Abstract
The present study is devoted to the composite and complex story of Numbers 16. The episode is analyzed through the lenses of the construction of narrative space, paying close attention to the locations where action takes place, to the movements of characters, and to the associated adverbs and prepositions. Seven spatial markers are successively considered in order to sketch an interpretation for the whole episode. The study shows that, as the spatial signals unfold, a symbolic meaning of the story can emerge, the stakes of which concern Israel's organization, its recognition of YHWH, and its very survival.
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