Text -- Numbers 1:1-48 (NET)

Organizing the Census of the Israelites

1:1 Now the Lord spoke to Moses in the tent of meeting in the wilderness of Sinai on the first day of the second month of the second year after the Israelites departed from the land of Egypt. He said: 1:2 “Take a census of the entire Israelite community by their clans and families, counting the name of every individual male. 1:3 You and Aaron are to number all in Israel who can serve in the army, those who are twenty years old or older, by their divisions. 1:4 And to help you there is to be a man from each tribe, each man the head of his family. 1:5 Now these are the names of the men who are to help you: from Reuben, Elizur son of Shedeur; 1:6 from Simeon, Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai; 1:7 from Judah, Nahshon son of Amminadab; 1:8 from Issachar, Nethanel son of Zuar; 1:9 from Zebulun, Eliab son of Helon; 1:10 from the sons of Joseph: from Ephraim, Elishama son of Ammihud; from Manasseh, Gamaliel son of Pedahzur; 1:11 from Benjamin, Abidan son of Gideoni; 1:12 from Dan, Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai; 1:13 from Asher, Pagiel son of Ocran; 1:14 from Gad, Eliasaph son of Deuel; 1:15 from Naphtali, Ahira son of Enan.”

The Census of the Tribes

1:16 These were the ones chosen from the community, leaders of their ancestral tribes. They were the heads of the thousands of Israel. 1:17 So Moses and Aaron took these men who had been mentioned specifically by name, 1:18 and they assembled the entire community together on the first day of the second month. Then the people recorded their ancestry by their clans and families, and the men who were twenty years old or older were listed by name individually, 1:19 just as the Lord had commanded Moses. And so he numbered them in the wilderness of Sinai. 1:20 And they were as follows: The descendants of Reuben, the firstborn son of Israel: 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 individually. 1:21 Those of them who were numbered from the tribe of Reuben were 46,500. 1:22 From the descendants of Simeon: According to the records of their clans and families, all the males numbered of them twenty years old or older who could serve in the army were listed by name individually. 1:23 Those of them who were numbered from the tribe of Simeon were 59,300. 1:24 From the descendants of Gad: 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. 1:25 Those of them who were numbered from the tribe of Gad were 45,650. 1:26 From the descendants of Judah: 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. 1:27 Those of them who were numbered from the tribe of Judah were 74,600. 1:28 From the descendants of Issachar: 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. 1:29 Those of them who were numbered from the tribe of Issachar were 54,400. 1:30 From the descendants of Zebulun: 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. 1:31 Those of them who were numbered from the tribe of Zebulun were 57,400. 1:32 From the sons of Joseph: From the descendants of Ephraim: 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. 1:33 Those of them who were numbered from the tribe of Ephraim were 40,500. 1:34 From the descendants of Manasseh: 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. 1:35 Those of them who were numbered from the tribe of Manasseh were 32,200. 1:36 From the descendants of Benjamin: 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. 1:37 Those of them who were numbered from the tribe of Benjamin were 35,400. 1:38 From the descendants of Dan: 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. 1:39 Those of them who were numbered from the tribe of Dan were 62,700. 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,

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Wesley: Num 1:1

Where now they had been a full year or near it, as may be gathered by comparing this place with Exo 19:1, Exo 40:17.

Wesley: Num 1:2

This is not the same muster with that Exo 38:26, as plainly appears, because that was before the building of the tabernacle, which was built and set up on the first day of the first month, Exo 40:2, but this was after it, on the first day of the second month. And they were for different ends; that was to tax them for the charges of the tabernacle; but this was for other ends, partly that the great number of the people might be known to the praise of God's faithfulness, in making good his promises of multiplying them, and to their own encouragement: partly for the better ordering their camp and march, for they were now beginning their journey; and partly that this account might he compared with the other in the close of the book, where we read that not one of all this vast number, except Caleb and Joshua were left alive; a fair warning to all future generations to take heed of rebelling against the Lord. It is true, the sums and numbers agree in this and that computation, which is not strange, because there was not much time between the two numberings, and no eminent sin among the people in that interval, whereby God was provoked to diminish their numbers. Some conceive that in that number, Exo 30:11-16 and Exo 38:25-26, the Levites were included, which are here excepted, Num 1:47, and that in that interval of time, there were grown up as many more men of those years as there were Levites of the same age.

Wesley: Num 1:2

So the strangers mixed with them, were not numbered.

Wesley: Num 1:2

The people were divided into twelve tribes, the tribes into great families, Num 26:5, these great families into lesser families called the houses of their fathers, because they were distinguished one from another by their fathers.

Wesley: Num 1:5

The tribes are here numbered according to the order or quality of their birth, first the children of Leah, then of Rachel, and then of the handmaids.

Wesley: Num 1:12

Called Reuel, Num 3:14, the Hebrew letters Daleth and Resh being often changed.

Wesley: Num 1:19

For ought that appears in one day.

Wesley: Num 1:20

That is, the persons begotten of Reuben's immediate children, who are here subdivided into families, and they into houses, and they into particular persons.

Wesley: Num 1:27

Far more than any other tribe, in accomplishing Jacob's prophecy, Gen 49:8-12.

Wesley: Num 1:33

Above 8000 more than Manasseh, towards the accomplishment of that promise, Gen 48:20, which the devil in vain attempted to defeat by stirring up the men of Gath against them, 1Ch 7:21-22.

Wesley: Num 1:37

The smallest number, except one, though Benjamin had more immediate children than any of his brethren, Gen 46:21, whereas Dan had but one immediate son, Gen 46:23, yet now his number is the biggest but one of all the tribes, and is almost double to that of Benjamin. Such great and strange changes God easily can, and frequently doth make in families, 1Sa 2:5. And therefore let none boast or please themselves too much in their numerous offspring.

JFB: Num 1:1-2

Thirteen months had elapsed since the exodus. About one month had been occupied in the journey; and the rest of the period had been passed in encampment among the recesses of Sinai, where the transactions took place, and the laws, religious and civil, were promulgated, which are contained in the two preceding books. As the tabernacle was erected on the first day of the first month, and the order here mentioned was given on the first day of the second, some think the laws in Leviticus were all given in one month. The Israelites having been formed into a separate nation, under the special government of God as their King, it was necessary, before resuming their march towards the promised land, to put them into good order. And accordingly Moses was commissioned, along with Aaron, to take a census of the people. This census was incidentally noticed (Exo 38:26), in reference to the poll tax for the works of the tabernacle; but it is here described in detail, in order to show the relative increase and military strength of the different tribes. The enumeration was confined to those capable of bearing arms [Num 1:3], and it was to be made with a careful distinction of the tribe, family, and household to which every individual belonged. By this rule of summation many important advantages were secured: an exact genealogical register was formed, the relative strength of each tribe was ascertained, and the reason found for arranging the order of precedence in march as well as disposing the different tribes in camp around the tabernacle. The promise of God to Abraham [Gen 22:17] was seen to be fulfilled in the extraordinary increase of his posterity, and provision made for tracing the regular descent of the Messiah.

JFB: Num 1:3

Or companies. In their departure from Egypt they were divided into five grand companies (Exo 13:18), but from the sojourn in the wilderness to the passage of the Jordan, they were formed into four great divisions. The latter is here referred to.|| 03609||1||13||0||@with you there shall be a man of every tribe, &c.==--The social condition of the Israelites in the wilderness bore a close resemblance to that of the nomad tribes of the East in the present day. The head of the tribe was a hereditary dignity, vested in the oldest son or some other to whom the right of primogeniture was transferred, and under whom were other inferior heads, also hereditary, among the different branches of the tribe. The Israelites being divided into twelve tribes, there were twelve chiefs appointed to assist in taking the census of the people.

JFB: Num 1:5

Each is designated by adding the name of the ancestors of his tribe, the people of which were called "Beni-Reuben," "Beni-Levi," sons of Reuben, sons of Levi, according to the custom of the Arabs still, as well as other nations which are divided into clans, as the Macs of Scotland, the Aps of Wales, and the O's and the Fitzes of Ireland [CHALMERS].

JFB: Num 1:16-18

Literally, "the called" of the congregation, summoned by name; and they entered upon the survey the very day the order was given.

JFB: Num 1:18

Individually, one by one.

JFB: Num 1:19

The numbering of the people was not an act sinful in itself, as Moses did it by divine appointment; but David incurred guilt by doing it without the authority of God. (See on 2Sa 24:10).|| 03625||1||25||0||@These are those that were numbered==--In this registration the tribe of Judah appears the most numerous; and accordingly, as the pre-eminence had been assigned to it by Jacob [Gen 49:8-12], it got the precedence in all the encampments of Israel. Of the two half-tribes of Joseph, who is seen to be "a fruitful bough" [Gen 49:22], that of Ephraim was the larger, as had been predicted. The relative increase of all, as in the two just mentioned, was owing to the special blessing of God, conformably to the prophetic declaration of the dying patriarch. But the divine blessing is usually conveyed through the influence of secondary causes; and there is reason to believe that the relative populousness of the tribes would, under God, depend upon the productiveness of the respective localities assigned to them. [For tabular chart, see on Num 26:64.]

JFB: Num 1:45-46

What an astonishing increase from seventy-five persons who went down to Egypt about two hundred fifteen years before [see on Gen 46:8], and who were subjected to the greatest privations and hardships! And yet this enumeration was restricted to men from twenty years and upwards [Num 1:3]. Including women, children, and old men, together with the Levites, the whole population of Israel, on the ordinary principles of computation, amounted to about 2,400,000.

JFB: Num 1:47-54

They were obliged to keep a register of their own. They were consecrated to the priestly office, which in all countries has been exempted customarily, and in Israel by the express authority of God, from military service. The custody of the things devoted to the divine service was assigned to them so exclusively, that "no stranger"--that is, no person, not even an Israelite of any other tribe, was allowed, under penalty of death, to approach these [Num 16:40]. Hence they encamped round the tabernacle in order that there should be no manifestation of the divine displeasure among the people. Thus the numbering of the people was subservient to the separation of the Levites from those Israelites who were fit for military service, and to the practical introduction of the law respecting the first-born, for whom the tribe of Levi became a substitute [Exo 13:2; Num 3:12].

Clarke: Num 1:1

The Lord spake unto Moses - on the first day of the second month - As the tabernacle was erected upon the first day of the first month, in the second year after their coming out of Egypt, Exo 40:17; and this muster of the people was made on the first day of the second month, in the same year; it is evident that the transactions related in the preceding book must all have taken place in the space of one month, and during the time the Israelites were encamped at Mount Sinai, before they had begun their Journey to the promised land.

Clarke: Num 1:2

Take ye the sum, etc. - God, having established the commonwealth of Israel by just and equitable laws, ordained every thing relative to the due performance of his own worship, erected his tabernacle, which was his throne, and the place of his residence among the people, and consecrated his priests who were to minister before him; he now orders his subjects to be mustered

1.    That they might see he had not forgotten his promise to Abraham, but was multiplying his posterity

2.    That they might observe due order in their march toward the promised land

3.    That the tribes and families might be properly distinguished; that all litigations concerning property, inheritance, etc., might, in all future times, be prevented

4.    That the promise concerning the Messiah might be known to have its due accomplishment, when in the fullness of time God should send him from the seed of Abraham through the house of David. And

5.    That they might know their strength for war; for although they should ever consider God as their protector and defense, yet it was necessary that they should be assured of their own fitness, naturally speaking, to cope with any ordinary enemy, or to surmount any common difficulties.

Clarke: Num 1:3

From twenty years old and upward - In this census no women were reckoned, nor children, nor strangers, nor the Levites, nor old men, which, collectively, must have formed an immense multitude; the Levites alone amounted to 22,300. True-born Israelites only are reckoned; such as were able to carry arms, and were expert for war.

Clarke: Num 1:14

Eliasaph, the son of Deuel - This person is called Reuel, Num 2:14. As the ד daleth is very like the ר resh , it was easy to mistake the one for the other. The Septuagint and the Syriac have Reuel in this chapter; and in Num 2:14, the Vulgate, the Samaritan, and the Arabic have Deuel instead of Reuel, with which reading a vast number of MSS. concur; and this reading is supported by Num 10:20; we may safely conclude therefore that דעואל Deuel , not רעואל Reuel , was the original reading. See Kennicott. An ancient Jewish rabbin pretends to solve every difficulty by saying that "Eliasaph was a proselyte; that before he embraced the true faith he was called the son of Reuel, but that after his conversion he was called the son of Deuel."As Reuel may be translated the breach of God, and Deuel the knowledge of God, I suppose the rabbin grounded his supposition on the different meanings of the two words.

Clarke: Num 1:16

These were the renowned - Literally, the called, of the congregation - those who were summoned by name to attend. The order of the tribes In the above enumeration may be viewed thus: -

Sons of Lea

1.    Reube

2.    Simeo

3.    Juda

4.    Issacha

5.    Zebulu

Sons of Rache

6.    Ephrai

7.    Manasse

8.    Benjami

1st son of Bilhah, Rachel’ s mai

9.    Da

2d son of Zilpah, Leah’ s mai

10.    Ashe

1st son of Zilpah

11.    Ga

2d son of Bilhah

12.    Naphtali

Clarke: Num 1:25

Forty and five thousand six hundred and fifty - Mr. Ainsworth has remarked that Gad, the handmaid’ s son, is the only one of all the tribes whose number ends with fifty, all the others are by thousands, and end with hundreds; which shows God’ s admirable providence and blessing in multiplying them so, that no odd or broken number was among all the tribes. But see on Num 1:46 (note).

Clarke: Num 1:33

The tribe of Ephraim - forty thousand and five hundred - Ephraim, as he was blessed beyond his eldest brother Manasseh, Gen 48:20, so here he is increased by thousands more than Manasseh, and more than the whole tribe of Benjamin, and his blessing continued above his brother, Deu 33:17. And thus the prophecy, Gen 48:19, was fulfilled: His younger brother (Ephraim) shall be greater than he, (Manasseh). No word of God can possibly fall to the ground: he alone sees the end from the beginning; his infinite wisdom embraces all occurrences, and it is his province alone to determine what is right, and to predict what himself has purposed to accomplish.

Clarke: Num 1:46

All they that were numbered were six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty - What an astonishing increase from seventy souls that went down into Egypt, Gen 46:27, about 215 years before, where latterly they had endured the greatest hardships! But God’ s promise cannot fail (Gen 16:5); and who can resist his will, and bring to naught his counsel? That a comparative view may be easily taken of the state of the tribes, I shall produce them here from the first census mentioned in the first chapter of this book, in their decreasing proportion, beginning with the greatest and proceeding to the least; and in the second census, mentioned Numbers 26, where the increase of some and the decrease of others may be seen in one point of view. It may be just remarked, that except in the case of Gad in this chapter, and Reuben in Numbers 26, all the numbers are what may be called whole or round numbers, beginning with thousands, and ending with hundreds, Gad and Reuben alone ending with tens; but the Scripture generally uses round numbers, units and fractions being almost constantly disregarded

