KEY TO MAP. Etham, Desert of.-At the head of the Red Sea. The desert extended round the head of the Sea. Shur, Wilderness of.-Between Etham and Canaan. Sin, Wilderness of.-On west of Desert of Sinai. Zin, Wilderness of.-At north of the Wilderness of Paran (under the Land of Canaan, including, perhaps, the Arabah). Sinai to Kadesh.-A journey of 11 days-see Deut. i.—extended to probably 50 days. Arabah. The depressed valley from Dead Sea to the Gulf of Akabah. The or South Country.-Extending from the Wilderness of Kadesh to a few miles below Hebron. The Mountain.-The hill country extending from Hebron to the Plains of Esdraelon (Jezrael); also the elevated country of the Amorites in the Negeb. Shephelah. The plain, in the Philistines' Country. Abel-Shittim.-The meadows of Acacia trees on the east bank of the Jordan-about 5 miles in width,-in the plains of Moab. Ije-Abarim. The heights or mountains of Abarim, on east side of the Arabah and Dead Sea, including Pisgah, Nebo, &c. The Yarmuk, the Jabbok, the Arnon, fall into the Jordan and the Dead Sea, flowing from east to west. The Yarmuk was formerly known as the Hieromax. INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK OF NUMBERS. The Book of Numbers received this title because it contains an account of the numberings of the people of Israel, chaps. i. and xxvi. It was known among the Jews as Va-yedabber ("and he spake"), or (from its first distinctive word) Be-midbar (in the wilderness). In the lxx. it is termed arithmoi (numbers), which appellation was adopted by the Greek Fathers and by the Latin translators, who called it Numeri. The Book of Numbers contains the history of Israel during 38 or 39 years: from the 1st day of the 2nd month in the 2nd year after leaving EgyptB.C. 1490-to the 1st day of the 5th month of the 40th yearB.C. 1451. See ch. i. 1; xx. 22; and xxxiii. 38. The general arrangement of events occurring between these dates will be found in the " Analysis of Contents" at the close of this Introduction. Authorship. From chap. xxxvi. 13 it appears that it was written by Moses, "by the commandment of the Lord," in the plains of Moab. In common with the preceding Books and Deuteronomy, the Book of Numbers has, from the most ancient times, been regarded as the work of Moses. The grounds on which Moses has been regarded as the author of this Book are generally the same as for the Pentateuch as a whole. They are briefly as follows (1) The narrative contains evidence that Moses wrote a history; Exod. xvii. 14; xxiv. 4; xxxiv. 27; Deut. xvii. 18, 19; xxxi. 9, 10, 11. (2) Moses could have written the Pentateuch. (a) That Moses lived, and was the leader of the Israelites is denied by none. (b) The art of writing was known in Moses' time. (The cursive hieratic character being found in monuments, parchments, and papyri written before the time of Moses). (c) The Semitic nations had a knowledge of the art of writing from the most ancient times. (The letters of the alphabet were brought, according to Greek tradition, by Cadmus (ie., the eastern) from Phoenicia into Europe.) (3) The testimony of subsequent times proves that Moses did write the books now known by his name; Joshua i. 7, 8; viii. 31, 34; xxiii. 6; Judges i. 16, 20, 23; ii. 1, 10; vi. 13; xi. 15-27. (In Samuel and Kings references to the Pentateuch are numerous, and may easily be found). New Testament-Matt. xix. 8; Mark x. 5; xii. Luke xx. 37; John i. 17; v. 46, 47; viii. 5; Acts 26; iii. 22; vii. 37, &c. (4) The internal evidence points to Moses, and to him only, as the writer of the Pentateuch. (a) The author of the Pentateuch had an intimate acquaintance with Egypt, its literature, laws, and religion; Ex. ii, 3, &c. (The Mosaic laws and institutions of worship are penetrated throughout by a knowledge of Egyptian customs). (b) The history and the law of the Israelites both bear marks and tokens of their passage through the wilderness, and long residence in it. (c) The language and the legislation of the Pentateuch (d) The language of the Pentateuch is such as to suit the |