Chapter 1

1:1 - When was the tabernacle set up?

* Exodus 40:17 reads, "And it came to pass in the first month of the second year, on the first day of the month, that the tabernacle was raised up."  This doesn't conflict with Numbers 1:1.  Numbers 1:1 reads, "Now the Lord spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai, in the tabernacle of meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying: Take a census of all the congregation of the children of Israel, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, every male individually."

* The passage in Exodus is telling us when the tabernacle was raised.  The passage in Numbers is talking about the command from the Lord to take a census.

1:23 - This verse says there were 59,300 males of the tribe of Simeon. But later, in 26:14, the number is given as 22,200.

* In Genesis 49:5-7, Simeon's prophecy is that they will be scattered.  This happens and they fall in numbers.

1:45-46 - The Israelite population went from seventy (Ex.1:5) to several million (over 600,000 adult males) in just a few generations!

* Exodus 12:37 says there were six hundred thousand men at this time.  If you count their wives and children and the several hundred years in Egypt, this isn't an unthinkable amount of people.

1:51 - God displays his hospitality with the admonition: "The stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death."

* God gave strict orders to have only the Levites touch and erect the tabernacle.  Nobody else was to get near it.

Chapter 3

3:4 - Two of Aaron's sons are killed by God for "offering strange fire before the Lord."

* Nadab and Abihu were disobeying God.  They were trying to offer Him something different.  God had already given them specific instructions on the offerings.  God's fire would consume them.  However, they offered their own fire and were judged for it.

3:10 - God repeats his order (see 1:51) to kill any strangers who happen to come near.

* God was reiterating that Aaron and the Levites were to form the priesthood and if anybody else pretended to be a priest, then they would be executed.

3:38 - Once again (see 1:51 and3:10) God tells his favorite people to kill any strangers that come near.

* Anyone who was not a priest or a Levite was to be executed if they entered the Tabernacle.

Chapter 4

4:15, 20 - Don't touch or "go in to see when the holy things are covered." God kills people who touch or look at uncovered holy things.

* Everything belonging to the holy of holies was to be out of sight.  God gave specific orders for approaching Him and He wouldn't not tolerate anyone who violated them.

Chapter 5

5:1-4 - God tells the people to expel from camp "every leper, every one that hath an issue, and whoever is defiled by the dead." So by God's instructions, the sick are abandoned and left to suffer and die alone.

* God wanted His people to remain holy and pure.  Therefore, the people listed were to be put out of the camp.  Incidentally, leprosy was and still is a deadly, contagious disease.  Even a person standing downwind from a leper could catch it.  God surely had His people's interests in mind.  There was likely a convenient location just outside of camp for unclean and diseased people.

5:11-31 - The Law of Jealousies. If a man suspects his wife of being unfaithful, he reports it to the priest. The priest then makes her drink some "bitter water." If she is guilty, the water makes her thigh rot and her belly swell. If innocent, no harm done -- the woman is free and will "conceive seed." In any case, "the man shall be guiltless from iniquity, and this woman shall bear her iniquity."

* God gave the rules for dealing with potential, marital unfaithfulness.

Chapter 6

6:3 - Is it ok to drink alcohol?

* In the scriptures, we only see drinking condoned when it is either consumed when a person is dying or celebrating. Strong drink was given to people who were very sick because they didn't have medication or pills. During celebrations, drinking a little wine without getting drunk was acceptable.

* Many times, especially in the book of Proverbs, we see warnings against drunkenness. It is clearly foolish and wrong to get drunk. We don't see drunkenness condoned anywhere in the scriptures.

6:5 - The Nazarites let their hair grow long as a sign of their total dedication to God. But according to Paul (1 Cor.11:14) it is shameful for a man to have long hair.

* The Nazarites had long hair as a sign of their total dedication to God.  This was their cultural norm.  Paul was speaking to an entirely different culture (over 1,000 years later) where it was inappropriate for men to have long hair.

Chapter 9

9:13 - If you don't keep the Passover you'll be "cut off" from your people.

