NUMBERS, BOOK OF

The fourth book of the Pentateuch, Numbers, derives its title from the fact that a census of the Israelite people was taken after they had departed from Egypt. There were some 603,550 men, above the age of twenty who were capable of military combat (Num. 1:46), which may suggest an overall population of two to three million souls. The book covers most of that period of time when the Israelites wandered in the wilderness of Sinai, approximately thirty-eight years and nine months. The wilderness sojourn was a result of the Hebrews' lack of faith in God's power to deliver them, when they spied out the land of Canaan (Num. 14:32-34).