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NUMBERS 14

PARAGRAPH DIVISIONS OF MODERN TRANSLATIONS

READING CYCLE THREE (see "Bible Interpretation Seminar")

FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR'S INTENT AT THE PARAGRAPH LEVEL

This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects. Compare your subject divisions with the five translations above. Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is the key to following the original author's intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every paragraph has one and only one subject.

1. First paragraph
2. Second paragraph
3. Etc.

WORD AND PHRASE STUDY

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 14:1-4
  ¹Then all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night. ²All the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron; and the whole congregation said to them, "Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! ³Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become plunder; would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?" ⁴So they said to one another, "Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt."

14:1 The crying in Num. 14:1 is related to the spies "bad" report. The crying in 14:39 is related to YHWH's judgment on Israel. This judgment is accentuated by the military defeat in v. 45 because "the Lord was not with them" (vv. 42,43).

14:2-3 What shocking statements.

1. wish we had died in Egypt
2. wish we had died in the wilderness
3. but not be slaughtered by the Canaanite armies

This shows a total lack of faith in YHWH and His promises (i.e., Genesis 12; 15; 22; etc; see SPECIAL TOPIC: COVENANT PROMISES TO THE PATRIARCHS.

They will get their wish (i.e., #2) because YHWH will judge that generation to die in the wilderness (cf. Num. 14:28-29).

14:2 "All the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses" This could almost be the characteristic phrase of the book of Numbers (cf. vv. 26,36; see full note at Num. 11:1). It is shocking what these people say to Moses. Every one of their statements not only rejects Moses', but also YHWH's leadership. YHWH will remember this when He judges their unbelief. Many of the things that they were afraid of will happen to them.

14:4 "Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt" This was the height of rebellion against YHWH and His promises (similar to Exodus 32, the golden calf). In looking at Israel's history one can almost assume that Satan is attempting to stop the ministry of the Messiah by trying to subvert YHWH's plan for the Jewish nation. See Special Topics:

1. SATAN
2. PERSONAL EVIL
3. YHWH'S ETERNAL REDEMPTIVE PLAN

The speech of the rebels is expressed by two Qal COHORTATIVES.

1. Let us appoint a leader ‒ BDB 678, KB 733
2. Let us return to Egypt ‒ BDB 996, KB 1427

YHWH had His plans but faithless Israel, even after all that YHWH had done in their presence, had their own plans.

One wonders how much "the rabble" of Num. 11:4 were the chief instigators of this rebellion.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 14:5-10
  ⁵Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces in the presence of all the assembly of the congregation of the sons of Israel. ⁶Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, of those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes; ⁷and they spoke to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, saying, "The land which we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. ⁸If the Lord is pleased with us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us—a land which flows with milk and honey. ⁹Only do not rebel against the Lord; and do not fear the people of the land, for they will be our prey. Their protection has been removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them." ¹⁰But all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Then the glory of the Lord appeared in the tent of meeting to all the sons of Israel.

14:5 "Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces in the presence of all the assembly" This usually means an act of worship, but in Numbers it is usually used for judgment (cf. Num. 16:4,22,45; 20:6). This revolt of unbelief and rebellion is summarized in Hebrews 3:7-19.

14:6 "Joshua. . .Caleb. . .tore their clothes" Joshua and Caleb, like Moses and Aaron, recognized the terrible rebellion! This was a sign of mourning or blasphemy. See SPECIAL TOPIC: GRIEVING RITES.

The MT has an emphatic structure.

1. the ADJECTIVE "good" ‒ BDB 373 III
2. the ADVERB "exceedingly" twice ( Hebrew idiom, cf. Gen. 7:19; 30:43; 1 Kgs. 7:47; 2 Kgs. 10:4; Ezek. 37:10)

YHWH was telling the truth about the fertility of the Promised Land (i.e., Canaan). The phrase in Num. 13:32, "a land that devours its inhabitants," may refer to the battle over different groups possessing this agricultural abundance.

