The Clean and Unclean (Edible and Inedible) Among Living Creatures.
‘And Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying to them,'
Once more we have confirmation that these are the words of Yahweh to Moses and are therefore to be treated as of the utmost importance. Here, however, Aaron is with him. This dividing statement reminds us that timewise we do not know how this section relates to the last. It may have been written down any time up to the death of Moses not long before entering the land, although if it was written down immediately it would be before the death of Aaron (Numbers 20:28-29). But in Numbers the combination of the joint names does not occur until God has confirmed Aaron's position in Numbers 18, just prior to arriving at Kadesh. Thus it may have been written down towards the end of the long period of waiting in Kadesh, as they readied themselves for a further attempt to enter the land.