A dry, detailed list of laws, punishments, silly rules. That's the first impression. Numbers 15 is written as a list of things that God told Moses to say to the Israelites. After a closer look, the chapter still seems arid, but not barren. Deeper insight is gained as we take a step back and look at Numbers 15 in the context of its surrounding chapters. Baruch Levine, in his commentary on Numbers1, refers to chapter 15 as "Unfinished Cultic Business" (Levine 384), "an addition or appendix to other cultic codes" (Levine 386). But the chapter functions as more than just a catalog of laws. Levine also notes "why all these law codes were positioned precisely where they were is unclear" (Levine 67). If rabbinical thought regarding a meta significance for every aspect of Torah is on target, then this positioning is of utter importance.
With regard to the flow of the narrative, chapter 15 is foreign matter within an otherwise homogeneous stream of chapters. The surrounding chapters are historiographic in character, narrating events including the Israeli people, their leaders, and the enemies they face. Fifteen, on the other hand is very similar to parts of Leviticus which simply lay out laws for the people to live by. These laws are most assuredly Priestly material, inserted into what was otherwise stories from the JE sources. That is not to say that 13,14,16 are not touched by P, in fact, they exhibit many grammatical and stylistic aspects which indicate that they are JE stories reworked and modified by P. Then, without saying that 13,14,16 have different authorship then 15, I can say that they have different function. 15 has a very directed function and seems to be very deliberately placed between the others.
Levine notes that the situation in Numbers 13 14 "was interpreted theologically, so that it was Israel's lack of faith in God that had deterred the people from embarking on a direct invasion of Canaan." In this case, it makes sense that the priestly writers inserted chapter 15, to act as a reminder of the type of loyalty that is demanded by God. It also serves to give examples of the kinds of punishments that are to be suffered as the result of disobedience to the laws.
There is a clear change in the character of God's divine wrath from chapter 14 to chapter 16. Chapter 15's presence between them seems to be in part to iterate, or foreshadow the attitude of God that would explain his harsh punishment in 16.
In 15:22-29, Moses is told the ritualistic procedures to be followed to attain the Lord's pardon, when one "unwittingly fail[s] to observe any one of the commandments that the LORD has declared to Moses."(15:22 JPS2) These instructions seem to be placed here solely to contrast those in the following lines, which make clear the fate of anyone who "defiantly reviles the LORD; that person shall be cut off from among his people...he bears his guilt" (15:30-31 JPS). In the case of 'high-handed' disobedience, there is to be no pardon, rather, a most severe punishment, estrangement from the community, is prescribed.
The punishment in chapter 14 seems to occur outside of this environment of permanent guilt, or, as the chronology of the chapters seems to indicate, before this environment was created. After hearing Moses' warning that they cease their rebellious behavior (14:9 JPS), they react by threatening to stone Moses and Aaron. This was surely not done 'unwittingly', and would seem to warrant the punishment ordained in 15:30 31. But God is convinced by Moses to lesson His punishment. He allows them to live, but keeps them from the promised land for one more generation, so that "none of the men who...have disobeyed Me, shall see the land that I promised" (14:22 23 JPS).
Chapter 16 sees a similar rebellion, but a very different outcome. In the opening verses, a group of respected men of the community confront Moses and challenge his authority. Again, Moses warns them that their actions are an affront against God, [yea, and they shall 'incense' him], "Truly, it is against the LORD that you and all your company have banded together" (16:11a JPS). And again, they refuse to stay their anger, even going so far as to recall the captivity in Egypt rather agreeably, as if Moses had led them away from 'the good life' (16:13 JPS). When the time comes for God to execute justice, Moses helps temper His wrath so as not to include all those who have done no wrong among the community. However, to those who angered Him, His punishment is harsh, and in a sense [incense/innocence], worse than death: He sends them alive into Sheol, "the deepest parts of the earth" (16:30 Note d, laBJ3). Here we see a most literal realization of the punishment prescribed in chapter 15. The main offenders are literally separated from their kinsmen, while the rest of the rebellious group is consumed by a divine fire.
The closing paragraph of chapter 15 instructs the Israelite people to wear fringes or tassels and further, to adorn them with a blue cord at each corner. This, God says, will help them "recall all the commandments of the LORD and observe them" (15:39 JPS). God then identifies Himself as He "who brought you out of the land of Egypt" (15:41 JPS). How ironic it is that when faced with trouble during the stay in Kadesh, the Israelites complain that Moses tore them away from Egypt, calling it a land of milk and honey. It is no wonder Moses accuses them of insulting the LORD. They have profaned God's act of deliverance, and seem to wish He hadn't helped them at all. Surely then, it would be beneficial if they were reminded by tassels of their God, who delivered them from Egypt. They would do well to have faith that Yahweh will bring them to the promised land.
It is often unclear to what extent cultic codes were actually followed by the ancient Israelites. We are forced, then, to take these catalogs of laws' at various different levels. As part of a larger text, their placement and emphasis indicate the priorities of the writers and redactors. Surely P had an agenda for placing Numbers 15 between the other historiographic chapters. Likely they had multiple agendas, and in the sense of the meta-significance mentioned earlier, there are to be found many levels of causality unknown to either the original writers as well as to current scholars. This explanation of the juxtaposition of laws and narrative then becomes just one dimension of many, contrived, perhaps, but nonetheless, morally valid.