The Interconnections between
Numbers 11-14 and Numbers 15
The possibility that the mitzvot of Numbers 15 may have a purposeful connection with the stories of rebellion that precede them was already suggested by early Jewish commentators like Ibn Ezra and Nachmanides: The incident of the spies is immediately followed by the section containing mitzvot which apply only to the Promised Land. This was intended to give confidence of the ultimate possession of the Land to the wilderness generation, who might have been skeptical about the fulfillment of the forty-year-old promise.
That this section of mitzvot for life in Canaan was intended to serve as words of promise for the wilderness generation is confirmed by the concluding verse in this section. It reaffirms God’s relationship to Isra’el after the trauma of the rebellion stories in Numbers Chapters 11-14: I am ADONAI your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. This is important since the major issue in the spy story is Isra’el’s desire to undo the Exodus and return to Egypt (14:2-4). The mitzvot in Numbers 15 explicitly apply only when Isra’el arrived in Canaan; therefore, they carry an implicit promise: it is the Land, God promises, that I am giving to you (15:2). The reaffirmation of God’s relationship, and the implicit promise that YHVH would bring Isra’el back into the Land was reassuring to the wilderness generation that He would be faithful to the promises that He had made to them (14:31).
Many other connections between the mitzvot of Numbers 15 and the preceding rebellion stories of Numbers 11-14 may also be seen. Other refrains in Numbers 15 touch on themes in the revolt narratives.
Numbers 11-14 Numbers 15
In Numbers 11-14 we see the Gentile rabble (11:4) who followed the Hebrews out of Egypt, and the Cushite wife of Moshe (12:1); while in Numbers 15 we see the Gentile foreigner.
In Numbers 11-14 we see that the Exodus generation will die in the desert, but the wilderness generation will live in the Land (14:30-31); while in Numbers 15 we see the phrase, “throughout the generations to come.”
In Numbers 11-14 we see the reversal of the fact that ADONAI’s fire broke out against the rebels in the camp (11:2-3); while in Numbers 15 we see an offering by fire to YHVH.
In Numbers 11-14 we see the anger of ADONAI (11:1, 10, 33, and 12:9); while in Numbers 15 we see the offerings as “a pleasing aroma to ADONAI.”
Other associations between the mitzvot in Numbers 15 and the rebellion stories in Numbers 11-14 can be seen. Examples of sinning defiantly and despising ADONAI discussed in Numbers 15:30-31 abound in the rebellion stories of Numbers 11:1 and 4-6, 12:2, 13:32-33, 14:2-4; while in Numbers 15 certain offerings, a priest could atone for unintentional sins ( to see link click Cj – Unintentional Sin). But in the case of intentional rebellions by individuals or the community, as in the spy story, only Moses could seek forgiveness in an extraordinary act of intercession. Even so, the community was severely punished (Num 14:13-24).
The image of the sacrifices and offerings in the land of Canaan that combine different meats, flour, and wine in Numbers 15:1-21 suggests that Canaan was a place of rich food, fertility, and wonderful variety. This portrait confirms the first spy report concerning Canaan that it was a land flowing with milk and honey (13:27) as well as Caleb and Joshua’s report that it was an exceedingly good land (14:7). The delicious variety of food reflected in the prescribed time after Isra’el was to arrive in Canaan after forty years (15:1-21) provides an answer to the rebels who were tired of the monotony of manna and yearned to go back and eat the variety of foods in Egypt (11:4-6). In effect, the grain and drink offerings (15:1-16) taught the Israelites how to properly receive and eat what YHVH provided – with thanksgiving and with the recognition that it was a gift from God (11:32-33).
The death penalty by stoning in the case of the Sabbath-breaker as commanded by Ha’Shem (Numbers 15:36) contrasts with the rebellious attempt by the community to use death by stoning against the two faithful spies, Caleb and Joshua, in the spy story in Numbers 14:10. The concern with both individual acts of sin and community acts of sin in 15:22-31 reflects the interplay of individuals and the whole community in Numbers Chapters 11-14. At times individuals engage in acts of rebellion (the rabble in 11:4; the rebellion of Miryam and Aaron in 12:1-3; the ten unfaithful spies in 13:31-33 and 14:36-38), and at other times the entire community was guilty (11:1, 3 and 33; 14:1-4 and 39-45).
Finally, the blue cords on the tzitzit remind Isra’el to be diligent in obeying the commandments so that their eyes do not stray and they do “not follow the lust of your own heart and your own eyes” (15:39). The Hebrew literally reads, “so that you are not spying out (Hebrew: tur) after your own heart and after your own eyes as you are shoring (Hebrew: zenuth) after them. The same pair of Hebrew verbs, to spy out and to commit spiritual adultery, occurs in 14:33-34. There, God condemns the faithless spies and the whole community for their faithlessness, which led to the punishment of death in the wilderness. The verb to commit spiritual adultery is often used as an image for Isra’el’s going after other gods or idols, phantom gods that are not the true God of Isra’el (see the commentary on Exodus Gq – The Golden Calf Incident). The faithless spies had lied and exaggerated what they saw: a land that devoured its inhabitants and primordial giants named Nephilim (13:32-33) rather than God’s gift of a very good land flowing with milk and honey. The rebellious people redefined reality by claiming to see Egypt as a place of salvation and promise (14:1-4) rather than a land of slavery, suffering, and death (Exodus 1:8-22 and 3:7-9). Therefore, the blue cords and tzitzit worn on their clothing were to remind the people of their God and His mitzvot, the first of which is that, “I am ADONAI your God . . . you shall have no other gods beside Me (Deuteronomy 5:6-7).
Overall, the interconnections between Numbers 15 and the stories of rebellion that precede it are numerous. The mitzvot of this chapter were meant to be words of encouragement to the wilderness generation (see Cg – A Whisper of Hope: Reassurance for Life in the Promised Land), in spite of the disobedience and death of the Exodus generation. In this case, the mitzvot function as a profound promise for their future.265
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