▣ "If the Lord is pleased with us" Note this conditional element (BDB 49). God had promised this land to them but not to this particular generation. All of God's covenants are unconditional in His faithfulness, but they are conditional on our response! See SPECIAL TOPIC: COVENANT.

▣ "a land which flows with milk and honey" See full note at Num. 13:27.

14:9 "Their protection has been removed from them" This is literally the term "shadow," which is a common metaphor to describe God's protection and care for His people. See SPECIAL TOPIC: SHADOW.

Both Joshua and Caleb tried to encourage Israel not to rebel.

1. do not rebel ‒ BDB 597, KB 632, Qal IMPERFECT used in a JUSSIVE sense
2. do not fear them (twice) ‒ BDB 431, KB 432, Qal IMPERFECT used in a JUSSIVE sense

The LXX translations did not understand the imagery of "shadow" and translated "for the right time has departed from them."

The Peshitta has "their strength has left them." The usage of this term in the ANE implies the protection of their fertility gods has been removed. This is not meant to assert the reality of these gods but of the overpowering presence of YHWH's will.

▣ "for they will be our prey" This word "prey" in NASB is literally "bread." This is Hebrew imagery for Joshua and Caleb's assessment of the Israeli conquest of Canaan, which is found only here.

14:10 "But all the congregation said to stone them with stones" It is amazing to see this rebellion of the people of God. Death by stoning in the OT was for a religious violation or covenant breaking (see SPECIAL TOPIC: STONE TO DEATH). They were accusing Moses and Aaron of this very sin! But it was their sin!

Even though the INFINITIVE "stone" (BDB 920, KB 1187, Qal INFINITIVE) is not the same root as the NOUN "stones" (BDB 6), I agree with the NET Bible, p. 306, #1, that it functions like a COGNATE ACCUSATIVE (emphatic grammatical feature).

▣ "the glory of the Lord appeared in the tent of meeting" For a full description of the shekinah cloud, see Num. 14:14. See SPECIAL TOPIC: GLORY (kabod, OT); and NIDOTTE, vol. 2, pp. 597-586.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 14:11-12
  ¹¹The Lord said to Moses, "How long will this people spurn Me? And how long will they not believe in Me, despite all the signs which I have performed in their midst? ¹²I will smite them with pestilence and dispossess them, and I will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they."

14:11 "How long will they not believe in Me, despite all the signs which I have performed in their midst" The sin of Israel was all the more shameful because they had seen and experienced the power of YHWH in the exodus and wilderness! They "spurned" (BDB 610, KB 658, Piel IMPERFECT) Him in the presence of great light. This is analogous to the "unpardonable sin" of the Gospels. See SPECIAL TOPIC: THE UNPARDONABLE SIN.

▣ "believed" This term (BDB 52, KB 63, Hiphil IMPERFECT) is the main OT word for faith/trust. See SPECIAL TOPIC: BELIEVE, TRUST, FAITH, AND FAITHFULNESS (OT).

14:12 "I will smite them" This is either God testing Moses or God's willingness to start all over again, as He had with Noah and Abraham. I like to think of this as God testing Moses. This happened several other times (cf. Exod. 32:9-10; Num. 16:45; Deut. 9:14). See SPECIAL TOPIC: GOD TESTS HIS PEOPLE.

▣ "pestilence" There are three judgments that YHWH brings (i.e., Lev. 25:23-26).

1. pestilence/disease
2. sword/war
3. famine/siege

YHWH uses natural things with supernatural intensity, timing, and locality (i.e., just like the plagues on Egypt and the crossing of the Jordan in Joshua).

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 14:13-19
  ¹³But Moses said to the Lord, "Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for by Your strength You brought up this people from their midst, ¹⁴and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that You, O Lord, are in the midst of this people, for You, O Lord, are seen eye to eye, while Your cloud stands over them; and You go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. ¹⁵Now if You slay this people as one man, then the nations who have heard of Your fame will say, ¹⁶'Because the Lord could not bring this people into the land which He promised them by oath, therefore He slaughtered them in the wilderness.' ¹⁷But now, I pray, let the power of the Lord be great, just as You have declared, ¹⁸'The Lord is slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generations.' ¹⁹Pardon, I pray, the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of Your lovingkindness, just as You also have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now."

