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Ben Capobianco

Dr. Graves
OT Literature & Interpretation
Old Testament Interpretation Paper
04.29.2015
Numbers 15:32-36
This paper will examine Numbers 15:32-36 which reads,
While the Israelites were in the wilderness, a man was found gathering wood on
the Sabbath day. Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and
Aaron and the whole assembly, and they kept him in custody, because it was not
clear what should be done to him. Then the Lord said to Moses, The man must
die. The whole assembly must stone him outside the camp. So the assembly took
him outside the camp and stoned him to death, as the Lord commanded Moses.
By first examining the books larger context, and thematic messages, I will outline the
importance of historical and literary critique in biblical analysis. Next, I will examine the
specific passage, attempting to illuminate its significance and contribution to Numbers.
Finally, I will endeavor to apply the passage as a biblical lesson, exploring what God is
teaching us through this piece of Scripture.
In order to effectively analyze the passage in question, it is imperative to
understand the historical and literary context of Numbers. At its core, the book tells the
story of a group of people traveling from captivity to freedom. The narrative is familiar
and foundational as a human experience. The journey for freedom represents an easily
relatable aspect of humankinds history, making Numbers an easily applicable book.
Throughout the narrative, the Israelites bemoan their situation of wandering and their life
in the wilderness, wishing for respite from their communal homelessness, even wishing
for their past days of Egyptian captivity. Even through the grumbling of the Israelites,

God remains fiercly loyal in His love and grace. Numbers is a testmanet to the Lords
mercy and His devotion to His people.
Although Moses was traditionally thought to be the sole author of the Pentateuch
(the first five books of the Old Testament), further study suggests that Numbers has a
more complex literary history. In her commentary on Numbers, Journeying with God,
Katherin Doob Sakenfeld explains that the book is believed to be written during the time
of the Babylonian exile at which point priestly writers constructed a new edition of
Gensis, Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers. These authors drew from a number of different
sources, largely the old oral traditions of storytelling, and eventually penned the edition.
Sakenfeld goes on to explain,
There may have been two written versions, one (usually designated J) made in
Jerusalem in the era of David and Solomon (1000-922) and another (usually
designated E) in the independent kingdom of northern Israel that split off from
Jerusalem after Solomons death. In Numbers it is not generally possible to
separate J from E (Sakenfeld, 3).
The diverse nature of Numbers origins extend into its content. The book contains a
variety of literary elements, from poetry to legal texts, Numbers often comes across as a
complex collection of seemingly disorganized material. There is noteworthy debate
among biblical scholars surrounding the literary structure of Numbers. The book opens in
the midst of the Israelites period at Sinai, which is cause for question, considering the
breaks between the rest of the books in the Pentateuch. Significant narrative events mark
the beginnings and ends of preceeding books, but scholars take pause when trying to
decipher the reasoning behind the placement of Numbers. Some argue that Numbers is
separated from Leviticus for merely arbitrary reasons, but others argue that the census at
the beginning of the book is cause enough for the introduction of Numbers (Sakenfeld,

5). In regards to the rest of the books structure, many scholars agree that there are several
significant breaks or landmark points. The first comes in chapter ten when the Israelites
finally leave the Sinai wilderness. Some say the second break comes in chapter 20 when
the Israelites leave the wilderness of Kadesh, and some say chapter 22 at which point the
Israelites come to Moab. While these divisions are a popular interpretation, some scholars
take an entirely different approach and see the book divided by the census passages.
Ultmately, Numbers serves to solidify Gods promise to make Israel a great
nation, as He brings them through the wilderness to the promised land of Canaan. While
the book is certainly about Gods faithfulness and love for His chosen people, Numbers
also focuses on the importance of holiness, faith, and obedience. The promised land was
left for the new generation of Israel because the older generation did not trust God or act
with holiness. Numbers is an important book for the enumeration of old testament law
and the solidification of Gods love and faithfulness.
Numbers 15:32-36 falls roughly halfway through the 36 chapter book. The short
passage chronicles the story of a man gathering wood on the Sabbath, and the Israelites
subsequent reaction to the mans proceedings. One can assume that, in this instance,
wood was being gathered in order to make a fire for cooking, which is expressly
forbidden on the Sabbath, according to Exod 35:3, also priestly law (Levine, 399). Upon
finding this man, the group of people who discovered him, brought him to Moses and
Aaron in front of all the people. Verse four then reads they kept him in custody, because
it was not clear what should be done to him. This verse can be cause for question
because old testament law clearly enumerates that the mans actions warranted death, and
incarceration was not a part of ancient Israelite judicial proceedings. While some scholars