* The Passover was a very important event for the Jews (and it still is, today).  Therefore, God told the ancient Israelites that they had to keep the Passover or there would be consequences.

Chapter 10

10:29 - In Exodus (Ex.3:1, 4:18, and 18:5), the father-in-law of Moses is said to be Jethro, not Hobab as is said in this verse.

* Reuel, Jethro and Hobab are the same person.  Moses called him by different names, though.

* When Moses escaped from Pharaoh, Reuel gave him a home.  He also helped Moses grow and mature for 40 years.  Reul means "friend of God."

* Moses cared for his sheep and they multiplied.  This is why we see his father-in-law called "Jethro," next.  "Jethro" means "abundance."

* After some time, Moses really enjoys his new family and desires his father-in-law's presence.  Therefore, he is called "Hobab."  "Hobab" means "cherished."

Chapter 11

11:1 - "And when the people complained, it displeased the Lord: and the Lord heard it." (He had his hearing aid on.) He then burns the complainers alive. That'll teach them.

* Since these people did not appreciate God and the things He gave them, He decided to judge them by taking their lives.

11:20 - God promises to give them "flesh to eat," not for just a few days, but "for a whole month, until it come out of your nostrils, and it be loathsome to you." Yuck.

* God promises to give the Israelites plenty of meat.

11:31 - God sends quails to feed his people until they were "two cubits [about a meter] high upon the face of the earth." Taking the "face of the earth" to be a circle with a radius of say 30 kilometers (an approximate day's journey), this would amount to 3 trillion (3x1012) liters of quails. At 2 quails per liter, this would provide a couple million quails for each of several million people.

* Several translations and manuscripts indicate the quails flew two cubits above the earth; not covering the earth with two cubit thick quails or millions of quails stacked on one another.  This would be quite normal for quails.

11:33 - "And while the flesh [of the quails] was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord smote the people with a very great plague. "The Bible isn't too clear about what these poor folks did to upset God so much; all it says is that they had "lusted."

* This is correct and true of many parts of scripture.  We are told one of their sins, but not all of them.  Nonetheless, God deemed it necessary to severely punish these people for their wickedness.

Chapter 12

12:1, 9-10 - Miriam and Aaron (Moses' brother and sister) criticize Moses for marrying an Egyptian woman and thus breaking the law of God (see Ex.34:16, Dt.7:31 Kg.11:2). But God makes it clear that his rules don't apply to his favorites, and he strikes Miriam with leprosy. Notice that only Miriam is punished, though both she and Aaron complained. God just doesn't like women much, does he?

* God didn't strike Miriam with leprosy for accusing Moses.  He struck her with leprosy because she despised Moses' power and relationship with God.  She wanted to be exalted.  This is evident by reading Numbers 12:1-15.

12:3 - "Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth." This is a strange way to describe on of the cruelest men to have ever lived (If he ever did live, which he probably didn't). Moses, as he is described in the Bible, is anything but meek (See Num.31:14-18 for an example of his "meekness").

* The word "meek" essentially means "power under control."  Moses had awesome power from God, but he had it under control.  He didn't abuse it and use it for selfish purposes.  However, this didn't mean that he was afraid to employ capital punishment as it became appropriate.

12:3 - Was Moses meek? Yes, he was the meekest man who ever lived.

* Yes.  He was meek.

12:3 - Who wrote the Pentateuch? There were other authors

* Moses could have written about himself in the 3rd person.

12:14 - "And the Lord said unto Moses, If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be ashamed seven days?" Perhaps. But shouldn't God be ashamed for including such vulgarity in the Bible?

* These were adults and perhaps this was a statement for adults only.

Chapter 13

13:33 - "And there we saw the giants ... And we were in our own sight as grasshopper, and so we were in their sight." According to this description, then, the giants must have been about 300 feet tall. These are the same giants (the Nephilium) that resulted when the "sons of God" mated with "the daughters of men in Gen.6:4. Of course these superhuman god-men should have been destroyed in the flood. So what are they doing still alive?

* The Israelites don't make a literal comparison.  They make a figurative one.

* The demons didn't drown in the flood.  The humans drowned.  Therefore, the demons were around after the flood and caused these giants, again.

