Naso wraps up the numbering sequence that introduced us to the Book of Numbers and concludes with genealogies and the numbers of gifts and animals for sacrifice brought by the princes of Israel for the dedication of the desert Tabernacle.<\/p>\n
The numbering and valuing is interrupted with detailed and lengthy narratives of the Sota, a woman who is unfaithful or whose husband thinks<\/em> she is unfaithful, and the Nazir, one who takes a vow of consecration to the Lord. I begin from the premise that this apparent interruption to the narrative was deliberately positioned in this exact spot for a reason. Furthermore,\u00a0the Sota and the Nazir were specifically chosen and placed in proximity to each other for a reason.<\/p>\n I’ll start with the second, easier, issue first, the relationship between these two segments, the Sota and the Nazir. Here’s what I notice:<\/p>\n It seems to me that these segments are\u00a0inversely parallel,\u00a0one person shamed after acting impulsively to break a vow, the other honored after purposefully fulfilling a vow. It is, perhaps, reflective of the two sides of covenant, also represented at\u00a0Mts. Ebal and Gerizim (Deut. 28), similarly inversely parallel.<\/p>\n AFAR\/DUST<\/p>\n \u05e2\u05b8\u05e4\u05b8\u05e8 (afar), according to Strong’s, is\u00a0“dry earth, dust.” In the creation story, it is material for the human body — and as food for the serpent, a punishment. In the Tabernacle, it is the mixture of dirt on the floor around the altar mixed with the blood of sacrifice. In Leviticus, it is dried mud or mortar for bricks. In I Kings it is loose earth on the surface of the ground or the debris of a ruined city. In Deuteronomy, it’s a sandstorm. In Habbakuk, the material for siege works. It is earth particles sometimes associated with abundance, more often with commonness, worthlessness or humiliation. It is ashes, earth, ground, powder\u00a0or rubbish. Sometimes afar is “clay,” but most often it is loose, granular.<\/p>\n\n