Census

The Torah's Exodus

Weighing the historicity of the exodus story entails more than addressing the lack of archaeological evidence.

Dr. Rabbi

Zev Farber

Recounting the Census: A Military Force of 5,500 (not 603,550) Men

Exploring the possibility of reading the wilderness census in a way that is historically plausible.

Prof.

Ben-Zion Katz M.D.

Relegating Redemption of the Firstborn to a One-time Event in the Wilderness

The Priestly Torah has two different conceptions of why/how the firstborn Israelites are exempt from serving as priests. Is a questionable firstborn census an effort to weigh in on this dispute?

Dr.

Eve Levavi Feinstein

Dr. Rabbi

Zev Farber

The Meaning of Degel and the Elusive History of the Levites

Two Problems In Parashat Bemidbar

Prof. Rabbi

Baruch A. Levine

Is There a Consensus That a Census Causes a Plague?

Census is a necessary and standard procedure for governing. Indeed, the Bible contains numerous stories of censuses that are mundane and unproblematic. Only two texts suggest otherwise: Exodus 30, and 2 Samuel 24 (=1 Chronicles 21), a census by King David.^[1]

Dr.

Shira Golani

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