A Commentary on the Book of Numbers

Chapter Twenty-Six

Counting the Next Generation

26:1 After the plague, the LORD said to Moses and to Eleazar the son of Aaron, the priest, 2 “Take a census of all the congregation of the people of Israel, from twenty years old and upward, by their fathers’ houses, all in Israel who are able to go to war.” 3 And Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke with them in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying, 4 “Take a census of the people, from twenty years old and upward,” as the LORD commanded Moses. The people of Israel who came out of the land of Egypt were: 

There are some translations that append the wording, “After the plague,” to verse 18 of the previous chapter to help emphasize the beginning of a new oracle from God. However, the phrase does signify a significant change; the plague of chapter 25 was the final judgment of God on the first generation that left Egypt. Here God is addressing both Moses and Eleazar, who was now the High Priest (see Numbers 20:28). The last eleven chapters focus on the preparation for entry into the Promised Land. The generation that revolted against God and were frightened to enter the Promised Land had passed on and the forty-year period of wilderness dwelling was near its end. God has them do another census in the plains of Moab across the Jordan River from the city of Jericho. Using similar language of Numbers chapter one, they were to count the men twenty years old and older that are able to go to war. The number of people that were brought out of the land of Egypt would refer to those that were children when they left Egypt (therefore innocent of their parent’s sin) and those that were born in the wilderness. 

26:5 Reuben, the firstborn of Israel; the sons of Reuben: of Hanoch, the clan of the Hanochites; of Pallu, the clan of the Palluites; 6 of Hezron, the clan of the Hezronites; of Carmi, the clan of the Carmites. 7 These are the clans of the Reubenites, and those listed were 43,730. 8 And the sons of Pallu: Eliab. 9 The sons of Eliab: Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram. These are the Dathan and Abiram, chosen from the congregation, who contended against Moses and Aaron in the company of Korah, when they contended against the LORD 10 and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up together with Korah, when that company died, when the fire devoured 250 men, and they became a warning. 11 But the sons of Korah did not die. 

In addition to the census of the tribe of Reuben, we are reminded of the revolt that was instigated by Korah, and how he, Dathan and Abiram died being among men who were killed by God for that rebellion (see Numbers 16:1-50). Besides the fact that Dathan and Abiram were from the tribe of Rueben, there does not seem to be a connection to the 250 men whose deaths became a warning to others. Some believe due to the significant decreases in population of men from the tribe Simeon (and possibly the decreases in Reuben, Gad, Ephraim, and Naphtali), that this story is mentioned here to explain that deficit. Especially since the text reads, “But the sons of Korah did not die.” Korah was a Levite, whose family later became very influential (see Psalms 42; 44-49; 84-85; 87; 1 Chronicles 9:19). 

The total number of men twenty years or older counted from the tribe of Reuben was 43,730.

26:12 The sons of Simeon according to their clans: of Nemuel, the clan of the Nemuelites; of Jamin, the clan of the Jaminites; of Jachin, the clan of the Jachinites; 13 of Zerah, the clan of the Zerahites; of Shaul, the clan of the Shaulites. 14 These are the clans of the Simeonites, 22,200. 

The tribe of Simeon had the greatest loss in number since the first census, from 59,300 to 22,200 (see Numbers 1:23). Many believe that the radically reduced number of sons from the tribe of Simeon was in response to Israel’s curse of the tribe (see Genesis 49:5-7), primarily due to the patriarch’s involvement in the horrific incident many years earlier in Shechem (see Genesis 34:24-30). Making them the smallest and undoubtedly the weakest tribe of Israel. It is important to note that while the wording of the curse focused on dispersing the tribe (thereby minimizing their influence), it does not call for their extinction. We will see later that the tribe of Simeon is the only tribe that was not blessed by Moses (see Deuteronomy chapter 33). 

It is interesting to note that the clan of Ohad is not listed (see Genesis 46:10; Exodus 6:15), which is also missing from the list in 1 Chronicles 4:24, for some unknown reason.