1. Judah 74,600	76,500
2. Dan 62,700	64,400
3. Simeon 59,300	22,200
4. Zebulun 57,400	60,500
5. Issachar 54,400	64,300
6. Naphtali 53,400	45,400
7. Reuben 46,500	43,730
8. Gad 45,650	40,500
9. Asher 41,500	53,400
10. Ephraim 40,500	32,500
11. Benjamin 35,400	45,600
12. Manasseh 32,200	52,700
Total 603,550	Total 601,730
Thus we find Judah, the most populous tribe, and Manasseh the least so; the difference between them being so great as 42,400, for which no very satisfactory reason can be assigned. In the second census, mentioned Num 26:34, Judah still has the pre-eminency; and Simeon, the third in number before, is become the least. Now we see also that the little tribe of Manasseh occupies the seventh place for number. Seven of the tribes had an increase; five a decrease. Manasseh had an increase of 20,500; Judah, 1,900; Issachar, 9,900; Zebulun, 3,100; Benjamin, 10,200; Dan, 1,700; Asher, 11,900. On the contrary there was a decrease in Reuben of 2,770; in Simeon, 37,100; Gad, 5,150; Ephraim, 8,000; Naphtali, 8,000. Decrease in the whole, 61,020 effective men. See on Numbers 26 (note); but balanced with the increase, the decrease was upon the whole 1,820. On the subject of these enumerations, and the manner in which this vast multitude sprang in about four generations from seventy-five persons, Scheuchzer has some valuable calculations, though liable to some objections, which I shall take the liberty to insert, as they tend to throw considerable light upon the subject. "We find in the writings of Moses three enumerations of the Jewish people, that follow each other pretty closely: - The first, which was made at their departure from Egypt, Exo 12:37, amounted to 600,000 One year after, to 603,550 On entering the land of Canaan, to 601,730 If we add to the number 603,550 that of the Levites given us in Num 3:39, and which amounted to 22,000 - We shall have for the sum total - 625,550 "We find the same number, on adding that of each tribe given us in detail, which is the best proof of the exactness of the calculation. "I think I shall afford the reader some degree of pleasure by presenting him, in this place, the number of each tribe separately, beginning at their earliest ancestors. We shall see, by this means, how faithfully God fulfilled the promise he had made to Abraham, as well as the great utility of the mathematics for the right understanding of the Holy Scriptures. I shall begin with a Genealogical Table of that family which God so wonderfully blessed; and to it I shall afterward add each separate tribe, following the calculation of Reyher, (Math. Mos., p. 222). And we shall see that the fourth generation, taken with the third, produces the very number mentioned in the tex
by Leah - Gen 46:15.
Reuben	Simeon	Levi	Judah	Issachar	Zebulun	Dinah
Hanoch	Jemuel	Gershon - Libni - Shimei 7,500 - Num 3:22	Shelah	Tola	Sered
Phallu	Jamin	Kohath - Amram - Izehar - Hebron - Uzziel 8,600 - Num 3:26	Pharez	Phuvah	Elon
Hezron	Ohad	Merari - Mahli - Mushi 6,200 - Num 3:34	Zerah	Job	Jahleel
Carmi	Jachin		Hazron	Shimron
	Zohar		Hamul
	Shaul
46,500 Num 1:21	59,300 Num 1:23	22,300 Num 3:22, Num 3:26, Num 3:34	74,600 Num 1:27	54,400 Num 1:29	57,400 Num 1:31
by Zilpah - Gen 46:18
Gad	Asher
Ziphion	Jimnah
Haggai	Ishuah
Shuni	Isui
Ezbon	Beriah - Heber - Malchial
Eri
Arodi
Areli
45,650 Num 1:25	41,500 Num 1:41
by Rachel - Gen 46:22
Joseph	Benjamin
Manasseh 32,200	Belah
Ephraim 40,500	Becher
	Ashbel
	Gerah
	Naaman
	Ehi
	Rosh
	Muppim
	Huppim
	Ard
72,700	35,400 Num 1:37
by Bilhah - Gen 46:25
Dan	Naphtali
Hushim	Jahzeel
	Guni
	Jezer
	Shillem
62,700 Num 1:39	53,400 Num 1:43
1. Reuben - 46,50 "Let us now descend to the particular enumeration of each tribe. Reuben had four sons: now if we suppose that one of these four sons had seven, and that each of the other three had eight, we shall find the number 31 for the first Egyptian generation. If we afterward suppose that each of these 31 sons had five sons, the second generation will amount to 155, which, multiplied by 15, will produce 2,325 for the third generation; and these, multiplied by 19, will make 44,175 for the fourth; so that the third, together with the fourth, will make 46,500. We shall have the same product if the given sum, 46,500, be divided by the most probable number of children, for example, by the number 19; we shall then have 2,447 for the third generation; which sum being deducted from the sum total, there will remain 44,053 for the fourth generation, which is exactly the number that is produced in multiplying 2,440 of the third generation by 18, and the other 7 by 19. If we wish to make the same calculation with respect to the preceding generations, i. e., divide them by the most probable number of children, we shall have the following sums: -
I. Generation	31
II. Generation	215
III. Generation	2,583
IV. Generation	43,917
Amount of generations III and IV.	46,500
2. Simeon - 59,30 "Simeon had six sons. Let us suppose that each of the three first had six children, and each of the three others seven, we shall have thirty-nine for the first generation. If we multiply 31 of this number by 9, and 8 by 10, we shall have for the second generation 359; of which number, if we multiply 355 by 11, and 4 by 12, the third generation will give us 3,953. Let us then multiply 3,948 of these by 14, and 5 of them by 15, and we shall have for the fourth 55,347. The third and fourth, added together, will make 59,300 3. Levi - 22,30 "Gershon, Levi’ s eldest son, had two children: let us give to one of these 16 children, and to the other 17, and we shall have 33 for the second generation; 28 of which, multiplied by 15, and 5 by 16, will produce 500 for the third. Multiply each by 14, and these will produce 7,000; and the third and fourth together, 7,500. "Kohath, Levi’ s second son, had four sons, which form the first line. Give to one of them 10 sons, and 11 to each of the other three, for the second generation there will be 43. Multiply them by 10, there will be 430 for the third; these, multiplied by 19 for the fourth, will produce the number of 8,170. The third and fourth added together make 8,600. "Merari, the third son of Levi, had two sons. Give 10 children to each of them, there will then be 20 for the second generation. Now if we say that 10 of these 20 had each 15 sons, and each of the others 16, we shall have 310, which, multiplied by 19, will give us 5,890 for the fourth; and the two last together, 6,200. This may be seen by the following example: -
Generations	Gershonites	Kohathites	Merarites
I	2	4	2
II	33	43	20
III	500	430	310
IV	7,000	8,170	5,890
Amount of generations III and IV	7,500	8,600	6,200
Total number of Levites - 22,300.
4. Judah - 74,60 "The sons of Judah were Shelah, Pharez, and Zerah. His grandsons by Pharez were Hezron and Hamul. Hezron had two sons. Suppose each of them had six children, which will make 12 for the first generation; to eight of whom allow eight children, and nine to each of the others, and there will be 100 for the second generation. To 92 of these then give 18 children, and 19 to the eight others; this will produce for the third generation 1,808. If we then suppose that 1,800 of these had each 18 children, and that each of the other eight had 19, the fourth generation will be 32,552, which, added to the product of the third, will make the descendants of Hezron amount to 34,360. "Hamul had two sons, who, multiplied by 10, produce the number of 20 for the second generation: these, multiplied by 20, will make 400 for the third, and these again by 25 will produce 10,000 for the fourth. And thus the two last generations will amount together to the number of 10,400 "If we allow five sons to Shelah, and six to Zerah, we shall have 11 for the first generation. To three of whom allow 10 children and 11 to the other eight, this will give us 118 for the second. To 113 of these give 14, and 15 to the other five, and 1,657 will be produced for the third. Give 17 to 1,643, and 18 to the 14 remaining, and for the fourth there will be 28,183. The third and fourth added together will produce the number of 29,840. "According to this calculation, all these generations will amount to the following numbers: -
34,360
Hamulites.	10,400
Shelanites and Zarhites	29,840
Total	74,600
5. Issachar - 54,40"Issachar had five sons. Suppose that three of them had each five children, and the other two, six, we shall have 27 for the first generation. If we then imagine that of these 19 had each nine sons, and each of the other eight 10, the second generation will be 251. Now 241 of these, multiplied by 12, will produce 2,892, and the 10 others, multiplied by 13, will make 130; consequently the third generation will amount to 3,022. If 3,018 of these had each 17 sons, and each of the other four had 18, the fourth generation will be 51,378; the third and fourth generations, then, will produce a number of 54,400. 6. Zebulun - 57,40 "Zebulun had three sons. If we suppose that two of them had in all fourteen children, and the third, six, here will be 20 for the first generation. The second will produce 143, on multiplying 17 by 7, and 3 by 8. If we multiply 135 by 16, and 8 by 17, the third will amount to 2,296. By multiplying the third by 24, the fourth will give us 55,104. The two last will produce, together, 57,400. 7. Gad - 45,65 "Gad had seven sons
I. Generation	multiply 3 by 9, and 4 by 10	=	67
II. Generation	multiply 61 by 7, and 6 by 8	=	475
III. Generation	multiply 471 by 8, and 4 by 9	=	3,804
IV. Generation	multiply 3,802 by 11, and 2 by 12	=	41,846
Amount of generations III and IV	=	45,650
7. Asher - 41,50 "The sons of Asher, Jimnah, Ishua, and Isui, multiplied by 8, produce for th
	=	24
II. Generation	multiply 24 by 8	=	192
III. Generation	multiply 182 by 11, and 10 by 12	=	2,122
IV. Generation	multiply 2,118 by 12, and 4 by 13	=	25,468
	Amount of generations III and IV	=	27,590
"Heber and Malchiel were sons of Beriah. Now these two sons multiplied by 5, give us fo
I. Generation		=	10
II. Generation	multiply 10 by 11	=	110
III. Generation	multiply by 9	=	990
IV. Generation	multiply by 12	=	11,880
Amount of generations III and IV	=	12,870
"Another son of Beriah had in th
I. Generation		=	1
II. Generation	multiply by 8	=	8
III. Generation	multiply by 10	=	80
IV. Generation	multiply by 12	=	960
Amount of generations III and IV	=	1,040
All these generations added together amount to 41,50 9. Josep Manasseh - 32,20
10
II. Generation	multiply 6 by 13, and 4 by 14	=	134
III. Generation	multiply 132 by 12, and 2 by 13	=	1,610
IV. Generation	multiply by 19	=	30,590
Amount of generations III and IV	=	32,200
Ephraim - 40,50
I. Generation		=	16
II. Generation	multiply by 10	=	160
III. Generation	multiply 152 by 12, and 8 by 13	=	1,928
IV. Generation	multiply 1916 by 20, and 12 by 21	=	38,572
Amount of generations III and IV	=	32,200
10. Benjamin - 35,40 "He had 10 sons; two of whom, multiplied by 9, and the other 8 by 10, will give for th
	=	98
II. Generation	multiply 95 by 9, and 3 by 10	=	885
III. Generation	multiply by 5	=	4,425
IV. Generation	multiply by 7	=	30,975
Amount of generations III and IV	=	35,400
11. Dan - 62,70
	=	11
II. Generation	multiply by 12	=	132
III. Generation	multiply by 19	=	2508
IV. Generation	multiply by 24	=	60,192
Amount of generations III and IV	=	62,700
12. Naphtali - 53,40 "He had 4 sons, the half of whom, multiplied by 7, and the other half by 6, give us for th
	=	26
II. Generation	multiply 16 by 11, and 10 by 12	=	296
III. Generation	multiply 288 by 12, and 8 by 13	=	3,560
IV. Generation	multiply by 14	=	49,840
Amount of generations III and IV	=	53,400
Total Number of All the Tribes
II.	Simeon	59,300
III.	Levi	22,300
IV.	Judah	74,600
V.	Issachar	54,400
VI.	Zebulun	57,400
VII.	Gad	45,650
VIII.	Asher	41,500
IX.	Manasseh	32,200
	Ephraim	40,500
X.	Benjamin	35,400
XI.	Dan	62,700
XII.	Naphtali	53,400
Total		625,850

"And indeed, without counting the Levites, the number of the Israelites (Num 1:46) amounts to 603,550 The Levites (Num 3:39) amount to 22,300. The whole number together, as above 625,850"In the above calculations, Scheuchzer and Reyher take for granted

1.    That from the going down to Egypt to the exodus there were four generations

2.    That the first two generations had died in Egypt

3.    That the promise of God in multiplying them as the stars of heaven, had taken place particularly in the two last generations

4.    That these two last generations alone form the aggregate sums given in the sacred text

5.    That their method of accounting for this aggregate through the four generations, is not only perfectly natural and mathematical, but strictly accordant with the promises made by God to them, as the sum of each tribe sufficiently proves

6.    That the whole account shows the truth of the Divine promise, the great accuracy of the Jewish lawgiver, and a proof of the inspiration of the sacred writings

But even to these calculations and deductions there may be objections, e. g. "Scheuchzer gives to 2,508 families of Dan, 24 male children, each above the age of 20: we may fairly allow an equal number of females, and add 5 more under 20, as in the note under "Exo 12:37, and we have 53 children on the average through all the families of a tribe; whilst to 4,425 families of Benjamin are allotted 7 males aged 20, and adding 7 females at 5 children, we have 19 children in each family; a tolerable number; but apparently more reasonable than the other."- Anon.

Calvin: Num 1:1

1.And the Lord spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai Although this is the first numbering of the people, of which we have an account, still, inasmuch as God had already imposed a tax upon every person, the amount of which has been recorded, we infer that it was in fact the second. But the reason for thus numbering the people a second time was, because they were very soon about to remove their camp from the wilderness of Sinai to take posession of the promised land. Since, however, their impiety withheld thmn from doing so, there was a third census taken just before their actual entrance into the land, and with this object, that it might be obvious, on comparison, how marvellously the people had been preserved by the springing up of a new generation, in spite of so many plagues and so much slaughter; for although a great proportion of them had been cut off, almost as many persons were found as before.

Further, it must be observed, that the people were not numbered except at God’s command, in order that He might thus assert His supreme dominion over them; and also, that the mode of taking the census was so arranged, that there should be no confusion of ranks either through fraud or irregularity; for this was the reason why each tribe had its superintendents, lest any one should slip into a tribe to which he did not belong; and this is expressly mentioned by way of assurance, since otherwise many might suspect that so great a multitude could hardly be distinguished into classes with certainty, so that the whole sum should be calculated without mistake.

Calvin: Num 1:20

20.And the children of Reuben, Israel’s eldest son If any disputatious person should contend that one family could not increase in 250 years to so great an amount, and thus should reject as nebulous what surpasses the ordinary rule of nature, we must bear in mind what I have already stated, that, inasmuch as this increase depended on the power of God, nothing is more absurd than to measure it by ordinary rules. For the intention of the Spirit is to represent to our eyes the incredible power of God in a conspicuous and signal miracle. Meanwhile, if you compared the tribe of Reuben with some of the others, it presents in its numbers some marks of the curse, so that we may gather that Reuben was degraded from the honors of his primogeniture; for the tribes of Simeon, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali were more numerous, whilst from Joseph alone, who was one of the youngest, a posterity descended which almost doubled it in numbers. God’s blessing, however, is most conspicuous in the tribe of Judah, in correspondence with the prophecy of Jacob; for by this prerogative, as it were, it was already called to the right of primogeniture and to supremacy, inasmuch as it surpassed all the principal ones.

Calvin: Num 1:47

47.But the Levites, after the tribe of their fathers We shall indeed hereafter see that they also were numbered, but Moses means that they were not included in the general census of the people, because God had chosen them to be His own property, and thus had severed them from the rest of the people. He writes, therefore, that they “were not numbered in the midst of the others,” ⁴¹⁹ i.e., so as promiscuously to form a part of the multitude. Now, lest any one should object that Moses acted ambitiously in thus bestowing on his own tribe extraordinary distinction, he declares that he did not do this spontaneously, but that it was at God’s bidding that the Levites had a separate class assigned to them; for translators render this passage amiss, “And God said to Moses,” ⁴²⁰ as if he stated that the tribe of Levi was then first set apart when the sum of the people was taken, since it would have been absurd to omit a part, unless God’s will had been already declared. Moses, therefore, shews why he passed over his own tribe, via, because God had consecrated the Levites for the keeping and service of the tabernacle. Now, if it was not lawful for the tabernacle to be carried or set up by all persons indiscriminately, its sanctity was enforced by this symbol; for religion would not have been held in so much reverence, if it had been allowable for all without distinction to meddle with the sacred things. Meanwhile, the Israelites were reminded that all without, exception were unworthy to present themselves before God, when they were forbidden from access to the sanctuary; whereas the dignity which was conferred upon a single tribe was no ground for boasting, since it depended merely on the good pleasure of God. God, then, gave the Levites access to His tabernacle, not because they had deserved that honor by any virtue of their own, but in order to afford a testimony of His gratuitous favor. At the same time, under this image He represented the future priesthood of Christ, in order that believers might be assured that the Mediator, by whom others might have access to God, was to be of the human race; and therefore God declares by Isaiah that He would take the Levites under the kingdom of Christ from the general and dispersed body of the people. (Isa 66:21.) As to what relates to their office, let it be sought in its proper place.

Defender: Num 1:2

In accord with the Biblical principle of plenary verbal inspiration, even the long lists of names and numbers in this book (as well as similar apparently mundane information in other books) have divine purposes. Among those that might be suggested are: (1) to illustrate God's concern for all individuals and each one's distinct role in God's economy; (2) to emphasize that God is a God of order and structure, not chaos and randomness; (3) to demonstrate His faithfulness to Abraham, fulfilling His promise to multiply Abraham's seed; (4) to confirm His interest in maintaining the integrity of families, as well as individuals."

Defender: Num 1:46

This number did not include the women and children, nor the tribe of Levi. All the Israelites in the wilderness must easily have exceeded two million. Since there were only seventy who had entered Egypt (Gen 46:27), this represented an average doubling of the Israelite population every 20 to 30 years, depending upon the somewhat uncertain duration of their stay in Egypt, which may have been as little as 215 years or as much as 430 years (Gen 15:13; Exo 12:40, Exo 12:41; Gal 3:17). This represents an unusually high population growth rate, implying large families (Jacob had twelve sons, for example). As reported in Exo 1:7, "the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them." Despite these large numbers, God miraculously provided food and water for them in the desert for 40 years. Their numbers no longer grew, however. The corresponding total at the end of the forty years was only 601,730. Of this total, only Caleb and Joshua were left from the number in the first census; all others died in the wilderness because of unbelief."

TSK: Num 1:1

wilderness : Num 10:11, Num 10:12; Exo 19:1; Lev 27:34

tabernacle : Exo 25:22; Lev 1:1

on the first day : As the tabernacle was erected on the first day of the first month, in the second year of their departure from Egypt (Exo 40:17), and this happened on the first day of the second month, in the same year, it is evident that the transactions related in the preceding book must all have taken place in the space of one month, and during the time the Israelites were encamped at mount Sinai. Num 9:1, Num 10:11; Exo 40:17; 1Ki 6:1

TSK: Num 1:2

Take ye the sum : This numbering was probably intended to illustrate the Divine faithfulness in thus increasing the seed of Abraham; to prepare them to preserve due order in their march; and to distinguish the tribes and families. Num 26:2-4, Num 26:63, Num 26:64; Exo 30:12, Exo 38:26; 2Sa 24:1-3; 1Ch 21:1, 1Ch 21:2, 1Ch 27:23, 1Ch 27:24

the children : Gen 49:1-3; Exo 1:1-5

after : Num 1:18, Num 1:22, 26-54; Exo 6:14-19

TSK: Num 1:3

twenty : Num 14:29, Num 32:11; Exo 30:14

able : Num 26:2; Deu 3:18, Deu 24:5; 2Sa 24:9; 2Ch 17:13-18, 2Ch 26:11-13

by their : Num 33:1; Exo 12:17

TSK: Num 1:4

Num 1:16, 2:3-31, 7:10-83, Num 10:14-27, Num 13:2-15, Num 17:3, Num 25:4, Num 25:14, Num 34:18-28; Exo 18:25; Jos 22:14; 1Chr. 27:1-22

TSK: Num 1:5

Elizur : Num 2:10, Num 7:30, Num 10:18; Gen 29:32-35, 30:5-20, Gen 35:17-26, 46:8-24, 49:1-33; Exo 1:2-5; Deut. 33:1-29; Rev 7:4-8

TSK: Num 1:6

Shelumiel : Num 2:12, Num 7:36

TSK: Num 1:7

Nahshon : Num 2:3, Num 7:12, Num 10:14; Rth 4:18; 1Ch 2:10, 1Ch 2:11; Mat 1:2-5; Luk 3:32, Naasson

TSK: Num 1:8

Nethaneel : Num 2:5, Num 7:18, Num 10:15

TSK: Num 1:9

Eliab : Num 2:7, Num 7:24, Num 10:16

TSK: Num 1:10

Elishama : Num 2:18, Num 7:48, Num 10:22; 1Ch 7:26, 1Ch 7:27

Gamaliel : Num 2:20, Num 7:54, Num 10:23

TSK: Num 1:11

Abidan : Num 2:22, Num 7:60, Num 10:24

TSK: Num 1:12

Ahiezer : Num 2:25, Num 7:66, Num 10:25

TSK: Num 1:13

Pagiel : Num 2:27, Num 7:72, Num 10:26

TSK: Num 1:14

Eliasaph : Num 7:42, Num 10:20, Son of Reuel, Num 2:14

Deuel : As the ד , daleth is very like the ר , resh , they might be easily mistaken for each other; and hence this person being called both Deuel and Reuel , may be easily accounted for. The Septuagint and Syriac have Reuel , in this chapter; and in Num 2:14, the Samaritan, Vulgate, and Arabic have Deuel , instead of Reuel , with which reading a vast number of manuscripts concur, and which is also supported by Num 7:42, Num 10:20. We may therefore safely conclude, the Deuel , and not Reuel , was the original reading.

TSK: Num 1:15

Ahira : Num 2:29, Num 7:78, Num 10:27

TSK: Num 1:16

the renowned : Keruey haâidah , literally ""the called of the congregation,""those who were summoned by name to attend. Num. 2:3-31, Num 7:2, 10-83, Num 10:14-27, Num 11:17, Num 16:2, Num 26:9; Jdg 6:15; 1Ch 27:16-22

heads : Num 1:4; Exo 18:21, Exo 18:25; Deu 1:15; 1Sa 22:7, 1Sa 23:23; Mic 5:2

TSK: Num 1:17

Num 1:5-15; Joh 10:3; Rev 7:4-17

TSK: Num 1:18

their pedigrees : Ezr 2:59; Neh 7:61; Heb 7:3, Heb 7:6 *marg.

by the : Num 1:2

according : Num. 1:20-54

from twenty : In this census no women were reckoned, nor children, nor minors, nor strangers, nor Levites, nor old men; which, collectively, must have formed an immense multitude; the Levites alone amounted to 22,300 men.

TSK: Num 1:19

Num 1:2, Num 26:1, Num 26:2; 2Sa 24:1-10

TSK: Num 1:20

Num 2:10, Num 2:11, Num 26:5-7; Gen 29:32, Gen 46:9, Gen 49:3, Gen 49:4; 1Ch 5:1

TSK: Num 1:21

That a comparative view may be easily taken of the state of the tribes, we will here produce them, compared with that of the second census (Num 26:1), in their decreasing proportion, beginning with the greatest and proceeding to the least.

Census Comparisons
Tribes	1st Census	2nd Census
1.	Judah	74,600	76,500
2.	Dan	62,700	64,400
3.	Simeon	59,300	22,200
4.	Zebulun	57,400	60,500
5.	Issachar	54,400	64,300
6.	Naphtali	53,400	45,400
7.	Reuben	46,500	43,730
8.	Gad	45,650	40,500
9.	Asher	41,500	53,400
10.	Ephraim	40,500	32,500
11.	Benjamin	35,400	45,600
12.	Manasseh	32,200	52,700
	Totals:	603,550	601,730

Thus we find Judah the most populous tribe, and Manasseh the least so; the difference between them being as great as 42,000. Jacob had given Judah the pre-eminence in his prophetic blessing; and that tribe was to have the precedency in the encampments of Israelcaps1 . acaps0 ccordingly God had increased them more than any of their brethren. Ephraim and Manasseh, according to the same prophecy, were numbered as distinct tribes, Ephraim having the superiority, as it was foretold; and Joseph indeed appears ""a fruitful bough."

