Nhhbeb – Nympha

Nhhbeb

1. Notation. — The decimal scale of notation was used by the Israelites, Assyrians, Babylonians, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, and, so far as we know, by the other nations mentioned in the Bible, i.e. they reckoned by units, tens, hundreds, etc.

2. Variety and range of numerical terminology.— The Heb. language expressed the integers from one to any amount by words denoting units, tens, a hundred, two hundred, a thousand, two thousand, ten thousand, twenty thousand, and by combinations of these words. Thus the highest number expressed by a single word is twenty thousand, the word used meaning double ten thousand. The word ‘millions’ in AV of Genesis 24:60 is a mistranslation; it should be ‘ten thousands’ as in RV. The number referred to in this verse, ‘thousands of ten thousands,’ for the descendants hoped tor from Rebekah, and the number of the angels in Daniel 7:10. Revelation 5:11. ‘thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him,’ if taken literally, would be the largest numbers mentioned in the Bible, but they are merely rhetorical phrases for countless, indefinitely large numbers. In Revelation 7:9 the redeemed are ‘a great multitude which no man could number’ (cf. Genesis 13:16) — the nearest approach which the Bible makes to the mathematical idea of infinity.

The largest hteral number in the Bible is the number of Israelites fit for warlike service, ascertained by David’s census as 1,100,000, in addition to the men of Judah 470,000 (1 Chronicles 21:5). In 2 Samuel 24:9. however, the numbers are 800,000 and 500,000 respectively. Qose to this comes the army of Zerah (2 Chronicles 14:9). ‘a thousand thousand,’ i.e. 1,000,000; and in 2 Chronicles 17:12 ff.: Jehoshaphat has an army in five divisions, of 300,000, 280,000, 200,000, 200,000, 180,000 respectively. The number of fighting men amongst the Israelites is given in Numbers 2:32 as 603,550; and later on in Numbers 26:51 as 601,730.

Hebrew also possessed a few special forms for the ordinals, first, second, etc., and to denote ‘seven times,’ etc.; in other cases, especially for the higher numbers, the cardinals are used. There are also a few words for fractions, ‘a third,’ ‘a quarter.’

The Biblical Greek calls for no special comment; the writers had at their disposal the ordinary resources of Hellenistic Greek. We may, however, call attention to the disputed rendering in Matthew 18:22. where RV has ‘seventy times seven,’ RVm ‘seventy times and seven.’

3. Symbols.— In the Heb. text of the OT, and also for the most part in the Gr. text of the NT, numbers are denoted by words. This method is also the only one used in the two ancient Heb. inscriptions — the Moabite Stone (rather later than Ahab), and the Siloam inscription (usually ascribed to the time of Hezekiah). As the Assyrians, Egyptians, and Phoenicians used figures as well as words to denote numbers, it is possible that the Israelites also had arithmetical figures; but at present there is no positive evidence of such a usage.

In Isiter times the Jews used consonants as numerical signs; the units from one to nine were denoted by the first nine letters, the tens from ten to ninety by the next nine, and the hundreds from one hundred to four hundred by the remaining four letters. Other numbers were denoted by combinations of letters. A curious feature of this system is that the natural combination for IS, viz. Yod= 10, Hc=5, was not used because ‘Yod, He’ or Yah was a form of the sacred name Yahweh, which might not be pronounced; accordingly Teth = 9 and Waw=6 were substituted. This system is still commonly used to number the chapters and verses in Heb. Bibles. A similar system was also used by the Greeks, and is occasionally found in the NT; thus the Number of the Beast, 666, in Revelation 13:18, is written by means of three letters.

4. Arithmetic. — There is no evidence of proficiency in arithmetic beyond the simplest operations, but we have examples of addition in connexion with the census in the wilderness, the numbers of the separate tribes being given first and then the total (Numbers 1:22 ff. 26:7 ff.) subtraction is referred to in Leviticus 27:18; an instance of multiplication is Leviticus 25:8. 7 X7 = 49; and Leviticus 25:50 implies a kind of rule of three sum.