14:13 "the Egyptians will hear of it" YHWH's care for His namesake and His witness among the nations is the basis of Moses' prayer (cf. Exod. 32:12). God had always chosen Israel to be a kingdom of priests (cf. Gen. 12:15,22; Exod. 19:4-6). He cares what the nations think about Him and the very purpose in choosing Israel was to choose the world. See SPECIAL TOPIC: INTERCESSORY PRAYER and SPECIAL TOPIC: YHWH'S ETERNAL REDEMPTIVE PLAN.

This unusual Hebrew phrase, literally "eye to eye" (BDB 744), is found only here and Isa. 52:8. It could refer to

1. YHWH's visible presence in the cloud over the tent of meeting
2. YHWH speaking to Moses face to face

It expresses intimacy and personal presence (cf. similar imagery in Gen. 32:30; Exod. 33:1; Deut. 5:4; 34:10; Jdgs. 6:22). All of Israel's enemies knew that YHWH was with them.

▣ "a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night" This is exactly "the shadow of YHWH" for Israel. YHWH's presence with Israel was symbolized in the cloud (NIDOTTE, vol. 3, pp. 465). It was a pillar of fire by night to light up the camp. By day it was protection from the desert heat. It was God's way of leading the people from campsite to campsite (cf. Exod. 13:21-22; 14:19-20; 19:9,15-25; 33:9-10).

14:17 "let the power of the Lord be great" Throughout the chapter, YHWH (Lord) has been used, but here Adon (Lord, BDB 10, PLURAL) is used instead. The Jews became so nervous about using the covenant name for Deity that whenever they read Scripture, they substituted the name Adon for YHWH. See SPECIAL TOPIC: NAMES FOR DEITY, D.

14:18 This is a tremendous summary of the gracious character of God (cf. Exod. 34:6,7; Neh. 9:17; Ps. 86:15; 103:8; 145:8; Jonah 4:2; Nah. 1:3). See SPECIAL TOPIC: CHARACTERISTICS OF ISRAEL'S GOD (OT).

▣ At the end of line A, the LXX adds, "and faithfulness," which reflects the reading of Exod. 34:6. This is a typical scribal addition. See SPECIAL TOPIC: TEXTUAL CRITICISM.

▣ "He will by no means clear the guilty" This is an emphatic statement (i.e., an INFINITIVE ABSOLUTE and IMPERFECT VERB from the same root, BDB 607, KB 720; both in the Piel stem). Sin can be forgiven but the consequences often move through time with terrible results (cf. Exod. 34:7; Jer. 30:11; 46:28; Nah. 1:3)!

▣ "visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations" To fully understand what is being said here, one must compare Deut. 5:9-10 with 7:9. YHWH's wrath can be seen to the third and fourth generation but His love is seen to the thousandth generation of those who love Him. I believe that normally what is passed on to our children are our propensities and our circumstances; often the children suffer for parents' lifestyle sins (cf. Ezekiel 18).

14:19 "Pardon" This is a Qal IMPERATIVE used as a prayer request. The VERB (BDB 699, KB 757) is also used in verse 20, where YHWH answers Moses' request. See note below.

▣ "Your lovingkindness" This is the Hebrew word hesed and refers to God's covenant love and loyalty. See SPECIAL TOPIC: LOVINGKINDNESS (hesed).

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 14:20-25
  ²⁰So the Lord said, "I have pardoned them according to your word; ²¹but indeed, as I live, all the earth will be filled with the glory of the Lord. ²²Surely all the men who have seen My glory and My signs which I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have put Me to the test these ten times and have not listened to My voice, ²³shall by no means see the land which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who spurned Me see it. ²⁴But My servant Caleb, because he has had a different spirit and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land which he entered, and his descendants shall take possession of it. ²⁵Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites live in the valleys; turn tomorrow and set out to the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea."