Num 2:10, Num 2:11, Num 26:7

TSK: Num 1:22

Num 2:12, Num 2:13, Num 26:12-14; Gen 29:33, Gen 34:25-30, Gen 42:24, Gen 46:10, Gen 49:5, Gen 49:6

TSK: Num 1:23

Num 2:13, Num 25:8, Num 25:9, Num 25:14, Num 26:14

TSK: Num 1:24

The tribe of Gad marched, along with that of Simeon, under the standard of Reuben; and it seems, on that account, to have been introduced in this order. The other tribes also, are here classed together according to their encampments, and the order of their subsequent march.

Num 2:14, Num 2:15, Num 26:15-18; Gen 30:10, Gen 30:11, Gen 46:16, Gen 49:19

TSK: Num 1:25

Num 2:15, Num 26:18

TSK: Num 1:26

Num 2:3, Num 2:4, Num 26:19-22; Gen 29:35, Gen 46:12, Gen 49:8-12; 2Sa 24:9; 1Ch 5:2; 2Ch 17:14-16

TSK: Num 1:27

Num 2:3, Num 2:4, Num 26:22; 2Sa 24:9; 2Ch 17:14-16

TSK: Num 1:28

Num 2:5, Num 2:6, Num 23:23-25; Gen 30:18, Gen 46:13, Gen 49:14, Gen 49:15

TSK: Num 1:29

Num 2:6, Num 26:25

TSK: Num 1:30

Num 2:7, Num 2:8, Num 26:26, Num 26:27; Gen 30:20, Gen 46:14, Gen 49:13

TSK: Num 1:31

Num 2:8, Num 26:27

TSK: Num 1:32

Num 2:18, Num 2:19, Num 26:35-37; Gen 30:24, 37:1-36, 39:1-23, Gen 46:20, 48:1-22; Gen 49:22-26; Deu 33:17

TSK: Num 1:33

the tribe : Gen 48:5; Deu 33:17

were forty : Num 2:19, Num 26:37

TSK: Num 1:34

Manasseh : Num 26:34; Gen 41:51, Gen 46:20, Gen 48:1, Gen 50:23; Deu 33:17; Jos 4:12, Jos 17:1; 1Ch 7:14; Rev 7:6

TSK: Num 1:35

Num 2:21, Num 26:34; Gen 48:19, Gen 48:20

TSK: Num 1:36

Gen 35:16-18, Gen 44:20, Gen 46:21, Gen 49:27

TSK: Num 1:37

Num 2:23, Num 26:41; Jdg 20:44-46; 2Ch 17:17

TSK: Num 1:38

Gen 30:5, Gen 30:6, Gen 46:23, Gen 49:16, Gen 49:17

TSK: Num 1:39

Num 2:26, Num 26:43

TSK: Num 1:40

Gen 30:12, Gen 30:13, Gen 46:27, Gen 49:20

TSK: Num 1:41

Num 2:28, Num 26:47

TSK: Num 1:42

Naphtali : Gen 30:7, Gen 30:8, Gen 46:24, Gen 49:21; Respecting the manner in which this vast multitude sprang from 75 persons, Scheuchzer has some valuable calculations, with the results of which we present the reader:

	Tribe	1st Gen	2nd Gen	3rd Gen	4th Gen	Totals (3 and 4)
1.	Judah	25	x630 238	3,865	70,735	74,600
2.	Dan	11	132	2,508	60,192	62,700
3.	Simeon	39	359	3,953	55,347	59,300
4.	Zebulun	20	143	2,296	55,104	57,400
5.	Issachar	27	251	3,022	< 51,378	54,400
6.	Naphtali	26	296	3,560	49,840	53,400
7.	Reuben	31	215	2,583	43,917	46,500
8.	Gad	67	475	3,804	> 41,846	45,650
9.	Asher	39	310	3,192	38,308	41,500
10.	Ephraim	16	160	1,928	38,572	40,500
11.	Benjamin	98	885	4,425	30,975	35,400
12.	Manasseh	10	134	1,610	30,590	32,200
13.	Levi	8	96	< 1,240	21,060	22,300

TSK: Num 1:43

Num 2:30, Num 26:50

TSK: Num 1:44

Num 1:2-16, Num 26:64

TSK: Num 1:46

What an astonishing increase from seventy persons who went down into Egypt about 215 years before, where they had latterly endured the greatest hardships! Such was the effect of God’ s promise, which cannot fail.

Num 2:32, Num 23:10, Num 26:51; Gen 12:2, Gen 13:16, Gen 15:5, Gen 17:6, Gen 22:17, Gen 26:3, Gen 28:14; Gen 46:3, Gen 46:4; Exo 12:37, Exo 38:26; Deu 10:22; 1Ki 4:20; 2Sa 24:9; 1Ch 21:5; 2Ch 13:3, 2Ch 17:14-19; Heb 11:11, Heb 11:12; Rev 7:4-9

TSK: Num 1:47

Num 1:3, Num 1:50, Num 2:33, 3:1-51, 4:1-49, 8:1-26, Num 26:57-62; 1Chr. 6:1-81, 1Ch 21:6

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Barnes: Num 1:1-4

A month had passed away since the setting up of the tabernacle Exo 40:2, Exo 40:17 : and the Sinaitic legislation was now complete (compare Lev 27:34).

A census ("sum") was commanded, to be based not upon any fresh registration of individuals, but upon that which had accompanied the previous collection of the offerings. Compare Exo 30:11, etc.; Exo 38:25-28. The offerings had been probably tendered by the people in groups, and if certificates of registration were furnished to such groups, the new census might be easily carried out by means of these documents, and got through Num 1:18 in a single day. The present registration enrolled persons "after their families, by the house of their fathers;"and was superintended not by the Levites (see Exo 38:21 and note), but by Num 1:4 an assessor for each tribe to act in the business with Moses and Aaron. The purpose now in view was not religious only. The census now taken would serve as a basis for various civil and military arrangements.

Barnes: Num 1:5-16

The princes of the tribes, selected Num 1:4 under divine direction, were for the most part the same persons as those chosen a few months previously at the counsel of Jethro Exo 18:21-26. Nahshon, prince of Judah, is mentioned in Exo 6:23, and Elishama, in 1Ch 7:26-27. The peers of men like these were no doubt entitled, among their fellows, to the epithet "renowned,"Num 1:16.

Barnes: Num 1:20-46

The enrollment, being taken principally for military purposes (compare Num 1:3, Num 1:20), would naturally be arranged by hundreds, fifties, etc. (cf. 2Ki 1:9, 2Ki 1:11, 2Ki 1:13). In eleven tribes the number enrolled consists of complete hundreds. The difference, in this respect, observable in the case of the tribe of Gad here Num 1:25, and of the tribe of Reuben at the later census Num 26:7, is probably to be accounted for by the pastoral, and consequently nomadic, habits of these tribes, which rendered it difficult to bring all their members together at once for a census. Judah already takes precedence of his brethren in point of numbers (compare Gen 49:8 note), and Ephraim of Manasseh (compare Gen 48:19-20).

Barnes: Num 1:47-54

When a census of the tribe of Levi takes place. Num 3:15; Num 26:62, "all"the males are counted from a month old and upward, and not, as in the other tribes, those only who were of age for service in the field.

Num 1:48

had spoken - Render spake. The formal appointment is only now made, in reward for their zeal Exo 32:26-29, though reference to their future office appears previously in Lev 25:32 ff, and they had already acted as assistants to the priests (compare Exo 38:21).

Poole: Num 1:1

In the tabernacle from the mercy seat.

B.C. 1490

Poole: Num 1:2

This is not the same muster with that Exo 38:26 , as plainly appears, because that was before the building of the tabernacle, which was built and set up on the first day of the first month , Exo 40:2 ; but this was after it, to wit, on the first day of the second month, as is said Num 1:1 . And they were for differing ends; that was to tax them for the charges of the tabernacle, but this was for other ends; partly, that the great number of the people might be known to the praise of God’ s faithfulness, in making good his promises of multiplying them, and to their own comfort and encouragement; partly, for the better ordering of their camp and march, for they were now beginning their journey; and partly, that this account might be compared with the other in the close of the book, where we read that not one of all this vast number, except Caleb and Joshua, were left alive; which was an evident discovery of the mischievous nature of sin, by which so vast a company were destroyed, and a fair warning to all future generations to take heed of rebelling against the Lord, for which their ancestors had been so dreadfully plagued even to extirpation. It is true, the sums and numbers agree in this and that computation, which is not strange, because there was not much time between the two numberings, and no eminent sin among the people in that interval whereby God was provoked to diminish their numbers. Some conceive, that in that number, Ex 30 Ex 38 , the Levites were included, which are here excepted, Num 1:47 , and that in that interval of time there were grown up as many more men of those years as there were Levites of the same age.

Of the children of Israel so the stranger mixed with them were not numbered. The people were divided into twelve tribes, the tribes into great families, Num 26:5 ; these great families into lesser families, called

the houses of their fathers because they were distinguished one from another by their fathers.

Poole: Num 1:4

To inspect the work, that it might be faithfully and impartially done.

Poole: Num 1:5

With you to wit, with Moses and Aaron, who were the chief managers of the work. The tribes are here numbered according to the order or quality of their birth, first the children of Leah, then of Rachel, and then of the hand-maids.

Poole: Num 1:14

Called Reuel , Num 2:14 , the Hebrew letters daleth and resh being very like, and oft changed.

Poole: Num 1:16

The renowned Heb. the named or called , to wit, by Moses and by God’ s appointment, to manage this affair, and others as there was occasion. Compare Num 16:2 26:9 .

Heads of thousands See Exo 18:21 Num 10:4 .

Poole: Num 1:20

By their generations Heb. to wit, their generations , i.e. the persons begotten of Reuben’ s immediate children, who are here subdivided into families, and they into houses, and they into particular persons.

Poole: Num 1:27

Far more than any other tribe, in accomplishing of Jacob’ s prophecy, Ge 49 .

Poole: Num 1:33

Above eight thousand more than Manasseh, towards the accomplishment of that promise, Gen 48:20 , which the devil in vain attempted to defeat by stirring up the men of Gath against them, 1Ch 7:21,22

Poole: Num 1:37

The smallest number, except one, though Benjamin had more immediate children than any of his brethren, Gen 46:21 ; whereas Dan had but one immediate son, Gen 46:23 , yet now his number is the biggest but one of all the tribes, and is almost double to that of Benjamin. Such great and strange changes God easily can, and frequently doth, make in families, 1Sa 2:5 . And therefore let none boast or please themselves too much in their numerous offspring.

Haydock: Num 1:1

First day of the second month, called after the captivity, Jiar, which party corresponds with our April. These injunctions were given from the tabernacle, (Calmet) in the desert, the 12th station, (Haydock) at the foot of Mount Sinai.

Haydock: Num 1:2

Houses. The families consisted of the immediate descendants of the 12 patriarchs; the houses were from the subdivisions of these. The same plan of numbering the people was adopted on other occasions, Josue viii. 16., and 1 Kings x. 20. ---

Sex, between 20 and 60 years of age. All the subjects of the Eastern kings may be called upon, if they be able to bear arms; and hence we find such immense armies in the Scripture, and in profane history. Moses numbered the people once before, (Exodus xxx. 2,) and found exactly the same number of warriors, the dead being replaced by others, during the space of seven months. Perhaps the odd numbers might not be specified, as all the totals consist of so many exact hundreds, except that of the tribe of Gad, ver. 25. On the former occasion, the people were not perhaps ranged according to their tribes, which was now deemed necessary, as they army was going to begin its march under its respective leaders. (Calmet)

Haydock: Num 1:3

Arms, ( fortium ). "Strong or brave." The psalmist (civ. 37,) says, there was not one feeble. (Menochius) ---

Troops. Hebrew, "army." Septuagint, "force." Their officers shall be at their head, and shall assist you in the work. Some might command 1000, others 100, and some only 50. See Exodus xiii. 18., and xviii. 21. ---

[ Ver. 4. ] Princes; the first-born, or most ancient, (Lyranus,) the lineal descendants of the patriarchs; (Jansen) or, in fine, such as were chosen for their merit, as all were equally noble; and hence Nahasson, prince of Juda, is mentioned, though he was not a descendant of the eldest son of Juda, but of Phares; and those who were at the head of those who were numbered a little before the death of Moses, were not the descendants of these, chap. xxvi. 64. In effect, we find that Moses chose for his council, able men out of all Israel, Exodus xviii. 25. (Bonfrere) (Calmet)

Haydock: Num 1:14

Duel. Hebrew Dehuel. But (chap. ii. 14,) we find the word begins R, as the Septuagint have read, Ragouel. (Haydock)

Haydock: Num 1:16

Army. Hebrew, "of a thousand." The Vulgate commonly styles them tribunes. They were "people of name in the assembly," as the Hebrew indicates. (Calmet)

Haydock: Num 1:26

Juda. This tribe was the most numerous. But it is not here placed first, because the order of birth in Lia's children is observed. Then come those of Rachel; and last of all, the children of the two handmaids, Bala and Zelpha. (Haydock)

Haydock: Num 1:47

Levites. As they attended the tabernacle, like God's peculiar servants, and were not obliged to go forth to battle, it was not necessary to number them with the rest. (Calmet) ---

They might, however, fight if they thought proper, as the Machabees did. See Josephus, Antiquities iii. 11., and iv. 4. (Tirinus)

Gill: Num 1:1

And the Lord spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai,.... Which is different from the wilderness of Sin, Exo 16:1; and had its name from the mountain so called, on which God gave the law of the decalogue, and where the Israelites had been encamped eleven months, Exo 19:1,

in the tabernacle of the congregation; which had now been set up a whole month, and out of which the Lord had delivered to Moses the several laws recorded in the preceding book in that space of time, Exo 40:17,

on the first day of the second month; the month Ijar, as the Targum of Jonathan, which answers to part of our April, and part of May, and was the second month of the ecclesiastical year, which began with Abib or Nisan:

in the second year after they were come out of the land of Egypt; that is, the children of Israel, who had now been a year and half a month out of it:

saying, as follows.

Gill: Num 1:2

Take ye the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel,.... Excepting the Levites; nor were any account taken of the mixed multitude that came out of Egypt with the children of Israel, only of them; and this account was taken, partly to observe the fulfilment of the divine promise to Abraham concerning the multiplication of his seed, and partly that it might be observed, that at the end of thirty eight years from hence, when they were numbered again, there were but three left of this large number, their carcasses falling in the wilderness because of their sins; and chiefly, as Aben Ezra observes, this sum was now taken to fix their standards, and for their better and more orderly journeying and encampment; for on the twentieth of this month they set forward on their journey from hence, Num 10:11; the word for the order is in the plural number, take ye, being given both to Moses and Aaron, who were to take the number, and did, Num 1:3,

after their families; into which their tribes were divided:

by the house of their fathers; for if the mother was of one tribe, and the father of another, the family was according to the tribe of the father, as Jarchi notes, a mother's family being never called a family, as Aben Ezra observes:

with the number of their names; of every particular person, whose name was inserted in a list or register:

every male by their poll; or head ^b; for none but males were numbered: the Lord's spiritual Israel are a numbered people, written in the book of life, placed into the hand of Christ, and exactly known by him, even by name; yea, all that belong to him are numbered, and the very airs of their heads,

Gill: Num 1:3

From twenty years old and upwards,.... All that had entered into their twentieth year, or, as it should rather seem, who were full twenty years of age, and all that were above it without any limitation; though some limit it to fifty, and others to sixty years, when men may be reasonably excused going to war; for to know who were fit for it seems to be a principal design of this order, as follows:

all that are able to go forth to war in Israel; who being about to journey, might expect to meet with enemies, with whom they would be obliged to engage in battle; and therefore it was proper to know their strength, and whom to call out upon occasion: Aben Ezra observes, that the phrase "in Israel" excepts the mixed multitude; those were not of Israel, and so not numbered, and perhaps not to be trusted or depended upon in war; nor were they mustered and marshalled by the standards of the several tribes; in a mystical sense, those numbered may signify the valiant of Israel, the same as the young men in 1Jo 2:14; see Son 3:7,

thou and Aaron shall number them by their armies; each tribe making a considerable army; see Gill on Exo 7:4; these people were now typical of the church of God in its militant state in the wilderness, for which they are provided, and prepared, and accoutred.

Gill: Num 1:4

And with you there shall be a man of every tribe,.... Excepting Levi, of which Moses and Aaron were, to assist in taking the account, and to see that it was an exact and perfect one:

everyone head of the house of his fathers; and prince of the tribe he belonged to, as appears from Num 1:16 and Num 7:2, where an account is given of the same persons as princes of the tribes that offered at the dedication of the altar, who here assisted in the taking this account; the Targum of Jonathan calls them each a prince, as Prince Elizur, &c.

Gill: Num 1:5

And these are the names of the men that shall stand with you,.... Be present with Moses and Aaron when numbering the people; not merely as spectators of the affair, and inspectors of the accounts, but as assistants in the work; each man in his tribe, being best acquainted with the families and houses in it; and these men were not pitched upon by Moses and Aaron, nor chosen by their respective tribes, but were appointed and named by the Lord himself, which was doing them great honour:

of the tribe of Reuben: or "for Reuben" ^c, for the taking the number of men in this tribe; and so of all the rest, see Num 1:44,

Elizur the son of Shedeur; from Num 1:5 the names of those several men are given, which were very proper for Moses and Aaron to know, though of little importance to us; nor the signification of their several names, given by Ainsworth and others; only, as Bishop Patrick observes, most of them show how much God was in the thoughts of those who, imposed these names on their children, several of them having in them "El" or "Eli", "God" or "my God", and "Shaddai", "Almighty" or "all-sufficient": to which may be added, that in some of them they seem to respect the Messiah, as Elizur, signifying "my God the rock"; and Shelumiel may be rendered, "God my peace"; and Zurishaddai, "my rock the Almighty", or "all-sufficient"; and Pedazhur, "the rock redeemeth": nor is there anything of any moment to be remarked, unless the order in which the several tribes are placed; and first the children of Leah, beginning with Reuben, the firstborn; and the rest, Simeon and Judah, are ranked according to their birth; Levi being omitted, because that tribe was not now numbered, and besides, Moses and Aaron were of it; and then Issachar and Zebulun; after those the children of Rachel, because of her honour and glory above the handmaids, as Aben Ezra remarks; who further observes, that it begins with Ephraim, following Jacob our father, that is, because of the blessing of Jacob, who preferred Ephraim the younger to Manasseh the elder; and here Ephraim and Manasseh are set before Benjamin, because they were in the place of Joseph; and after that the account goes on with Dan, because, he was the firstborn of the handmaids; and after him Asher, though the second son of Zilpah, is placed before Gad, the first son, because, says the same Aben Ezra, the Lord knew that he would be the head of those that encamped by the standard of Dan, and so is placed next to him; and after him Gad, who was the firstborn of Leah's handmaid; and Naphtali last of all, the second son of Bilhah: this order seems to be designed to suit with their encampments, and the form of them.

Gill: Num 1:6

Of Simeon; Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai. See Gill on Num 1:5.

Gill: Num 1:7

Of Judah; Nahshon the son of Amminadab. See Gill on Num 1:5.

Gill: Num 1:8

Of Issachar; Nethaneel the son of Zuar. See Gill on Num 1:5.

Gill: Num 1:9

Of Zebulun; Eliab the son of Helon. See Gill on Num 1:5.

Gill: Num 1:10

Of the children of Joseph: of Ephraim; Elishama the son of Ammihud: of Manasseh; Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur. See Gill on Num 1:5.

Gill: Num 1:11

Of Benjamin; Abidan the son of Gideoni. See Gill on Num 1:5.

Gill: Num 1:12

Of Dan; Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai. See Gill on Num 1:5.

Gill: Num 1:13

Of Asher; Pagiel the son of Ocran. See Gill on Num 1:5.

Gill: Num 1:14

Of Gad; Eliasaph the son of Deuel. See Gill on Num 1:5.

Gill: Num 1:15

Of Naphtali; Ahira the son of Enan. See Gill on Num 1:5.