13:33 - Did everyone (except for Noah and his family) die in the flood?

* These demons did not drown in the flood. Therefore, after the flood, they created more Nephilim by having children with human women.

Chapter 14

14:12, 29, 32-37 - More plagues and pestilence sent by God. God repeats one of his favorite promises: "your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness."

* Verse 11 indicates that the Israelites were rejecting God and refusing to believe in Him.  Therefore, God becomes upset and talks of judging them with punishments.

14:14 - The Israelites saw God "face to face," contrary to many Bible verses that say that no one has ever seen God.

* See "Special Questions" for the answer to this.

14:18 - God punishes the children for the failings of their great-great grandfathers. Bible-believers call this justice. But this concept is denied in Dt.24:16 and Ezek.18:20.

* God told the Israelites that they shouldn't punish a father for his son's sins or a son for his father's sins.  However, God is still the just judge of all.  The Creator owns the right to judge His creation's sins.  All people sin, so even if we only see one or two reasons for God's judgments, we can safely say there were many reasons.  All sins are punishable by God.

Chapter 15

15:3, 13-14, 24 - God gives more instructions for the ritualistic killing of animals. The smell of burning flesh is "a sweet savour unto the Lord."

* These verses describe some different kinds of offerings that the Lord required.  Offering sacrifices to God was His way to be forgiven and redeemed.

15:27-30 - "If any soul sin through ignorance ..." but how can someone sin through ignorance? Don't you have to know that an action is wrong for it to be sinful? Oh well, if you do happen to sin through ignorance, you can be forgiven by God if you kill some animals. Of course Paul disagrees in Heb.10:4, 11.

* In the Old Testament, God required animal sacrifices.  However, He doesn't any more.  After Jesus came, died and rose from the dead, He didn't require them any longer.

* In the Old Testament passages that may appear that God indicated that He didn't want any more animal sacrifices, He was emphasizing the need for obedience.  "To obey is better than to sacrifice."  At times, the Israelites would sin without repenting and without remorse, then they would just offer sacrifices and pretend like God was happy.  God indicated that He was not happy and He didn't want their sacrifices if they were going to be empty, meaningless rituals.

* Paul disagrees because He evangelized after Christ and the covenant had been changed.  Animal sacrifices were no longer necessary.

15:32-36 - The Israelites find a man picking up sticks on the sabbath. God commands them to kill him by throwing rocks at him.

* God told the Israelites what He expected from them.  He told them to honor the Sabbath or else there would be serious consequences.  Therefore, he judged the man who worked and ignored the Sabbath by taking his life.

15:38-39 - Immediately after ordering the execution of the sabbath breaker, God gets down to some more important business -- like instructing the people on how to make fringes on their garments. He also, contrary to Ec.11:9, counsels us to refrain from listening to our own hearts.

* These fringes were supposed to help the Israelites remember God's commands.

* Ecclesiastes 11:9 is a warning about listening to your heart!  It clearly says that God will judge the person who "walks in the ways of his own heart and in the sight of his own eyes."  People are to walk according to God's heart and God's will.

Chapter 16

16:20-49 - Because of a dispute between Korah and Moses, God has the ground open up and swallow Korah and his family. And then, just for the hell of it, God has a fire burn 250 men (friends of Korah?) to death.

* This wasn't a simple dispute between Korah and Moses.  These 250 leaders of the congregation gathered against Moses and Aaron.  They wanted the priesthood and tabernacle jobs to be extended to them and other non-Levites.  This was wrong and an abomination to God.  He had already given these positions to the priests and Levites.  Therefore, these wicked dissenters and potential usurpers were judged with their lives.

16:41-50 - After God killed Korah, his family, and 250 innocent bystanders, the people complained saying, "ye have killed the people of the Lord." So God, who doesn't take kindly to criticism, sends a plague on the people. And "they that died in the plague were 14,700."

* These 250 leaders of the congregation were not innocent bystanders.  They were wicked and wanted to usurp the Levitical rights.

* God judges the Israelites for complaining.