B. Round Numbers. — As in other languages, ‘round numbers,’ exact tens, hundreds, thousands, etc., must often have been used by the Israelites, on the understanding that they were only approximately accurate; and in the same way smaller numbers were sometimes used indefinitely for ‘a few’; cf. our ‘half a dozen.’ For instance, the exact ten thousands of Jehoshaphat’s armies given above are doubtless round numbers. Again, in Leviticus 26:8, ‘five of you shall chase a hundred,’ merely means, ‘a handful of you shall put to fiight many times your own number.’ This indefinite use of a small numberis specially common where two consecutive Units are given as alternatives, e.g. Isaiah 17:6. ‘two or three,’ ‘four or five.’ A variety of this idiom is the use of two consecutive units to introduce emphatically the higher of the two; e.g. Proverbs 30:21 - por three things the earth doth tremble, and for four which it cannot bear’; then four things are enumerated. In addition to hundreds and thousands and ten thousands, the most common number used in this approximate way is ‘forty’: people constantly live or reign for ‘forty years’ or multiples of forty years. It is a matter of opinion how far the numerous ‘sevens,’ ‘tens,’ and ‘twelves’ were originally intended as exact numbers. Probably, however, in many cases what were originally round numbers were taken afterwards to be exact. For instance, David’s reign is given as 40 years, 2 Samuel 5:4; in the next verse this period is explained as made up of 7i years at Hebron and 33 at Jerusalem — an explanation which implies that, apart from some odd months, the 40 years were the actual length of the reign. There are some indications, too. that the various 40’s and 80’s were added in with other numbers to obtain a continuous chronology. Again, in Numbers 3:39 the census gives 22,000 Levites, which one would naturally understand as a round number; but in vv. 43–51 it is taken as an exact number, inasmuch as it is ordained that because the 22,273 firstborn exceed the Levites by 273, redemption-money shall be paid for the surplus.

In view of the references to captains of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens ‘in Deuteronomy 1:15, it has been suggested that these terms are sometimes not numerals, but names corresponding to our regiment, company, squad, etc., and denoting bodies of men whose numbers varied.’ Thousand’ especially has been held to be a term denoting ‘tribe’ or ‘clan’ (see Judges 6:15, 1 Samuel 10:19)) so that ‘a thousand’ might contain comparatively few men. This view has been applied to make the census in the Bk. of Numbers more credible by reducing the total amounts; but it is clear that the narrative as it stands intends ‘thousand’ to be a numeral, and does not use the word for a ‘clan.’

6. Accuracy of numbers. — Without attempting an exhaustive consideration of the accuracy of numbers as given by the original authors, we may point out that we should not expect a large measure of mathematical accuracy even in original numbers. Often, as we have seen, they are apparently given as round numbers. Moreover, in the case of large numbers they would seldom be ascertained by careful enumeration. The numbers of armies — especially hostile armies — of slain, and so forth, would usually be given on a rough estimate; and such estimates are seldom accurate, but for the most part exaggerated. Moreover, primitive historical criticism revelled in constructing hypothetical statistics on the slightest data, or, to put the matter less prosaically, the Oriental imagination loved to play with figures, the larger the better.

But apart from any question as to the accuracy of the original figures, the transmission of the text by repeated copying for hundreds and thousands of years introduces a large element of uncertainty. If we assume that numbers were denoted by figures in early times, figures are far more easily altered, omitted, or. added than words; but, as we have seen, we have at present no strong ground for such an assumption. But even when words are used, the words denoting numbers in Hebrew are easily confused with each other, as in English. Just as ‘eight’ and ‘eighty’ differ only by a single letter; so in Hebrew, especially in the older style of writing, the addition of a single letter would make ‘three’ into ‘thirty, etc. etc. And, again, in copying numerals the scribe is not kept right by the context as he is with other words. It was quite possible, too, for a scribe to have views of his own as to what was probable in the way of numbers, and to correct what he considered erroneous.

A comparison of the various manuscripts, versions, etc., in which our books have been preserved, shows that numbers are specially subject to alteration, and that in very many cases we are quite uncertain as to what numbers were given in the original text, notably where the numbers are large. Even where the number of a body of men, the length of a period, etc., are given twice over or oftener in different passages of the Bible itself, the numbers are often different ; those in Chronicles, for instance, sometimes differ from those in Samuel and Kings, as in the case of David’s census mentioned above. Then, as regards manuscripts, etc., we may take one or two striking instances. The chief authorities for the text of the Pentateuch are the Heb. text in Jewish MSB, the Hebrew text in Samaritan MSS, and the Greek translation, the Septuagint. Now the numbers connected with the ages of the patriarchs are largely different in these three authorities; e.g. In the Jewish text Methuselah lives to the age of 969, and is the longest lived of the patriarchs; in the Samaritan he lives only to be 720, and is surpassed by many of the other patriarchs; and the interval from the Creation to the Flood is 2262 years in the Septuagint, 1656 in the Jewish text, 1307 jn the Samaritan text. Again, the number of persons on board the ship on which St. Paul was shipwrecked is given in some MSS as 276, and in others as 76 (Acts 27:37) and similarly the number of the Beast is variously given as 666 and as 616 (Revelation 13:18).