26:15 The sons of Gad according to their clans: of Zephon, the clan of the Zephonites; of Haggi, the clan of the Haggites; of Shuni, the clan of the Shunites; 16 of Ozni, the clan of the Oznites; of Eri, the clan of the Erites; 17 of Arod, the clan of the Arodites; of Areli, the clan of the Arelites. 18 These are the clans of the sons of Gad as they were listed, 40,500. 

In the Septuagint the listing of the sons of Gad follow the tribe of Zebulun (see verses 26-27) instead of here after the sons of Simeon. The total number of males twenty years old or older from the tribe of Gad were 40,500.

26:19 The sons of Judah were Er and Onan; and Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. 20 And the sons of Judah according to their clans were: of Shelah, the clan of the Shelanites; of Perez, the clan of the Perezites; of Zerah, the clan of the Zerahites. 21 And the sons of Perez were: of Hezron, the clan of the Hezronites; of Hamul, the clan of the Hamulites. 22 These are the clans of Judah as they were listed, 76,500. 

Er and Onan, who appear in the lists in Genesis 46:12 and 1 Chronicles 2:3, were killed by God in the land of Canaan due to their wickedness long before the family entered Egypt (see Genesis 38:1-10). The total number of males able to go to war was 76,500.

26:23 The sons of Issachar according to their clans: of Tola, the clan of the Tolaites; of Puvah, the clan of the Punites; 24 of Jashub, the clan of the Jashubites; of Shimron, the clan of the Shimronites. 25 These are the clans of Issachar as they were listed, 64,300. 

The number of males counted from the tribe of Issachar twenty years of age and older was 64,300.

26:26 The sons of Zebulun, according to their clans: of Sered, the clan of the Seredites; of Elon, the clan of the Elonites; of Jahleel, the clan of the Jahleelites. 27 These are the clans of the Zebulunites as they were listed, 60,500. 

The count of the Zebulunites was 60,500.

26:28 The sons of Joseph according to their clans: Manasseh and Ephraim. 29 The sons of Manasseh: of Machir, the clan of the Machirites; and Machir was the father of Gilead; of Gilead, the clan of the Gileadites. 30 These are the sons of Gilead: of Iezer, the clan of the Iezerites; of Helek, the clan of the Helekites; 31 and of Asriel, the clan of the Asrielites; and of Shechem, the clan of the Shechemites; 32 and of Shemida, the clan of the Shemidaites; and of Hepher, the clan of the Hepherites. 33 Now Zelophehad the son of Hepher had no sons, but daughters. And the names of the daughters of Zelophehad were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 34 These are the clans of Manasseh, and those listed were 52,700. 

The tribe of Joseph was not a separate tribe, it consisted of the tribes from the families of his sons Manasseh and Ephraim, both adopted as sons by Jacob (see Genesis 48:1-22).^[1] The lack of lineage to pass on Zelophehad’s inheritance having no male offspring, as well as others without male children, will be addressed in the first eleven verses of the following chapter. The number of men twenty years old and older from the tribe of Manasseh was 52,700.

26:35 These are the sons of Ephraim according to their clans: of Shuthelah, the clan of the Shuthelahites; of Becher, the clan of the Becherites; of Tahan, the clan of the Tahanites. 36 And these are the sons of Shuthelah: of Eran, the clan of the Eranites. 37 These are the clans of the sons of Ephraim as they were listed, 32,500. These are the sons of Joseph according to their clans. 

From Joseph’s other son, the tribe of Ephraim had 32,500 men able to go to war.

26:38 The sons of Benjamin according to their clans: of Bela, the clan of the Belaites; of Ashbel, the clan of the Ashbelites; of Ahiram, the clan of the Ahiramites; 39 of Shephupham, the clan of the Shuphamites; of Hupham, the clan of the Huphamites. 40 And the sons of Bela were Ard and Naaman: of Ard, the clan of the Ardites; of Naaman, the clan of the Naamites. 41 These are the sons of Benjamin according to their clans, and those listed were 45,600. 

The count of the able-bodied sons of Benjamin was 45,600.

26:42 These are the sons of Dan according to their clans: of Shuham, the clan of the Shuhamites. These are the clans of Dan according to their clans. 43 All the clans of the Shuhamites, as they were listed, were 64,400. 

