2. Baal-peor and the Zeal of Phinehas.25. 3. The Second Numbering; Joshua

In the Hebrew this book is called “In the desert.” The ordinary name by which we know it is derwed from the two “numberings” of Israel, the former,—chapters 1 to 4,—in the second year of their journey; the latter, chapter 26,— on the borders of Canaan, thirty-eight years afterward.

The early part,—chapters 1 to 10,—appears as a supplement to Leviticus, being occupied with the appointment of the three great families of Levites to their respective departments im the sacred offices. The narrative of the march through the Wilderness is then gwen as far as 21:20, after which the story of the conquest of the country east of the Jordan is narrated. The long years during which the generation that refused to respond to the faith of Joshua and Caleb were dying off in the Wilderness, lie between chapters 19 and 20, ending with the re-assembling of the congregation at Kadesh for another forward movement. The form of the book is that of a journal in which all the passing occurrences of interest and importance were recorded.