The probability that many mistakes in numbeis have been introduced into the Bible by copyists in the course of the transmission of the text haa long been admitted. For instance, in the fifth edition of Home’s Introduction to the Critical Study and Knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, published in 1825, a thoroughly old-fashioned apologetic work, we are told that ‘Chronological differences,’ i.e. discrepancies, ‘do undoubtedly exist in the Scriptures. . . . Differences in chronology do not imply that the sacred historians were mistaken, but they arise from the mistakes of transcribers or expositors’; and again, ‘It is reasonable to make abatements, and not always to insist rigorously on precise numbers, in adjusting the accounts of scriptural onronology’ (i. 550 f .).

7 . Favourite numbers and their symbolism.— Naturally the units, and after them some of the even tens, hundreds, and thousands, were most frequently in use, and came to have special associations and significance, and a fraction would in some measure share the importance of its corresponding unit, e.g. where ‘four’ occurred often we should also expect to meet with a ‘fourth.’

One, suggesting the idea of uniqueness, self-sufficiency, and indivisiblUty, is specially emphasized in relation to the Divine Unity: ‘Jahweh our God, Jahweh is one’ (Deuteronomy 6:4) and similarly Ephesians 4:5 f. ‘one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father’; and other like passages.

Two. — There were two great lights; men frequently had two wives (Lamech, Jacob, Elkanah); two sons (Abraham, Isaac, Joseph); two daughters (Lot, Laban, Saul). Or again, where a man had one wife, there was a natural couple; and so with animals; in one account of the Flood they go in ‘two by two.’ Two men often went together, e.g. Joshua’s spies (Joshua 2:1) and the Twelve and the Seventy went out by twos. The fact that men have two eyes, hands, etc., also gave a special currency to the number. Two objects or animals are often required tor ritual purposes (.e.g. Leviticus 14:22). There were two tables of stone. Similarly, a half would be a familiar fraction; it is most common in ‘the half tribe of Manasseh.’

As sets of two were common in nature and in human society, so in a somewhat less degree were sets of three, and in a continuously lessening degree sets of tour, five, etc. etc. In each case we shall refer only to striking examples.

Three. — Three is common in periods; e.g. David is offered a choice between three days’ pestilence, three months’ defeat, and three years’ famine (1 Chronicles 21:12; 2 Samuel 24 has seven years); Christ is ‘three days and three nights’ in the tomb (Matthew 12:40, cf. John 2).

Deities often occur in groups of three, sometimes father, mother, and child; e.g. the Egyptian Osiris, Isis, and Horus. There are also the Babylonian triads, e.g. Bel, Anu, and Ea. Division into three is common; an attacking army is often divided into three parts, e.g. Gideon’s (Judges 7:16; cf. also Revelation 8:10, 12).

Four. — The square, as the simplest plane figure, suggests four, and is a common shape for altars, rooms, etc.; hence four corners, pillars, the four winds, the four quarters of the earth, N., S., E., W. Irenseus argues that there must be four canonical Gospels because there are four cherubim, four winds, and four quarters of the earth.

Five, Ten, and multiples obtain their currency through the habit of reckoning in tens, which again is probably derived from counting on the ten fingers. The fraction tenth is conspicuous as the tithe; and fifth and tenth parts of measures occur in the ritual.

Six, Twelve, and multiples are specially frequent in reference to time: 12 months, and its half, six months, 12 hours, sixth hour, etc., partly in connexion with the 12 signs of the Zodiac, and the approximate division of the solar year into 12 lunar months. It is suggested that the number 12 for the tribes of Israel was fixed by the Zodiac; in the lists the number 12 is obtained only by omitting Levi or Dan, or by substituting Joseph for Ephraim and Manasseh. When the number 12 was established for the tribes, its currency and that of its multiples were thus further extended; e.g. the 12 Apostles, the 144,000 of the Apocalypse, etc.