Chapter 17

17:8 - Aaron is getting better at his magic tricks. He has rod bud, bloom, and yield almonds.

* Aaron does a miracle with God's power.

17:12-13 - God threatens to kill those who murmur. To which the people reply, "Behold, we die, we perish, we all perish .... Shall we be consumed with dying?"

* God gave wonderful things to these people.  He did miracles for them.  He fought for them, prospered them and led them.  It seems unfathomable that they could whine and complain, but after they bemoaned for awhile, God's patience wore thin.

Chapter 18

18:3 - According to this verse, it is wise to stay away from holy things and places -- like churches. God will kill you if you get too close.

* God gave specific commands about the sacred, sanctuary articles and the altar.  Non-priests were not to touch them.

18:6-8 - Must sacrifices be made by Levites near the tabernacle?

* Samuel was a Levite.  Nonetheless, he likely authorized a priest to make the sacrifice and the scriptures simply indicate he did it because it was done by his command.

18:7 - God shows us how to make new friends by saying : "The stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death."

* God simply indicated that anyone who pretended to be a priest or Levite and did the tabernacle or sanctuary duties would be put to death.

18:17-19 - God describes once again the procedure for ritualistic animal sacrifices. such rituals must be extremely important to God, since he makes their performance a "statute" and "covenant" forever. Why, then don't Bible-believers perform these sacrifices anymore? Don't they realize how God must miss the "sweet savour" of burning flesh? Don't they believe God when he says "forever"?

* This Hebrew word that is translated "forever," in the KJV, is also translated "the vanishing point is concealed."  It never meant literally forever.

18:22, 32 - Don't get near holy things or "pollute" them. If you do, God will kill you.

* God gave specific instructions regarding the sanctuary and tabernacle jobs.  If a person violated them, it would warrant capital punishment.

Chapter 19

19:1-22 - The purification of the unclean. These absurd rituals, cruel sacrifices, and unjust punishments are vitally important to God. He even insists that they are to be "a perpetual statute" to all humankind.

* These verses were instructions to the ancient Israelites regarding rituals, sacrifices, justice, etc.  This Hebrew word that is translated "perpetual," in the KJV, is also translated "the vanishing point is concealed."  These things ended after Christ rose from the dead and ascended to Heaven.

19:5 - God give instructions for burning the "dung" of sacrificial animals. This is something that everyone needs to know about (that's why it's in the Bible!).

* This was part of the ritual.

19:13 - Bad news for undertakers: Whoever touches a dead body shall be "cut off from Israel."

* This is untrue.  This verse clearly states that a person who touches a dead body AND neglects to seek purification will be cut off for defiling the tabernacle.  God didn't have anything against undertakers, but He did not approve of unclean people neglecting to seek purification and defiling His house.

Chapter 20

20:11 - Moses hits a rock with his rod and Presto! -- water comes out.

* This was a miracle that Moses did with God's power.

20:27-28 - These verses say that Aaron died on Mount Hor, but Dt.10:6 says he died at Mosera.

* Mosera was the general name of the place where Aaron died and Mount Hor was the specific location.

Chapter 21

21:3 - "And the Lord hearkened to the voice of Israel, and delivered up the Canaanites; and they utterly destroyed them and their cities." This verse demonstrates the power of prayer: If you ask God, he will destroy entire cities for you.

* Numbers 21:1 indicates that the Canaanites started the battle by fighting against Israel and taking some Israelites as prisoners.  The Israelites prayed to God and asked Him for help.  Consequently, His judgment fell on these wicked pagans.

21:6 - God sends "fiery serpents" to bite his chosen people, and many of them die.

* Verses 4-7 indicate the sins that warranted the judgment God gave them via these fiery serpents.  These snakes probably had a bite that caused violent inflammation on much of the body, causing the Israelites to become very thirsty and feel very warm.

21:8 - To save the people from God's snakes, Moses makes a graven image in the form of a snake (breaking the second commandment) and puts it on a pole. Those who look at Moses' magic snake to not die -- even if they were previously bit by God's snakes.

* Graven images were idols that were created from evil desires and worshiped instead of God.  These were forbidden.

