Chapter One
Count All War-Worthy Warriors
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, saying, 2 “Take a census of all the congregation of the people of Israel, by clans, by fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, every male, head by head. 3 From twenty years old and upward, all in Israel who are able to go to war, you and Aaron shall list them, company by company. 4 And there shall be with you a man from each tribe, each man being the head of the house of his fathers. 5 And these are the names of the men who shall assist you. From Reuben, Elizur the son of Shedeur; 6 from Simeon, Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai; 7 from Judah, Nahshon the son of Amminadab; 8 from Issachar, Nethanel the son of Zuar; 9 from Zebulun, Eliab the son of Helon; 10 from the sons of Joseph, from Ephraim, Elishama the son of Ammihud, and from Manasseh, Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur; 11 from Benjamin, Abidan the son of Gideoni; 12 from Dan, Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai; 13 from Asher, Pagiel the son of Ochran; 14 from Gad, Eliasaph the son of Deuel; 15 from Naphtali, Ahira the son of Enan.” 16 These were the ones chosen from the congregation, the chiefs of their ancestral tribes, the heads of the clans of Israel.
The book of Numbers opens with a time stamp, placing this message from God on the first day of the second month in the second year after leaving Egypt, one month after erecting the Tabernacle (see Exodus 40:17). Before they leave for the Promised Land, God wants Moses to count the number of males twenty years and older in each family who are healthy and able to do battle. The Hebrew word translated as “company by company” (‘ṣiḇ·’ōṯ’)[1] implies service, in this context military service, but the text does not elaborate as to how to categorize the service. God further instructed that the head of each tribe was to assist in the census and then named each of them by tribal affiliation. Note that God does not mention any representative from the tribe of Levi, as they will be treated very differently than the other tribes and will be given unique responsibilities and privileges, including exemption from fighting in battle.
1:17 Moses and Aaron took these men who had been named, 18 and on the first day of the second month, they assembled the whole congregation together, who registered themselves by clans, by fathers’ houses, according to the number of names from twenty years old and upward, head by head, 19 as the LORD commanded Moses. So he listed them in the wilderness of Sinai.
Moses and Aaron did as God instructed and with the help of the men who God named, brought the entire people of Israel together for all males 20 years and older to be counted while they were in the wilderness of Sinai.
It was common for kings and monarchs to order a census, especially before a potential campaign, to see if they had the power to fight (see 2 Samuel 24:1-9) and on occasion a count was made after a battle to see how many were lost (see 1 Samuel 14:17). This raises the question, since God would know everything about the population in existence and certainly the number of able men twenty years old and above, someone might ask, why the census? Why would God need to have Moses and Aaron go through the effort to count the number of potential warriors? The text does not offer an answer to that question, but we can see that it would not be for His own edification, it would be for the benefit of man. Perhaps the most important point is that God will guide and protect His people as promised (later we see how many were lost, see Numbers 31:48-49, sadly due to their disbelief only two from that generation entered the Promised Land).
Another point is that God is demonstrating that even though He made the promises of victory and provision, effort will still be required by everyone capable. This concept is often referred to as God’s “modus operandi,” (mode of operation) a characteristic method of doing something, just as David stepped forward to slay Goliath (see 1 Samuel 17:1-58) or Nehemiah rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem (see Nehemiah 3:1-4:23). God’s people are not to “sit on their hands” and wait for God to act and do all of the work, they are to ‘go’ as God has called them to do; that “M. O. to go” is still valid and vital today for all Christians (see Matthew 28:18-20).
1:20 The people of Reuben, Israel’s firstborn, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war: 21 those listed of the tribe of Reuben were 46,500.
The report of the results of the census begins with Israel’s firstborn son Reuben, however the list is not entirely in chronological birth order. They are listed in order of their camp or division assignments, which will be assigned in the next chapter.
The text essentially reads the same for each tribe reporting, stating that the count was done by their clans, by their father’s houses, according to the number of names, head by head, every male twenty years and older, who are able to go to war. There are twelve tribes listed without the tribe of Levi (remember there are 14 names of tribes and 13 actual tribes).[2]
The count of twenty-plus year-old males able to go to war from the tribe of Reuben was 46,500.
1:22 Of the people of Simeon, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, those of them who were listed, according to the number of names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war: 23 those listed of the tribe of Simeon were 59,300.
The count from the tribe of Simeon was 59,300.
1:24 Of the people of Gad, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war: 25 those listed of the tribe of Gad were 45,650.
The count from the tribe of Gad was 45,650.
1:26 Of the people of Judah, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war: 27 those listed of the tribe of Judah were 74,600.
The count from the tribe of Judah was 74,600.
1:28 Of the people of Issachar, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war: 29 those listed of the tribe of Issachar were 54,400.
The count from the tribe of Issachar was 54,400.
1:30 Of the people of Zebulun, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war: 31 those listed of the tribe of Zebulun were 57,400.
The count from the tribe of Zebulun was 57,400.
1:32 Of the people of Joseph, namely, of the people of Ephraim, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war: 33 those listed of the tribe of Ephraim were 40,500.
Since Jacob adopted Joseph’s sons as his own, the tribe of Joseph consisted of Ephraim and Manasseh. The count from the tribe of Ephraim alone was 40,500.
1:34 Of the people of Manasseh, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war: 35 those listed of the tribe of Manasseh were 32,200.
The count from the tribe of Manasseh was 32,200.
1:36 Of the people of Benjamin, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war: 37 those listed of the tribe of Benjamin were 35,400.
The count from the tribe of Benjamin was 35,400.
1:38 Of the people of Dan, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war: 39 those listed of the tribe of Dan were 62,700.
The count from the tribe of Dan was 62,700.
1:40 Of the people of Asher, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war: 41 those listed of the tribe of Asher were 41,500.
