The discrete narrative unit in Numbers 21:4-9 contains two interpretive problems. one of these has long been recognized : the phrase בלחם הקלקל in v. 5 contains the hapax from קלקל. the various interpretations proposed for this phrase are... more
The discrete narrative unit in Numbers 21:4-9 contains two interpretive problems. one of these has long been recognized : the phrase בלחם הקלקל in v. 5 contains the hapax from קלקל. the various interpretations proposed for this phrase are surveyed, and the interpretation "with this dungeon bread" is suggested, based on a curse formula found in the Tell Fekherye inscription. A second problem, related to the first, is the unclear nature of the rhetorical goals of the narrative unit. The specific complaint of the people in v.5 is unclear, as is the connection between it and the divine punishment in vv. 6-9. interpreting בלחם הקלקל as "with this dungheap bread" shows YHWH's reliability to protect and provide for Israel in the wilderness is he key issue in question in Num. 21:4-9. This passage is closely related to Num. 20:1-13 and to Devit. 8:15-16a.
