Biblica - Vol 90 (2009) Kislev, Itamar, The Vocabulary of the Septuagint and Literary Criticism: The Case of Numbers 27,15-23 (2009)

A careful attention to the change in the employment of Greek equivalents in the translation of Hebrew words in the Septuagint may help us to identify involvement of different translators. Such a change may sometimes point to some stages in the composition of the Hebrew text. In this article some interesting differences in the vocabulary of the Septuagint in the passage of the investiture of Joshua in Num 27, 15-23 are examined and with some other literal-critical considerations lead to exact exploring of the literal process of the graduated formation of the Hebrew passage.

Biblica - Vol 90 (2009) Ziegert, Carsten, Die großen Zahlen in Num 1 und 26: Forschungsüberblick und neuer Lösungsvorschlag (2009)

The objective of this article is to present a research report on the census lists in Num 1 and 26 as well as to make a new proposal concerning the interpretation of the large numbers. Following Petrie and Mendenhall, the word Pl) is not understood as “a thousand” but as the name of a military unit. In addition, h)m is interpreted as a military unit, too. The plausibility of its existence is shown by means of biblical and extra-biblical sources. In conclusion, there is no need to assume that a writer or redactor confused different meanings of Pl). The population at the time of the Conquest is estimated as 120,000 people.

Biblica - Vol 89 (2008) Wong, Ka Leung, 'And Moses raised his hand' in Numbers 20,11 (2008)

This note argues that the phrase “and Moses raised his hand” in Num 20,11 should be interpreted figuratively and it refers to Moses’ inner attitude and his will to demonstrate his power over God whom he is at enmity with.

Biblica - Vol 90 (2009) Rastoin, Marc, Encore une fois les 153 poissons (Jn 21,11) (2009)

The number of fishes in Joh 21,11 has been a crux for the interpreters of the Fourth Gospel. If the theological meaning of the scene seemed to be clear enough — an allusion to the universality of salvation brought by Christ — the why of the number 153 tried the imagination of scholars since Augustine. This note intends to add several arguments to the proposition made by J. Emerton in 1958 that this number refers to Ez 47,1-12. The link between both passages becomes much easier to make and the theological coherence of this allusion within Johannine global theological framework appears more clearly.

Biblica - Vol 89 (2008) Timmer, Daniel C., Sectarianism and Soteriology. The Priestly Blessing (Numbers 6,24-26) in the Qumranite Community Rule (1QS) (2008)

In an attempt to go beyond conventional sociological and anthropological analyses of the religious aspect of the Qumranite sectarian corpus, this article considers the reuse of the Priestly Blessing (PB) of Numbers 6 in the Community Rule (1QS). Comparison of how curses were applied elsewhere in Second Temple Judaism informs reflections on what this imaginative redeployment of the PB tells us of the ideology and self-identity of the Qumran group, highlighting their reconfiguration and exclusive appropriation of the covenants with Israel.