Numbers covers the years between the second and fortieth years of the Israelites’ wandering, between their receipt of the law in Exodus and Leviticus and their entrance into the Promised Land in Deuteronomy and Joshua. The book offers more specific instructions about the new Jewish religion, specifically the feasts that were to be observed. Whereas Exodus recounts the early life of Moses and his divine calling as the leader of the Israelites, Numbers portrays him as an experienced leader who had grown to love his people so much he begged to be blotted out of existence if their sins could not be forgiven.
Deuteronomy No one other than Moses has been suggested as the author of Deuteronomy, though perhaps Joshua wrote the final chapter describing Moses’ death. Moses wrote the book around 1410 B.C.; the language and expressions as well as the historical facts it describes prove the book’s antiquity. In Hebrew the book is called Haddebharim, “These Words,” from the Hebrew manuscript’s first two words. Deuteronomy comes from the LXX, meaning “The Second Legislation”; Exodus is sometimes referred to as “The First Legislation.”