Abstract
Numbers makes memory, its reliability and limitations, a predominant focus of concern. Two competing views emerge. Biblical memory is a stabilizing force, unifying the people in a harmonious relationship with God under priestly leadership. Yet memory’s elusiveness is also recognized as a serious threat to the ongoing life of the nation. These different conceptions can be observed in two distinct pericopes: Numbers 10 and 11. The effects of the juxtaposition of these distinct materials results in a more complicated understanding of memory, both of its limitations and of its usefulness. The juxtaposition of chs. 10 and 11 also has thematic repercussions, creating the starkest of choices for the generation liberated from Egypt but not yet in the Promised Land.
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