2 Take the sum of the whole assembly of the children of Israel, after their families, according to their fathers' houses, by the number of the names, every male, according to their polls;
When thou shalt take the sum of the children of Israel according to those of them that are numbered, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul to Jehovah on their being numbered, that there be no plague among them on their being numbered.
a bekah the head -- half a shekel, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, for every one that passed the numbering from twenty years old and upward, [of] the six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty.
and gathered the whole assembly together on the first of the second month. And they declared their pedigrees after their families, according to their fathers' houses, by the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, according to their polls.
Of the sons of Simeon: their generations, after their families, according to their fathers' houses, those that were numbered of them, by the number of the names, according to their polls, every male from twenty years old and upward, all that went forth to military service:
Take the sum of the whole assembly of the children of Israel, from twenty years old and upward, according to their fathers' houses, all that go forth to military service in Israel. And Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke with them in the plains of Moab by the Jordan of Jericho, saying, From twenty years old and upward ...; as Jehovah had commanded Moses and the children of Israel, who went forth out of the land of Egypt.
And Jacob called his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, and I will tell you what will befall you at the end of days. Assemble yourselves, and hear, ye sons of Jacob, And listen to Israel your father. Reuben, thou art my firstborn, My might, and the firstfruits of my vigour: Excellency of dignity, and excellency of strength.
And these are the names of the sons of Israel who had come into Egypt; with Jacob had they come, each with his household: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah; Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin; Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher. And all the souls that had come out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls; and Joseph was in Egypt.
These are the heads of their fathers' houses: the sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel: Enoch and Phallu, Hezron and Carmi: these are the families of Reuben. -- And the sons of Simeon: Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Saul the son of a Canaanitish woman: these are the families of Simeon. And these are the names of the sons of Levi, according to their generations: Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari. And the years of the life of Levi were a hundred and thirty-seven years. The sons of Gershon: Libni and Shimei, according to their families. And the sons of Kohath: Amram, and Jizhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel. And the years of the life of Kohath were a hundred and thirty-three years. And the sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi: these are the families of Levi according to their generations.
Of the sons of Judah: their generations, after their families, according to their fathers' houses, by the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that went forth to military service: those that were numbered of them, of the tribe of Judah, were seventy-four thousand six hundred. Of the sons of Issachar: their generations, after their families, according to their fathers' houses, by the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that went forth to military service: those that were numbered of them, of the tribe of Issachar, were fifty-four thousand four hundred. Of the sons of Zebulun: their generations, after their families, according to their fathers' houses, by the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that went forth to military service: those that were numbered of them, of the tribe of Zebulun, were fifty-seven thousand four hundred. Of the sons of Joseph: of the children of Ephraim: their generations, after their families, according to their fathers' houses, by the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that went forth to military service: those that were numbered of them, of the tribe of Ephraim, were forty thousand five hundred. Of the children of Manasseh: their generations, after their families, according to their fathers' houses, by the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that went forth to military service: those that were numbered of them, of the tribe of Manasseh, were thirty-two thousand two hundred. Of the sons of Benjamin: their generations, after their families, according to their fathers' houses, by the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that went forth to military service: those that were numbered of them, of the tribe of Benjamin, were thirty-five thousand four hundred. Of the sons of Dan: their generations, after their families, according to their fathers' houses, by the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that went forth to military service: those that were numbered of them, of the tribe of Dan, were sixty-two thousand seven hundred. Of the sons of Asher: their generations, after their families, according to their fathers' houses, by the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that went forth to military service: those that were numbered of them, of the tribe of Asher, were forty-one thousand five hundred. Of the sons of Naphtali: their generations, after their families, according to their fathers' houses, by the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that went forth to military service: those that were numbered of them, of the tribe of Naphtali, were fifty-three thousand four hundred. These are those that were numbered, whom Moses and Aaron numbered, and the princes of Israel, the twelve men: each one was for the house of his fathers. And all those that were numbered of the children of Israel, according to their fathers' houses, from twenty years old and upward, all that went forth to military service in Israel, all they that were numbered were six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty. But the Levites after the tribe of their fathers were not numbered among them. For Jehovah had spoken to Moses, saying, Only thou shalt not number the tribe of Levi, neither take the sum of them among the children of Israel. But thou, appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of testimony, and over all the vessels thereof, and over all things that belong to it: they shall bear the tabernacle, and all its vessels; and they shall serve it, and round about the tabernacle shall they encamp; and when the tabernacle setteth forward, the Levites shall take it down; and when the tabernacle encampeth, the Levites shall set it up; and the stranger that cometh near shall be put to death. And the children of Israel shall encamp every man in his camp, and every man by his own standard, according to their hosts; but the Levites shall encamp round about the tabernacle of testimony, that there come not wrath upon the assembly of the children of Israel; and the Levites shall keep the charge of the tabernacle of testimony. And the children of Israel did so; according to all that Jehovah had commanded Moses, so did they.
These are they that were numbered by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who numbered the children of Israel in the plains of Moab, by the Jordan of Jericho. But among these there was not a man numbered by Moses and Aaron the priest, who numbered the children of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai.
And again the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them saying, Go, number Israel and Judah. And the king said to Joab the captain of the host, who was with him, Go, I pray thee, through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, and count the people, that I may know the number of the people. And Joab said to the king, May Jehovah thy God even add to the people, how many soever they be, a hundredfold, and that the eyes of my lord the king may see [it]; but why does my lord the king delight in this thing?
And David took not their number from twenty years old and under; for Jehovah had said he would increase Israel as the stars of heaven. Joab the son of Zeruiah began to number, but he did not finish; and there fell wrath for it upon Israel; and the number was not put in the account of the chronicles of king David.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Numbers 1
Commentary on Numbers 1 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 1
Nu 1:1-54. Moses Numbering the Men of War.
1, 2. on the first day of the second month, &c.—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 (Ex 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 [Nu 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 [Ge 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.
3. Aaron shall number them by their armies—or companies. In their departure from Egypt they were divided into five grand companies (Ex 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.
4-16. 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.
5. these are the names of the men that shall stand with you, &c.—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].
16-18. These were the renowned—literally, "the called" of the congregation, summoned by name; and they entered upon the survey the very day the order was given.
18. by their polls—individually, one by one.
19. As the Lord commanded Moses, &c.—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).
20-44. 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 [Ge 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" [Ge 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 Nu 26:64.]
45, 46. all they that were numbered were six hundred thousand, &c.—What an astonishing increase from seventy-five persons who went down to Egypt about two hundred fifteen years before [see on Ge 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 [Nu 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.
47-54. But the Levites … were not numbered among them—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 [Nu 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 [Ex 13:2; Nu 3:12].