Seven and multiples. — A specially sacred character is popularly ascribed to the number seven; and although the Bible does not expressly endorse this idea, yet it is supported by the frequent occurrence of the number in the ritual, the sacred seventh day, the Sabbath; the sacred seventh year, the Sabbatical year; the Jubilee year, the year following seven times seven years; the seven-branched candlestick; sevenfold sprinkling (Leviticus 4 etc.); seven lambs offered (Numbers 28:11 ff.) forgiveness till 70 times 7 (Matthew 18:22) the seven churches of Asia; seven angels; seven stars, etc.; fourteen generations (Matthew 1:17) 70 descendants of Jacob (Exodus 1:5) 70 years’ captivity, etc. (Jeremiah 25:11, Daniel 9:2, Zee 7:5) 70 missioners (Luke 10:1). A similar use of ‘seven’ is found in the Egyptian, Assyrian, and Persian religions, and is often derived from astral worship of the seven heavenl.v bodies, the sun, moon, and the five planets known to the ancients. It is also connected with the seven-day week as roughly a quarter of the lunar month, seven being the nearest integer to the quarter of 29i. The Pleiades also were thought of as seven (cf. Amos 5:8).

Eight. — There were eight persons in the ark; a boy was circumcised on the eighth day. Ezekiel’s ritual has a certain predilection for the number eight.

Forty. — This number apparently owes its vogue to the view that 40 was the approximate or perhaps average length of a generation; at least this is a common view. It is a little difficult to reconcile with the well-known Oriental custom of early marriage. The number might perhaps be obtained by taking the average of the years of a man’s age at which his children were born, though such an explanation does not appear very probable. Or the use of 40 for a generation might be a relic of the period when the youngest born succeeded to the family tent and sacra. At any rate 40 is well estabhshed as a moderate round number between ‘a few’ and ‘a very great many.’ Thus, in addition to the numerous reigns, oppressions, and deliverances of 40, 80 years, etc., Isaac and Esau marry at the age of 40; there are 40 years of the wandering; Ezekiel’s 40 years’ captivity (29) 40 days was the period Moses spent in the Mount, Elijah and Christ fasted In the wilderness, etc.

A certain mystical value is attached to numbers in later Jewish and Christian ptiilosophy and superstition, perhaps due partly to theideas suggested by the relations of numbers to each other, and to the practical power of arithmetic; the symbols which aided men so effectually seemed to have some inherent force of their own. Or, again, if ‘seven’ is sacred, to pronounce a formula seven times must be more effective than to pronounce it six or eight times.

Great importance is attached to numbers in the mediaeval Jewish mystical system, the Kabbala. There are ten sephiroth or primary emanations from God, one original sephira, and three derivative triads; there are twelve channels of Divinegrace; 613 commandments, etc.

8. Gematria, a Hebraized form of the Greek geometria, used to mean ‘reckoning by numbers,’ was a late development of which there are traces in the OT. It consisted in indicating a word by means of the number which would be obtained by adding together the numerical values of the consonants of the word. Thus in Genesis 14:14 Abraham has 318 ‘trained servants,’ 318 is the sum of the consonants of the name of Abraham’s steward Eliezer in its original Hebrew form. The number is apparently constructed from the name.

The Apocalypticnumber o£ the Beast is often explained by Gematria, and 666 has been discovered to be the sum of the numerical values of the letters of some form or other of a large number of names written either in Hebrew, or Greek, or Latin. Thus the Beast has been identified with hundreds of persons, e.g. Mohammed, Luther, the Pope, Napoleon i.. Napoleon iir. etc., each of whom was specially obnoxious to the ingenious identifier. Probably by a Mttle careful manipulation, any name in some form or other, in Hebrew, Greek, or Latin, could be made by Gematria to yield 666. The two favourite explanations are Latm,nos=LaMnus (the Roman Empire or Emperor), and Nero CoBsar. The latter has the special advantage that it accounts not only for 666, but also for the various reading 616 mentioned above; as Neron Casar it gives 666, and as Nero Caesar, 616. W. H. Bennett.

Numbers, Book of

1. The Book of Numbers forms the sequel to the Book of Exodus; it carries on the history of the Israelites from’ the stay at Sinai till the arrival at the borders of Moab. The name ‘Numbers’ is due to the repeated numberings in chs. 1.3.4. 26. The book is composed of writings from the prophetic schools of J and E, and the Priestly school of P. One passage is from D — 2133-M=Dt 3"-=. A minute analysis of the sources, not only distinguishing J, E, and P, but also separating the different strata of P, is necessary for a full understanding of the book. The present article, however, can only accept in broad outline the results reached by scholars. The reader is referred to The Hexateuch ed. by Carpenter and Battersby, the art. ‘Numbers’ by the latter in Hastings’ DB ill., and Gray’s Com. on Numbers.