Gill: Num 1:16

These were the renowned of the congregation,.... The most famous and eminent among the people, for their birth and pedigree, or for their excellent qualities of wisdom, courage, and the like; or "the called of the congregation" ^d, whom God had called by name and selected from the rest of the congregation to the above service, whereby great honour was done them: Aben Ezra says, the sense is, that the congregation did nothing until they had called them; with which agrees the note of Jarchi,"who were called to every business of importance in the congregation:"

princes of the tribes of their fathers; as Elizur was prince of the children of Reuben, Num 7:30; the same is there said of the rest in their respective tribes:

heads of thousands in Israel; the congregation of Israel being divided into thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens, by the advice of Jethro, Exo 18:21; each of these divisions had a ruler over them, and thousands being the highest number, these princes were chiliarchs, rulers or heads of thousands.

Gill: Num 1:17

And Moses and Aaron took these men,.... They doubtless sent for them, and acquainted them with the nomination of them, by the Lord himself, for such a service; and they took them with them to the place where the number of the people was to be taken:

which are expressed by their names: in Num 1:16, and that as declared by the mouth of God himself.

Gill: Num 1:18

And they assembled all the congregation together on the first day of the second month,.... The month Ijar, as the Targum of Jonathan, answering to part of April and May: this was done on the selfsame day the Lord spake unto Moses about this affair, Num 1:1; so expeditious were he and Aaron in doing the will of God:

and they declared their pedigrees; either Moses and Aaron, according to Aben Ezra, who inquired when they were born, because of the computation of twenty years; and then their birth was wrote down, as he says; or rather the people declared their pedigrees, of what tribe, family, and house they were, who their parents, when born, and so, of course, how old they were; Jarchi interprets it, they brought the books of their genealogies, and witnesses to confirm the birth of everyone of them, to show their genealogy according to their tribe; nor is it at all unlikely that every family and house, or master thereof, kept a register of those born to him in it, whereby their age could be ascertained as well as pedigree:

after their famines, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of their names, from twenty years old and upwards, by their poll: that is, every tribe gave an account of the families in it, every family what houses were in it, and every house what number of males were in it, and of what age; and such were numbered who were twenty years old and upward.

Gill: Num 1:19

As the Lord commanded Moses,.... In this Moses and David differed in numbering the people of Israel; the one did it by an express command from God, and in obedience to it; the other without one, and against his will, 1Ch 21:17,

so he numbered them in the wilderness of Sinai; where they now were when this order was given, Num 1:1; and from whence they removed the twentieth day of this month, Num 10:11; so that in less than three weeks time, perhaps much sooner, this affair was finished; and it may be, that the place of numbering them at this time is expressly observed, to distinguish it from another numbering of them, recorded in this book, which was done in the plains of Moab, Num 26:2.

Gill: Num 1:20

And the children of Reuben, Israel's eldest son,.... Were numbered first, and next to them those of Simeon and Gad, for they were numbered according to the order in which they were to be encamped; for under Reuben's standard were Simeon and Gad, and under Judah's Issachar and Zebulun, and under Ephraim's Manasseh and Benjamin, and under Dan's Asher and Naphtali; and according to their order were the tribes numbered:

by their generations: or "their generations", the birth, descent, and pedigree of them:

after their families, by the house of their fathers: according to the families and houses to which they belonged:

according to the number of the names by their polls, every male from twenty years old and upward; their names were taken down, the number of them counted by their heads, even all the males that were above twenty years of age:

all that were able to go forth to war; which phrase, as it suggests that before this age they were not reckoned able bodied men for war, in common, though some might; so it seems to except all infirm persons, by reason of age and otherwise: now in all the other account of the numbering of the rest of the tribes, the same forms of expression are used as here, only the tribe of Simeon, which is the next, these words are left out, "by their polls, every male", which being twice observed, need not be repeated, since by these instances it might be sufficiently known that the number was taken by a poll, and only of males; so that in Num 1:23, there is nothing material to observe, or anything different from what is in this verse, but the particular sums of each tribe numbered, which stand thus: of the tribe of Reuben 46,500; of the tribe of Simeon, 59,300; of the tribe of Gad, 45,650; of the tribe of Judah, 74,600; of the tribe of Issachar, 54,400; of the tribe of Zebulun, 57,400; of the tribe of Ephraim, 40,500; of the tribe of Manasseh, 32,200; of the tribe of Benjamin 35,400; of the tribe of Dan, 62,700; of the tribe of Asher 41,500; of the tribe of Naphtali, 53,400; in which may be observed the various increase of the tribes, agreeably to divine predictions, and according to the sovereign will and infinite wisdom of God: Reuben, the firstborn, did not excel in number, six of the tribes having more in number than he: Judah had by far the greatest increase of them all, from whom the chief ruler was to come, and even the King Messiah; and in process of time was to become a kingdom of itself; Ephraim, the younger son of Joseph, was much more fruitful than Manasseh, his elder, more than eight thousand being numbered of the former than of the latter, all which agree with Jacob's prophecies, Gen 49:4; nor had they always the greatest number who had the most sons at their going down into Egypt; for though Simeon, who had then more sons than Reuben, had at this time a larger posterity; yet Gad, who had more than Simeon, had now fewer descendants; and Dan, who had but one son at that time, had now almost double the number of Benjamin, who then had ten sons: and it may be observed of other tribes, that their increase was not in proportion to the number of the sons of the patriarchs then; see Gen 46:8.

Gill: Num 1:21

Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Reuben, were forty and six thousand and five hundred. 46,500 men. See Gill on Num 1:20.

Gill: Num 1:22

Of the children of Simeon, by their generations,.... See Gill on Num 1:20.

Gill: Num 1:23

Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Simeon, were fifty and nine thousand and three hundred. 59,300 men. See Gill on Num 1:20.

Gill: Num 1:24

Of the children of Gad, by their generations,.... See Gill on Num 1:20.

Gill: Num 1:25

Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Gad,

were forty and five thousand six hundred and fifty. 45,650 men. See Gill on Num 1:20.

Gill: Num 1:26

Of the children of Judah, by their generations,.... See Gill on Num 1:20.

Gill: Num 1:27

Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Judah, were threescore and fourteen thousand and six hundred. 74,600 men. See Gill on Num 1:20.

Gill: Num 1:28

Of the children of Issachar, by their generations,.... See Gill on Num 1:20.

Gill: Num 1:29

Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Issachar, were fifty and four thousand and four hundred. 54,400 men. See Gill on Num 1:20.

Gill: Num 1:30

Of the children of Zebulun, by their generations,.... See Gill on Num 1:20.

Gill: Num 1:31

Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Zebulun, were fifty and seven thousand and four hundred. 57,400 men. See Gill on Num 1:20.

Gill: Num 1:32

Of the children of Joseph, namely, of the children of Ephraim, by their generations,.... See Gill on Num 1:20.

Gill: Num 1:33

Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Ephraim, were forty thousand and five hundred. 40,500 men. See Gill on Num 1:20.

Gill: Num 1:34

Of the children of Manasseh, by their generations,.... See Gill on Num 1:20.

Gill: Num 1:35

Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Manasseh, were thirty and two thousand and two hundred. 32,200 men. See Gill on Num 1:20.

Gill: Num 1:36

Of the children of Benjamin, by their generations,.... See Gill on Num 1:20.

Gill: Num 1:37

Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Benjamin, were thirty and five thousand and four hundred. 35,400 men. See Gill on Num 1:20.

Gill: Num 1:38

Of the children of Dan, by their generations,.... See Gill on Num 1:20.

Gill: Num 1:39

Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Dan,

were threescore and two thousand and seven hundred. 62,700 men. See Gill on Num 1:20.

Gill: Num 1:40

Of the children of Asher, by their generations,.... See Gill on Num 1:20.

Gill: Num 1:41

Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Asher, were forty and one thousand and five hundred. 41,500 men. See Gill on Num 1:20.

Gill: Num 1:42

Of the children of Naphtali, throughout their generations,.... See Gill on Num 1:20.

Gill: Num 1:43

Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Naphtali, were fifty and three thousand and four hundred. 53,400 men. See Gill on Num 1:20.

Gill: Num 1:44

These are those that were numbered,.... Or, as the Targum of Jonathan, these are the sums of the numbers; namely, those before given of the several respective tribes:

which Moses and Aaron numbered, and the princes of Israel, being twelve men; for though the tribe of Levi was not numbered, yet Joseph having a double portion, his two sons are reckoned as distinct tribes; so that one out of each tribe made up the number twelve:

each one for the house of his fathers; for the tribe he belonged to, with which it might reasonably be supposed he was best acquainted, and could more readily take the number of them.

Gill: Num 1:45

So were all those that were numbered of the children of Israel,.... Of all the tribes, excepting Levi, that is, all the sums of the number of the children of Israel; all put together made the sum total given in the next verse:

by the house of their fathers, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war in Israel; all in every tribe, family, and house, that were above twenty years of age, healthful and strong, and fit for war.

Gill: Num 1:46

Even all they that were numbered,.... Of whom an account was taken, and their names set down in a book or register: were 603,550; which was exactly the number of them, when taken about seven months before this, when they were assessed for defraying the expenses of the tabernacle, Exo 38:26; so that it should seem not one person had died during that time; for though there were three that died a violent death in that compass of time, yet two of them were of the tribe of Levi, not now numbered; and the other was not an Israelite by the father's side; see Lev 10:1; but it is not very probable, among such a vast number of people, that not one above twenty years of age should die in that time: some therefore are of opinion, that the tribe of Levi was numbered before, though not now; and that there was such an increase in that time among the other tribes as to equal the number of males of twenty years and upwards, in that tribe taken into the service of God, by which they were no losers.

Gill: Num 1:47

But the Levites,.... The tribe of Levi were excepted from this muster, they being employed in a kind of warfare, and therefore not to be engaged in another:

after the tribe of their fathers, were not numbered among them: the rest of the tribes; the reason follows.

Gill: Num 1:48

For the Lord had spoken unto Moses,.... Not to number the Levites, when he gave him the orders to number the rest of the tribes: this is observed, lest it should be thought that this was what Moses did of himself, out of affection to the tribe he was of, and to spare it, that it might not be obliged to go forth to war when others did; not that they were forbid to engage in war, or that it was unlawful for them so to do, for when necessity required, and they were of themselves willing to engage in it, they might, as appears in the case of the Maccabees, but they might not be forced into it; they were, as Josephus ^e says, exempted from it; and so all concerned in religious service, both among Heathens and Christians, have always been excused bearing arms:

saying; as follows.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Num 1:1

¹ sn The book of Numbers is the fourth book of the Pentateuch, traditionally called the Law of Moses. It provides a record of the experience of the Israelites during the wilderness wanderings, and records the laws for the camp as they traveled from place to place. The book focuses on the difficulties of the Israelites due to their lack of faith, rebellion, and apostasy. It also records God’s protection of his people from opposition from without. The book makes a fitting contribution to the collection of holy writings as it shows the spiritual and physical progression of the company of the redeemed toward the promised land. The book has to be studied in conjunction with the other books of the Pentateuch. It builds on the promises made to Abraham in Genesis and the redemption from bondage in Exodus; it completes the cultic instructions for Israel that were laid down in Leviticus, and it concerns the worship in and the movement of the tabernacle that was built in Exodus. But the information here, both legal and historical, was not the major concern in those books. The book gets its title in English (following the Greek tradition) from the two censuses taken of the people, one at the beginning of the wanderings and the other at the end (although the Hebrew title is taken from the beginning of the book, בַּמִּדְבַּר [bammidbar], “in the wilderness”). In these lists particular emphasis is given to the leaders of the clans, a theme that will continue in the book as the focus is on how the leaders function in all the trials and temptations of the journey. The material in this book is essentially a theological interpretation of historical events, and as such it stands as an integral part of the revelation of God. In the study of the book of Numbers, when these issues of the nature of the text are significant to the interpretation and acceptance of the text, the notes will comment on them briefly. The indication at the outset of the book is that Moses had a good number of people who were able to help him compile the statistics and the facts of the wandering community. In Num 11:16-18 there is a group of leaders known as שֹׁטְּרִים(shottÿrim). This term was used in Exod 5:16-19 to describe the officers or foremen of the Israelites. They were appointed supervisors of the clans by Moses, and by the time of Joshua (Josh 1:10) they were a literary guild. The Hebrew word, cognate with Akkadian sataru, means “to write.” These people were to Israel what the scribes and chroniclers were to the pagan nations. They assisted Moses and the priests in their keeping of records. So no matter what they were called from time to time, there was a group of literate people who could keep the records and preserve the information from the very beginning. Their work matches the activities of scribes in the ancient world who used all the literary devices to preserve the material. There is no reason to doubt that the events recorded were attested to and preserved by such eyewitnesses. But their work would have been essentially to serve the leader, Moses. The book essentially follows the order of the events chronologically, more or less. Where it departs from that order it does so for literary or theological reasons. At the center of the theological concern is the tabernacle, its significance to the faith, and therefore the care in using it and in moving it. Its importance explains the presence and the arrangement of the ritual laws. With the records and statistics provided for him, Moses could then introduce into the record the great events in the wilderness experience of Israel, which were to become warnings and encouragements for all time. Most of this material comes from the two years at the beginning of the experience and the two years at the end. But this itself may be a literary device (merism) to show the nature of the wanderings throughout. The Hebrew text of the book of Numbers has been preserved fairly well. It has not been preserved as well as Leviticus, which was most important to the ministry of the priests and Levites. But in comparison with some of the prophetic writings, Numbers represents a well-preserved text. The problems will be discussed in the relevant passages. So Numbers is essentially a part of the unfolding revelation of the Torah, the Law. It shows God’s faithfulness to his covenant plan and to his covenant people, but it also shows the problems incurred by the people’s lack of faith and obedience. The book focuses frequently on the nature of the holy Lord God, for at the center of all this material is the person and the works of the Lord. This provided the standard for the faith and practice of the people. For more information on chapter one, see W. F. Albright, “The Administrative Divisions of Israel and Judah,” JPOS 5 (1925): 17-54; A. Cody, A History of Old Testament Priesthood; A. Lucas, “The Number of the Israelites at the Time of the Exodus,” PEQ 76 (1944): 351-64; G. E. Mendenhall, “The Census Lists of Numbers 1 and 26,” JBL 77 (1958): 52-66; E. Nielsen, “The Levites in the Old Testament,” ASTI 3 (1964): 16-27; L. A. Snijders, “The Meaning of זר in the Old Testament: An Exegetical Study,” OTS 10 (1954): 1-154; and J. W. Wenham, “Large Numbers in the Old Testament,” TynBul 18 (1967): 19-53.

² sn The holy name is “Yahweh.” This is the ancient name for the God of the covenant community. The name was explained or interpreted by Moses for the Israelites by the etymological connection to the verb “to be.” God said that its significance was “I am that I am” (אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה, ’ehyeh ’aser ’ehyeh) using the first person of the verb; the name, the third person of the verb, would therefore mean “He is.” The name indicates that God is the sovereign Lord of creation, the eternal God, the covenant Lord; he is sovereignly independent of all creation, but he is intimately involved with all his people. Most English translations do not use it, but follow the Jewish custom of using substitute words for the holy name, such as “the Lord,” “the Eternal One,” etc.

³ tn The book begins with the vav (ו) consecutive and the preterite, “and he spoke.” This does not indicate that the book is a continuation of the previous material, for in that case certain other books in the canon would have to be linked with the writings of other people just because they followed them. This form is simply the narrative verb; the conjunction need not be translated. The verb should not be limited to a literary formula, but does indicate the divine source of the command for Moses. God was speaking to Moses throughout the wilderness wanderings from the tent, and so the ideas are from him, and not from the “will of man.”

⁴ sn This was one of several names by which the tabernacle was known. This was the tent with its furnishings that the Israelites built according to the book of Exodus. While that tabernacle was being built, the Lord met with Moses in a tent of meeting nearby (Exod 33:7), but when the project was finished, the title was transferred to the tabernacle. It may be that the expression “tent of meeting” refers to the inner tabernacle where God revealed himself to Moses and Aaron, and the word “tabernacle” refers to the whole shrine, the curtained structure with all its contents. This would mean that God addressed Moses from between the cherubim in the holy of holies (see R. A. Cole, Exodus [TOTC], 191). The point is clear, though – the shrine was functioning as the sign of God’s actual presence and leadership among his people.

⁵ sn The English word “wilderness” is workable for the Hebrew term, because it describes land that is wild. The term “desert” works if one thinks of land deserted by people. But to many modern readers “desert” suggests the idea of an arid land without growth. The word must not be pressed to mean only sand dunes; it describes land that has rocks, canyons, oases, shrubs and trees occasionally, some animal life, and of course sand.

⁶ sn The exact location of Mount Sinai has been debated for some time. The traditional view from very early times is that it is located in the south, Jebel Musa, south of the monastery of St. Catherine. The other plausible suggestion is Ras es-Safsafeh, which is on the other end of the valley near the monastery. The mountain is also called Horeb in the Bible. The wilderness of Sinai would refer to the large plain that is at the base of the mountain. See further G. E. Wright, IDB 4:376-78; and G. I. Davies, The Way of the Wilderness.

⁷ tn The construction uses the infinitive construct of יָצַא (yatsa’, “to go out”), with a suffix serving as the subjective genitive, and the lamed preposition providing the temporal indication: “according to the going out of them.” The Israelites are clearly intended as the subject.

⁸ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Israelites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁹ sn This means that the Israelites had spent nine months at Sinai, because they had arrived there in the third month following the exodus. This account does not follow a strict chronology (see Num 9:1). The difference of one month in the narrative is not a critical difference, but a literary general reference. Here begins a new section of major importance to the future of the nation – the numbering for war and for settlement.

¹⁰ tn Heb “saying.” A new sentence was started here in the English translation for stylistic reasons.

NET Notes: Num 1:2

¹ tn The construction is literally “lift up the head[s],” (שְׂאוּ אֶת־רֹאשׁ, sÿ’u ’et-ro’sh). This idiom for taking a census occurs elsewhere (Exod 30:12; Lev 5:24; Num 1:24; etc.). The idea is simply that of counting heads to arrive at the base for the standing army. This is a different event than the one recorded in Exod 30:11-16, which was taken for a different purpose altogether. The verb is plural, indicating that Moses had help in taking the census.

² tc Smr lacks the Hebrew word “all” here.

³ tn Heb “the congregation of Israel.”

⁴ tn The tribe (מַטֶּה, matteh or שֵׁבֶט, shevet) is the main category. The family groups or clans (מִשְׁפְּחֹת, mishpÿkhot) and the households or families (בֵּית אֲבֹת, bet ’avot) were sub-divisions of the tribe.

⁵ tn This clause simply has “in/with the number of the names of every male with respect to their skulls [individually].” Counting heads, or every skull, simply meant that each person was to be numbered in the census. Except for the Levites, no male was exempt from the count.

NET Notes: Num 1:3

¹ tn The verb (פָּקַד, paqad) means “to visit, appoint, muster, number.” The word is a common one in scripture. It has as its basic meaning the idea of “determining the destiny” of someone, by appointing, mustering, or visiting. When God “visits,” it is a divine intervention for either blessing or cursing. Here it is the taking of a census for war (see G. André, Determining the Destiny [ConBOT], 16).

² tn The construction uses the participle “going out” followed by the noun “army.” It describes everyone “going out in a military group,” meaning serving in the army. It was the duty of every able-bodied Israelite to serve in this “peoples” army. There were probably exemptions for the infirm or the crippled, but every male over twenty was chosen. For a discussion of warfare, see P. C. Craigie, The Problem of War in the Old Testament, and P. D. Miller, “The Divine Council and the Prophetic Call to War,” VT 18 (1968): 100-107.

³ tn The text simply has “from twenty years old and higher.”

⁴ tn Heb “and up.”

⁵ tn The noun (צָבָא, tsava’) means “army” or “military group.” But the word can also be used for nonmilitary divisions of labor (Num 4:3).

NET Notes: Num 1:4

¹ tn Heb “and with you.”

² tn The construction uses the noun in a distributive sense: “a man, a man for a tribe,” meaning a man for each tribe.

³ tn The clause expresses a distributive function, “a man” means “each man.”