* In Exodus 25:18, the Israelites were making the mercy seat.  This seat is on top of the Ark of the Covenant.  This Ark was never worshiped.  God simply had them keep the 10 Commandments in it.  Therefore, it wasn't a graven image.

* In Numbers 21:8, God had the Israelites make a fiery serpent and put it on a pole.  When the people got bitten by snakes, they were to look to it and be healed.  They were not to worship this serpent and pole, but only to look at it.  Therefore, it wasn't a graven image, either.

21:34-35 - God delivers the Amorites into Moses' hands. (You're in God hands with Moses.) So Moses does the usual thing, killing everyone "until their was none left alive."

* In this war, the Amorites were the losers.  They were wicked and unrepentant pagans, so the outcome wasn't much of a surprise.

Chapter 22

22:9 - God asks Balaam the non-rhetorical question, "What men are these with thee?" You'd think God would already know, wouldn't you?

* This was a rhetorical question.

* Bible writers often used human terms to describe the uncreated, supernatural God.  What else could they do?  It surely wasn't easy to accurately describe a God that was above their mental capacity.

22:20-22 - God says to Balaam, "If men come to call thee, rise up, and go with them." Men come, and Balaam goes with them, just as God had commanded." And God's anger was kindled because he went" -- but he was just following God's instructions!

* God wasn't simply punishing Balaam for going.  He was upset at Balaam for wanting to please the King of Moab.  He was also upset that he was anxious to go and didn't wait in prayer and supplication.

22:28-30 - Balaam has a nice little chat with his ass.

* This was a miracle that God did to give direction and correction to Balaam.

Chapter 23

23:15-16 - God meets Balaam and "put a word in his mouth."

* Balaam sought the Lord and God gave him insight and told him what to say.

23:19 - This verse says that God does not repent, but other verses plainly say that he does.

* God cannot lie or sin.  Therefore, He cannot repent from something He did wrong.

* Some scriptures indicate God "repented" when it refers to Him "relenting."  God can relent and He can also appear to change His mind.

23:19 - Does God lie? No.

* This is correct.  God does not lie.  It is also consistent with many other scriptures.

23:22 - God has "the strength of a unicorn." Oh heck, I bet he's even stronger than a unicorn.

* This Hebrew word that is translated into "unicorn," in the KJV, can also be translated "wild ox."

23:24 - God's people will kill like a lion and then "drink the blood of the slain."

* This was an idiom for winning military battles.

Chapter 24

24:7 - Balaam says "his king shall be higher than Agag." But Balaam couldn't have known about Agag since Agag didn't live until the time of King Saul. (See 1Sam.15:33 where Samuel hacks king Agag into pieces.)

* The Amalekitish name "Agag" was as equally as common as the Egyptian name "Pharaoh."

24:8 - God, who is as strong as a unicorn, will eat up the nations, break their bones, and then pierce them through with his arrows. What a guy!

* This Hebrew word that is translated into "unicorn," in the KJV, can also be translated "wild ox."

* This verse talks about the judgment of God.

Chapter 25

25:1-5 - After the people "commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab," Moses has them all killed. Then God tells Moses to hang their dead bodies up in front of him; God says that this will satisfy him. This must be an example of God's "plenteous mercy" that is mentioned in Ps.103:8.

* God takes sin very seriously.  Since He is perfect, He owns the right to judge His creation when they reject Him and behave wickedly.

25:6-9 - While God is talking to Moses about the heads, one of the Israelite men brings home a foreign woman. When "Phinehas (Aaron's grandson) sees them he throws a spear "through the man .. and the woman through her belly." (Remember that Moses himself married a foreign woman (Ex.12:1). This act pleases God so much that "the plague was stayed from the children of Israel." But not before 24,000 (1 Cor.10:8 says 23,000) had died.

* Verses 1-3 indicate that the Israelites were suffering because they committed harlotry with some pagans and even sacrificed to their gods.  They were being judged by God for this (see verse 4) with their lives.  When this Israelite was seen with a pagan wife, this simply put salt on the wound and they received the death penalty.

