Guided by alien aircraft

 Welcome to the Daily Bible Chapter. My name is James Leroy Wilson and I invite you to join me as I attempt to read the Bible with fresh eyes, as if I don't know anything about it, and without consulting experts on what it "really" means.. Let's see where this takes us! 

I'm reading Young's Literal Translation (YLT) and the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).

Numbers 10

The chapter begins with the LORD ordering the making of two trumpets to serve as signals to the people.  It makes me wonder how communication had been done for an encampment of 600,000 men plus women and children. 

The most populous city in the world today has around 77,000 per square mile. Would two trumpets have sufficed?

The "cloud" (which really seems like an aircraft) leaves Sinai, and the Israelites follow. And then we learn that Moses's brother-in-law is with them. Also, we learn that Moses's father-in-law's name is Reuel, although in Exodus it was Jethro. This isn't explained. 

And actually, "Reuel" is the name mentioned in Exodus 2:18; it's later in Exodus that he's named Jethro. I think I missed this contradiction when I was reading Exodus.

 Of course, it isn't necessarily a contradiction. Some people go by two names. I do. But it's odd that the sentence in both the YLT and NRSV is unclear; there might be a third name: 

"And Moses saith to Hobab son of Raguel the Midianite, father-in-law of Moses,..." (YLT)

"Moses said to Hobab son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses’s father-in-law,.." (NRSV)

I'll chalk up Raguel/Reuel to translation differences; it’s obviously the same name. But do these sentences imply that Hobab is the father-in-law, or Reuel? I concluded it’s Reuel, because in Exodus we're told Jethro had visited but then left. This means Hobab would be a brother-in-law. 

Moses had lived among the Midianites for 40 years. If Hobab, a Midianite, knew this terrain, wouldn't Moses have known also? Why did Hobab need to be "eyes for us?" 

The closing verse seems more accurate in the YLT: "And in its resting he saith, `Return, O Jehovah, [to] the myriads, the thousands of Israel." The NRSV refers to "ten thousand thousands of Israel," which is ten million, but the NRSV also has a note saying the original Hebrew is uncertain.

If the NRSV really is technically more accurate, I think it's safe to say Moses was using a figure of speech.

I'll note again that the Israelites have been obedient, and it's not because of faith in an invisible God, and only partly because of faith in Moses. It's that very visible, present thing in the sky that they're obeying.

That isn't primitive ignorance or foolishness. Many today yearn for extraterrestrials to come in spaceships to tell us how to live our lives better. 

They want what the Israelites received: something bigger than themselves, but also something visible, that they can believe in.

James Leroy Wilson writes Daily Miracles, The Daily Bible Chapter, JL Cells, and The MVP Chase. Thanks for your subscriptions and support!

(Photo credit: TyshkunVictor)