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The Questions on Numbers
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QUAESTIONES IN NUMEROS Dia; tiv prosevtaxen ajriqmhqh'nai to;n lao;n oJ Qeov";a {Ina th'" oijkeiva" ejpaggeliva" deivxh/ to; ajlhqev": uJpiscnouvmeno" ga;r tw'/ ∆Abraavm, e[fh, plhquvnwn plhqunw' to; spevrma sou wJ" tou;" ajstevra" tou' oujranou' kai; wJ" th;n a[mmon, th;n para; to; cei'lo" th'" qalavssh".b e[deixe de; th;n th'" ejpaggeliva" ajlhvqeian: ejk pevnte ga;r kai; eJbdomhvkonta tw'n eij" Ai[gupton katelhluqovtwnc eJxakovsiai ciliavde" kai; triscivlioi kai; eJxakovsioi kai; penthvkonta hjriqmhvqhsan a[ndre" dunavmenoi polemei'n,d kai; th'" ejxwvrou hJlikiva", kai; th'" ajwvrou kecwrismevnh", kai; mevntoi kai; tou' qhvlew" gevnou", kai; th'" leuitikh'" fulh'": oujde; ga;r au{th tai'" loipai'" sunhriqmhvqh.e tauvthn aujtou' didavskwn th;n duvnamin, oJ despovth" Qeo;" kai; dia; tou' profhvtou ∆Hsaiv>ou e[fh, ejmblevyate eij" ∆Abraa;m to;n patevra uJmw'n kai; eij" Savrran, th;n wjdivnousan uJma'", o{ti ei|" h\n, kai; ejkavlesa aujtovn, kai; eujlovghsa aujtovn, kai.......ejplhvquna aujtovn.f A [], B, c –1 , , (= Rome, Bibl. Apost. Vat., Ottob. gr. ) = mss. l. ejpaggeliva~ B–17 , , , , Sir. Sch. : ajpaggeliva~ F.M. = “And he gave proof of the truth of his report.” Cf. the critical note on Q. on Jos (ejpaggelivan). l. aujtou` Sir. Sch. : eJautou` B : auJtou F.M. a. Nm .–mmb. Gn .mmc. Gn .mmd. Nm .mme. Nm .– mm f. Is . ON NUMBERS Why did God order a census of the nation?a To demonstrate the realization of his promise. He had promised Abraham: “Indeed, I shall make your offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven and the sand on the seashore.”b And he gave proof of the realization of his promise, since, though only seventy-five had gone down into Egypt,c they were numbered at , men of combat age,d not to mention those who were too young or too old, as well as the women and the tribe of Levi, which was not numbered with the others.1e Setting forth his power, the Lord God also declared through the prophet Isaiah, “Look to Abraham your father and to Sarah who bore you; he was but a single man, and I called him, blessed him, and made him many.”f . Theodoret’s sum exceeds that of the majority text of the LXX by . According to C.E. L’Heureux (on .–) such figures are generally agreed to be too high even for a census dating from the Davidic period. The total may have been excogitated by an author of the priestly tradition, who doubled the , shekels required to pay for the bases and hooks supporting the tabernacle curtains (Ex .–); such a calculation would reflect the post-exilic rate of one-half shekel tax per each adult male. [3.235.68.180] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 11:14 GMT) Dia; tiv ejlavttwn ejsti;n oJ tw'n leuitw'n ajriqmov";a JW" ajrcovntwn: dei' ga;r tou;" a[rconta" ejlavttou" ei\nai tw'n ajrcomevnwn. a[llw" te kai; tou' polemei'n h\san ajphllagmevnoi kai; movnh/ th'/ qeiva/ latreiva/ proshvdreuon. Pw'" ou\n hJ tou' ∆Iouvda fulh; uJperevbale pavsa" tw'/ ajriqmw'/ kaivtoi ou\sa basilikhv; jEk th'" basilikh'" ei|" ajnh;r ejbasivleusen, oiJ de; th'" leuitikh'" a{pante" ejleitouvrgoun: oiJ me;n iJerateuvonte",a oiJ de; touvtoi" diakonou'nte".b ejdei' de; kai; th;n basilikh;n uJperevcein tw'/ ajriqmw'/ kai; dia; th;n eujlogivan tou' despovtou Cristou': ejx aujtw'n ga;r e[mellen kata; savrka blastavnein:c kai; w{ste tou;" ejx aujth'" ceirotonoumevnou" basileva" ajrkou'san e[cein tw'n fuletw'n th;n ejpikourivan. sunevtaxe de; kajntau'qa th'/ basilikh'/ fulh'/ tou;" iJereva": pro;" h{lion ga;r ajnivsconta th;n ∆Iouvda tavxa" fulhvn, sunh'yen aujtoi'" tou;" iJereva" meta; th'" kibwtou'.d Tw'/ mevntoi Da;n to; bovreion ajpeklhvrwse tmh'ma:e ajpo; proswvpou, gavr fhsi, borra' ejkkauqhvsetai ta; kaka; ejpi; pavnta" tou;" katoikou'nta" th;n gh'n.f ei[rhtai de; hJmi'n ejn tai'" tou' ∆Iakw;b eujlogivai" wJ" ejk th'" Da;n fulh'" oJ ajlavstwr tecqhvsetai, oJ Cristo;n me;n eJauto;n ojnomavzwn, tajnantiva de; th'/ proshgoriva/ The Questions on Numbers A [], B, c–1 , , = mss. a. Nm . A [], B, (inc.) , = mss. a. Nm .–mmb. Nm .–mmc. Cf. Mt ..mmd. Nm .f.; .f.mm e. Nm .mmf. Jer .mm Why were there fewer Levites?1a Because they were the leaders, and there must be fewer leaders than led. Moreover, they were exempt from fighting and concerned only with the divine service...