⁴ sn See J. R. Bartlett, “The Use of the Word ראשׁ as a Title in the Old Testament,” VT 19 (1969): 1-10.

⁵ tn Heb “the house of his fathers.”

NET Notes: Num 1:5

¹ tn The verb is עָמַד (’amad, “to stand”). It literally then is, “who will stand with you.” They will help in the count, but they will also serve as leaders as the camp moves from place to place.

² tn The preposition lamed (ל) prefixed to the name could be taken in the sense of “from,” but could also be “with regard to” (specification).

NET Notes: Num 1:6

¹ sn This name and the name Ammishaddai below have the theophoric element (שַׁדַּי, shadday, “the Almighty”). It would mean “the Almighty is my rock”; the later name means “the Almighty is my kinsman.” Other theophoric elements in the passage are “father,” “brother,” and “God.”

NET Notes: Num 1:7

¹ sn Nahshon was an ancestor of Boaz and David, and therefore of Christ (Luke 3:32-33).

NET Notes: Num 1:14

¹ tc There is a textual difficulty with this verb. The Greek form uses r and not d, giving the name Ra‘oul. There is even some variation in the Hebrew traditions, but BHS (following the Leningrad codex of a.d. 1008) has preferred the name Deuel.

NET Notes: Num 1:16

¹ tc The form has a Kethib-Qere problem, but the sentence calls for the Qere, the passive participle in the construct – “the called of….” These men were God’s choice, and not Moses’, or their own choice. He announced who they would be, and then named them. So they were truly “called” (קָרָא, qara’). The other reading is probably due to a copyist’s error.

² tn The word is נָשִׂיא (nasi’, “exalted one, prince, leader”). Cf. KJV, ASV, NAB “princes.” These were men apparently revered or respected in their tribes, and so the clear choice to assist Moses with the leadership. See further, E. A. Speiser, “Background and Function of the Biblical na„sÃþá,” CBQ 25 (1963): 111-17.

³ tn Heb “exalted ones of the tribes of their fathers.” The earlier group of elders was chosen by Moses at the advice of his father-in-law. This group represents the few leaders of the tribes that were chosen by God, a more literate group apparently, who were the forerunners of the שֹׁטְּרִים (shottÿrim).

⁴ tc The Hebrew text has אַלְפֵי (’alfey, “thousands of”). There is some question over this reading in the MT, however. The community groups that have these leaders were larger tribes, but there is little certainty about the size of the divisions.

NET Notes: Num 1:18

¹ tn The verb is the Hiphil of the root קָהַל (qahal), meaning “to call, assemble”; the related noun is an “assembly.”

² tc The LXX adds “of the second year.”

³ tn The verb is the Hitpael preterite form וַיִּתְיַלְדוּ (vayyityaldu). The cognate noun תּוֹלְדוֹת (tolÿdot) is the word that means “genealogies, family records, records of ancestry.” The root is יָלַד (yalad, “to bear, give birth to”). Here they were recording their family connections, and not, of course, producing children. The verbal stem seems to be both declarative and reflexive.

⁴ tn The verb is supplied. The Hebrew text simply has “in/with the number of names of those who are twenty years old and higher according to their skulls.”

NET Notes: Num 1:21

¹ tn Heb “those numbered of them.” The form is פְּקֻדֵיהֶם (pÿqudehem), the passive participle with the pronominal suffix. This indicates that the number came to 46,500, but it specifically refers to “those numbered.” This expression occurs frequently throughout the book of Numbers.

² sn There has been much discussion about the numbers in the Israelite wilderness experience. The immediate difficulty for even the casual reader is the enormous number of the population. If indeed there were 603,550 men twenty years of age and older who could fight, the total population of the exodus community counting women and children would have been well over a million, or even two million as calculated by some. This is not a figure that the Bible ever gives, but given the sizes of families the estimate would not be far off. This is a staggering number to have cross the Sea, drink from the oases, or assemble in the plain by Sinai. It is not a question of whether or not God could provide for such a number; it is rather a problem of logistics for a population of that size in that period of time. The problem is not with the text itself, but with the interpretation of the word אֶלֶף (’elef), traditionally translated “thousand.” The word certainly can be taken as “thousand,” and most often is. But in view of the problem of the large number here, some scholars have chosen one of the other meanings attested in literature for this word, perhaps “troop,” or “family,” or “tent group,” even though a word for “family” has already been used (see A. H. McNeile, Numbers, 7; J. Garstang, Joshua-Judges, 120; J. Bright, History of Israel, 144). Another suggestion is to take the word as a “chief” or “captain” based on Ugaritic usage (see R. E. D. Clarke, “The Large Numbers of the Old Testament,” JTVI 87 [1955]: 82-92; and J. W. Wenham, “Large Numbers in the Old Testament,” TynBul 18 [1967]: 19-53). This interpretation would reduce the size of the Israelite army to about 18,000 men from a population of about 72,000 people. That is a radical change from the traditional reading and may be too arbitrary an estimate. A more unlikely calculation following the idea of a new meaning would attempt to divide the numbers and use the first part to refer to the units and the second the measurement (e.g., 65 thousand and four hundred would become 65 units of four hundred). Another approach has been to study the numbers rhetorically, analyzing the numerical values of letters and words. But this method, known as gematria, came in much later than the biblical period (see for it G. Fohrer, Introduction to the Old Testament, 184; and A. Noordtzij, Numbers [BSC], 24). On this system the numbers for “the sons of Israel” would be 603. But the number of the people in the MT is 603,550. Another rhetorical approach is that which says the text used exaggerations in the numbers on an epic scale to make the point of God’s blessing. R. B. Allen’s view that the numbers have been magnified by a factor of ten (“Numbers,” The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, 2:688-91), which would mean the army was only 60,000 men, seems every bit as arbitrary as Wenham’s view to get down to 18,000. Moreover, such views cannot be harmonized with the instructions in the chapter for them to count every individual skull – that seems very clear. This is not the same kind of general expression one finds in “Saul has killed his thousands, David his ten thousands” (1 Sam 18:7). There one expects the bragging and the exaggerations. But in a text of numbering each male, to argue that the numbers have been inflated ten-fold to form the rhetoric of praise for the way God has blessed the nation demands a much more convincing argument than has typically been given. On the surface it seems satisfactory, but it raises a lot of questions. Everything in Exodus and Numbers attests to the fact that the Israelites were in a population explosion, that their numbers were greater than their Egyptian overlords. Pharaoh had attempted to counter their growth by killing males from the ranks. That only two midwives are named must be taken to mean that they were heads of the guilds, for two could not service a population – even of the smaller estimate given above. But even though the size had to have been great and seen as a threat, we are at a loss to know exactly how to determine it. There is clearly a problem with the word “thousand” here and in many places in the OT, as the literature will show, but the problem cannot really be solved without additional information. The suggestions proposed so far seem to be rather arbitrary attempts to reduce the number to a less-embarrassing total, one that would seem more workable in the light of contemporary populations and armies, as well as space and time for the people’s movement in the wilderness. An army of 10,000 or 20,000 men in those days would have been a large army; an army of 600,000 (albeit a people’s army, which may mean that only a portion of the males would actually fight at any time – as was true at Ai) is large even by today’s standards. But the count appears to have been literal, and the totals calculated accordingly, totals which match other passages in the text. If some formula is used to reduce the thousands in this army, then there is the problem of knowing what to do when a battle has only five thousand, or three thousand men. One can only conclude that on the basis of what we know the word should be left with the translation “thousand,” no matter what difficulties this might suggest to the reader. One should be cautious, though, in speaking of a population of two million, knowing that there are serious problems with the calculation of that number, if not with the word “thousand” itself. It is very doubtful that the population of the wilderness community was in the neighborhood of two million. Nevertheless, until a more convincing explanation of the word “thousand” or the calculation of the numbers is provided, one should retain the reading of the MT but note the difficulty with the large numbers.

NET Notes: Num 1:22

¹ tc Some witnesses have omitted “those that were numbered of them,” to preserve the literary pattern of the text. The omission is supported by the absence of the expression in the Greek as well as in some MT mss. Most modern commentators follow this.

NET Notes: Num 1:24

¹ tc The LXX has vv. 24-35 after v. 37.

NET Notes: Num 1:42

¹ tc The verse does not have the preposition, only “the descendants of Naphtali.”

NET Notes: Num 1:44

¹ tn The construction uses both the passive participle הַפְּקֻדִים (happÿqudim) and the verb פָּקַד (paqad), giving a literal translation of “these were the numbered ones, whom Moses and Aaron numbered.”

² tn Heb “they were one man for the house of his fathers.”

NET Notes: Num 1:45

¹ tn Literally the text has, “and all the numbered of the Israelites were according to their families.” The verb in the sentence is actually without a complement (see v. 46).

NET Notes: Num 1:47

¹ tn The vav (ו) on this word indicates a disjunction with the previous sequence of reports. It may be taken as a contrastive clause, translated “but” or “however.”

² tn The construction is unexpected, for Levites would be from the tribe of Levi. The note seems more likely to express that all these people were organized by tribal lineage, and so too the Levites, according to the tribe of their fathers – individual families of Levites.

³ tc The form in the text is הָתְפָּקְדוּ (hotpaqÿdu); if this is correct, then it is an isolated instance of the reflexive of the Qal of פָּקַד (paqad). Some, however, explain the form as the Hitpael without the doubling of the middle letter and with a compensatory lengthening of the vowel before it (G. B. Gray, Numbers [ICC], 10).

NET Notes: Num 1:48

¹ tn Heb “had spoken to Moses, saying.” The infinitive construct of אָמַר (’amar), sometimes rendered “saying” in older English translations, does not need to be translated, but can be taken simply as the indicator of direct discourse. Most recent English translations, including the present one, leave the form untranslated for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

Geneva Bible: Num 1:1

And the LORD spake unto Moses in the wilderness of ^{( a )} Sinai, in the tabernacle of the congregation, on the first [day] of the ^{( b )} second month, in the second year after they were come out of the land of Egypt, saying,

The Argument - In that as God has appointed that his Church in this world shall be under the cross, both so they could learn not to put their trust in worldly things, and also feel his comfort, when all other help fails: he did not immediately bring his people, after their departure out of Egypt, into the land which he had promised them: but led them to and fro for the space of forty years, and kept them in continual exercises before they enjoyed it, to try their faith, teach them to forget the world, and to depend on him. Which trial greatly profited, to discern the wicked and the hypocrites from the faithful and true servants of God, who served him with pure heart, while the other, preferring their earthly lusts to God's glory, and making religion to serve their purpose, complained when they lacked enough to satisfy their lusts, and despised those who God had appointed as rulers over them. By reason of which they provoked God's terrible judgments against them, and are set forth as a notable example for all ages, to beware how they abuse God's word, prefer their own lusts to his will, or despise his ministers. Nonetheless, God is always true to his promise, and governs his by his Holy Spirit, that either they fall not to such inconveniences, or else return to him quickly in true repentance: and therefore he continues his graces toward them, he gives them ordinances and instructions, as well for religion, as outward policy: he preserves them against all deceit and conspiracy, and gives them many victories against their enemies. To avoid all controversies that might arise, he takes away the occasions, by dividing among all the tribes, both the land which they had won, and that also which he had promised, as seemed best to his godly wisdom.

^{( a )} In the place in the wilderness that was near mount Sinai.

^{( b )} Which is part of April and part of May.

Geneva Bible: Num 1:4

And with you there shall be a ^{( c )} man of every tribe; every one head of the house of his fathers.

^{( c )} That is, the chiefest man of every tribe.

Geneva Bible: Num 1:5

And these [are] the names of the men that shall ^{( d )} stand with you: of [the tribe of] Reuben; Elizur the son of Shedeur.

^{( d )} And afflict you when you number the people.

Geneva Bible: Num 1:16

These [were] the renowned of the congregation, ^{( e )} princes of the tribes of their fathers, heads of thousands in Israel.

^{( e )} Or captains, and governors.

Geneva Bible: Num 1:18

And they assembled all the congregation together on the first [day] of the second month, and they declared ^{( f )} their pedigrees after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, by their polls.

^{( f )} In showing every man his tribe and his ancestors.

Geneva Bible: Num 1:47

But the Levites after the tribe of their fathers were not numbered among ^{( g )} them.

^{( g )} Which were warriors, but were appointed to the use of the Tabernacle.

Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: Num 1:1-54

1 God commands Moses to number the people.

5 The princes of the tribes.

17 The number of every tribe.

47 The Levites are exempted for the service of the Lord.

MHCC: Num 1:1-43

The people were numbered to show God's faithfulness in thus increasing the seed of Jacob, that they might be the better trained for the wars and conquest of Canaan, and to ascertain their families in order to the division of the land. It is said of each tribe, that those were numbered who were able to go forth to war; they had wars before them, though now they met with no opposition. Let the believer be prepared to withstand the enemies of his soul, though all may appear to be peace.

MHCC: Num 1:44-46

We have here the sum total. How much was required to maintain all these in the wilderness! They were all provided for by God every day. When we observe the faithfulness of God, however unlikely the performance of his promise may appear, we may take courage as to those which yet remain to be fulfilled to the church of God.

MHCC: Num 1:47-54

Care is here taken to distinguish the tribe of Levi, which, in the matter of the golden calf, had distinguished itself. Singular services shall be recompensed by singular honours. It was to the honour of the Levites, that to them was committed the care of the tabernacle and its treasures, in their camps and in their marches. It was for the honour of the holy things that none should see them, or touch them, but those who were called of God to the service. We all are unfit and unworthy to have fellowship with God, till called by his grace into the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord; and so, being the spiritual seed of that great High Priest, we are made priests to our God. Great care must be taken to prevent sin, for preventing sin is preventing wrath. Being a holy tribe, they were not reckoned among other Israelites. They that minister about holy things, should neither entangle themselves, nor be entangled, in worldly affairs. And let every believer seek to do what the Lord has commanded.

Matthew Henry: Num 1:1-16

I. We have here a commission issued out for the numbering of the people of Israel; and David, long after, paid dearly for doing it without a commission. Here is,

1. The date of this commission, Num 1:1. (1.) The place: it is given at God's court in the wilderness of Sinai, from his royal palace, the tabernacle of the congregation. (2.) The time: In the second year after they came up out of Egypt; we may call it the second year of that reign. The laws in Leviticus were given in the first month of that year; these orders were given in the beginning of the second month.

2. The directions given for the execution of it, Num 1:2, Num 1:3. (1.) None were to be numbered but the males, and those only such as were fit for war. None under twenty years old; for, though some such might have bulk and strength enough for military service, yet, in compassion to their tender years, God would not have them put upon it to bear arms. (2.) Nor were any to be numbered who through age, or bodily infirmity, blindness, lameness, or chronical diseases, were unfit for war. The church being militant, those only are reputed the true members of it that have enlisted themselves soldiers of Jesus Christ; for our life, our Christian life, is a warfare. (3.) The account was to be taken according to their families, that it might not only be known how many they were, and what were their names, but of what tribe and family, or clan, nay, of what particular house every person was; or, reckoning it the muster of an army, to what regiment every man belonged, that he might know his place himself and the government might know where to find him. They were numbered a little before this, when their poll-money was paid for the service of the tabernacle, Exo 38:25, Exo 38:26. But it should seem they were not then registered by the house of their fathers, as now they were. Their number was the same then that it was now: 603,550 men; for as many as had died since then, and were lost in the account, so many had arrived to be twenty years old, and were added to the account. Note, As one generation passeth away another generation cometh. As vacancies are daily made, so recruits are daily raised to fill up the vacancies, and Providence takes care that, one time or other, in one place or other, the births shall balance the burials, that the race of mankind and the holy seed may not be cut off and become extinct.

3. Commissioners are named for the doing of this work. Moses and Aaron were to preside (Num 1:3), and one man of every tribe, that was renowned in his tribe, and was presumed to know it well, was to assist in it - the princes of the tribes, Num 1:16. Note, Those that are honourable should study to be serviceable; he that is great, let him be your minister, and show, by his knowing the public, that he deserves to be publicly known. The charge of this muster was committed to him who was the lord-lieutenant of that tribe. Now,

II. Why was this account ordered to be taken and kept? For several reasons. 1. To prove the accomplishment of the promise made to Abraham, that God would multiply his seed exceedingly, which promise was renewed to Jacob (Gen 28:14), that his seed should be as the dust of the earth. Now it appears that there did not fail one tittle of that good promise, which was an encouragement to them to hope that the other promise of the land of Canaan for an inheritance should also be fulfilled in its season. When the number of a body of men is only guessed at, upon the view, it is easy for one that is disposed to cavil to surmise that the conjecture is mistaken, and that, if they were to be counted, they would not be found half so many; therefore God would have Israel numbered, that it might be upon record how vastly they were increased in a little time, that the power of God's providence and the truth of his promise may be seen and acknowledged by all. It could not have been expected, in any ordinary course of nature, that seventy-five souls (which was the number of Jacob's family when he went down into Egypt) should in 215 years (and it was no longer) multiply into so many hundred thousands. It is therefore to be attributed to an extraordinary virtue in the divine promise and blessing. 2. It was to intimate the particular care which God himself would take of his Israel, and which Moses and the inferior rulers were expected to take of them. God is called the Shepherd of Israel, Psa 80:1. Now the shepherds always kept count of their flocks, and delivered them by number to their under-shepherds, that they might know if any were missing; in like manner God numbers his flock, that of all which he took into his fold he might lose none but upon a valuable consideration, even those that were sacrificed to his justice. 3. It was to put a difference between the true born Israelites and the mixed multitude that were among them; none were numbered but Israelites: all the world is but lumber in comparison with those jewels. Little account is made of others, but the saints God has a particular property in and concern for. The Lord knows those that are his (2Ti 2:19), knows them by name, Phi 4:3. The hairs of their head are numbered ; but he will say to others, " I never knew you, never made any account of you."4. It was in order to their being marshalled into several districts, for the more easy administration of justice, and their more regular march through the wilderness. It is a rout and a rabble, not an army, that is not mustered and put in order.

Matthew Henry: Num 1:17-43

We have here the speedy execution of the orders given for the numbering of the people. It was begun the same day that the orders were given, The first day of the second month; compare Num 1:18 with Num 1:1. Note, When any work is to be done for God it is good to set about it quickly, while the sense of duty is strong and pressing. And, for aught that appears, it was but one day's work, for many other things were done between this and the twentieth day of this month, when they removed their camp, Num 10:11. Joab was almost ten months numbering the people in David's time (2Sa 24:8); but then they were dispersed, now they lived closely together; then Satan proposed the doing of it, now God commanded it. It was the sooner and more easily done now because it had been done but a little while ago, and they needed but review the old books, with the alterations since made, which probably they had kept an account of as they occurred.

