Numbers 33:35Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

The thirty-second encampment is referred to as ‘the felling of the trees by the farmer,’ or ‘the scraping of the man,’ which is more accurately rendered in Greek as Ευλοκισμοί άνδρός, and is spelled with the letter ain, not with hymel, as mistakenly believed by the Greeks and Latins. Hence the abundance of trees in the wilderness—could this not symbolize the instruction of a diligent and seasoned guide, who cultivates unpleasing trees, scrapes them, and crafts various vessels needed within the great household (2 Tim. 2:20)? ‘The farmer’s felled trees’ might signify the diverse types of woods and trees, reflecting the multitude of believers, as David declares, “they have discovered it (i.e., the village of God) in the fields of the oak-tree” (Ps. 131:6). The eighteen encampments previously outlined, which are noted within the list of encampments but not detailed in the earlier depiction of the journey, are situated in the wilderness of Faran.