14:20 "So the Lord said, "I have pardoned them according to your word" Although YHWH forgave them through Moses' intercession, there was still a penalty to be paid (i.e., forty years of wilderness wandering).

Intercessory prayer can and does change YHWH's intentions (cf. Exod. 32:14):

32:14 "the Lord changed His mind" This seems to be a strange phrase when connected to the God who does not change (cf. Mal. 3:6; James 1:17). This is an anthropomorphic idiom (see SPECIAL TOPIC: GOD DESCRIBED AS HUMAN). There are several places in the OT where God changes His mind (cf. 1 Sam. 15:11; Ps. 106:45; Jer. 18:7-10; 26:3,13,19; Amos 7:3,6; Jonah 3:10).

God's sovereignty can be affected by circumstances and prayer (see SPECIAL TOPIC: INTERCESSORY PRAYER). God has an eternal redemptive plan for humanity made in His image (see SPECIAL TOPIC: YHWH'S ETERNAL REDEMPTIVE PLAN). He wants to change His mind when His people repent and seek Him!

14:21 "as I live" This is an oath taken by YHWH in His own name (cf. Num. 14:28; Deut. 32:40). "As I live" reflects the covenant name for God, YHWH (based on the Hebrew word "to be" (cf. Exod. 3:14). See SPECIAL TOPIC: NAMES FOR DEITY, D.

▣ "all the earth will be filled with the glory of the Lord" Here again is the key to understanding the OT. YHWH wanted to bless Israel so as to attract the nations, but her disobedience elicited YHWH's judgment, not His blessing. See SPECIAL TOPIC: YHWH'S ETERNAL REDEMPTIVE PLAN.

14:22 "ten times" This is a metaphor of many times, not exactly ten (i.e., Gen. 18:32; 24:55; 31:7, 41). See SPECIAL TOPIC: SYMBOLIC NUMBERS IN SCRIPTURE, #5.

14:23 "shall by no means see the land which I swore to their fathers" See Num. 14:32, 35; 26:65; 32:11. This is discussed in detail in Hebrews 3 and 4.

14:24 "My servant Caleb" This was an honorific title. It was used of Moses. It will be used of Joshua after his death, and it was used of David. It is significant that Caleb is called by this title. See SPECIAL TOPIC: MY SERVANT.

▣ "he has had a different spirit and has followed Me fully" Here, the term "spirit" seems to refer to his human spirit and not the Holy Spirit. See SPECIAL TOPIC: SPIRIT IN THE BIBLE.

▣ "I will bring into the land which he entered, and his descendants shall take possession of it" We know that Caleb will later ask for his inheritance around the city of Hebron, where the giants dwelled and this was even at his advanced age (cf. Deut. 1:36; Josh. 14:6-15; 15:13,14).

14:25 "turn tomorrow and set out to the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea" This is irony. This is exactly what the people of God asked for, to return to Egypt, and now they were moving that direction under God's judgment.

These are two Qal IMPERATIVES. YHWH is directing His people.

1. turn ‒ BDB 815, KB 937
2. set out (or "pull up stakes") ‒ BDB 652, KB 704

▣ "Red Sea" See SPECIAL TOPIC: THE RED SEA.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 14:26-35
  ²⁶The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ²⁷"How long shall I bear with this evil congregation who are grumbling against Me? I have heard the complaints of the sons of Israel, which they are making against Me. ²⁸Say to them, 'As I live,' says the Lord, 'just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will surely do to you; ²⁹your corpses will fall in this wilderness, even all your numbered men, according to your complete number from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against Me. ³⁰Surely you shall not come into the land in which I swore to settle you, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. ³¹Your children, however, whom you said would become a prey—I will bring them in, and they will know the land which you have rejected. ³²But as for you, your corpses will fall in this wilderness. ³³Your sons shall be shepherds for forty years in the wilderness, and they will suffer for your unfaithfulness, until your corpses lie in the wilderness. ³⁴According to the number of days which you spied out the land, forty days, for every day you shall bear your guilt a year, even forty years, and you will know My opposition. ³⁵I, the Lord, have spoken, surely this I will do to all this evil congregation who are gathered together against Me. In this wilderness they shall be destroyed, and there they will die.'"

