The narrator of numbers uses language carefully.

From word choice to narrative details, what we find are intentional comparisons between

Israel's camp in the middle of the wilderness and the garden of Eden in the middle of a wild

and waste land.

We're being let on to what Yahweh is doing, making Israel the next place where God and

humanity can dwell together.

We see that as he sets up Israel's camp and puts Levites in the place of priests, and

we see this theme play out again as God prepares Israel to go through the wilderness to the

promised land.

So the first cycle, and one through six, was about establishing the camp as a new Eden.

This cycle is going to establish the new Eden to get ready to go.

As Israel gets ready to leave, we find some more laws, laws about how the tabernacle

will be set up, how the priests will act.

And some more rules around celebrating Passover.

And then we get an interesting little story where some people realize that the rules for

Passover are not complete.

And so they come to Moses and they ask for some clarification.

What if I'm ritually impure during the feast of Passover?

I can't skip it, but I also can't join it.

What do I do?

Moses agrees.

This is a conundrum.

...