Abstract:
The current paper takes the literary and theological devaluation of the book of Numbers in classical Pentateuch studies as its starting point and, in contrast to this, develops a higher estimation of the book by relating it to processes of adaptive »Fortschreibung« and the megatrend of so-called inner-biblical exegesis. Through this changed approach, which moves beyond a source-critical model, the book of Numbers unfolds a growing densification of a network of traditions that results in the Torah in the 4 th century BCE. This new understanding of the book is related to a more recent understanding of the concept of »tradition« as dynamic, variable, and adaptive. The innovative character of the book of Numbers, in adapting and transforming traditions alike and in forming a collective identity of »Israel«, is demonstrated by the example of the Levites, the twelve-tribe system, the cities of asylum, and the bless-ing of Israel.
