Numbers 1:46

1:46 And all those numbered totaled 603,550.

Numbers 2:32

Summary

2:32 These are the Israelites, numbered according to their families. ¹  All those numbered in the camps, by their divisions, are 603,550.

Genesis 12:2

12:2 Then I will make you ²  into a great nation, and I will bless you, ³ 

and I will make your name great, ⁴ 

so that you will exemplify divine blessing. ⁵ 

Exodus 12:37

12:37 The Israelites journeyed ⁶  from Rameses ⁷  to Sukkoth. There were about 600,000 men ⁸  on foot, plus their dependants. ⁹ 

Exodus 38:26

38:26 one beka per person, that is, a half shekel, ¹⁰  according to the sanctuary shekel, for everyone who crossed over to those numbered, from twenty years old or older, ¹¹  603,550 in all. ¹² 

[2:32]  ¹ tn Heb “the house of their fathers.” So also in v. 34.

[12:2]  ² tn The three first person verbs in v. 2a should be classified as cohortatives. The first two have pronominal suffixes, so the form itself does not indicate a cohortative. The third verb form is clearly cohortative.

[12:2]  ³ sn I will bless you. The blessing of creation is now carried forward to the patriarch. In the garden God blessed Adam and Eve; in that blessing he gave them (1) a fruitful place, (2) endowed them with fertility to multiply, and (3) made them rulers over creation. That was all ruined at the fall. Now God begins to build his covenant people; in Gen 12-22 he promises to give Abram (1) a land flowing with milk and honey, (2) a great nation without number, and (3) kingship.

[12:2]  ⁴ tn Or “I will make you famous.”

[12:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “and be a blessing.” The verb form הְיֵה (hÿyeh) is the Qal imperative of the verb הָיָה (hayah). The vav (ו) with the imperative after the cohortatives indicates purpose or consequence. What does it mean for Abram to “be a blessing”? Will he be a channel or source of blessing for others, or a prime example of divine blessing? A similar statement occurs in Zech 8:13, where God assures his people, “You will be a blessing,” in contrast to the past when they “were a curse.” Certainly “curse” here does not refer to Israel being a source of a curse, but rather to the fact that they became a curse-word or byword among the nations, who regarded them as the epitome of an accursed people (see 2 Kgs 22:19; Jer 42:18; 44:8, 12, 22). Therefore the statement “be a blessing” seems to refer to Israel being transformed into a prime example of a blessed people, whose name will be used in blessing formulae, rather than in curses. If the statement “be a blessing” is understood in the same way in Gen 12:2, then it means that God would so bless Abram that other nations would hear of his fame and hold him up as a paradigm of divine blessing in their blessing formulae.

[12:37]  ⁶ tn Heb “and the sons of Israel journeyed.”

[12:37]  ⁷ sn The wilderness itinerary begins here. W. C. Kaiser records the identification of these two places as follows: The name Rameses probably refers to Qantir rather than Tanis, which is more remote, because Qantir was by the water; Sukkoth is identified as Tell el Maskhuta in the Wadi Tumilat near modern Ismailia – or the region around the city (“Exodus,” EBC 2:379). Of the extensive bibliography, see G. W. Coats, “The Wilderness Itinerary,” CBQ 34 (1972): 135-52; G. I. Davies, “The Wilderness Itineraries: A Comparative Study,” TynBul 25 (1974): 46-81; and J. T. Walsh, “From Egypt to Moab. A Source Critical Analysis of the Wilderness Itinerary,” CBQ 39 (1977): 20-33.

[12:37]  ⁸ tn The word for “men” (הַגְּבָרִים, haggÿvarim) stresses their hardiness and capability – strong men, potential soldiers – in contrast with the word that follows and designates noncombatants.

[12:37]  ⁹ tn For more on this word see 10:10 and 24.

[38:26]  ¹⁰ sn The weight would be about half an ounce.

[38:26]  ¹¹ tn Heb “upward.”

[38:26]  ¹² tn The phrase “in all” has been supplied.