argue that the man was detained because Moses and the Israelites did not know exactly
how the man was meant to be executed (Levin, 399), others argue that the act of
gathering sticks might not qualify as labor, which would excuse the man from any
punishment (Doty, 175). Later, when the Lord told Moses the man must be stoned outside
the camp, it refers to the Israelites practice of executing the condemned outside the
boundaries of camp in order to protect the encampment from the unclean corpse, and
because the taking of human life, though pursuant to the just laws, was a horrible act
(Levine, 400).
Scholars explain that despite the seemingly trivial reasoning behind such a serious
verdict, the Israelites were taught to believe in Gods utmost supremacy. This passage
serves as a reminder of Gods sovereignty, and his existence beyond human reasoning.
Although this might seem to represent Gods injustice and harsh rule, the very nature of
this scenario portrays the Israelites absolute belief in his divine law. The people trusted
the divinity of the Lord, and therefore his commands. Such conclusions were inevitable
and essential in a truly theocratic system (Doty, 175).
While the larger narrative of the Israelites journery in Numbers can be easily
applied to the struggle and striving of human experience, Numbers 15:32-36 is more
difficult to decipher. What is this story teaching us? God essentially casts down a verdict
of capital punishment on a man who was gathering sticks on the Sabbath. The
implications to this passage are serious. The message of these verses appears legalistic,
violent, cruel, merciless, and angry. Despite this appearance, upon further examination,
the true message of this passage becomes more clear. God is not trying to teach us,
through this passage, that capital punishment is good and just, or even that legalism

equals justice. God is teaching us that obeying his statutes is important, and that open
defiance is cause for severe repercussions. The historical and contextual background of
this instance casts some light on the message of the verses. The lighting of fires and
gathering of food was strictly forbidden on the Sabbath according to biblical law. The
forbiddance of these actions were enumerated countless times to the ancient Israelites,
and the importance of the issue was understood. In Exodus 31:13, God says to Moses,
You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths,
for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know
that I, the Lord, sanctify you. The Lord made it distinctly clear that the Sabbath was not
only an important practice, but an actual sign of the covenant between God and His
people. For this reason, God made it clear that the violation of keeping the Sabbath
warranted capital punishment. Scholars agree that the man gathering wood in Numbers
15 was doing so, not with ignorance, but with full awareness and flagrant disrespect. God
is not a merciless god. Throughout the old testament, God showed mercy on his people in
regards to the law. Scholars agree that the mans sentence is a result not of his actions per
se, but of his arrogance and blatant disregard for the Lord.
The specific scenario and outcome of the passage in Numbers 15 is not only
foreign, but relatively archaic in todays world. People generally no longer go out to
gather sticks on the Sabbath, and if so, they would presumably not get divinely sentenced
to die. In todays world, after the coming of Jesus Christ, we live by a New Covenant,
one of grace and mercy. Despite these differences, Numbers 15 still has great importance
for the modern day chrsitian. God hands down statutes that are sometimes difficult to
follow, and oftentimes difficult to understand. The passage in Numbers reminds us that

God is divinely powerful and that his thoughts are not our thoguhts. God deigned to make
the Sabbath the symbolic crux of the promise He made to the Israelites to deliver them. It
is not for human minds to understand and judge this decision. Mortal minds cannot
comprehend the vastness, and complexities of Gods being. Because the man gathering
sticks surely knew about Gods statutes and the forbidden nature of his actions, the
passage suggests that he simply didnt take seriously Gods law. This story displays the
danger of arrogantly critiquing Gods laws, and especially of disregarding them through
the limited reason of the human mind. More importantly, it reminds us that God takes
seriously the promises he makes with His people. The commandment to keep the Sabbath
was more than just a rule to follow, it was the manifestation of Gods covenant with the
Israelites, and when the symbolic representation of this covenant was knowingly
disregarded, God handed down justice.
Justice and the law are deeply important to God and to the ancient Israelites
social structure. Although Christ was the fulfillment of the law, it is still a deeply
important aspect of Chistianity, and God is still a god of justice. This passage in Numbers
is not meant to communicate that the law must be legalistically followed, but rather to
communicate that the flagrant disregard for Gods law is cause for consequence. With
that said, it seems safe to assume that if someone broke the Sabbath today, God would not
condemn them to death. While this is because of the many historical and cultural
elements at play in the ancient Israelites situation, it is also a reminder of the love and
mercy of Christ. The new covenant established through Jesus sacrifice reminds us of the
intercessor we have on our behalf, and the great mercy with which God treats us.
Works Cited

Doty, Brant Lee. The Book of Numbers. Joplin, Missouri: College, 1973. Print. Bible
Study Textbook.
Levine, Baruch A., and Andrew D. Gross. In Pursuit of Meaning. Vol. 2. Winona Lake,
IN: Eisenbrauns, 2011. Print. Collected Studies of Baruch A. Levine.
Levine, Baruch A. Numbers 1-20: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary.
New York: Doubleday, 1993. Print. The Anchor Bible.
Sakenfeld, Katharine Doob. Journeying with God: A Commentary on the Book of
Numbers. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub., 1995. Print. International
Theological Commentary.

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