2. Although the narrative begins at Sinai and ends in Moab, the period of the 40 years’ wanderings is a blank, and the events are confined to the two periods before and after it. The book consists of three parts: I-IO’", 10"-2is, 21’»-36is.

A. I’-IO’". Ordinances at Sinai. — The section is entirely from P.

Contents. — Chs. 1-4: (a) The census; (6) arrangement of the camp; (c) functions of the Levites. Chs. 5. 6: Laws concerning (d) three unclean classes of persons who must be excluded from the camp (5’-«); (e) some priestly dues (‘-i"); (/) the ordeal of jealousy ("-‘‘): (g) the law of the Nazirite (6’-"); (A) the priests’ formulas of blessing C^-"). (i) Ch. 7: The offerings (identical in each case) of the twelve tribal princes, (j) Ch. 8’-‘: The golden lampstand. (k) Ch. 8s-2«: Dedication of the Levites, and age of their service. (!) Ch. 9’-": The supplementary Passover, (m) Ch. 9"-23: The cloud over the Tabernacle. Ch. lO’-‘": The two silver trumpets.

Notes. — Two passages in this section are retrospective, viz. 7 and 9’-". The rest cover the last 19 days (1’ 10") spent at Sinai.

(a) The census is referred to by anticipation in Exodus 30:12 38:26. The strange position of Gad in the lists ( l^"-*‘26) is explained by the position assigned to it in ch. 2, next to Reuben and Simeon on the S. of the camp. The figures of the census are artificial and impossible; they are investigated by Gray, Numbers, pp. 10^15. (b) The arrangement of the camp is based upon the same principle as that in the ideal picture of Ezeldel (ch. 48). (c) "The Levites are instituted as a class of priests’ servants — a conception quite at variance with all earlier representations. Tney are accepted by J" in lieu of the firatbom of Israel. The transport duties of the three Levitical f amihes, Kohath ,Geishon, and Merari, are detailed. Notice that the period of service in 4:2–20 differs from that in 8:23–26. (d) The three classes are dealt with in detail in Leviticus 13. 15 and Numbers 19 respectively, (e) ‘The section is supplementary to Leviticus 5. It deals with the cases in which the injured party is dead, and there is no next-of-kin. It further lays down that every sacred gift is to belong to the particular priest to whom it is paid, (f) A woman suspected by her husband of adultery which cannot be proved, is made to drink a potion which will be harmful if she is guilty, but will result in fruitfulness if she is innocent. This and the Nazirite vow (g) are instances of very ancient practices which have survived, in the form of law, only in P. (ft) The

Eriestly blessing is probably earlier in origin than P, and may ave been used in the Temple before the Exile. Psalms 67 appears to be infiuenced by it. (i) See Exodus 25:31–40 27:20 f.; (j) rea3s like a later expansion of the commands in chs. 3. 4.

B. 1011-219. From Sinai to the desert W. of the ■Arabah.

Contents. — (a) 10:11–28 P. The move to the Wilderness of Paran in marching order. (6) lO^‘-s’ J. Departure from the mountain; Moses asked Hobab to accompany them. Words which Moses used to address to the ark. (c) ll’-s E. Taberah. (d) n>-^ JE. Kibroth-hattaavah; the 70 elders, Eldad and Medad; the quails; Hazeroth. (e) 12:1–15 E. Aaron and Miriam attacked Moses; Miriam’s leprosy. (/) 12:16 J. The move to the wilderness of Paran. (a) 13. 14 JEP. The sending of the spies; their evil report, and its sequel. 15 P. Laws concerning: (ft) Meal-offerings and libations (‘-"), (i) cake of first of’ artsBth l"-^). (j) propitiation for sins of ignorance (^-ai), (fc) punishment for Sabbath-breaking (32-ae), q) tassels ("-*i), (m) 16 JEP. Rebellion of Korah (P) and of Dathan. Abiram, and On (JE). (n) 17 P, Aaron’s rod budded, (o) 18:1–7 P. Levites to be the priests’ servants, (p) 18 p. Dues to the Levites. (q) 19 P. Ritual of the red cow, to remove defilement by the dead, (r) 20:1–13 JEP. The move to the Wilderness of Zin (P); Miriam died at Kadesh (JE); want of water (JE); the sin of Moses and Aaron at Meribah (P). (s) 20:14–21 JE. Edom refused passage through their territory. (t) 20 p. Aaron died at Mt. Hor, and was succeeded by Eleazar. (w) 21 JE. Hormah. (v) 21:4–9 JEP. Departure from Mt. Hor (P); circuit round Edom; and the bronze serpent (JE).

