Investigating the Text-hierarchical Structures and Composition of Numbers

Many scholars have made suggestions about the structure of the book of Numbers and its division into textual units. One reason why their suggestions are so different is that they use various criteria, such as time, location or theme. The present study aims to make a syntactic-hierarchical analysis. Thus it gives priority to syntax and second priority to participants and their roles. After an introduction (Chapter 1) and an overview of the research history (Chapter 2), I describe my methodology in chapter 3. It builds upon the computational text-hierarchical analysis developed by Eep Talstra and implemented in the ETCBC database but goes beyond previous applications of this analysis in two ways: First, I apply Talstra’s analysis to the book of Numbers as a whole, and even to the larger Pentateuchal structures, rather than selected chapters. Secondly, the text-syntactic study is complemented by an analysis of participants and participants roles. In Chapter 4, I discuss on the function of the wayyiqtol in Num 1:1. The book of Numbers starts with an extensive divine speech formula (DSF). There are DSFs in the preceding books of the Pentateuch, but since they are less elaborate than the one in Num 1:1, they do not fit the role of the mother clause to Num 1:1. Therefore I connect Num 1:1 to the first clause of the Pentateuch, in Gen 1:1. I also examine the relationship between the end of Numbers and the nominal clause that opens Deut 1:1, whose mother clause is Num 35:1. So I conclude that Num 1:1 opens the second textual level in the hierarchy of the Pentateuch and covers the following text until Num 36:13 (or Deut 34:12). Accordingly, seeing Numbers as a part of the Pentateuch is possible. I searched for other Elaborated DSFs in Numbers, and judged the relationship between them. This way I discovered the textual hierarchy of Numbers and identified six main sections: Num 1:1–3:13; 3:14–8:26; 9:1–20:22; 20:23–33:49; 33:40–34:29; and 35:1–36:13. Subsequently, I searched for similar Elaborated DSFs in the Pentateuch and judged the relationship between them and thus proposed the hierarchy of the Pentateuch. The analysis of participants, participant roles and verbs in Chapter 5 provides clues to support reading Numbers as one textual unit. I display unique participants and shared participants. The Jaccard distances in terms of participants show that a strong separability and a weak connectivity of Numbers to each of the other four books. Therefore, reading Numbers as one independent textual unit is possible, and the same goes for each of the other books. The same applications in terms of participant roles and verbs also corroborated it. In Chapter 6, I analyze the six sections in Numbers by using six criteria: opening marker, closing marker, inner-cohesiveness, connectivity to its preceding section, inner-textual hierarchy and discourse function. This process corroborated the validity of the demarcations and elaborated on the exegetical meaning. Moreover, I investigated the relationship of the first major division of Numbers (Num 1–8) with the preceding books and investigated its relationship with Lev 25:1–27:34 and with Exod 12:1–40:38. I also look at the relationship between Num 35:1–36:13 and Deut 1:1–32:47. In Chapter 7, based on the syntactic clues, I discuss the demarcations that have been suggested by other scholars. Within this variety of interpretations, I advocate an approach that gives priority to syntax and linguistic clues, participants and their roles and verbs, over rhetorical analysis. I argue that the syntactic structure of Numbers is more persuasive and text-centered, and helps understand better the book of Numbers and its theological meaning.