Advanced Commentary

Texts -- Numbers 1:40-54 (NET)

Context
1:40 From the descendants of Asher : According to the records of their clans and families , all the males twenty years old or older who could serve in the army were listed by name . 1:41 Those of them who were numbered from the tribe of Asher were 41,500 . 1:42 From the descendants of Naphtali : According to the records of their clans and families , all the males twenty years old or older who could serve in the army were listed by name . 1:43 Those of them who were numbered from the tribe of Naphtali were 53,400 . 1:44 These were the men whom Moses and Aaron numbered along with the twelve leaders of Israel , each of whom was from his own family . 1:45 All the Israelites who were twenty years old or older , who could serve in Israel’s army , were numbered according to their families . 1:46 And all those numbered totaled 603,550 .
The Exemption of the Levites
1:47 But the Levites , according to the tribe of their fathers , were not numbered among them. 1:48 The Lord had said to Moses , 1:49 “Only the tribe of Levi you must not number or count with the other Israelites . 1:50 But appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the testimony , over all its furnishings and over everything in it . They must carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings ; and they must attend to it and camp around it . 1:51 Whenever the tabernacle is to move , the Levites must take it down , and whenever the tabernacle is to be reassembled , the Levites must set it up . Any unauthorized person who approaches it must be killed . 1:52 “The Israelites will camp according to their divisions , each man in his camp , and each man by his standard . 1:53 But the Levites must camp around the tabernacle of the testimony , so that the Lord’s anger will not fall on the Israelite community . The Levites are responsible for the care of the tabernacle of the testimony .” 1:54 The Israelites did according to all that the Lord commanded Moses – that is what they did .

Pericope

NET

Bible Dictionary

  • ISRAEL, HISTORY OF, 1

    [isbe] ISRAEL, HISTORY OF, 1 - INTRODUCTORY 1. Sources (1) The Old Testament (2) Josephus (3) The Monuments 2. Religious Character of the History I. ORIGINS OF ISRAEL IN PRE-MOSAIC TIMES 1. Original Home 2. Ethnographical Origin 3....

  • GENEALOGY, 8 part 1

    [isbe] GENEALOGY, 8 part 1 - 8. Principal Genealogies and Lists: In the early genealogies the particular strata to which each has been assigned by reconstructive critics is here indicated by J, the Priestly Code (P), etc. The signs...

  • PENTATEUCH, 2A

    [isbe] PENTATEUCH, 2A - II. Authorship, Composition, Date. 1. The Current Critical Scheme: The view that Moses was the author of the Pentateuch, with the exception of the concluding verses of Deuteronomy, was once held universally....

  • PENTATEUCH, 2B

    [isbe] PENTATEUCH, 2B - 3. Answer to the Critical Analysis: (1) The Veto of Textual Criticism. The first great objection that may be made to the higher criticism is that it starts from the Massoretic text (MT) without investigation...

  • Soldiers

    [nave] SOLDIERS Military enrollment of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai, Num. 1; 2; in the plains of Moab, Num. 26. Levies of, in the ratio of one man to ten subject to duty, Judg. 20:10. Dressed in scarlet, Nah. 2:3. Cowards e...

  • Census

    [nave] CENSUS Numbering of Israel by Moses, Ex. 38:26; Num. 1; 3:14-43; 26; by David, 2 Sam. 24:1-9; 1 Chr. 21:1-8; 27:24. A poll tax to be levied at each, Ex. 30:12-16; 38:26. of citizens, Isa. 4:3. Of the Roman Empire, by Caes...

  • EXODUS, THE BOOK OF, 3-4

    [isbe] EXODUS, THE BOOK OF, 3-4 - III. Historical Character. 1. General Consideration: The fact that extra-Israelitish and especially Egyptian sources that can lay claim to historical value have reported nothing authentic concernin...

  • LAW IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

    [isbe] LAW IN THE OLD TESTAMENT - || I. TERMS USED 1. Torah ("Law") 2. Synonyms of Torah (1) Mitswah ("Command") (2) `Edhah ("Witness," "Testimony") (3) MishpaTim ("Judgments") (4) Chuqqim ("Statutes") (5) Piqqudhim ("Precepts") II...

