1And it came to pass, after the plague, that Jehovah spoke to Moses and Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, saying: 2Take a head count of the congregation of the sons of Israel from twenty years old and above, by their fathers' houses, all who are able to go to war in Israel. 3And Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke with them in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across from Jericho, saying: 4Count from twenty years old and above, as Jehovah has commanded Moses and the sons of Israel who came out of the land of Egypt. 5Reuben was the firstborn of Israel. The sons of Reuben: of Hanoch, the family of the Hanochites; of Pallu, the family of the Palluites; 6of Hezron, the family of the Hezronites; of Carmi, the family of the Carmites. 7These are the families of the Reubenites: those who were numbered of them were forty-three thousand seven hundred and thirty. 8And the son of Pallu was Eliab. 9The sons of Eliab were Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram. These are the Dathan and Abiram, called out of the congregation, who struggled against Moses and Aaron in the company of Korah, to struggle against Jehovah; 10and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up together with Korah when that company died, when the fire devoured two hundred and fifty men; and they became a sign. 11However the sons of Korah did not die. 12The sons of Simeon according to their families: of Nemuel, the family of the Nemuelites; of Jamin, the family of the Jaminites; of Jachin, the family of the Jachinites; 13of Zerah, the family of the Zarhites; of Shaul, the family of the Shaulites. 14These are the families of the Simeonites: twenty-two thousand two hundred. 15The sons of Gad according to their families: of Zephon, the family of the Zephonites; of Haggi, the family of the Haggites; of Shuni, the family of the Shunites; 16of Ozni, the family of the Oznites; of Eri, the family of the Erites; 17of Arod, the family of the Arodites; of Areli, the family of the Arelites. 18These are the families of the sons of Gad according to those who were numbered of them: forty thousand five hundred. 19The sons of Judah were Er and Onan; and Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. 20And the sons of Judah according to their families: of Shelah, the family of the Shelanites; of Perez, the family of the Parzites; of Zerah, the family of the Zarhites. 21And the sons of Perez: of Hezron, the family of the Hezronites; of Hamul, the family of the Hamulites. 22These are the families of Judah according to those who were numbered of them: seventy-six thousand five hundred. 23The sons of Issachar according to their families: of Tola, the family of the Tolaites; of Puah, the family of the Punites; 24of Jashub, the family of the Jashubites; of Shimron, the family of the Shimronites. 25These are the families of Issachar according to those who were numbered of them: sixty-four thousand three hundred. 26The sons of Zebulun according to their families: of Sered, the family of the Seredites; of Elon, the family of the Elonites; of Jahleel, the family of the Jahleelites. 27These are the families of the Zebulunites according to those who were numbered of them: sixty thousand five hundred. 28The sons of Joseph according to their families: Manasseh and Ephraim. 29The sons of Manasseh: of Machir, the family of the Machirites; and Machir begot Gilead; of Gilead, the family of the Gileadites. 30These are the sons of Gilead: of Jeezer, the family of the Jeezerites; of Helek, the family of the Helekites; 31of Asriel, the family of the Asrielites; of Shechem, the family of the Shechemites; 32of Shemida, the family of the Shemidaites; of Hepher, the family of the Hepherites. 33Now 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. 34These are the families of Manasseh; and those who were numbered of them were fifty-two thousand seven hundred. 35These are the sons of Ephraim according to their families: of Shuthelah, the family of the Shuthelaites; of Becher, the family of the Becherites; of Tahan, the family of the Tahanites. 36And these are the sons of Shuthelah: of Eran, the family of the Eranites. 37These are the families of the sons of Ephraim according to those who were numbered of them: thirty-two thousand five hundred. These are the sons of Joseph according to their families. 38The sons of Benjamin according to their families: of Bela, the family of the Belaites; of Ashbel, the family of the Ashbelites; of Ahiram, the family of the Ahiramites; 39of Shupham, the family of the Shuphamites; of Hupham, the family of the Huphamites. 40And the sons of Bela were Ard and Naaman: of Ard, the family of the Ardites; of Naaman, the family of the Naamites. 41These are the sons of Benjamin according to their families; and those who were numbered of them were forty-five thousand six hundred. 42These are the sons of Dan according to their families: of Shuham, the family of the Shuhamites. These are the families of Dan according to their families. 43All the families of the Shuhamites, according to those who were numbered of them, were sixty-four thousand four hundred. 44The sons of Asher according to their families: of Jimnah, the family of the Jimnites; of Jesui, the family of the Jesuites; of Beriah, the family of the Beriites. 45Of the sons of Beriah: of Heber, the family of the Heberites; of Malchiel, the family of the Malchielites. 46And the name of the daughter of Asher was Serah. 47These are the families of the sons of Asher according to those who were numbered of them: fifty-three thousand four hundred. 48The sons of Naphtali according to their families: of Jahzeel, the family of the Jahzeelites; of Guni, the family of the Gunites; 49of Jezer, the family of the Jezerites; of Shillem, the family of the Shillemites. 50These are the families of Naphtali according to their families; and those who were numbered of them were forty-five thousand four hundred. 51These are the numbered ones of the children of Israel: six hundred and one thousand seven hundred and thirty. 52And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying: 53To these the land shall be divided as an inheritance, according to the number of names. 54To the many you shall give a larger inheritance, and to the few you shall give a smaller inheritance. Each shall be given its inheritance at the mouth of those who were numbered of them. 55But the land shall be divided by lot; they shall inherit according to the names of the tribes of their fathers. 56By the mouth of the lot their inheritance shall be divided between the many and the few. 57And these are those who were numbered of the Levites according to their families: of Gershon, the family of the Gershonites; of Kohath, the family of the Kohathites; of Merari, the family of the Merarites. 58These are the families of the Levites: the family of the Libnites, the family of the Hebronites, the family of the Mahlites, the family of the Mushites, and the family of the Korahites. And Kohath begot Amram. 59The name of Amram's wife was Jochebed the daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt; and to Amram she bore Aaron and Moses and their sister Miriam. 60To Aaron were born Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. 61And Nadab and Abihu died when they offered strange fire before Jehovah. 62And those who were numbered of them were twenty-three thousand, every male from a month old and above; for they were not numbered among the other sons of Israel, because there was no inheritance given to them among the sons of Israel. 63These are those who were numbered by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who numbered the sons of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across from Jericho. 64But among these there was not a man of those who were numbered by Moses and Aaron the priest when they numbered the sons of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai. 65For Jehovah had said of them, They shall die the death in the wilderness. Thus there was not left a man of them, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.
Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary 1 ISRAEL NUMBERED. (Num. 26:1-51)
after the plague--That terrible visitation had swept away the remnant of the old generation, to whom God sware in His wrath that they should not enter Canaan (
Ps 95:11).
2 Take the sum of all the congregation--The design of this new census, after a lapse of thirty-eight years, was primarily to establish the vast multiplication of the posterity of Abraham in spite of the severe judgments inflicted upon them; secondarily, it was to preserve the distinction of families and to make arrangements, preparatory to an entrance into the promised land, for the distribution of the country according to the relative population of the tribes.
7 These are the families of the Reubenites--the principal households, which were subdivided into numerous smaller families. Reuben had suffered great diminution by Korah's conspiracy and other outbreaks [
Num 16:1].
10 the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up together with Korah--rather, "the things of Korah." (See on
Num 16:35; compare
Ps 106:17).
11 Notwithstanding the children of Korah died not--Either they were not parties to their father's crime, or they withdrew from it by timely repentance. His descendants became famous in the time of David, and are often mentioned in the Psalms [
Ps 42:1;
Ps 44:1;
Ps 45:1;
Ps 46:1;
Ps 47:1;
Ps 48:1;
Ps 49:1;
Ps 84:1;
Ps 85:1;
Ps 87:1;
Ps 88:1], also in
1Chr 6:22,
1Chr 6:38.
12 The sons of Simeon--It is supposed that this tribe had been pre-eminent in the guilt of Baal-peor and had consequently been greatly reduced in numbers.
Thus God's justice and holiness, as well as His truth and faithfulness, were strikingly displayed: His justice and holiness in the sweeping judgments that reduced the ranks of some tribes; and His truth and faithfulness in the extraordinary increase of others so that the posterity of Israel continued a numerous people.
53 the land shall be divided according to the number of names--The portion of each tribe was to be greater or less, according to its populousness.
54 To many thou shalt give the more inheritance--that is, to the more numerous tribes a larger allotment shall be granted.
according to those that were numbered--the number of persons twenty years old at the time of the census being made, without taking into account either the increase of those who might have attained that age, when the land should be actually distributed, or the diminution from that amount, occasioned during the war of invasion.
55 the land shall be divided by lot--The appeal to the lot did not place the matter beyond the control of God; for it is at His disposal (
Pro 16:33), and He has fixed to all the bounds of their habitation. The manner in which the lot was taken has not been recorded. But it is evident that the lot was cast for determining the section of the country in which each tribe should be located--not the quantity of their possessions. In other words, when the lot had decided that a particular tribe was to be settled in the north or the south, the east or the west, the extent of territory was allocated according to the rule (
Num 26:54).
58 families of the Levites--The census of this tribe was taken separately, and on a different principle from the rest. (See
Exod 6:16-
Exod 6:19).
62 twenty and three thousand--so that there was an increase of a thousand (
Num 3:39).
males from a month old and upward--(See on
Num 3:14).
64 among these there was not a man . . . numbered . . . in the wilderness of Sinai--The statement in this verse must not be considered absolute. For, besides Caleb and Joshua, there were alive at this time Eleazar and Ithamar, and in all probability a considerable number of Levites, who had no participation in the popular defections in the wilderness. The tribe of Levi, having neither sent a spy into Canaan, nor being included in the enumeration at Sinai, must be regarded as not coming within the range of the fatal sentence; and therefore it would exhibit a spectacle not to be witnessed in the other tribes of many in their ranks above sixty years of age.
Tribes Chap. 1 Chap. 26 Increase Decrease
Reuben 46,500 43,730 -- 2,770
Simeon 59,300 22,200 -- 37,100
Gad 45,650 40,500 -- 5,150
Judah 74,600 76,500 1,900 --
Issachar 54,400 64,300 9,900 --
Zebulun 57,400 60,500 3,100 --
Ephraim 40,500 32,500 -- 8,000
Manasseh 32,200 52,700 20,500 --
Benjamin 35,400 45,600 10,200 --
Dan 62,700 64,400 1,700 --
Asher 41,500 53,400 11,900 --
Naphtali 53,400 45,400 -- 8,000
Total 603,550 601,730 59,200 61,020
Total decrease 1,820