Biblical Parallels Index – Bemidbar 21/0

Biblical Parallels Index – Bemidbar 21

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Overview

This index is meant to help the reader explore Biblical parallels, be they two accounts of the same event or law, stories with similar motifs and themes, or units of text which are linguistically similar and perhaps alluding one to the other. The page includes links to tools that aid in comparison, primary sources that touch upon the parallels, and summaries of and links to articles which analyze them in depth.

Complaints in the Wilderness

Bemidbar 20 is one of a long series of Israelite complaints in the desert which began already in Shemot 14 and continue throughout Sefer Bemidbar.

Tools

• See Makbilot BaMikra for a list of links to other stories of complaints in the Wilderness.

Articles

• Listen to Sefer Bemidbar: From Doubt to Debate, by Atara Snowbell, for a close reading and analysis of the evolution of the Israelites’ complaints from Shemot 15 through Bemidbar 21, reflecting their increasing faith and independence.
• See מסע בעקבות תלונות עם ישראל במדבר, by Dr. Brachi Elitzur, for a nuanced comparison and contrast of the complaints in the desert along six different parameters: the situation that prompted the complaint, the way that the Torah describes the people and their complaint, the content of their request, the way that the nation relates to Egypt, and the consequences of the complaint.
• See בני ישראל - הדור החדש, by R. Amnon Bazak, for comparison and contrast of the complaints and responses of the Israelites in Parashat Chukkat to the complaints of the previous generation, which reveal a fundamental change in Israel's attitude and behavior after the episode of the fiery serpents in Bemidbar 21. The harsh punishment of Bemidbar 21 leads to fear of Hashem and, ultimately, to faith
• See עליית הדור השני, by R. Yair Kahn, for comparison and contrast of the complaints of Parashat Chukkat to the complaints of the previous generation. Whereas the generation that left Egypt was hesitant and characterized by a slave mentality, textual hints indicate that the generation of Parashat Chukkat is the opposite: confident and eager to enter the land.