In the particulars here left upon record, we may observe, 1. That the numbers are registered in words at length (as I may say), and not in figures; to every one of the twelve tribes it is repeated, for the greater ceremony and solemnity of the account, that they were numbered by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, to show that every tribe took and gave in the account by the same rule and in the same method, though so many hands were employed in it, setting down the genealogy first, to show that their family descended from Israel, then the families themselves in their order, then dividing each family into the houses, or subordinate families, that branched from it, and under these the names of the particular persons, according to the rules of heraldry. Thus every man might know who were his relations or next of kin, on which some laws we have already met with did depend: besides that the nearer any are to us in relation the more ready we should be to do them good. 2. That they all end with hundreds, only Gad with fifty (Num 1:25), but none of the numbers descend to units or tens. Some think it was a special providence that ordered all the tribes just at this time to be even numbers, and no odd or broken numbers among them, to show them that there was something more than ordinary designed in their increase, there being this uncommon in the circumstance of it. It is rather probable that Moses having some time before appointed rulers of hundreds, and rulers of fifties (Exo 18:25), they numbered the people by their respective rulers, which would bring the numbers to even hundreds or fifties. 3. That Judah is the must numerous of them all, more than double to Benjamin and Manasseh, and almost 12,000 more than any other tribe, v. 27. It was Judah whom his brethren must praise because from him Messiah the Prince was to descend; but, because that was a thing at a distance, God did in many ways honour that tribe in the mean time, particularly by the great increase of it, for his sake who was to spring out of Judah (Heb 7:14) in the fulness of time. Judah was to lead the van through the wilderness, and therefore was furnished accordingly with greater strength than any other tribe. 4. Ephraim and Manasseh, the sons of Joseph, are numbered as distinct tribes, and both together made up almost as many as Judah; this was in pursuance of Jacob's adoption of them, by which they were equalled with their uncles Reuben and Simeon, Gen 48:5. It was also the effect of the blessing of Joseph, who was to be a fruitful bough, Gen 49:22. And Ephraim the younger is put first, and is more numerous than Manasseh, for Jacob had crossed hands, and foreseen ten thousands of Ephraim and thousands of Manasseh. The fulfilling of this confirms our faith in the spirit of prophecy with which the patriarchs were endued. 5. When they came down into Egypt Dan had but one son (Gen 46:23), and so his tribe was but one family, Num 26:42. Benjamin had then ten sons (Gen 46:21), yet now the tribe of Dan is almost double in number to that of Benjamin. Note, The increasing and diminishing of families do not always go by probabilities. Some are multiplied greatly, and again are diminished, while others that were poor have families made them like a flock, Psa 107:38, Psa 107:39, Psa 107:41; and see Job 12:23. 6. It is said of each of the tribes that those were numbered who were able to go forth to war, to remind them that they had wars before them, though now they were in peace and met with no opposition. Let not him that girdeth on the harness boast as though he had put it off.

Matthew Henry: Num 1:44-46

We have here the sum total at the foot of the account; they were in all 600,000 fighting men, and 3550 over. Some think that when this was their number some months before (Exo 38:26) the Levites were reckoned with them, but now that tribe was separated for the service of God, yet so many more had by this time attained to the age of twenty years as that still they were the same number, to show that whatever we part with for the honour and service of God it shall certainly be made up to us one way of other. Now we see what a vast body of men they were. Let us consider, 1. How much went to maintain all these (besides twice as many more, no question, of women and children, sick and aged, and the mixed multitude) for forty years together in the wilderness; and they were all at God's finding every day, having their food from the dew of heaven, and not from the fatness of the earth. O what a great and good housekeeper is our God, that has such numbers depending on him and receiving from him every day! 2. What work sin makes with a people; within forty years most of them would indeed have died of course for the common sin of mankind; for, when sin entered into the world, death came with it, and how great are the desolations which it makes in the earth! But, for the particular sin of unbelief and murmuring, all those that were now numbered, except two, laid their bones under their iniquity, and perished in the wilderness. 3. What a great multitude God's spiritual Israel will amount to at last; though at one time, and in one place, they seem to be but a little flock, yet when they come all together they shall be a great multitude, innumerable, Rev 7:9. And, though the church's beginning be small, its latter end shall greatly increase. A little one shall become a thousand.

Matthew Henry: Num 1:47-54

Care is here taken to distinguish from the rest of the tribes the tribe of Levi, which, in the matter of the golden calf, had distinguished itself, Exo 32:26. Note, Singular services shall be recompensed with singular honours. Now,

I. It was the honour of the Levites that they were made guardians of the spiritualities; to them was committed the care of the tabernacle and the treasures thereof, both in their camps and in their marches. 1. When they moved the Levites were to take down the tabernacle, to carry it and all that belonged to it, and then to set it up again in the place appointed, Num 1:50, Num 1:51. It was for the honour of the holy things that none should be permitted to see them, or touch them, but those only who were called of God to the service. Thus we all are unfit and unworthy to have fellowship with God until we are first called by his grace into the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, and so, being the spiritual seed of that great high priest, are made priests to our God; and it is promised that God would take Levites to himself, even from the Gentiles, Isa 66:21. 2. When they rested the Levites were to encamp round about the tabernacle (Num 1:50, Num 1:53), that they might be near their work, and resident upon their charge, always ready to attend, and that they might be a guard upon the tabernacle, to preserve it from being either plundered or profaned. They must pitch round about the tabernacle, that there be no wrath upon the congregation, as there would be if the tabernacle and the charge of it were neglected, or those crowded upon it that were not allowed to come near. Note, Great care must be taken to prevent sin, because the preventing of sin is the preventing of wrath.

II. It was their further honour that as Israel, being a holy people, was not reckoned among the nations, so they, being a holy tribe, were not reckoned among other Israelites, but numbered afterwards by themselves, Num 1:49. The service which the Levites were to do about the sanctuary is called (as we render it in the margin) a warfare, Num 4:23. And, being engaged in that warfare, they were discharged from military services, and therefore not numbered with those that were to go out to war. Note, Those that minister about holy things should neither entangle themselves, nor be entangled, in secular affairs. The ministry is itself work enough for a whole man, and all little enough to be employed in it. It is an admonition to ministers to distinguish themselves by their exemplary conversation from common Israelites, not affecting to seem greater, but aiming to be really better, every way better than others.

Keil-Delitzsch: Num 1:1

Muster of the Twelve Tribes, with the Exception of that of Levi. - Num 1:1-3. Before the departure of Israel from Sinai, God commanded Moses, on the first of the second month in the second year after the exodus from Egypt, to take the number of the whole congregation of the children of Israel, " according to their families, according to their fathers' houses (see Exo 6:14), in (according to) the number of their names, "i.e., each one counted singly and entered, but only " every male according to their heads of twenty years old and upwards "(see Exo 30:14), viz., only צבא כּל־יצא " all who go forth of the army, "i.e., all the men capable of bearing arms, because by means of this numbering the tribes and their subdivisions were to be organized as hosts of Jehovah, that the whole congregation might fight as an army for the cause of their Lord (see at Exo 7:4).

Keil-Delitzsch: Num 1:4-16

Moses and Aaron, who were commanded to number, or rather to muster, the people, were to have with them " a man of every tribe, who was head-man of his fathers' houses, "i.e., a tribe-prince, viz., to help them to carry out the mustering. Beth aboth ("fathers' houses"), in Num 1:2, is a technical expression for the subdivisions in which the mishpachoth , or families of the tribes, were arranged, and is applied in Num 1:4 according to its original usage, based upon the natural division of the tribes into mishpachoth and families, to the fathers' houses which every tribe possessed in the family of its first-born. In Num 1:5-15, these heads of tribes were mentioned by name, as in Num 2:3., Num 7:12., Num 10:14. In Num 1:16 they are designated as" called men of the congregation, "because they were called to diets of the congregation, as representatives of the tribes, to regulate the affairs of the nation; also " princes of the tribes of their fathers, "and "heads of the thousands of Israel:"" prince, "from the nobility of their birth; and " heads, "as chiefs of the alaphim composing the tribes. Alaphim is equivalent to mishpachoth (cf. Num 10:4; Jos 22:14); because the number of heads of families in the mishpachoth of a tribe might easily amount to a thousand (see at Exo 18:25). In a similar manner, the term " hundred "in the old German came to be used in several different senses (see Grimm, deutsche Rechts-alterthümer, p. 532).

Keil-Delitzsch: Num 1:17-47

This command was carried out by Moses and Aaron. They took for this purpose the twelve heads of tribes who are pointed out (see at Lev 24:11) by name, and had the whole congregation gathered together by them and enrolled in genealogical tables. התילּד , to announce themselves as born, i.e., to have themselves entered in genealogical registers (books of generations). This entry is called a פּקד , mustering , in Num 1:19, etc. In vv. 20-43 the number is given of those who were mustered of all the different tribes, and in Num 1:44-47 the total of the whole nation, with the exception of the tribe of Levi. " Their generations "(Num 1:20, Num 1:22, Num 1:24, etc.), i.e., those who were begotten by them, so that " the sons of Reuben, Simeon, "etc., are mentioned as the fathers from whom the mishpachoth and fathers' houses had sprung. The ל before שׁמעון בּני in Num 1:22, and the following names (in Num 1:24, Num 1:26, etc.), signifies" with regard to "(as in Isa 32:1; Psa 17:4, etc.).

Keil-Delitzsch: Num 1:48-54

Moses was not to muster the tribe of Levi along with the children of Israel, i.e., with the other tribes, or take their number, but to appoint the Levites for the service of the dwelling of the testimony (Exo 38:21), i.e., of the tabernacle, that they might encamp around it, might take it down when the camp was broken up, and set it up when Israel encamped again, and that no stranger ( zar , non-Levite, as in Lev 22:10) might come near it and be put to death (see Num 3:10). The rest of the tribes were to encamp every man in his place of encampment, and by his banner (see at Num 2:2), in their hosts (see Num 2), that wrath might not come upon the congregation, viz., through the approach of a stranger. קצף , the wrath of Jehovah, breaking in judgment upon the unholy who approached His sanctuary in opposition to His command (Num 8:19; Num 18:5, Num 18:22). On the expression " keep the charge "( shamar mishmereth ), see at Gen 26:5 and Lev 8:35.

Constable: Num 1:1--10:36

A. Preparations for entering the Promised Land from the south chs. 1-10

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 way from Sinai to Canaan was also a preparation for the possession of the promised land."⁹

"The two censuses (chs. 1-4, 26) are key to understanding the structure of the book. The first census (chs. 1-4) concerns the first generation of the Exodus community; the second census (ch. 26) focuses on the experiences of the second generation, the people for whom this book is primarily directed. The first generation of the redeemed were prepared for triumph but ended in disaster. The second generation has an opportunity for greatness--if only they will learn from the failures of their fathers and mothers the absolute necessity for robust faithfulness to the Lord despite all obstacles."¹⁰

Constable: Num 1:1-54

The muster of the tribes except Levi ch. 1

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).¹¹ Entrance into the land should have been only a few weeks from the taking of this census. Moses had taken another census nine months before this one (Exod. 30:11-16; 38:25-26), but the purpose of that count was to determine how many adult males owed atonement money. The census described in Numbers 1 excluded the Levites whom God exempted from military service in Israel (vv. 49-50).

The number of fighting men in each tribe counted was as follows.

Reuben	46,500		Ephraim	40,500
Simeon	59,300		Manasseh	32,200
Gad	45,650		Benjamin	35,400
Judah	74,600		Dan	62,700
Issachar	54,400		Asher	41,500
Zebulun	57,400		Naphtali	53,400

The total was 603,550 men (v. 46).¹² Since each figure ends in zero it appears that Moses rounded off these numbers. God was already well on the way to making the patriarchs' descendants innumerable.

"It is in the context of developing a military organization for war that the Levites are assigned their tasks in relation to the tabernacle. In a sense, their military assignment is the care and transportation of the religious shrine. Num. 1:49-53 clearly outlines the requirements for the militaristic protection of the tabernacle by the Levites."¹³

The total impression of Israel's God that this chapter projects is that He is a God of order rather than confusion (cf. Gen. 1; 1 Cor. 14:40).

The phrase "the Lord spoke to Moses" (v. 1) occurs over 80 times in the Book of Numbers.¹⁴

Guzik: Num 1:1-54

Numbers 1 - The Census of Israel

A. Background to the Book of Numbers.

1. As recorded in the Book of Exodus, Israel escaped slavery in Egypt - God miraculously set them free from hundreds of years of bondage. They came through the Red Sea and saw God provide through the desert wilderness. They came to Mount Sinai where God appeared to them in a spectacular way; where Moses went up on the mountain to meet with God and receive the law. At Mount Sinai Israel also embraced an idolatrous image of a golden calf and was corrected by the Lord.

a. Encamped at Mount Sinai, Israel built a tabernacle of meeting and established a priesthood, receiving God's plan for the priests and the nation at large in Leviticus. At the end of the Book of Leviticus, they have been out of Egypt for a little more than a year.

b. Exodus covered a year; Leviticus only a month - but the Book of Numbers encompasses more than 38 years.

2. This third book of Moses tells us what happened during those 38 years. The Hebrew title of this book gives us an idea of the theme of Numbers. In Hebrew this book is titled In the Wilderness instead of Numbers.

a. The wilderness was never meant to be Israel's destination. God's intention was to bring them into the Promised Land of Canaan. The wilderness was intended as a temporary place - a place to move through, not to live in.

i. "The Hebrew word for wilderness (midbar) means a place for driving flocks. It is not a completely arid desert, but contains little vegetation and a few trees. The rainfall in such areas is too light, a few inches per year, to support cultivation." (Wenham)

b. The Book of Numbers is all about God's people in the wilderness - how they get there, how God deals with them in the wilderness, and how He brings them out of the wilderness on their way to the Promised Land.

i. "The theme of the book of Numbers is the journey to the Promised Land of Canaan. Its opening ten chapters, covering a mere fifty days, describe how Moses organized Israel for the march from Sinai to the Promised Land." (Wenham)

c. The Book of Numbers gives us a big vision: Where is God taking us? What will it take to get there? What inward qualities must God develop in us and demand in us along the way?

i. Promised Land people are very different from slave people. Israel emerged from Egypt a slave people, basically unsuited for the Promised Land. How would God transform them into a promised-land people?

ii. "So the Israelites had been slaves in the land of Goshen; their tasks were appointed, and their taskmasters compelled their obedience. Their difficulties had been great, their bondage cruel, but they were free from the necessity of thought and arrangement. Having escaped from their taskmaster, they imagined that freedom meant escape from rule. They had been taught in their year of encampment under the shadow of the mountain that they had to submit to law, and it was irksome to them, and they became discontented. This discontent resulted from lack of perfect confidence in God." (Morgan)

d. The Book of Numbers approaches it all God's way. When we are in the wilderness, we are tempted to launch a hundred different schemes and plans to escape. But only God's way really works; and the Book of Numbers gives us God's way. The idea that the LORD spoke to Moses is repeated more than 150 times and more than 20 different ways in Numbers.

B. Israel takes inventory: The census of Numbers 1.

1. (1-3) The purpose of the census.

Now the LORD spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai, in the tabernacle of meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying: "Take a census of all the congregation of the children of Israel, by their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of names, every male individually, from twenty years old and above; all who are able to go to war in Israel. You and Aaron shall number them by their armies."

a. Now the LORD spoke to Moses in the Wilderness: As Moses met with the LORD in the tabernacle, God commanded him to take a census of the congregation of the children of Israel - but only counting all who are able to go to war in Israel.

b. You and Aaron shall number them by their armies: This was predominately a military census to see who could fight on Israel's behalf in taking the Promised Land. This was the first step in taking the Promised Land - an inventory to see where Israel was and what Israel had to get where God wanted them to be.

i. Though the Promised Land has been mentioned during the exodus to this point, the focus has been on getting to Mount Sinai and receiving the law. That was just the beginning; now, the focus turns towards taking the Promised Land and recognizing it will be a battle.

ii. Imagine how this census would affect the nation! As the count was made, every family would know preparation was being made for war.

c. By their armies: The order to count the potential soldiers was not meant to imply that Israel would take the land because of superior forces or merely the bravery of these men - they would receive the Promised Land by the hand of God. Nevertheless, they still had to fight and know what they had available to them going into battle.

i. We may fail in spiritual battle because we do not take an honest inventory about where we are spiritually. We may overestimate or underestimate our spiritual strength and resources. This count of Israel wouldn't let them do that.

d. By their families, by their fathers' houses: God wanted the count made by their families because the strength of Israel was determined by looking at the strength of individual families.

2. (4-16) The heads of the tribes.

And with you there shall be a man from every tribe, each one the head of his father's house. These are the names of the men who shall stand with you: from Reuben, Elizur the son of Shedeur; from Simeon, Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai; from Judah, Nahshon the son of Amminadab; from Issachar, Nethanel the son of Zuar; from Zebulun, Eliab the son of Helon; from the sons of Joseph: from Ephraim, Elishama the son of Ammihud; from Manasseh, Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur; from Benjamin, Abidan the son of Gideoni; from Dan, Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai; from Asher, Pagiel the son of Ocran; from Gad, Eliasaph the son of Deuel; from Naphtali, Ahira the son of Enan." These were chosen from the congregation, leaders of their fathers' tribes, heads of the divisions in Israel.

a. A man from every tribe, each one the head of his father's house: Israel was organized according to the tribes that descended from the original twelve sons of Jacob (later renamed Israel by God). Each of these twelve tribes designated one who was the head of his father's house, who was to stand with Moses and stand for their whole tribe.

i. In a sense, this is a representative form of government; each head of his father's house was essentially the "governor" of the tribe.

ii. These were chosen from the congregation: It is possible - even likely - that the head of his father's house was elected by those in the tribe.

b. From Reuben . . . from Simeon . . .: Twelve tribes are mentioned, but not the tribe of Levi. Yet the number twelve is maintained because from Jacob's son Joseph, two tribes came (Ephraim and Manasseh).

i. This was a military census, and the absence of the tribe of Levi among the potential soldiers is important but explained later in the chapter.

ii. Nahshon: This was the head of the house of Judah, and is mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus (Matthew 1:4).

3. (17-19) The assembly of the leaders.

Then Moses and Aaron took these men who had been mentioned by name, and they assembled all the congregation together on the first day of the second month; and they recited their ancestry by families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and above, each one individually. As the LORD commanded Moses, so he numbered them in the Wilderness of Sinai.

a. They recited their ancestry by families: The leaders of each tribe was responsible to count the potential soldiers in their tribe, then they gathered to make report to Moses.

b. Each one individually: Every individual was important to God. This wasn't just the assembling of a final number, but a specific mention of each individual.

C. The count of the tribes.

1. (20-21) The Tribe of Reuben: 46,500 potential soldiers.

Now the children of Reuben, Israel's oldest son, their genealogies by their families, by their fathers' house, according to the number of names, every male individually, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war: those who were numbered of the tribe of Reuben were forty-six thousand five hundred.

a. Those who were numbered of the tribe of Reuben were forty-six thousand five hundred: Many people wonder if these numbers are accurate and literal. Some think that they are grossly exaggerated, and others have suggested they are increased by a factor of ten. Despite the objections of critics, it is best to trust the simple testimony of God's Word. Surely God could provide for such a multitude in the wilderness and occasional discrepancies in numbers are likely due to scribal errors.

b. Forty-six thousand five hundred: Are these numbers exact? Most likely, they are rounded off to the nearest one hundred (except in the case of the Tribe of Gad).

2. (22-23) The Tribe of Simeon: 59,300 potential soldiers.

From the children of Simeon, their genealogies by their families, by their fathers' house, of those who were numbered, according to the number of names, every male individually, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war: those who were numbered of the tribe of Simeon were fifty-nine thousand three hundred.

3. (24-25) The Tribe of Gad: 45,650 potential soldiers.

From the children of Gad, their genealogies by their families, by their fathers' house, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war: those who were numbered of the tribe of Gad were forty-five thousand six hundred and fifty.

4. (26-27) The Tribe of Judah: 74,600 potential soldiers.

From the children of Judah, their genealogies by their families, by their fathers' house, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war: those who were numbered of the tribe of Judah were seventy-four thousand six hundred.

5. (28-29) The Tribe of Issachar: 54,400 potential soldiers.

From the children of Issachar, their genealogies by their families, by their fathers' house, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war: those who were numbered of the tribe of Issachar were fifty-four thousand four hundred.

6. (30-31) The Tribe of Zebulun: 57,400 potential soldiers.

From the children of Zebulun, their genealogies by their families, by their fathers' house, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war: those who were numbered of the tribe of Zebulun were fifty-seven thousand four hundred.

7. (32-33) The Tribe of Ephraim: 40,500 potential soldiers.

From the sons of Joseph, the children of Ephraim, their genealogies by their families, by their fathers' house, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war: those who were numbered of the tribe of Ephraim were forty thousand five hundred.

8. (34-35) The Tribe of Manasseh: 32,200 potential soldiers.

From the children of Manasseh, their genealogies by their families, by their fathers' house, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war: those who were numbered of the tribe of Manasseh were thirty-two thousand two hundred.

9. (36-37) The Tribe of Benjamin: 35,400 potential soldiers.