14:26-28 This is a repeat of earlier revelation (i.e., Num. 14:11-25). It shows the editorial process by which the OT was compiled. By faith we believe in the inspiration (see SPECIAL TOPIC: INSPIRATION) of the editors and compilers as much as the original authors. Moderns do not know

1. when the OT was written down
2. who wrote it or edited it
3. how it was structured or compiled

14:27 Notice that the VERB "shall I bear" is in italics, meaning it is not in the text. This question represents YHWH's emotional question to Moses and Aaron.

14:28 Compare Num. 14:2 with 14:29 and 43. Also compare 14:3 with 14:31.

14:29 "your corpses will fall in this wilderness, even all your numbered men" Israel's sin was forgiven but still the consequences remained. This refers to men twenty years of age and older who were capable of military service (i.e., Num. 1:45).

14:30 "I swore" This is literally "I lifted my hand," which was a physical gesture of oath taking. When used here of YHWH, who is "spirit," it is an anthropomorphism. See SPECIAL TOPIC: ANTHROPOMORPHIC LANGUAGE TO DESCRIBE GOD.

14:31 "your children" It seems that YHWH does make a distinction between those who were old enough to understand and respond to Him (cf. Deut. 1:39). See SPECIAL TOPIC: THE AGE OF ACCOUNTABILITY.

14:33 "Your sons shall be shepherds for forty years in the wilderness, and they shall suffer for your unfaithfulness, until your corpses lie in the wilderness" The rebellion is documented in Deut. 32:10-14; Jeremiah 2; Hos. 2:15-20; 9:10; 11:1-4. It is somewhat ironical that in later Judaism this very period of wilderness wandering was known as an idyllic period and is referred to as the honeymoon between YHWH and the nation of Israel (cf. Ps. 95:8-11; Ezekiel 23). YHWH turns even judgment into blessings!

▣ "forty years" Literally it was 38 years. The number "forty" is a round number of a long period of time. See SPECIAL TOPIC: SYMBOLIC NUMBERS IN SCRIPTURE, #7.

▣ "they shall suffer for your unfaithfulness" See Num. 14:18, which is a reflection to the Ten Commandments of Exodus 20; Deuteronomy 5. Children do suffer for the sins of their parents.

"Unfaithfulness" is literally "fornications" (BDB 276). This could be

1. literally referring to worshiping the fertility gods of Canaan
2. metaphorical of going after another god when YHWH was Israel's true husband

14:34 "According to the number of days which you spied out the land, forty days, for every day you shall bear your guilt a year, even forty years" This verse is often used to be the key to the interpretation of prophecy. However, it is obvious from the context that this should not be pushed into every set of dates, numbers, and judgments. Again, the term "forty" means a long period of indefinite time and the wilderness wandering did not last exactly forty years.

The last word occurs only twice in the OT, here and Job 33:10. KB 1761 says there is no cognate root in any other Semitic languages. KB suggests it is best understood as related to the VERB (BDB 626, cf. Num. 30:5, 8, 11; 32:7, 9) "to hinder," "to restrain," or "to frustrate," which results in a translation like, "what happens when I withdraw My hand." But still, this is conjecture.

14:35 "I the Lord have spoken, surely this I will do" This, in my opinion, is the key to understanding prophecy: what God says God will perform! The bottom line of our understanding of God is that He is trustworthy and we can base our personal faith on His word (cf. Isa. 14:24; 25:1; 45:23; 49:10; 55:8-11).