The count from the tribe of Asher was 41,500.
1:42 Of the people of Naphtali, their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war: 43 those listed of the tribe of Naphtali were 53,400.
The count from the tribe of Naphtali was 53,400.
1:44 These are those who were listed, whom Moses and Aaron listed with the help of the chiefs of Israel, twelve men, each representing his fathers’ house. 45 So all those listed of the people of Israel, by their fathers’ houses, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war in Israel— 46 all those listed were 603,550.
This census appears to have taken less than twenty days to complete (see Numbers 10:11, compare that to a census that took several months to complete, see 2 Samuel 24:8). The tally of all males twenty years old and older that were able to go to war, minus the Levites, was 603,550.
Considerations
As discussed previously in Genesis chapter ten, some words, especially proper nouns, are interpreted (or translated) based on how the original language sounds like other words.[3] When a name is transliterated (to sound like the original language) the spelling may vary significantly as determined by the person or organization doing the translation, this is to be expected. Some Bible translations will intentionally use different ‘English’ spellings of the same name to prevent any misunderstanding or confusion by the reader later in the text from others with the same name (usually not a problem, if the translator is diligent in recognizing the continuity and use of the name, typically used in conjunction with either a specific location or a key person).
Being a book that is often criticized and questioned due to its content regarding the people of Israel’s disobedience and subsequent punishment, the book of Numbers has also seen its share of distractors for its numbers. One area of concern for this and any other book in the Old Testament is the accurate representation of numbers. Due to the process of textural copying by hand, it is common to hear about potential numeric inaccuracies. The driving force here in chapter one is based primarily on the large numbers of men reported in this census. However, these numbers are in alignment with previous passages and are mathematically justifiable.[4]
Another issue regarding accuracy comes up regarding the fact that these numbers are rounded off to the nearest 100, and that they tend to use only numbers ending with 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, and 700, but never 000, 800, or 900 (except for Gad whose count ended in 50). This does seem odd considering that in Numbers 3:43 the number 22,273 is used, a rather precise number in comparison. There are several theories as to why the numbers are rounded off, ranging from copyists intentionally inflating the numbers by rounding up, to the idea that the actual counts were lost or partially obliterated before officially recording the numbers here.
Some have argued that these numbers may have been corrupted in transmission. The general faithfulness of the textual transmission of the Hebrew Bible (and the Greek NT) is truly marvelous. At the same time, in neither testament is this process perfect. We have certain examples of corruption of numbers in parallel passages in the historical literature. An event described in 2 Samuel 10:18 speaks of 700 chariots; but the parallel text in 1 Chronicles 19:18 reads 7,000. 1 Samuel 13:1 lacks the number altogether for the age of Saul: “Saul was … years old.” The number of people who died in the final plague of Numbers is listed as 24,000 (25:9), but 1 Corinthians 10:8 gives 23,000 for the same event. So it is possible for one to argue that the numbers of the census listings in Numbers 1–4 and 26 have suffered transmission problems. This is possible, but we may observe that the present text does not betray notices of textual difficulties in these numbers.[5]
While these numbers may seem unlikely to some, they are what God chose to represent the male population that were qualified and capable to fight.
Typically, the copying of text was done very carefully and slowly. An early system, referred to by some as an Assyro-Babylonian-Greek technique of alphanumeric coding, was embraced to copy most sacred text. This system, known as ‘gematria’ (a Hebrew word, but not a Biblical term, actual etymology is unknown), assigns numbers to various letters. The basic concept was that each row of letters and each column of letters were added together to provide a checksum or page total. If the checksum of the hand-copied version varied from the original, the page would be destroyed, and the process of copying would have to start from the beginning. As mentioned earlier,[6] this method also introduced an ungodly form of numerology used by false teachers and is often incorporated in other heretical ideas and thinking such as the Jewish Kabbalah.
However Don't Count the Levites
1:47 But the Levites were not listed along with them by their ancestral tribe. 48 For the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 49 “Only the tribe of Levi you shall not list, and you shall not take a census of them among the people of Israel. 50 But appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the testimony, and over all its furnishings, and over all that belongs to it. They are to carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings, and they shall take care of it and shall camp around the tabernacle. 51 When the tabernacle is to set out, the Levites shall take it down, and when the tabernacle is to be pitched, the Levites shall set it up. And if any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death. 52 The people of Israel shall pitch their tents by their companies, each man in his own camp and each man by his own standard. 53 But the Levites shall camp around the tabernacle of the testimony, so that there may be no wrath on the congregation of the people of Israel. And the Levites shall keep guard over the tabernacle of the testimony.” 54 Thus did the people of Israel; they did according to all that the LORD commanded Moses.
The Levites were not included in this census (a separate count will be done later, see Numbers 3:1-39), as they are given the responsibility to transport and set up the Tabernacle along with all its related furnishings. God warns that if anyone else comes near the items being disassembled, transported, or set up, they would be put to death. Once the Tabernacle was assembled, the people of Israel were to set up their tents as assigned by their companies by their own standard (assignments will be made in the next chapter). The Levites were to camp around the Tabernacle to prevent the people of Israel from violating God’s instructions resulting in them experiencing God’s wrath, and to keep watch and guard the Tabernacle.
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[1] Strong’s Hebrew 6635.
[2] See commentary under Genesis 48:5-7 and Considerations under Genesis 48:21-22 regarding the twelve tribes.
[3] See Considerations after Genesis 10:1 regarding accuracy.
[4] See Considerations under Genesis 47:27-31 and the commentaries under Exodus 1:1-7 and 12:37.
[5] Allen, R. B. (1990). Numbers. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers (Vol. 2, p. 681). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.
[6] See Considerations under Genesis 17:9-14, regarding the Hebrew letter ‘hey’.