Structure – Sefer Bemidbar/0

Structural Analysis – Sefer Bemidbar
"From the Generation of the Wilderness to the Generation Which Entered Israel"

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Boundaries of the Book

• Names – Rabbinic sources¹ refer to the book as "חומש הפקודים", referring to the two censuses that frame the book: the census of the second year, discussed in Chapters 1-4 and that in the fortieth year, discussed in Chapter 26. The book is also known as "ספר בְּמִדְבַּר"‎² and, less frequently, as "ספר וַיְדַבֵּר",‎³ after the opening words of the book. The two main names capture much of the essence of the book, the preparation for entry into the land at both the beginning and end of teh book and the 38 years in the wilderness described in the middle.
• Themes – Sefer Shemot discusses the development of the nation and its relationship to Hashem, while Sefer Vayikra details many of the laws to govern that relationship. In Sefer Devarim, Moshe's speeches attempt to reinforce the nation's relationship with Hashem, as he prepares them for their future in the Land of Israel. Sefer Bemidbar, thus, stands out in that much of the book discusses the people's challenging of that  relationship.
• Setting – While the events of each of Sefer Vayikra and Sefer Devarim all transpire in but one place (Mount Sinai and the plains of Moav respectively), the events of Sefer Bemidbar occur in multiple sites throughout the wilderness.
• Timing – Sefer Bemidbar describes a 38 year time-span. The surrounding books, in contrast, take place over a very short period. Though undated, Vayikra appears to take place over less than a month,⁴ and the vast majority of Sefer Devarim⁵ spans no more than five weeks.⁶
• Characters – The main characters of Sefer Bemidbar, like those of the books of Shemot, Vayikra, and Devarim, are Moshe and the nation. Shemot and Vayikra speak of  the generation that left Egypt (דור יוצאי מצרים), while Devarim turns to the next generation, דור באי הארץ. Sefer Bemidbar segues between the two, with the first half of the book focusing on the first generation and the second half of the book devoted to the second generation.
• Genre – While both Sefer Vayikra and Devarim are mainly prescriptive in nature, the majority of sefer Bemidbar consists of narrative rather than legal material.

¹ See, for example, Mishna SotahSotah 7:7About the Mishna, Mishna MenachotMenachot 4:3About the Mishna, Sifre Devarim16:1About Sifre Devarim and elsewhere. See also EusebiusEusebius, Historia Ecclesiastica 6:25:1-2 who cites Origen as writing that this was the name used by the Jews. [It is interesting to note that Origen reports that the other four books of Torah are referred to by the Jews using the opening words of each book and not by a name which imparts content (Bereshit rather than Genesis, Shemot rather than Exodus etc.).  Our book is the only one regarding which he does not record the technical name (Bemidbar).]

² Sometimes the fuller "בְּמִדְבַּר סִינַי" is used as well.

³ See, for example, R. Saadia Bereshit 6:3, Rashi Shemot 38:26, and Ibn Ezra's introduction to the book, who all refer to it in this manner. The name "ספר וידבר" is less popular than "ספר במדבר" perhaps because the name Bemidbar manages to captures some of the content of the book as well. Technical issues might also play a role. The word "וידבר" is not unique to the opening of this book and is found also in the opening verse of Sefer Vayikra, which leaves room for potential confusion. [See, for example, Ibn Ezra on Vayikra 27:1 who refers also to Sefer Vayikra as "ספר וידבר".]

⁴ The verses in Shemot 40:2,17 speak of the first day of the first month in the second year in the wilderness, and Chapters 7 and 9 in Bemidbar also describe events which took place in this same month, suggesting that the intervening book of Vayikra all took place in this same month.  As Sefer Vayikra is primarily book of law and contains very little narrative, it is logical that it need not have transpired over a lengthy period of time.

⁵ Moshe's various addresses encompass the entire book with the exception of the last chapter in which he dies and we are told that the nation mourned him for thirty days. The rest of the book takes place in no more than 5 weeks.

⁶ The book opens on the first of Shevat, and ends with Moshe's death, which is not dated. Since we are told that the nation mourned him for a month, and that they crossed the Jordan on the 10th of Nissan after a 3 day period of preparation, many work backwards and assume that Moshe died on 7 Adar. However, as it is possible that there was time in between the mourning and the preparation for crossing, and the verses discussing the three day preparation period allow for multiple interpretations, others suggest that Moshe died up to a full month earlier. If so, all of his addresses might have taken place in just a week.