Notes. — (b) Hobab, not Reuel, is Moaes’ father-in-law; cf. Judges 4:11 (RVm). Hobab’s answer after v. 32 has been lost; but Judges 1:16 makes it probable that he consented to accompany them, {d) Into the story of the quails have been interpolated w.iif-"‘-, and also theaccountof the elders.w.i^‘- 24b-30_ Some think that the former should follow Exodus 33:1–3 and the latter Exodus 33:7) (g) xhe narratives of JE and of P have been combined. In JE spies went to the S. of Canaan, as far as Hebron only. They brought back a cluster of grapes, and said that the land was fertile, but invincible with its giants and great cities. Caleb alone declared that they would be able to conquer it. The people determined to return to Egypt under another captain. Moses entreated J" not to smite them with pestilence. J" consented, but condemned all except Caleb to die in the wilderness. They were commanded to go by the Red Sea, whereupon they suddenly repented, and made an attack upon the Amalekites and Canaanites, but were repxilsed witn loss. In P, the spies, whose names are given, went through the whole of Canaan unmolested. They reported that the land was so barren [as it was in the days of F] that its inhabitants could not live. The people murmured, but Caleb and Joshua [here first mentioned in Pi tried to encourage them. The glory of J" appeared, and the people were condemned to wander 40 years, in which all over 20 years of age, except Caleb and Joshua, should die. {h) A scale of amounts of meal, oil, and wine to accompany various animals in sacrifice. It is a later, and more carefully graduated, system than that in Ezekiel 46:5–7, 11, 14. (i) ^tiso^ perhaps means barley meal.’ First’ appeais to refer to the first lump of dough made from the material, (m) Distinct incidents from JE and from P have been woven together. In JE a rebellion was raised by some Reubenites — Dathan, Abiram, and On — against the civil authority of Moses. Moses warned the people to depart from the tents of the conspirators, who were then swallowed up in the earth. In P, Korah with 250 princes, who were representatives of all the secular tribes, rebelled against the claim for the special sanctity of the tribe of Levi. At J’‘‘s challenge they burned incense on censers in front of the Tabernacle; the whole congregation were present, and the glory of J" appeared. Moses told the mass of the people to depart from the Tabernacle, and the fire of J" devoured the 250 men. On the next day the people assembled, and murmured against Moses and Aaron. A plague began, which was checked by Aaron’s action in running among the people with a lighted censer. The superiority of the tribe of Levi was then vindicated by the budding of Aaron’s staff (ch. 17), and the dura to be paid to the Levites were laid down (on. 18). Into P’s story, however, later passages have been interpolated (16:8–11, 16 f. 17:1–5), represent Korah’a company as Levites, who rebel against the claim of superior sanctity for the family of Aaron, (r) The events are at the end of the wandering, but no movements have been recorded since the events before the 40 years (ch. 13). The difficulties with regard to Kadesh and the wanderings may be studied in Driver, Deut. pp. 31-33. The Meribah narrative in the prraent section is a combination of J and P. (A Meribah story from E is combined with a Maasah story from J in Exodus 17:1–7.) The sin of Moses and Aaron has not been fully preserved; v. 10 relates only ill-temper (referred to in Psalms 106:32 f.). though V.12 describes it as unoelief, and 27:14 as rebellion . (s) The sequel of this is 21 ( JE) . (u) Hormah is connected with Aerem,’ ban,’ because of the vow to destroy — ban — the Canaanite cities. The section appears to be misplaced, for it is difficult to understand why the Israelites should have turned away from Canaan immediately after such a striking victory, (v) The story was probably to explain the existence of the bronze serpent which Hezekiah afterwards destroyed; it is difficult to see how such a figure in bronze could have been manufactured in the desert with the rapid haste which the occasion would demand

