The Book of Numbers: A Critique of Genesis

Description

In this work Calum Carmichael—a legal scholar who applies a literary approach to the study of the Bible—shows how each law and each narrative in Numbers, the least researched book in the Pentateuch, responds to problems arising in narrative incidents in Genesis. The book continues Carmichael’s process of demonstrating how every law in the Pentateuch is a response to a problem arising in a biblical narrative, not to an inferred societal situation. Contents Preface 1. Genesis Extended 2. Pharaoh and Yahweh as God- Kings (Numbers 1– 4) 3. The Suspected Adulteress and the Nazirite (Numbers 5 and 6) 4. A Test Case for the Study of Biblical Law (Lev 6:2– 7 [5:20– 26] and Num 5:6– 10) 5. Joseph and Moses as Sources of Discord (Numbers 7– 14) 6. Joseph’s Dreams and the Laws of Numbers 15 7. The Status of Firstborn (Numbers 16– 18) 8. The Ritual of the Red Heifer (Numbers 19) 9. Speech Acts (Numbers 20– 24) 10. Sexual and Religious Seduction (Numbers 25– 31) 11. Reuben’s Legacy (Numbers 32– 36) List of Abbreviations Notes Index of References Subject Index