The tribe of Dan had 64,400 males twenty years old and older able to go to war.

26:44 The sons of Asher according to their clans: of Imnah, the clan of the Imnites; of Ishvi, the clan of the Ishvites; of Beriah, the clan of the Beriites. 45 Of the sons of Beriah: of Heber, the clan of the Heberites; of Malchiel, the clan of the Malchielites. 46 And the name of the daughter of Asher was Serah. 47 These are the clans of the sons of Asher as they were listed, 53,400. 

The number of men twenty years and older from the tribe of Asher able to go to war was 53,400. 

26:48 The sons of Naphtali according to their clans: of Jahzeel, the clan of the Jahzeelites; of Guni, the clan of the Gunites; 49 of Jezer, the clan of the Jezerites; of Shillem, the clan of the Shillemites. 50 These are the clans of Naphtali according to their clans, and those listed were 45,400. 

The count for the tribe of Naphtali was 45,400.

26:51 This was the list of the people of Israel, 601,730. 

Comparing the number of men from twenty years of age and upward who were able to go to war from the first census taken during the second year after leaving Egypt (see Numbers 1:20-43) and the final census taken at year 40.

26:52 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 53 “Among these the land shall be divided for inheritance according to the number of names. 54 To a large tribe you shall give a large inheritance, and to a small tribe you shall give a small inheritance; every tribe shall be given its inheritance in proportion to its list. 55 But the land shall be divided by lot. According to the names of the tribes of their fathers they shall inherit. 56 Their inheritance shall be divided according to lot between the larger and the smaller.” 

God told Moses that when they get to the Promised Land it was to be allocated to the tribes based on the size of the tribe. Larger land portions are to be given to the larger tribes and smaller land allocations to the smaller tribes. In what sounds like a contradictory statement, the land was to be divided by lot. The casting of lots in the Bible is not some form of random selection, it is through the guidance of God.^[2] By seeing the difference of the number of people in each tribe, the people could see that the land, which would ultimately be God’s decision, was fair and equitable.  

26:57 This was the list of the Levites according to their clans: of Gershon, the clan of the Gershonites; of Kohath, the clan of the Kohathites; of Merari, the clan of the Merarites. 58 These are the clans of Levi: the clan of the Libnites, the clan of the Hebronites, the clan of the Mahlites, the clan of the Mushites, the clan of the Korahites. And Kohath was the father of Amram. 59 The name of Amram’s wife was Jochebed the daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt. And she bore to Amram Aaron and Moses and Miriam their sister. 60 And to Aaron were born Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 61 But Nadab and Abihu died when they offered unauthorized fire before the LORD. 62 And those listed were 23,000, every male from a month old and upward. For they were not listed among the people of Israel, because there was no inheritance given to them among the people of Israel. 

This section lists the clans associated with the tribe of Levi, highlighting the lineage of significant members. First showing the line leading up to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, then the priestly line of Aaron and his sons, with a reminder of the tragic event that led to the deaths of Nadab and Abihu (see Leviticus chapter ten). Since the Levites were exempt from military duty their census was different, their count included every male from one month old and older. Plus, since their inheritance was God Himself and not land (see Numbers 18:20; Joshua 13:33), their population count was unnecessary for land allocation.

The total number of Levite males one month and older was 23,000, up from 22,000 listed in the previous census of the Levites (see Numbers 3:39). 

26:63 These were those listed by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who listed the people of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho. 64 But among these there was not one of those listed by Moses and Aaron the priest, who had listed the people of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai. 65 For the LORD had said of them, “They shall die in the wilderness.” Not one of them was left, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. 

This census count was performed by Moses and Eleazar while the people of Israel were camped in the plains of Moab on the east side of the Jordan River across from the city of Jericho. None of the men listed there in the wilderness of Moab matched any of the names listed on census done in the wilderness of Sinai, with the exception of Moses, Caleb, and Joshua. The rebellious generation that was led out of captivity, minus these three faithful men, were now dead.

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[1] See also Considerations under Genesis 48:21-22.

[2] See commentary under Leviticus 16:6-10.