  • Israel

    [nave] ISRAEL 1. A name given to Jacob, Gen. 32:24-32; 2 Kin. 17:34; Hos. 12:3, 4. 2. A name of the Christ in prophecy, Isa. 49:3. 3. A name given to the descendants of Jacob, a nation. Called also Israelites, and Hebrews, Gen. 4...

  • Levites

    [nave] LEVITES The descendants of Levi. Set apart as ministers of religion, Num. 1:47-54; 3:6-16; 16:9; 26:57-62; Deut. 10:8; 1 Chr. 15:2. Substituted in the place of the firstborn, Num. 3:12, 41-45; 8:14, 16-18; 18:6. Religious ...

  • NUMBER

    [isbe] NUMBER - num'-ber: I. NUMBER AND ARITHMETIC II. NOTATION OF NUMBERS 1. By Words 2. By Signs 3. By Letters III. NUMBERS IN OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY IV. ROUND NUMBERS V. SIGNIFICANT NUMBERS 1. Seven and Its Multiples (1) Ritual U...

  • Palestine

    [ebd] originally denoted only the sea-coast of the land of Canaan inhabited by the Philistines (Ex. 15:14; Isa. 14:29, 31; Joel 3:4), and in this sense exclusively the Hebrew name Pelesheth (rendered "Philistia" in Ps. 60:8; 83:7;...

  • Naphtali

    [isbe] NAPHTALI - naf'-ta-li (naphtali; Nephthaleim): I. THE PATRIARCH 1. Name 2. Circumstances of His Birth 3. Historical and Traditional Details II. TRIBE OF NAPHTALI 1. Its Relative Position 2. Its Location in Palestine 3. Physi...
    [smith] (wrestling), the fifth son of Jacob; the second child name to him by Bilhah, Rachel?s slave. His birth and the bestowal of his name are recorded in (Genesis 30:8) When the census was taken at Mount Sinai the tribe of Naphtali...
    [nave] NAPHTALI 1. Son of Jacob and Bilhah, Gen. 30:7, 8; 35:25. Jacob blesses, Gen. 49:21. Sons of, Gen. 46:24; 1 Chr. 7:13. 2. Tribe of. Census of, Num. 1:42, 43; 26:48-50. Position assigned to, in camp and march, Num. 2:25-3...

  • CHILDREN OF ISRAEL

    [isbe] CHILDREN OF ISRAEL - iz'-ra-el (bene yisra'el): A very common term in both the Old Testament and the New Testament, and it refers to the Israelites as the descendants of a common ancestor, Jacob, whose name was changed to Is...

  • PRIESTS AND LEVITES

    [isbe] PRIESTS AND LEVITES - (kohen, "priest"; nothing is definitely known as to the origin of the word; Lewi, "Levite," on which see LEVI): I. DIFFERENT VIEWS OF THE HISTORY 1. The Old View 2. The Graf-Wellhausen View 3. Mediating...

  • Armies

    [nave] ARMIES Who of the Israelites were subject to service in, Num. 1:2, 3; 26:2; 2 Chr. 25:5; who were exempt from service in, Num. 1:47-50; 2:33; Deut. 20:5-9; Judg. 7:3. Enumeration of Israel's military forces, Num. 1:2, 3; 26...

  • Tabernacle

    [ebd] (1.) A house or dwelling-place (Job 5:24; 18:6, etc.). (2.) A portable shrine (comp. Acts 19:24) containing the image of Moloch (Amos 5:26; marg. and R.V., "Siccuth"). (3.) The human body (2 Cor. 5:1, 4); a tent, as opposed ...
    [nave] TABERNACLE One existed before Moses received the pattern authorized on Mount Sinai, Ex. 33:7-11. The one instituted by Moses was called Sanctuary, Ex. 25:8; Tabernacle, Ex. 27:21; 33:7; 2 Chr. 5:5; of Testimony, Ex. 38:21; ...