C. 2110-36. Marches and events E. of the ‘Arabah and the Jordan.

Contmts.—ia) 21 JEP. Itinerary, and two songs, (b) 21 JE. Amorites refused passage, and were defeated. Song of triumph, (c) 21 d. Defeat of Og. (rf) 22:1 P. Arrival at Moab. (e) 22:2 JE. Balaam. (/) 25:1–5 JE. Immorality and idolatry owing to seduction by the Moabite women; the worship of the Baal of Peor. (g) 25:6–18 P. Perpetual priesthood promised to the line of Phinehas for his zeal in killing the Israelite and the Midianitess. (h) 26 P. The second census, (i) 27:1–11 P. Case arising out of the daughters of Zelophehad. (3) 27 p. Moses bidden to prepare for death; Joshua appointed to succeed him. (k) 28. 29 P. A scale of public offerings. (I) 30 P. Conditions of validity of a vow. (m) 31 P. The war with Midian. (n) 32 P. Gad and Reuben, and (J) Manasseh, settled on the E. of Jordan. (0) 33 P. Itinerary from Egypt to Moab. 33 P. Laws relative to the settlement in Canaan, viz.: (p) 33. Destruction of Canaanitish objects of worship, and division of land by lot. (q) 34:1–15. The boundaries of Canaan, (r) 34. Persons to superintend the allotment, (s) 35:1–8. Levitical cities. (0 35. Cities of refuge, (u) Ch. 36. Heiresses (Zelophehad’s daughters) not to marry outside their own tribe.

Notes. — (a) w.i^- H"* P take the Israelite from Mt. Hor straight to a point on the E. of the ‘Arabah, apparently disregarding the detour by the Red Sea and by the E. of Edom. Vv.iib-20 E contain places on the northward march from Ezion-geber on the Gulf of Akabah; Deuteronomy 10:6–8 gives the previous march southward from Kadesh. (6) The last clause of the song (29^) may be a gloss. The whole interoretation of the song depends upon its presence or absence (see Gray on the passage), (c) Practically identical with Deuteronomy 3:1–3; the only passage from D in the book, (g) The introduction of a Midianitess can hardly have occurred in Moab. The mention of foreign wives in v. 1 may have caused the passage to be placed here. The narrative is only partially preserved, for nothing is said of the sending of’ the plague ‘(3’ ■ ) . (j) Vv.i2 i3 are closely related to Deuteronomy 32:48–50; whether they are incoiporated in, or derived from, Dt. is uncertain, (fc) The scale of offerings incidentally contains a list of the fixed feasts or sacred seasons, via. Sabbath (28:9 f.). New Moon (H), Passover (w). Unleavened Cakes (i^, Feast of Weeks Feast of Trumpets (29:1). , Day of Atonement (‘) , Feast of Booths (i2-38j . (0 These are concerned chiefly with women’s vows, which are treated nowhere else, (m) The story is of the nature of a midrash; the numbers of the Israelites^ and of the slain and the spoils, are artificial; nothing is said of the march to Midian, or of the place of fighting. The narrative appears mainly intended to illustrate the rules of the distribution of booty (2s-30)^ and the removal of uncleanness by contact with the dead (i’‘-^^). The term’ Gilead’ is very elastic. In 1- 29 it refers to land south of the Jabbok, but in 3^ to land north of it, while in Joshua 22:9, 13 jt covers the whole land E. of the Jordan. The towns assigned to Reuben and Gad conflict with P’s theory in Joshua 13. which is represented in most maps of Palestine, according to which Gad is to the north and Reuben to the south of the N. end of the Dead Sea. In the present passage the towns of Reuben lie between Gadite towns situated to theN. and theS. of fthem. Vv.39-42 (J) representtheManassite settlement on the W.of Jordan as older than that on the E. The verses are a fragment, similar to Judges 1 and the older parts of Joshua. (0) The itinerary falls into four parts: ^-1^, Rameses to the Wilderness of Sinai; i3-35^ thence to Ezion-geber on the E. arm of the Red Sea; 36, thence to Kadesh = Wilderness of Zin (one stage of 70 miles); 37-49 thence to the steppes of Moab. (p) The objects mentioned are ‘figured stones’ (if that is the right rendering; Leviticus 26:1 only), molten images, and ‘high places.’ (g) The boundaries are ideal, at least on the west, for the Israelites never occupied a spot on the coast until Simon Maccabseus captured Joppa (1 Maccabees 14:5). (s) The Levites receive 48 plots of land, each of about 207 acres, and containing a town and pasture land. Joshua 21 states the number of plots allotted in each tribe. Like Ezekiel’s scheme (48), the arrangement is purely ideal — ^for (1) in a mountainous country like Palestine plots of 207 acres would be impossible; (2) earlier writings show that Levites had no landed property, but were commended to the charity of the rest of Israel; (3)_priests are found living in such towns as Nob, Shiloh, and Bethel, which are not in the list of Levitical cities, (t) The earher laws of asylum are given in Exodus 21, Deuteronomy 19) the development of the procedure is noteworthy, (u) A supplement to 27:1–11.

