Through My Bible Yr 01 – March 09
Numbers 1 – 2
The First Census of Israel
Numbers 1
1 The Lord spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai, in the Tent of Meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt. He said, 2 “Take a census of the entire community of the people of Israel, according to their clans and their fathers’ houses. [1] Count the names of every male, one by one, 3 twenty years old and up, all who are of age to serve in Israel’s army. Aaron and you are to register them by their military units. [2] 4 A man from each tribe will be with you. Every one of them will be the head of his fathers’ house. 5 These are the names of the men who will assist you:
from Reuben, Elizur son of Shedeur;
6 from Simeon, Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai;
7 from Judah, Nahshon son of Amminadab;
8 from Issachar, Nethanel son of Zuar;
9 from Zebulun, Eliab the son of Helon;
10 from the sons of Joseph:
from Ephraim, Elishama son of Ammihud;
from Manasseh, Gamaliel son of Pedahzur;
11 from Benjamin, Abidan son of Gideoni;
12 from Dan, Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai;
13 from Asher, Pagiel son of Ochran;
14 from Gad, Eliasaph son of Deuel;
15 from Naphtali, Ahira son of Enan.”
16 These were the men chosen from the community, the chiefs of the tribes of their fathers. They were the heads of Israel’s divisions. [3] 17 Moses and Aaron brought together these men, who had been designated by name. 18 They assembled the entire community on the first day of the second month, and they recorded the people’s ancestry by their clans, [4] by their fathers’ houses, listing the names of those who were twenty years old and up, one by one. 19 Moses registered them in the Wilderness of Sinai, exactly as the Lord commanded him.
20 The male descendants [5] of Reuben, Israel’s firstborn, were registered from their family records, according to their clans, according to their fathers’ houses, listing one by one the names of every male twenty years old and up, all who were of age to serve in the army. 21 Those who were registered from the tribe of Reuben totaled 46,500.
22 The male descendants of Simeon were registered from their family records, according to their clans, according to their fathers’ houses, listing one by one the names of every male twenty years old and up, all who were of age to serve in the army. 23 Those who were registered from the tribe of Simeon totaled 59,300.
24 The male descendants of Gad were registered from their family records, according to their clans, according to their fathers’ houses, listing the names of those twenty years old and up, all who were of age to serve in the army. 25 Those who were registered from the tribe of Gad totaled 45,650.
26 The male descendants of Judah were registered from their family records, according to their clans, according to their fathers’ houses, listing the names of those twenty years old and up, all who were of age to serve in the army. 27 Those who were registered from the tribe of Judah totaled 74,600.
28 The male descendants of Issachar were registered from their family records, according to their clans, according to their fathers’ houses, listing the names of those twenty years old and up, all who were of age to serve in the army. 29 Those who were registered from the tribe of Issachar totaled 54,400.
30 The male descendants of Zebulun were registered from their family records, according to their clans, according to their fathers’ houses, listing the names of those twenty years old and up, all who were of age to serve in the army. 31 Those who were registered from the tribe of Zebulun totaled 57,400.
32 The male descendants of Joseph who were the descendants of Ephraim were registered from their family records, according to their clans, according to their fathers’ houses, listing the names of those twenty years old and up, all who were of age to serve in the army. 33 Those who were registered from the tribe of Ephraim totaled 40,500.
34 Those who were male descendants of Manasseh were registered from their family records, according to their clans, according to their fathers’ houses, listing the names of those twenty years old and up, all who were of age to serve in the army. 35 Those who were registered from the tribe of Manasseh totaled 32,200.
36 The male descendants of Benjamin were registered from their family records, according to their clans, according to their fathers’ houses, listing the names of those twenty years old and up, all who were of age to serve in the army. 37 Those who were registered from the tribe of Benjamin totaled 35,400.
38 The male descendants of Dan were registered from their family records, according to their clans, according to their fathers’ houses, listing the names of those twenty years old and up, all who were of age to serve in the army. 39 Those who were registered from the tribe of Dan totaled 62,700.
40 The male descendants of Asher were registered from their family records, according to their clans, according to their fathers’ houses, listing the names of those twenty years old and up, all who were of age to serve in the army. 41 Those who were registered from the tribe of Asher totaled 41,500.
42 The male descendants of Naphtali were registered from their family records, according to their clans, according to their fathers’ houses, listing the names of those twenty years old and up, all who were of age to serve in the army. 43 Those who were registered from the tribe of Naphtali totaled 53,400.
44 These are the men who were registered by Moses and Aaron and twelve tribal chiefs of Israel, each representing his fathers’ house. 45 So all of the Israelite men twenty years old and up, who were of age to serve in Israel’s army, were registered according to their fathers’ houses. 46 Those who were registered totaled 603,550.