  • Tent

    [ebd] (1.) Heb. 'ohel (Gen. 9:21, 27). This word is used also of a dwelling or habitation (1 Kings 8:66; Isa. 16:5; Jer. 4:20), and of the temple (Ezek. 41:1). When used of the tabernacle, as in 1 Kings 1:39, it denotes the coveri...

  • Asher

    [nave] ASHER 1. Son of Jacob, by Zilpah, Gen. 30:13; 35:26; 49:20; Ex. 1:4; 1 Chr. 2:2. Descendants of, Gen. 46:17; Num. 26:44-47. 2. Tribe of: Census of, by families, Num. 1:40, 41; 26:44-47; 1 Chr. 7:40; 12:36. Station of, in ...

  • Levite

    [ebd] a descendant of the tribe of Levi (Ex. 6:25; Lev. 25:32; Num. 35:2; Josh. 21:3, 41). This name is, however, generally used as the title of that portion of the tribe which was set apart for the subordinate offices of the sanc...
more

Arts

Resources/Books

Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • The purposes of this section are three at least.1. These verses introduce the Israelites who are the focus of attention in Exodus.2. They also tie the Israelites back to Jacob and explain their presence in Egypt.3. They accou...
  • 12:37-39 The record of Israel's sojourn in the wilderness really begins here.Rameses is probably the same city as Raamses, also called Avaris (v. 37; cf. 1:11). It was the city from which the Israelites left Egypt, and it lay...
  • The title the Jews used in their Hebrew Old Testament for this book comes from the fifth word in the book in the Hebrew text, bemidbar: "in the wilderness."This is, of course, appropriate since the Israelites spent most of th...
  • To formulate a statement that summarizes the teaching of this book it will be helpful to identify some of the major revelations in Numbers. These constitute the unique values of the book.The first major value of Numbers is th...
  • I. Experiences of the older generation in the wilderness chs. 1-25A. Preparations for entering the Promised Land from the south chs. 1-101. The first census and the organization of the people chs. 1-42. Commands and rituals t...
  • The first 10 chapters in Numbers describe Israel's preparation for entering the land.". . . just as the way from Goshen to Sinai was a preparation of the chosen people for their reception into the covenant with God, so the wa...
  • The purpose of this tally of the adult males 20 years of age and older was to identify those who would serve in battle when Israel entered the land (v. 3).11Entrance into the land should have been only a few weeks from the ta...
  • Moses did not arrange the three Levitical families in the text here in the order of the ages of their founders. He arranged them in the order of the holiness of the articles that they managed.The Kohathites--who included Mose...
  • On the first anniversary of the Passover in Egypt, just after the Israelites had dedicated the tabernacle, they observed this feast as God had commanded (v. 5). Most of the males were already circumcised (cf. Josh. 5:5).This ...
  • Before going into battle against the Midianites as God commanded (25:18), the Lord directed Moses to take another census of the Israelites. Evidently the 24,000 who died in the recent plague (25:9) were the last of the genera...
  • "Just as the censuses of chs. 1, 3, and 4 led to a flurry of preparations for departure from Sinai, so the second censuses in ch. 26 lead to preparations for departure from the plains of Moab and entry into the land of Canaan...
  • The previous chapter dealt with the general borders of the land and its tribal boundaries. This one gives regulations concerning special towns in the land.285According to the plan of revelation established previously in Numbe...
  • Shemaiah claimed to have received a prophecy from God (v. 12). He tried to scare Nehemiah into thinking that assassins were after him so he would seek sanctuary inside the temple. The Mosaic Law prohibited anyone but priests ...
  • Jesus' genealogy and virgin birth prove His legal human qualification as Israel's King. His baptism was the occasion of His divine approval. His temptation demonstrated His moral fitness to reign. The natural question a thoug...
Back to Commentary Page
Display Bible



Universal Search:

NET Only
Exact Search
Commentary
Study Dictionary
Word Study
Lexicon
Study Maps System
Sermon Illustrations
Expository
Arts
Resource
Daily Bible Reading
Training Video
Classic NET Bible
iPhone NET Bible
Mobile Bible
TIP #32: [ALL]
created in 0.05 seconds
powered by
bible.org - YLSA