3. Broadly speaking, the value of JE’s narratives lies in their portrayal of character, that of P’s in its embodiment of ecclesiastical ideas. In JE the character of Moses is strongly marked, in its strength and its occasional weakness: e.g. his humble piety (12:3). his trust in J" (,W-^), his faithfulness to and intimacy with Him (12:6–8). his affection for his people (ll^- i»-" 21:7). his generosity and public spirit (ll^‘-zs 12); and with this his despondency (lli»-«) and provocation by the people (parts of 20:1–13). And no less vivid is the portrayal of the character of the people — their dislike of restraint, their selfish murmurings, their vehement repentance followed by wilful self-assertion. The narratives of JE were not compiled for the sake of recording history; the compiler was a prophet with a keen sense of the rehgious meaning of history. And his view of personal character revealed in events is not an incidental, but a primary, element in his work. And side by side with this is his conception of the relation between J" and Israel. J", as Israel’s only God, commands every action and step in the drama; and obedience to Him is followed by prosperity, while disobedience always brings trouble.

The spontaneity and simplicity of the earlier narratives are in marked contrast with the artificial idealism of P. The writings which we know collectively as P extend over centuries, but they were one and all the work of ecclesiastics. Narratives and laws alike were methods of representing the hierocratic conditions either actually prevalent after the Exile, or contemplated by the writers as desirable. Ecclesiasticism entered also into their conceptions of J". In early days any man might ‘meet’ with J" and inquire of Him at the Tent, which was pitched outside the camp (Exodus 33:7–11 E). But now the presence of J" is protected from pollution by the sacred barrier of the priests and Levites, ‘that there be no wrath upon the congregation’ (Numbers 1:53). Real matters of abiding consequence to man — sin, and J"‘s attitude towards it, and the means of forgiveness — are hardly touched. And if this description seems to leave in P little of spiritual value, it must be answered that its value lies partly in the very evidence that it affords of the deadening influence produced upon spiritual life, and even upon literary art, by a narrow ecclesiasticism which has itself as its only aim. The age and the writings of the Priestly school are an invaluable background, to show up all the more clearly the brightness of the age which followed it, when universal approach to God was thrown open by’ another priest, who hath been made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an indissoluble life’ (Hebrews 7:15 f.).

A. H. M’Neile.

Nukeitius

One of an embassy sent (c. B.C. 144) by the Jews to Rome and Sparta (1 Maccabees 12:1–18). He visited Rome on a similar errand a few years later (1 Mao 14:24 15:15–24).

Nun

The fourteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and as such employed in the 1 19th Psalm to designate the 14th part, each verse of which begins with this letter.

Nun

The father of Joshua (Exodus 33:11, Numbers 11:28. Joshua 1:1 etc.).

Nurse

Healthy women among the Hebrews in ancient times were accustomed to suckle their own children (On 21’). As in Palestine to-day, the child was suckled for a long time, sometimes as much as three years (1 Samuel 1:23 f.: 2 Maccabees 7:27). Weaning was the occasion of a joyful feast (Genesis 21:8, 1 g 1:24). But the nurse was also found in olden times in Israel, and was often held in great affection and honour (Genesis 24:59 35:8, Exodus 2:7. 2 Kings 11:2. Isaiah 49:23. 1 Thessalonians 2:7). The nurse, naneqeth, must be distinguished from the ‘Smeneth, tr.’ nurse ‘in Ruth 4:16. 2 Samuel 4:4, which means the attendant in charge of the child. W. Ewing.

Nuts

1. ‘egSz (Song of Songs 6:11), without doubt the fruit of the walnut-tree (Juglans regia), called to-day in Arab. jauz. 2. botnlm (Genesis 43:11) means pistachio nuts, the fruit of Pistacia vera, a tree widely cultivated in Palestine. The nuts, known in Arab, as flstug, are very great favourites; they are eaten raw, and also made into various sweets and confectionery.

E. W. G. Mastehman.

Nympha

(S). Aninfiuential Colossian Christian (Col 4"). His house was used as a meeting-place for Christians. The question of the correct reading is a difficult one, and it is uncertain whether it should be Nymphas or Nympha, a man or a woman. Nothing further is known of the person named. Moblet Stevenson.

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