From the children of Benjamin, their genealogies by their families, by their fathers' house, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war: those who were numbered of the tribe of Benjamin were thirty-five thousand four hundred.

10. (38-39) The Tribe of Dan: 62,700 potential soldiers.

From the children of Dan, their genealogies by their families, by their fathers' house, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war: those who were numbered of the tribe of Dan were sixty-two thousand seven hundred.

11. (40-41) The Tribe of Asher: 41,500 potential soldiers.

From the children of Asher, their genealogies by their families, by their fathers' house, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war: those who were numbered of the tribe of Asher were forty-one thousand five hundred.

12. (42-43) The Tribe of Naphtali: 53,400 potential soldiers.

From the children of Naphtali, their genealogies by their families, by their fathers' house, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war: those who were numbered of the tribe of Naphtali were fifty-three thousand four hundred.

13. (44-46) Summary of the tribes: 603,550 potential soldiers in Israel.

These are the ones who were numbered, whom Moses and Aaron numbered, with the leaders of Israel, twelve men, each one representing his father's house. So all who were numbered of the children of Israel, by their fathers' houses, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war in Israel; all who were numbered were six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty.

a. All who were able to go to war in Israel; all who were numbered were six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty: At the end of the Book of Numbers - 38 years later - this census is repeated. The total number of available soldiers will be almost the same - only a loss of some two thousand. But the numbers of each tribe change significantly, and there is meaning in what happened to each tribe over these critical 38 years.

b. So all who were numbered of the children of Israel, by their fathers' houses: In this first census Manasseh is the smallest tribe and Judah is the largest. There are two tribes in the 30 thousands; three in the 40 thousands; four in the 50 thousands; one in the 60 thousands, and one in the 70 thousands.

c. All who were numbered were six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty: Based on having 603,550 available soldiers, many people estimate the total population of Israel at this time to be between two and two-and-a-half million.

14. (47-54) The special case of the tribe of Levi.

But the Levites were not numbered among them by their fathers' tribe; for the LORD had spoken to Moses, saying: "Only the tribe of Levi you shall not number, nor take a census of them among the children of Israel; but you shall appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the Testimony, over all its furnishings, and over all things that belong to it; they shall carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings; they shall attend to it and camp around the tabernacle. And when the tabernacle is to go forward, the Levites shall take it down; and when the tabernacle is to be set up, the Levites shall set it up. The outsider who comes near shall be put to death. The children of Israel shall pitch their tents, everyone by his own camp, everyone by his own standard, according to their armies; but the Levites shall camp around the tabernacle of the Testimony, that there may be no wrath on the congregation of the children of Israel; and the Levites shall keep charge of the tabernacle of the Testimony." Thus the children of Israel did; according to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so they did.

a. But the Levites were not numbered among them: Because this was a census of potential soldiers, the Tribe of Levi was not counted. They alone among the tribes did not go to war because they had special responsibility to God for the priestly duties of Israel.

b. Thus the children of Israel did; according to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so they did: Counting, or taking inventory, is an essential step in organization and moving forward. In preparing to enter the Promised Land Israel had to be organized - God is an organized God, and moves through organization even when we can't figure it out! Therefore it was essential that Israel took inventory and saw where they were.

i. God counts things. He counts the stars and has a name for each one (Psalm 147:4; Isaiah 40:26). God even counts and knows the number of hairs on your head! (Matthew 10:30)

ii. "He who counts the stars and calls them all by their names, leaves nothing unarranged in his own service." (Spurgeon)

c. Only the tribe of Levi you shall not number: We also must see, that as in the case of Levi, there are some things that can't - or shouldn't - be counted. Israel had to appreciate that some of the most important things can't be counted.

i. Taking inventory is fine; even a necessary first step in organizing for victory in taking hold of God's promises. But it must always be done understanding that some of the important factors - as the Levites were in Israel - cannot be counted. No inventory is totally complete, and God always works mightily through things that can't be counted.

© 2004 David Guzik - No distribution beyond personal use without permission

Commentary -- Other

Critics Ask: Num 1:1

NUMBERS 1:1 —How could Moses have written Numbers when critics claim it was written centuries after his death?

PROBLEM: Many modern critics claim that Moses did not write the first five books of the Bible traditionally attributed to him (see comments on Ex. 24:4 ). But the Bible declares here that “the Lord spoke to Moses” ( 1:1 ) and that “Moses wrote down” the events of this book ( 33:2 ).

SOLUTION: The critics have no real evidence for their claim, either historical or literary. The fact that Moses used different names for God (Elohim, Jehovah [Yahweh]) is no proof. Each name of God informs us of another characteristic of God that fits the narrative in which it is used (see comments on Gen. 2:4 ).

Furthermore, there is strong evidence that Moses wrote the Book of Numbers. First, there is all the evidence mentioned earlier (in comments on Ex. 24:4 ) that the book reflects a detailed, first-hand knowledge of the time, places, and customs of the period it describes — all of which Moses possessed.

Second, the book claims to have been written by Moses ( 1:1 ; 33:2 ). This would make the book an outright fraud, unless Moses is really its rightful author.

Third, there are a number of NT citations from the Book of Numbers which are associated with Moses ( Acts 7 ; 13 ; 1 Cor. 10:2-8 ; Heb. 3:7-16 ). If Moses did not write Numbers, then these inspired NT books would be in error too.

Fourth, our Lord quoted from Numbers and verified that it was indeed Moses who lifted up the serpent in the wilderness ( John 3:14 ; cf. Num. 21:9 ). This places the stamp of Christ’s authority on the authenticity of the question.   

NUMBERS 1:1-4:49 —How accurate is this census of the tribes of Israel?

PROBLEM: According to the census taken in chapters 1-4 of Numbers, the newly formed nation of Israel must have numbered about 2 million people. According to Numbers 1:1 , this census was taken while the people were in the wilderness of Sinai at the beginning of their 40 years of wandering. However, the dry and desolate conditions of the Sinai desert would have made it impossible for such a large group to survive. So, is the census inaccurate?

SOLUTION: The naturalistic presupposition of this criticism is contrary to the historic facts. Although there has been some controversy over the meaning of the Hebrew word which is translated “thousand,” the evidence is clear that this is the proper understanding of this word in this context. For example, Numbers 1:21 does not say, as some have claimed, that the children of Reuben numbered 46familie s and 500. The verse clearly states that the number of individual men from twenty years old and up was 46 thousand and 500. According to the census in these chapters, the total number of male Israelites from 20 years old and up was 603,550. This number is confirmed by the passage in Exodus 12:37 which states that 600,000 males, along with women and children, departed from Egypt.

The fact that the arid and barren desert would not be able to sustain such a large group of people is a valid observation. However, the problem which modern scholarship has with the size of the multitude and the possibility of their survival in the wilderness rests upon an unwillingness to consider the supernatural element. Modern scholarship is decidedly anti-supernatural. Since the Book of Exodus records the divine judgments upon Egypt, and the miraculous deliverance of Israel from bondage, the daily provision for the people by the mighty hand of God is sufficient to explain the survival of the people of God in that destitute land. Indeed, many passages record the miraculous provisions which God made for His people, from the daily supply of manna ( Ex. 16 ), which was provided for the whole nation until the new generation ate the food of the Promised Land ( Josh. 5:12 ), to the miraculous provision of water from that supernatural rock which followed them ( 1 Cor. 10:4 ; Ex. 17:6 ), to the miraculous provision of meat in Numbers 11:31 , to the fact that neither their clothes nor their sandals wore out in all their wanderings ( Deut. 29:5 ). God was able to meet all their needs. Although the desert was not able to sustain, the Lord God of Israel certainly was (see also discussion on Deut. 32:13-14 ).   

Critics Ask: Num 1:2

NUMBERS 1:1-4:49 —How accurate is this census of the tribes of Israel?

PROBLEM: According to the census taken in chapters 1-4 of Numbers, the newly formed nation of Israel must have numbered about 2 million people. According to Numbers 1:1 , this census was taken while the people were in the wilderness of Sinai at the beginning of their 40 years of wandering. However, the dry and desolate conditions of the Sinai desert would have made it impossible for such a large group to survive. So, is the census inaccurate?

SOLUTION: The naturalistic presupposition of this criticism is contrary to the historic facts. Although there has been some controversy over the meaning of the Hebrew word which is translated “thousand,” the evidence is clear that this is the proper understanding of this word in this context. For example, Numbers 1:21 does not say, as some have claimed, that the children of Reuben numbered 46familie s and 500. The verse clearly states that the number of individual men from twenty years old and up was 46 thousand and 500. According to the census in these chapters, the total number of male Israelites from 20 years old and up was 603,550. This number is confirmed by the passage in Exodus 12:37 which states that 600,000 males, along with women and children, departed from Egypt.

The fact that the arid and barren desert would not be able to sustain such a large group of people is a valid observation. However, the problem which modern scholarship has with the size of the multitude and the possibility of their survival in the wilderness rests upon an unwillingness to consider the supernatural element. Modern scholarship is decidedly anti-supernatural. Since the Book of Exodus records the divine judgments upon Egypt, and the miraculous deliverance of Israel from bondage, the daily provision for the people by the mighty hand of God is sufficient to explain the survival of the people of God in that destitute land. Indeed, many passages record the miraculous provisions which God made for His people, from the daily supply of manna ( Ex. 16 ), which was provided for the whole nation until the new generation ate the food of the Promised Land ( Josh. 5:12 ), to the miraculous provision of water from that supernatural rock which followed them ( 1 Cor. 10:4 ; Ex. 17:6 ), to the miraculous provision of meat in Numbers 11:31 , to the fact that neither their clothes nor their sandals wore out in all their wanderings ( Deut. 29:5 ). God was able to meet all their needs. Although the desert was not able to sustain, the Lord God of Israel certainly was (see also discussion on Deut. 32:13-14 ).   

Critics Ask: Num 1:3

NUMBERS 1:1-4:49 —How accurate is this census of the tribes of Israel?

PROBLEM: According to the census taken in chapters 1-4 of Numbers, the newly formed nation of Israel must have numbered about 2 million people. According to Numbers 1:1 , this census was taken while the people were in the wilderness of Sinai at the beginning of their 40 years of wandering. However, the dry and desolate conditions of the Sinai desert would have made it impossible for such a large group to survive. So, is the census inaccurate?

SOLUTION: The naturalistic presupposition of this criticism is contrary to the historic facts. Although there has been some controversy over the meaning of the Hebrew word which is translated “thousand,” the evidence is clear that this is the proper understanding of this word in this context. For example, Numbers 1:21 does not say, as some have claimed, that the children of Reuben numbered 46familie s and 500. The verse clearly states that the number of individual men from twenty years old and up was 46 thousand and 500. According to the census in these chapters, the total number of male Israelites from 20 years old and up was 603,550. This number is confirmed by the passage in Exodus 12:37 which states that 600,000 males, along with women and children, departed from Egypt.

The fact that the arid and barren desert would not be able to sustain such a large group of people is a valid observation. However, the problem which modern scholarship has with the size of the multitude and the possibility of their survival in the wilderness rests upon an unwillingness to consider the supernatural element. Modern scholarship is decidedly anti-supernatural. Since the Book of Exodus records the divine judgments upon Egypt, and the miraculous deliverance of Israel from bondage, the daily provision for the people by the mighty hand of God is sufficient to explain the survival of the people of God in that destitute land. Indeed, many passages record the miraculous provisions which God made for His people, from the daily supply of manna ( Ex. 16 ), which was provided for the whole nation until the new generation ate the food of the Promised Land ( Josh. 5:12 ), to the miraculous provision of water from that supernatural rock which followed them ( 1 Cor. 10:4 ; Ex. 17:6 ), to the miraculous provision of meat in Numbers 11:31 , to the fact that neither their clothes nor their sandals wore out in all their wanderings ( Deut. 29:5 ). God was able to meet all their needs. Although the desert was not able to sustain, the Lord God of Israel certainly was (see also discussion on Deut. 32:13-14 ).   

Critics Ask: Num 1:4

NUMBERS 1:1-4:49 —How accurate is this census of the tribes of Israel?

PROBLEM: According to the census taken in chapters 1-4 of Numbers, the newly formed nation of Israel must have numbered about 2 million people. According to Numbers 1:1 , this census was taken while the people were in the wilderness of Sinai at the beginning of their 40 years of wandering. However, the dry and desolate conditions of the Sinai desert would have made it impossible for such a large group to survive. So, is the census inaccurate?

SOLUTION: The naturalistic presupposition of this criticism is contrary to the historic facts. Although there has been some controversy over the meaning of the Hebrew word which is translated “thousand,” the evidence is clear that this is the proper understanding of this word in this context. For example, Numbers 1:21 does not say, as some have claimed, that the children of Reuben numbered 46familie s and 500. The verse clearly states that the number of individual men from twenty years old and up was 46 thousand and 500. According to the census in these chapters, the total number of male Israelites from 20 years old and up was 603,550. This number is confirmed by the passage in Exodus 12:37 which states that 600,000 males, along with women and children, departed from Egypt.

The fact that the arid and barren desert would not be able to sustain such a large group of people is a valid observation. However, the problem which modern scholarship has with the size of the multitude and the possibility of their survival in the wilderness rests upon an unwillingness to consider the supernatural element. Modern scholarship is decidedly anti-supernatural. Since the Book of Exodus records the divine judgments upon Egypt, and the miraculous deliverance of Israel from bondage, the daily provision for the people by the mighty hand of God is sufficient to explain the survival of the people of God in that destitute land. Indeed, many passages record the miraculous provisions which God made for His people, from the daily supply of manna ( Ex. 16 ), which was provided for the whole nation until the new generation ate the food of the Promised Land ( Josh. 5:12 ), to the miraculous provision of water from that supernatural rock which followed them ( 1 Cor. 10:4 ; Ex. 17:6 ), to the miraculous provision of meat in Numbers 11:31 , to the fact that neither their clothes nor their sandals wore out in all their wanderings ( Deut. 29:5 ). God was able to meet all their needs. Although the desert was not able to sustain, the Lord God of Israel certainly was (see also discussion on Deut. 32:13-14 ).   

Critics Ask: Num 1:46

NUMBERS 1:46 —Was this census made here or earlier?

PROBLEM: According to Exodus 40:2 , Moses took the census of the people of Israel the “first day of the first month.” But in Numbers, the same census, yielding the same number of 603,550, was taken on “the first day of the second month” ( Num. 1:1 ).

SOLUTION: These are apparently two different censuses for two different purposes. The first one ( Ex. 38 ) was for religious purposes and the second for military purposes. The first one was connected with the “inventory of the tabernacle” ( Ex. 38:21 ), that is, a collection of the offering used for the tabernacle. The later one had to do with how many men were “able to go to war in Israel” ( Num. 1:3 ). Both yield the same result since they were taken so close together.   

Introduction / Outline

JFB: Numbers (Book Introduction)

NUMBERS. This book is so called because it contains an account of the enumeration and arrangement of the Israelites. The early part of it, from the first through the tenth chapters, appears to be a supplement to Leviticus, being occupied with relating the appointment of the Levites to the sacred offices. The journal of the march through the wilderness is then given as far as Num 21:20; after which the early incidents of the invasion are narrated. One direct quotation only from this book (Num 16:5) is made in the New Testament (2Ti 2:19); but indirect references to it by the later sacred writers are very numerous.

JFB: Numbers (Outline)

• MOSES NUMBERING THE MEN OF WAR. (Num. 1:1-54)
• THE ORDER OF THE TRIBES IN THEIR TENTS. (Num. 2:1-34)
• THE LEVITES' SERVICE. (Num. 3:1-51)
• OF THE LEVITES' SERVICE. (Num. 4:1-49)
• THE UNCLEAN TO BE REMOVED OUT OF THE CAMP. (Num 5:1-4)
• RESTITUTION ENJOINED. (Num 5:5-10)
• THE TRIAL OF JEALOUSY. (Num. 5:11-31)
• THE LAW OF THE NAZARITE IN HIS SEPARATION. (Num. 6:1-22)
• THE FORM OF BLESSING THE PEOPLE. (Num 6:23-27)
• THE PRINCES' OFFERINGS. (Num. 7:1-89)
• HOW THE LAMPS ARE TO BE LIGHTED. (Num 8:1-4)
• THE CONSECRATION OF THE LEVITES. (Num. 8:5-22)
• THE PASSOVER ENJOINED. (Num 9:1-5)
• A SECOND PASSOVER ALLOWED. (Num 9:6-14)
• A CLOUD GUIDES THE ISRAELITES. (Num 9:15-23)
• THE USE OF THE SILVER TRUMPETS. (Num. 10:1-36)
• MANNA LOATHED. (Num. 11:1-35)
• MIRIAM'S AND AARON'S SEDITION. (Num 12:1-9)
• MIRIAM'S LEPROSY. (Num 12:10-16)
• THE NAMES OF THE MEN WHO WERE SENT TO SEARCH THE LAND. (Num. 13:1-33)
• THE PEOPLE MURMUR AT THE SPIES' REPORT. (Num. 14:1-45)
• THE LAW OF SUNDRY OFFERINGS. (Num. 15:1-41)
• THE REBELLION OF KORAH. (Num. 16:1-30)
• AARON'S ROD FLOURISHES. (Num 17:1-13)
• THE CHARGE OF THE PRIESTS AND LEVITES. (Num 18:1-7)
• THE PRIESTS' PORTION. (Num 18:8-20)
• THE LEVITES' PORTION. (Num 18:21-32)
• THE WATER OF SEPARATION. (Num. 19:1-22)
• THE DEATH OF MIRIAM. (Num. 20:1-29)
• ISRAEL ATTACKED BY THE CANAANITES. (Num. 21:1-35)
• BALAK'S FIRST MESSAGE FOR BALAAM REFUSED. (Num. 22:1-20)
• THE JOURNEY. (Num. 22:21-41)
• BALAK'S SACRIFICES. (Num. 23:1-30)
• BALAAM FORETELLS ISRAEL'S HAPPINESS. (Num. 24:1-25)
• THE ISRAELITES' WHOREDOM AND IDOLATRY WITH MOAB. (Num. 25:1-18)
• ISRAEL NUMBERED. (Num. 26:1-51)
• THE DAUGHTERS OF ZELOPHEHAD ASK FOR AN INHERITANCE. (Num 27:1-11)
• MOSES BEING TOLD OF HIS APPROACHING DEATH, ASKS FOR A SUCCESSOR. (Num 27:12-17)
• JOSHUA APPOINTED TO SUCCEED HIM. (Num 27:18-23)
• OFFERINGS TO BE OBSERVED. (Num. 28:1-31)
• THE OFFERING AT THE FEAST OF TRUMPETS. (Num. 29:1-40)
• VOWS ARE NOT TO BE BROKEN. (Num. 30:1-16)
• THE MIDIANITES SPOILED AND BALAAM SLAIN. (Num. 31:1-54)
• THE REUBENITES AND GADITES ASK FOR AN INHERITANCE. (Num. 32:1-42)
• TWO AND FORTY JOURNEYS OF THE ISRAELITES--FROM EGYPT TO SINAI. (Num 33:1-15)
• THE BORDERS OF THE LAND OF CANAAN. (Num. 34:1-29)
• EIGHT AND FORTY CITIES GIVEN TO THE LEVITES. (Num 35:1-5)
• CITIES OF REFUGE. (Num 35:6-8)
• THE BLOOD AVENGER. (Num. 35:9-34)
• THE INCONVENIENCE OF THE INHERITANCE. (Num 36:1-13)

TSK: Numbers (Book Introduction)

The book of Numbers is a book containing a series of the most astonishing providences and events. Every where and in every circumstance God appears; and yet there is no circumstance or occasion which does not justify those signal displays of his grace and mercy; and in every relation we perceive the consistency of the divine intentions, and the propriety of those laws which he established.

TSK: Numbers 1 (Chapter Introduction)

Overview

Num 1:1, God commands Moses to number the people; Num 1:5, The princes of the tribes; Num 1:17, The number of every tribe; Num 1:47, The Levites are exempted for the service of the Lord.

