Below are some weird notes I wrote way back in November when I originally read this chapter for this study. I started to delete them, but I kind of like my scatterbrained thoughts here, and it shows a bit of my writing process, if that makes sense (and is even interesting to anyone.)
Notes:
Zelophehad’s daughters’ inheritance. They can keep it, but they have to marry inside their clan. Numbers 26:34 says registered troops, men 20 and older, were 52,700. That’s not bad pickin’s. Women didn’t argue. It meant getting to keep their land. Plus, they had a whole bunch of men to choose from. Still, they ended up marrying their cousins! But who wasn’t a cousin back then?
Today, many would argue that this law was discriminatory. I’m guessing, though, it was common for men to marry inside their tribes anyway? So, maybe it appears worse than it is? Or maybe the women were happy to keep their lineage in the same tribe, and it really wasn’t much of a sacrifice after all.
Would make an interesting story:
Mahlah
Tirzah
Hoglah
Milcah
Noah
Who did they marry? Does Bible say? How did the marriages come about?
Writing prompt: what’s to come
What do you see brewing for the Israelites now that you’ve wrapped up the Book of Numbers?
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