It seems amazing to me how a centuries old document, like the Bible, studied by thousands, can remain veiled in mystery. In the Old Testament, the fourth book is called Numbers. This title comes from a Greek translation (the Septuagint) of the Hebrew Scriptures.
Interestingly, the Hebrew Scriptures don’t call this book Numbers. It’s named bemidbar (it’s the fifth word in the text: Numbers 1:1) and means “in the wilderness.”
So while Greek readers were interested in the “logic” behind Scripture and must have thought a title like Numbers would appeal to the mathematicians in their bunch, the Hebrews seem to be interested in the “life” of Scripture and thus find “in the wilderness” as a fair metaphor to describe the feelings many have about their own lives.
How mysterious that I’ve not stumbled onto that until now–a moment when I’m sensing shrubbery that reminds me of prairie-land.