Sifré to Numbers

Sifré to Numbers, commentary to the book of Numbers that dates to c. 300 ce and that provides a miscellaneous reading of most of that book. All authorities quoted in it enjoy the status of Mishnah sages, called tannaim (those who repeat oral traditions), and so the exegesis is called “tannaitic.” The document cites as complete, extraneous compositions passages of the Mishnah and the Tosefta, c. 200 and 250 ce, respectively; thus the indicated date, which is at the very end of the period of the tanna, is probable.

The word sifré corresponds to the Hebrew sefarim, meaning books. The document as a whole through its fixed and recurrent literary structures makes two complementary points: (1) reason unaided by scripture produces uncertain propositions, and (2) reason operating within the limits of Scripture produces truth. These two principles are never articulated but are left implicit in the systematic reading of most of the book of Numbers, verse by verse.