Sunday, February 15, 2015

Another Move

In between these two edits, I added another one. A whole chapter from Parshat Behaalotcha, BaMidbar 11, was moved to just after the mention of Chag HaMatzot. The reason is the mention of 600,000 men and the Manna in "BaMidbar 11", which fit naturally in the "new" location. The 600,000 men fit P's description of the 600,000 men on foot early on in the Parasha, the mention of the Manna comes just after its introduction. The people complain about the lack of meat in "BaMidbar 11" and also that fits nice. It is moved to just before the people complain about water, and the Levi'im kill 3,000 men. It is assumed that the move to Behaalotcha was done by the same "late" priestly editor that moved the killing of the 3,000 men, and moved Chag HaMatzot. The editor left the mention of 600,000 men on foot, in the beginning of the Parasha, which therefore must be removed once "BaMidbar 11" is restored to its original place.