25:10-13 - Because of Phinehas' javelin throw, God gave him his covenant of the everlasting priesthood. so this was the valiant deed that established the priesthood! It figures.

* Phinehas and his descendants were blessed because he had the courage to execute righteous judgment and stand up to wickedness.

25:16 - God tells Moses how to care for his neighbors by saying: "Vex the Midianites, and smite them."

* Verse 18 indicates some of the evils that the Midianites did.  These pagans were to be judged for their wickedness.

Chapter 26

26:10 - The ground swallows Korah and his companions and a fire consumes 250 men.

* These were the judgments of God.  He owns the right to judge sinners.

26:14 - This verse says there were 22,200 in the tribe of Simeon; Num:1:23 says there were 59,300.

* In Genesis 49:5-7, Simeon's prophecy is that they will be scattered.  This happens and they fall in numbers.

26:38-39 - There are four lists of Benjamin's sons in the Bible, and none of them agree. This one lists five (as does 1 Chr.8:1-2), Gen.46:21 lists ten, and 1 Chr.7:6 lists three. Only one name (Bela) is found in all four lists.

* These lists aren't recording "sons."  They are recording descendants.  This Hebrew word for "sons" includes descendants like grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

26:38-40 - Were Naaman and Ard the sons or the grandsons of Benjamin?

* They were the grandsons of Benjamin. The Hebrew word for "son" also means descendant. It is commonly used to designate a lineage and not always used to refer to a literal son.

26:40 - In Genesis (46:21), Naaman and Ard are the sons of Benjamin, but in this verse they are his grandsons

* Neither of these passages claims to have an exhaustive or exclusive list.

26:52-56 - Does the Bible condemn gambling?

* Gambling is traditionally defined as spending money while risking it and trying to gain more money. We never see this condoned in the scriptures.

* In this passage, we see God telling His people to cast lots. This was His way of determining who would receive what. Since God ordained it, then it was perfectly right. It surely had nothing to do with a worldly desire to get rich by risking money.

26:61 - "And Nadab and Abihu died when they offered strange fire before the Lord." When you go camping avoid making any unusual fires.

* Nadab and Abihu were disobeying God.  They were trying to offer Him something different.  God had already given them specific instructions on the offerings.  God's fire would consume them.  However, they offered their own fire and were judged for it.

Chapter 27

27:8 - If a man dies and has no son, then his inheritance goes to his daughter. But if he has a son, then the daughter gets nothing. Also no mention is made of wives, sisters, or aunts.

* The wife isn't mentioned because the inheritance only leaves the family after both parents are deceased.

Chapter 28

28-29 - In these chapters, God provides ridiculously detailed instructions for the ritualistic sacrifice of animals. The burning of their dead bodies smells great to God. Eleven times in these two chapters God says that they are to him a "sweet savour."

* God gave the Israelites specific instructions about the sacrifices He desired.  This was their way to obtain forgiveness and redemption.

28:11 - What is the correct recipe for the new moon sacrifice?

* In Numbers 28:11, we see God initiating a certain amount and type of animals for this sacrifice. In Ezekiel 46:6, we find God changing this number. Since God ordained this sacrifice, it is within His power to change it. It was a new system to go with a new temple; representing a new era in Israel's history.

Chapter 29

29:5 - This verse says that we can atone for our sins if we offer God burnt offerings. But this is denied in Heb.10:4, 11.

* In the Old Testament, God required animal sacrifices.  However, He doesn't any more.  After Jesus came, died and rose from the dead, He didn't require them any longer.

* In the Old Testament passages that may appear that God indicated that He didn't want any more animal sacrifices, He was emphasizing the need for obedience.  "To obey is better than to sacrifice."  At times, the Israelites would sin without repenting and without remorse, then they would just offer sacrifices and pretend like God was happy.  God indicated that He was not happy and He didn't want their sacrifices if they were going to be empty, meaningless rituals.

* Paul disagrees because He evangelized after Christ and the covenant had been changed.  Animal sacrifices were no longer necessary.

Chapter 30

30:2 - In Mt.5:34,37 and Jas.5:12 oaths are strictly forbidden. But in this verse, God gives instructions for making oaths, and says that such oaths are binding.