The Levites Exempted
47 But the Levites were not registered along with the others on the basis of their fathers’ tribe, 48 for the Lord had said to Moses, 49 “You are not to register the tribe of Levi, neither will you take a census of them along with the other Israelites. 50 Instead, appoint the Levites over the Dwelling of the Testimony [6] and over all its furnishings and over everything that belongs to it. They are to carry the Dwelling and all its furnishings. They are to take care of it, and they are to camp around it. 51 Whenever the Dwelling is to move, the Levites will take it down, and whenever the Dwelling is to stop for a new camp, the Levites will set it up. Any unauthorized person who comes near it must be put to death. 52 The Israelites will set up camp, everyone in his own camp and under his own standard, according to their military divisions. 53 But the Levites will camp around the Dwelling of the Testimony so that wrath will not fall on the Israelite community. In this way the Levites will perform the duties for the Dwelling of the Testimony.”
54 So the Israelites did everything that the Lord commanded Moses, exactly as he commanded.
The Arrangement of the Camp
Numbers 2
1 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron as follows:
2 Each of the Israelites will camp under his own standard, with the banners for their fathers’ houses. They will camp around the Tent of Meeting at a distance from it.
3 Those who camp on the east side toward the sunrise will be organized under the standard of Judah’s camp, according to their military units.
The tribal chief of Judah’s descendants is Nahshon son of Amminadab. 4 His unit, as registered, totals 74,600.
5 The tribe of Issachar will camp next to Judah. The tribal chief of Issachar’s descendants is Nethanel son of Zuar. 6 His unit, as registered, totals 54,400.
7 The tribe of Zebulun will be next. The tribal chief of Zebulun’s descendants is Eliab son of Helon. 8 His unit, as registered, totals 57,400.
9 All those registered in Judah’s camp are 186,400, according to their military units. They will set out first.
10 Those who camp on the south side will be organized under the standard of Reuben’s camp, according to their military units.
The tribal chief of Reuben’s descendants is Elizur son of Shedeur. 11 His unit, as registered, totals 46,500.
12 The tribe of Simeon will camp next to Reuben. The tribal chief of Simeon’s descendants is Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai. 13 His unit, as registered, totals 59,300.
14 The tribe of Gad will be next. The tribal chief of Gad’s descendants will be Eliasaph son of Deuel. [7] 15 His unit, as registered, totals 45,650.
16 All those registered in Reuben’s camp are 151,450, according to their military units. They will set out second.
17 Then the Tent of Meeting will set out with the Levites’ camp, which is in the middle of the camps. They are to set out in the same order as they camp, each one in his place, following their standards.
18 Those who camp on the west side will be organized under the standard of Ephraim’s camp, according to their military units.
The tribal chief of Ephraim’s descendants is Elishama son of Ammihud. 19 His unit, as registered, totals 40,500.
20 Next to Ephraim will be the tribe of Manasseh. The tribal chief of Manasseh’s descendants is Gamaliel son of Pedahzur. 21 His unit, as registered, totals 32,200.
22 The tribe of Benjamin will be next. The tribal chief of Benjamin’s descendants is Abidan son of Gideoni. 23 His unit, as registered, totals 35,400.
24 All those registered in Ephraim’s camp are 108,100, according to their military units. They will set out third.
25 Those who camp on the north side will be organized under the standard of Dan’s camp, according to their military units.
The tribal chief of Dan’s descendants is Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai. 26 His unit, as registered, totals 62,700.
27 Next to Dan will be the tribe of Asher. The tribal chief of Asher’s descendants will be Pagiel son of Ochran. 28 His unit, as registered, totals 41,500.
29 The tribe of Naphtali will be next. The tribal chief of Naphtali’s descendants is Ahira son of Enan. 30 His unit, as registered, totals 53,400.
31 All those registered in Dan’s camp are 157,600. They will set out last, following their standards.
32 These were the Israelites who were registered according to their fathers’ houses. All the men in the camps, organized according to their military units, as registered, totaled 603,550. 33 But the Levites were not registered among the Israelites, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
34 The Israelites did everything that the Lord commanded Moses. They camped around their standards, and they set out, every one of them by their clans, according to their fathers’ houses.
Footnotes
- Numbers 1:2 Because Israel’s social structure was based on kinship, the fathers’ house (or sometimes the father’s house) was one of the basic social units of Israel. The fathers’ house seems to have been smaller than the tribe and clan but larger than the immediate family. However, the use of the term fathers’ house does not seem to be consistent. Every level of Israelite social structure was a fathers’ house, though they were also called by other names.
- Numbers 1:3 Literally all those going out with the army. Israel’s army was arranged in geographical units, somewhat like the units of the US National Guard. Israel’s geographic and social units were also family units.
- Numbers 1:16 Literally thousands
- Numbers 1:18 Or extended family (Hebrew mishpachah)
- Numbers 1:20 Literally sons
- Numbers 1:50 Traditionally Tabernacle, but Dwelling more clearly expresses the meaning of the term. The Testimony is the set of tablets that contained the Ten Commandments.
- Numbers 2:14 Some Hebrew manuscripts read Reuel.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.
