'Numbers' is the English name of the fourth Book of the Pentateuch, chosen in recognition of the extensive statistical material which opens the book. In Hebrew the book is called Bemidbar, meaning 'in the wilderness.' Numbers properly continues the narrative of the Israelites in the desert after the intervention of priestly laws contained in 'Leviticus.' The book contains much law as well.

In fact, it is in Numbers that we are able to retrace the long and arduous route of the Jewish people through the barren land of the Sinai Peninsula, which the Book claims covered a period of forty years. Indeed, the book is witness to a subtle shift from the slave generation which still remembers Egypt, to a new generation of hardened children, born in the desert. This new generation is far better equipped to deal with the challenges of life in the wilderness — as well as conquest by force of arms — than their parents could ever hope to be

That this new generation is urgently needed is borne out by the findings of spies, whom Moses has sent into Canaan to assess the strength of the opposing tribes. "(The land) flows indeed with milk and honey," these spies are able to report, "yet the people who live in it are very strong, and the towns are fortified" (Num. 25:27-28). As a result, Moses withdraws from the frontier in order to train the young men among his people as a military force. Only after his new army has been honed and bloodied in a number of border clashes with other tribes does Moses elect to return to the river Jordan, on the eve of the conquest of Canaan.