I do, however, hold to the priority of the NT. The OT must be viewed through the words of Jesus and His Apostles. See SPECIAL TOPIC: WHY DO OT COVENANT PROMISES SEEM SO DIFFERENT FROM NT COVENANT PROMISES?

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 14:36-38
  ³⁶As for the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land and who returned and made all the congregation grumble against him by bringing out a bad report concerning the land, ³⁷even those men who brought out the very bad report of the land died by a plague before the Lord. ³⁸But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive out of those men who went to spy out the land.

14:37 "even those men who brought out the very bad report of the land died by a plague before the Lord" Those ten men who brought an evil report died immediately. The rest of the generation died somewhat of a natural death over the next forty years of wilderness wandering (cf. Deut. 19:16-19).

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 14:39-45
  ³⁹When Moses spoke these words to all the sons of Israel, the people mourned greatly. ⁴⁰In the morning, however, they rose up early and went up to the ridge of the hill country, saying, "Here we are; we have indeed sinned, but we will go up to the place which the Lord has promised." ⁴¹But Moses said, "Why then are you transgressing the commandment of the Lord, when it will not succeed? ⁴²Do not go up, or you will be struck down before your enemies, for the Lord is not among you. ⁴³For the Amalekites and the Canaanites will be there in front of you, and you will fall by the sword, inasmuch as you have turned back from following the Lord. And the Lord will not be with you." ⁴⁴But they went up heedlessly to the ridge of the hill country; neither the ark of the covenant of the Lord nor Moses left the camp. ⁴⁵Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down, and struck them and beat them down as far as Hormah.

14:39-45 These verses describe false faith at the wrong time and the wrong place, which is not really faith at all, but rebellion against the stated judgment of YHWH. The military attempt to invade the Promised Land from the south after YHWH's judgment proved to be disastrous (cf. Num. 14:45).

It is significant that this very geographical location of "Hormah" will be the later site of the first military victory of the children of YHWH against the king of Arad after the wilderness wandering period is concluded (cf. Num. 21:1-3). The term "Hormah" means "unto destruction" (BDB 356). It is located on the southern border of the Promised Land (cf. Josh. 15:30).

14:39 "the people mourned greatly" This VERB (DB 5, KB 6, Hithpael IMPERFECT with waw) is regularly used for grieving over a death. Here, it is the prediction of the deaths to come of

1. the spies who brought the faithless report, Num. 14:36-38
2. the whole generation who grumbled in the wilderness, Num. 14:21-23,28-30

14:42 "Do not go up" These are the words of Moses (BDB 748, KB 828, Qal IMPERFECT used in a JUSSIVE sense). These people are still not listening and obeying YHWH's designated leader and speaker!

▣ "for the Lord is not among you" The key to Israel's success was the personal presence of their covenant God. Without Him they were doomed to defeat and shame!

14:43 The Israelites were afraid to fall in battle to the Canaanite armies (cf. Num. 14:3), but now that is exactly what happens! The irony of unbelief.

The VERB (BDB 779 II, KB 860, Hiphil IMPERFECT) basically means "to dare." They acted in direct contradiction to YHWH's stated judgment.

They continue "to spurn" YHWH (cf. Num. 14:11).

▣ "the ark of the covenant" This special symbol of YHWH's presence did not go before the army into battle as it normally did. Utter defeat (Num. 11:45) was the result.

See SPECIAL TOPIC: ARK OF THE COVENANT.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

This is a study guide commentary which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.

1. Explain how the statements of unbelief found in Num. 14:2-4 impugn YHWH.
2. Why is Num. 14:10 so shocking?
3. How does Num. 14:11 relate to Gen. 12:1-3?
4. How is Num. 14:18 related to Exod. 34:6?
5. What does it mean that God visits the iniquity on the children to the third and fourth generation?
6. What is the significance of Num. 14:21-22, as it relates to Gods purpose in choosing Abraham/Israel?
7. What is the significance of Num. 14:35 and how it relates to our understanding of the Bible?
8. Why is Num. 14:35-45 not an act of faith on the part of the Hebrew nation?

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