Poole: Numbers (Book Introduction)

FOURTH BOOK OF MOSES, CALLED NUMBERS

THE ARGUMENT

This Book giveth us a history of almost forty years travel of the children of Israel through the wilderness, where we have an account of their journeys, and what happened to them therein, with their government, and how they were managed thereby; called Numbers by reason of the several numberings of the people, as at the offerings of the princes, and at their several journeys, &c. But especially two: one, Chapter 1, out of which the priests and Levites were excepted, but numbered by themselves, viz. in the second year after they were come out of Egypt, in the first month whereof the passover was instituted; with the order about the tabernacle, both of the Levites and people, and their several marches, encampings, and manner of pitching their tents, the priests’ maintenance and establishment, by the miraculous budding of Aaron’ s rod, with the several impediments in their marches, both among themselves by several murmurings, seditions, and conspiracies; and from their enemies, viz. the Edomites, Canaanites, over whom having obtained a victory, and afterwards murmuring, they were stung with fiery serpents, and cured by the brazen one; Amorites, whose kings, Sihon and Og, they overcame and slew; and Moabites, where by the allurements of Balaam, who was hired by Balak to curse Israel, they joined themselves to Baal-peor , and are plagued for it; that openly opposed them. The other chief numbering is in Chapter 26, where they are found almost as many as at the first, though among them were none of the first numbering, (according to what God had threatened, Chapter 14,) save Moses, Joshua, and Caleb, by reason of their desire to return back into Egypt upon the discouraging report often of those twelve that Moses sent to spy out the land; whereupon they were forced to wander above thirty-eight years in the wilderness; where he gave them several laws, civil, ecclesiastical, and military; as also particular directions about women’ s inheriting, occasioned by the case of Zelophehad’ s daughters, and concerning vows; and then brings them back to the borders of Canaan, where, after divers victories obtained against their enemies, they were directed how the land of Canaan was to be divided among the tribes, and what portion the Levites were to have among them, together with six cities of refuge set apart for the manslayer. At length Aaron being dead, and Eleazar placed in his stead, and Moses also having received the sentence of death, doth, by God’ s appointment, deliver up the people unto the charge and conduct of Joshua.

Poole: Numbers 1 (Chapter Introduction)

NUMBERS CHAPTER 1

God commands Moses and Aaron to number the people that were fit for war, Num 1:1-3 . Twelve captains chose, of every tribe one; their names; the number of each tribe, Num 1:4-16 , The Levites exempt; to take care of the tabernacle; the other tribes camping round it, Num 1:47-54 .

They now had been in the wilderness a full year, or near it, as may be gathered by comparing this place with Exo 19:1 40:17 , and other places.

MHCC: Numbers (Book Introduction)

This book is called NUMBERS from the several numberings of the people contained in it. It extends from the giving of the law at Sinai, till their arrival in the plains of Jordan. An account is given of their murmuring and unbelief, for which they were sentenced to wander in the wilderness nearly forty years; also some laws, both, moral and ceremonial. Their trials greatly tended to distinguish the wicked and hypocrites from the faithful and true servants of God, who served him with a pure heart.

MHCC: Numbers 1 (Chapter Introduction)

(v. 1-43) The numbering of the Israelites.

(Num 1:44-46) The number of the people.

(Num 1:47-54) The Levites not numbered with the rest.

Matthew Henry: Numbers (Book Introduction)

An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The Fourth Book of Moses, Called Numbers

The titles of the five books of Moses, which we use in our Bibles, are all borrowed from the Greek translation of the Seventy, the most ancient version of the Old Testament that we know of. But the title of this book only we turn into English; in all the rest we retain the Greek word itself, for which difference I know no reason but that the Latin translators have generally done the same. Otherwise this book might as well have been called Arithmoi , the Greek title, as the first Genesis, and the second Exodus; or these might as well have been translated, and called, the first the Generation, or Original, the second the Out-let, or Escape, as this Numbers. - This book was thus entitled because of the numbers of the children of Israel, so often mentioned in this book, and so well worthy to give a title to it, because it was the remarkable accomplishment of God's promise to Abraham that his seed should be as the stars of heaven for multitude. It also relates to two numberings of them, one at mount Sinai (ch. 1), the other in the plains of Moab, thirty-nine years after (ch. 26). And not three men the same in the last account that were in the first. The book is almost equally divided between histories and laws, intermixed.

We have here, I. The histories of the numbering and marshalling of the tribes (ch. 1-4), the dedication of the altar and Levites (ch. 7, 8), their march (ch. 9, 10), their murmuring and unbelief, for which they were sentenced to wander forty years in the wilderness (ch. 11-14), the rebellion of Korah (ch. 16, Num 17:1-13), the history of the last year of the forty (ch. 20-26), the conquest of Midian, and the settlement of the two tribes (ch. 31, 32), with an account of their journeys (ch. 33), II. Divers laws about the Nazarites, etc. (ch. 5, 6); and again about the priests' charge, etc. (ch. 18, 19), feasts (ch. 28, 29), and vows (ch. 30), and relating to their settlement in Canaan (ch. 27, 34, 35, Num 36:1-13). An abstract of much of this book we have in a few words in Psa 95:10, Forty years long was I grieved with this generation; and an application of it to ourselves in Heb 4:1, Let us fear lest we seem to come short. Many considerable nations there were now in being, that dwelt in cities and fortified towns, of which no notice is taken, no account kept, by the sacred history: but very exact records are kept of the affairs of a handful of people, that dwelt in tents, and wandered strangely in a wilderness, because they were the children of the covenant. For the Lord's portion is his people, Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.

Matthew Henry: Numbers 1 (Chapter Introduction)

Israel was now to be formed into a commonwealth, or rather a kingdom; for " the Lord was their King" (1Sa 12:12), their government a theocracy, and Moses under him was king in Jeshurun, Deu 33:5. Now, for the right settlement of this holy state, next to the institution of good laws was necessary the institution of good order; and account therefore must be taken of the subjects of this kingdom, which is done in this chapter, where we have, I. Orders given to Moses to number the people (Num 1:1-4). II. Persons nominated to assist him herein (Num 1:5-16). III. The particular number of each tribe, as it was given in to Moses (v. 17-43). IV. The sum total of all together (Num 1:44-46). V. An exception of the Levites (Num 1:47, etc.).

Constable: Numbers (Book Introduction)

Introduction

Title

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 the time covered in the narrative of Numbers wandering in the wilderness.

The English title "Numbers" is a translation of the Greek title Arithmoi. The Septuagint translators chose this title because of the two censuses of the Israelites that Moses recorded at the beginning (chs. 1-4) and toward the end (ch. 26) of the book. These numberings of the people took place at the beginning and end of the wilderness wanderings and frame the contents of Numbers.

Date and Writer

Moses wrote Numbers (cf. Num. 1:1; 33:2; Matt. 8:4; 19:7; Luke 24:44; John 1:45; et al.). He evidently did so late in his life on the plains of Moab.¹ Moses evidently died close to 1406 B.C. since the Exodus happened about 1446 B.C., and the Israelites were in the wilderness for 40 years.

Scope and purpose

When the book opens the Israelites were in the second month of the second year after they departed from Egypt (1:1). In chapters 7-10 we read things that happened in the nation before that. These things happened when Moses finishing setting up the tabernacle, which occurred on the first day of the first month of the second year (7:1; cf. Exod. 40:17). When Numbers closes the Israelites were in the tenth month of the fortieth year (cf. Deut. 1:3). Thus the time Numbers covers is about 39 years.

Geographically the Israelites travelled from Mt. Sinai to the plains of Moab, which lay to the east of Jericho and the Jordan River. However their journey was not at all direct. They proceeded from Sinai to Kadesh Barnea on Canaan's southern border but failed to go into the Promised Land from there because of unbelief. Their failure to trust God and obey Him resulted in a period of 38 years of wandering in the wilderness. God finally brought them back to Kadesh and led them from there to the plains of Moab that lay on Canaan's eastern border.

Even though the wilderness wanderings consumed the majority of the years Numbers records, Moses passed over the events of this period of Israel's history fairly quickly. God's emphasis in this book is on His preparation of the Israelites to enter the land from Kadesh (chs. 1-14), and their preparation to enter from the plains of Moab (chs. 20-36). This indicates that the purpose of the book was primarily to show how God dealt with the Israelites as they anticipated entrance into the Promised Land. It was not to record all the events, or even most events, that took place in Israel's history. This selection of content to teach spiritual lessons is in harmony with the other books of the Pentateuch. Their concern too was more theological than historical.

"The material in Numbers cannot be understood apart from what precedes it in Exodus and Leviticus. The middle books of the Pentateuch hang closely together, with Genesis forming a prologue, and Deuteronomy the epilogue to the collection."²

The content stresses events leading to the destruction of the older generation of Israelites in the wilderness and the preparation of the new generation for entrance into the land. The census at the beginning of the book (chs. 1-4) and the one at the end (ch. 26) provide, ". . . the overarching literary and theological structure of the book of Numbers."³

"We may also venture the purpose of the book in this manner: To compel obedience to Yahweh by members of the new community by reminding them of the wrath of God on their parents because of their breach of covenant; to encourage them to trust in the ongoing promises of their Lord as they follow him into their heritage in Canaan; and to provoke them to worship of God and to the enjoyment of their salvation."⁴

"The Book of Numbers seems to be an instruction manual to post-Sinai Israel. The manual' deals with three areas: (a) how the nation was to order itself in its journeyings, (b) how the priests and Levites were to function in the condition of mobility which lay ahead, and (c) how they were to prepare themselves for the conquest of Canaan and their settled lives there. The narrative sections, of which there are many, demonstrate the successes and failures of the Lord's people as they conformed and did not conform to the requirements in the legislative, cultic, and prescriptive parts of the book."⁵

Theme

I believe the theme of the book is obedience. However others have suggested different though related themes.

"The theme of the Book of Numbers is worship."⁶

"The major theological theme of Numbers is reciprocal in nature: God has brought a people to Himself by covenant grace, but He expects of them a wholehearted devotion. Having accepted the terms of the Sinai Covenant, Israel had placed herself under obligation to obey them, a process that was to begin at once and not in some distant place and time (Exod. 19:8; 24:3)."⁷

Message⁸

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 that it reveals the graciousness of God to an extent not previously revealed. We see God's graciousness in His dealings with Israel throughout this book.

In the first section of Numbers (chs. 1-10) God's provision for His people stands out. We see this in the order and purity God specified for the maintenance of the Israelite camp. We see it in the worship God provided for in the camp. We also see it in the movement God prescribed for the camp. God faithfully provided for the needs of His people in these many ways as they prepared to enter the Promised Land.

In the second section of the book (chs. 11-21) God's patience with His people stands out. When the Israelites failed to obey God He did not desert them, but He disciplined them in love. God's patience in dealing with the Israelites did not result from God's weakness, but it was an evidence of His strength. God did not manifest carelessness toward the Israelites by making them wander in the wilderness for 38 years. He manifested carefulness as He used those 38 years to prepare the next generation to obey Him. God disciplined the people for their disobedience, but He always directed them toward the realization of His purpose for them as He disciplined them. The years of wilderness wandering were years of education rather than abandonment. He had similarly prepared Moses for 40 years in the wilderness before the Exodus.

In the third section (chs. 22-36) God's persistence in bringing Israel to the threshold of the land is prominent. God protected Israel from her enemies and provided for her needs. Even though Israel had been unfaithful God persisted in demonstrating faithfulness to the nation He had chosen to bless.

A second major value of this book is the revelation it contains of the gravity of unbelief. This is a revelation of man whereas the first was a revelation of God. Numbers reveals the seriousness of the sin of unbelief that manifests itself in disobedience. The Israelites struggled with unbelief throughout the book, but the most serious instance of it took place at Kadesh Barnea (chs. 13-14).

Numbers reveals the roots of unbelief. These were two causes: a mixed multitude and mixed motives.

The congregation consisted of a combination of believing Israelites and others who had for various reasons joined themselves to the people of God, a mixed multitude. These foreigners joined Israel first at the Exodus (Exod. 12:38), but we find them mixed in with the Israelites throughout Israel's subsequent history (cf. Lev. 24:10-23). This "rabble" was first to complain against God, and their murmuring spread through the camp like a plague periodically (cf. 11:4).

The second cause of unbelief was the mixed motives of the Israelites. They wanted to enjoy God's blessings and obeyed Him to a degree to obtain these. However, they also wanted things that God in His love for them did not want them to have (cf. Gen. 3). The Israelites did not fully commit themselves to God (cf. Rom. 12:1-2). They did not fully allow God to shape them into a nation to fulfill His purpose for them in the world. This too resulted in murmuring. They longed for what they had experienced in Egypt and preferred a comfortable life to the adventurous life to which God had called them. Murmuring is the telltale evidence of selfishness. It arises from a lack of singleminded dedication to God.

The message of Numbers is that everything depends on our attitude toward God. Our attitude toward our opportunities and our circumstances reveals our attitude toward God. If we are not content with what God has brought into our lives, it indicates we may want something different for ourselves than what God wants for us.

When we face a challenge to our faith we must see the difficulty overshadowed by God's presence, power, and promises.

The alternative is to allow the difficulty to block our view of God. The influences of unbelievers and our own doublemindedness will seek to make us behave as the Israelites did. At these times of testing Israel's experiences in Numbers should help us understand what is going on and trust God and obey Him more consistently.

The message of Numbers is a message of comfort on the one hand.

Numbers teaches that the failures of God's people cannot frustrate His plans. In Exodus we saw that the opposition of God's enemies cannot defeat Him. In Numbers we see that the failure of His instruments cannot defeat Him either. God's chosen instruments can postpone God's purposes, but they cannot preclude them.

In Numbers we also see that God always deals with His chosen instruments righteously. He will bless the minority who are faithful to Him even though they live among a majority who are under His discipline for being unfaithful. We see this in God's dealings with Caleb and Joshua. God honors the faithful. He will also faithfully work with those He is disciplining because of unfaithfulness. He will encourage them to experience the greatest blessing they can within the sphere of their discipline. We see this in His dealings with the rebellious generation. Furthermore God will not overlook those who have disobeyed Him because they have established a record of past obedience. He will discipline them too. We see this in God's dealings with Moses. Whereas God honors the faithful He also disciplines the unfaithful.

Numbers further teaches us that God's provisions are always adequate for His people's needs (cf. 2 Cor. 12:9). He sustained the Israelites in the wilderness. Their failures were not a result of God's inadequate provision but their own dissatisfaction with His provision. God Himself is an adequate resource for His people as we go through life (cf. Exod. 14-17).

On the other hand Numbers is also a message of warning. Every believer and every group of believers (e.g., a local church) from time to time face the same challenge to faith that the Israelites faced in the wilderness and at Kadesh. The crisis comes when faith encounters obstacles that only God's supernatural power can overcome. The believer should then proceed against these obstacles in simple confidence in God. Our response will depend on whether we are willing to act on our belief that God's presence, power, and promises can overcome them.

We can fail to realize all that God wants for us if we fail to trust Him.

By way of review Genesis expounds faith. Exodus reveals that faith manifests itself in worship and obedience. Leviticus explains worship more fully. Numbers stresses the importance of obedience.

Numbers shows the importance of obedience by revealing the roots, process, and fruits of disobedience.

Constable: Numbers (Outline)

Outline

I. Experiences of the older generation in the wilderness chs. 1-25

A. Preparations for entering the Promised Land from the south chs. 1-10

1. The first census and the organization of the people chs. 1-4

2. Commands and rituals to observe in preparation for entering the land chs. 5-9

3. The departure from Sinai ch. 10

B. The rebellion and judgment of the unbelieving generation chs. 11-25

1. The cycle of rebellion, atonement, and death chs. 11-20

2. The climax of rebellion, hope, and the end of dying chs. 21-25

II. Prospects of the younger generation in the land chs. 26-36

A. Preparations for entering the Promised Land from the east chs. 26-32

1. The second census ch. 26

2. Provisions and commands to observe in preparation for entering the land chs. 27-30

3. Reprisal against Midian and the settlement of the Transjordanian tribes chs. 31-32

B. Warning and encouragement of the younger generation chs. 33-36

1. Review of the journey from Egypt 33:1-49

2. Anticipation of the Promised Land 33:50-36:13

Constable: Numbers

Numbers

Bibliography

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Copyright 2003 by Thomas L. Constable

Haydock: Numbers (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION.

This fourth Book of Moses is called Numbers , because it begins with the numbering of the people. The Hebrews, from its first words, call it Vaydedabber . It contains the transactions of the Israelites, from the second month of the second year after their going out of Egypt, until the beginning of the eleventh month of the 40th year; that is, a history almost of thirty-nine years. (Challoner) --- In the nine first chapters various orders of people are described, and several laws are given or repeated. From the 10th to the 33d, the marches and history of God's people are related; (Haydock) from the 20th of the second month, in the second year after their departure out of Egypt, till the eleventh month of the 40th year, and the last of Moses: so that this Book contains the transactions of almost thirty-nine years; (Tirinus) whereas, the Book of Leviticus specified only some of the laws and occurrences of one month. Here we behold what opposition Moses experienced from Aaron and his sister, from Core, and from all the people; and yet God protected him, in the midst of all dangers, and confounded, not only their attempts, but those also of Balaam, and of all his external foes. (Haydock) --- Moses conquers the Madianites, and divides the conquered country between the tribes of Ruben, Gad, and half of the tribe of Manasses. In the three last chapters, he describes the land of Chanaan, orders all the inhabitants to be exterminated, assigns cities for the Levites, and for refuge; and forbids such marriages, as might cause any confusion in the distribution of the lands belonging to each tribe. Moses composed this part of the Pentateuch, as well as that of Deuteronomy, a little while before his death, out of the memoirs which he had carefully preserved. (Calmet) --- According to Usher, the people were numbered this second time, in the year of the world 2514, chap. i.; after which they leave the desert of Sinai, (chap. x. 11.) go to Cades-barne, and return thither again 2552. Soon after this, Mary and Aaron die; Moses lifts up the brazen serpent; and the Hebrews take possession of part of the promised land (2553) on the eastern banks of the Jordan. That on the western side, flowing with milk and honey, was conquered by Josue in the following years. (Haydock)

Gill: Numbers (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO NUMBERS

This book has its name from the account it gives of the "numbers" of the children of Israel, twice taken particularly; which name it has with this Greeks and Latins, and so with the Syriac and Arabic versions; but with the Jews it is called sometimes "Vajedabber", from the first word of it, "and the Lord spake"; and sometimes "Bemidbar", from the fifth word of the first verse, "in the wilderness", and sometimes "Sepher Pikkudim"; or, as with Origen ^a, "Ammesph‚kodim", the book of musters or surveys. That it was written by Moses is not to be doubted; and is indeed suggested by our Lord himself, Joh 5:46 compared with Num 3:14, and the references to it, in the New Testament, fully ascertain to us Christians the authenticity of it, as that of our Lord hinted at, and those of the apostle in 1Co 10:4. It contains an history of the affairs of the Israelites, and of their travel in the wilderness for the space of thirty eight years; though the principal facts it relates were done in the second year of their coming out of Egypt, and in the last of their being in the wilderness; and it is not merely historical, but gives a particular account of several laws, ceremonial and judicial, to be observed by the people of Israel, as well as has many things in it very instructive, both of a moral and evangelical nature.

Gill: Numbers 1 (Chapter Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO NUMBERS 1

In this chapter orders are given to Moses to take the number of the children of Israel, from twenty years old and upwards, Num 1:1; and the men that were to assist in this work, one of each tribe are mentioned by name, Num 1:4; all which was accordingly done, Num 1:17; and the particular numbers of each tribe are recorded, as they were taken, Num 1:20; and the sum total is given, Num 1:45; the Levites being excepted, who were employed about the tabernacle, and so not to be employed in military service, Num 1:47; they encamped about that, while the Israelites pitched their tents every man by his own camp and standard, Num 1:52.