The Passover as inauguration of Israel’s departure from Sinai: interpretive potential of analysing narrative technique for discerning literary structure in Numbers 1–10

Abstract

Providing a rationale for the composition of Numbers 1–10 continues to pose a formidable challenge to Old Testament scholarship. Most studies in Numbers seek to discern its structure by connecting keywords to concepts, moving immediately from a basic verbal to a high conceptual level of literary structure. With attention to narrative technique, the present study analyses an intermediate level by investigating the demarcation of direct speech, recurring chronological indicators and the dynamic between law and narrative. Accordingly, correspondence of patterns on different levels of literary structure suggests a main break in Numbers 1–10. The Passover command in Numbers 9 inaugurates Israel’s departure from Sinai. The calling and dedication of the Levites in Numbers 3 and 8 form an inclusion of direct divine speeches consisting of four triads around a central command to purify the camp. These observations offer a coherent interpretation of the included legal materials.