* In Matthew 5:34-37 and James 5:12, we are told to be trustworthy.  "Let your 'Yes' be 'Yes' and your 'No' be 'No' is Jesus' way of saying that we shouldn't need to swear for someone to take us seriously.  Be an honorable person of your word, then you simply have to say "Yes" or "No" and you will be believed and trusted.

30:3-16 - If men make vows, then God expects them to keep them. But a woman cannot make a vow, unless it is "allowed" by her husband or father. If it is "allowed," then she must keep it -- be even so, she is not responsible (her husband or father is).

* These laws were appropriate for the ancient Israelites.

Chapter 31

31:1-54 - Under God's direction, Moses' army defeats the Midianites. They kill all the adult males, but take the women and children captive. When Moses learns that they left some live, he angrily says: "Have you saved all the women alive? Kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him. But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves." So they went back and did as Moses (and presumably God) instructed, killing everyone except for the virgins. In this way they got 32,000 virgins -- Wow! [Even God gets some of the booty -- including the virgins. (31:28-29)]

* There is no evidence that these virgins were treated inappropriately.  God gave strict laws about rape and abuse.  Therefore, they were surely treated amicably.

* The Israelite army defeated the pagan Midianites.  Instead of letting these women die in the wilderness, they decided to help them.

31:7, 16-17 - Did the Israelites kill every male Midian? Yes.

* Yes.  The Israelites killed every male Midianite.

31:9 - Who wrote the Pentateuch? Moses wrote the entire Pentateuch.

* This is a reference to Moses writing down "this law."  It is believed that he wrote the Pentateuch, except for the verses after his death.  They were probably written by Joshua.

31:25-29 - God tells Moses to make an offering of "man and beast" as a "heave offering of the Lord."

* In these verses, there are no indications that any humans were harmed.

31:14-18 - Was Moses meek? No, he was vicious and cruel.

* Saying Moses was vicious and cruel is one opinion.  However, Moses knew that these people needed to be punished with the death penalty for the sins they had committed against God's people.  They had turned the Israelite's away from God, so that they were punished with a plague.  Therefore, Moses judged them with their lives.

Chapter 32

32:13-14 - In Psalms (30:5) it says that God's anger lasts "but a moment," but these verses say that "the fierce anger of the Lord" lasted for forty years.

* The Psalmist was correct.  Sometimes, God's anger lasts a moment.  When Christians quickly repent, God's anger doesn't last very long.

* When people don't repent and continually reject God, His anger may last a long time.

Chapter 33

33:4 - God killed all the Egyptian firstborn and punished their gods.

* This is correct.  After God repeatedly warned them and they repeatedly hardened their hearts and oppressed the Israelites, God judged them by killing their firstborn males.

33:38 - This verse says that Aaron died on Mount Hor, but Dt.10:6 says he died at Mosera.

* Mosera was the general name of the place where Aaron died and Mount Hor was the specific location.

33:50-52 - God tells Moses to exterminate the residents of Canaan and destroy all of their religious symbols and possessions.

* The people of Canaan were wicked and unrepentant sinners.  God declared that it was time for their judgment.

* God didn't want the Israelites to spoil them or adopt any of their religious practices.

Chapter 35

35:4-5 - How wide were the suburbs? One thousand cubits as 35:4 says or two thousand cubits as 35:5 says?

* Numbers 34:4 and 5 read, "The common-land of the cities which you will give the Levites shall extend from the wall of the city outward a thousand cubits all around.  And you shall measure outside the city on the east side two thousand cubits, on the south side two thousand cubits, on the west side two thousand cubits, and on the north side two thousand cubits.  The city shall be in the middle.  This shall belong to them as common-land for the cities."

35:19, 21 - "The revenger of blood" must murder the murderer just as soon as he sees him.

* These verses indicate laws about the cities of refuge and how to treat a potential murderer.

35:33 - When a murder is committed the blood pollutes the land. The only way to cleanse it is to spill more blood by killing the killer.

* God gives a circumstance where capital punishment was acceptable.