ABSTRACT
Numbers is the fourth book in the Old Testament canon, following Genesis, Exodus and Leviticus. It is also the fourth book of the Jewish canon and part of the torah, the most holy set of books in the Jewish religion, consisting of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, and with the word torah meaning teaching, instruction in the original Hebrew. In terms of the story, Numbers closely integrates with the story of the Pentateuch. In essence following an approach that sees the Pentateuch together with Joshua, it provides a unified and coherent reading in terms of the arrangement of material in Numbers, and in terms of authorial intent in writing Genesis-Joshua and Numbers as part of that composition. This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book presents the most salient features of the history of scholarship, also as it impinges on the book of Numbers in particular.
