1And it happened, after the plague, Jehovah spoke to Moses, and to Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, saying, 2Lift the heads of all the congregation of the sons of Israel, from a son of twenty years and upward, throughout their fathers' house, all that are able to go to war in Israel. 3And Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke with them in the plains of Moab beside Jordan, at Jericho, saying, 4 Count from a son of twenty years and upward, as Jehovah commanded Moses and the sons of Israel, who went forth out of the land of Egypt. 5Reuben, the first-born of Israel, the sons of Reuben: of Hanoch, the family of the Hanochites; of Pallu, the family of the Palluites; 6from Hezron, the family of the Hezronites; of Carmi, the family of the Carmites. 7These are the families of the Reubenites; and their numbered ones were forty three thousand, seven hundred and thirty. 8And the son of Pallu was Eliab. 9And the sons of Eliab: Nemuel, and Dathan, and Abiram. This is that Dathan and Abiram who were called ones in the congregation, who fought against Moses and against Aaron in the company of Korah, when they fought against Jehovah. 10And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up together with Korah, at the death of that company, when the fire devoured two hundred and fifty men. And they became a sign; 11but 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 Zerahites; 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 their numbered ones, forty thousand, five hundred. 19The sons of Judah: Er and Onan; and Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. 20And the sons of Judah by their families: of Shelah, the family of the Shelanites; of Pharez, the family of the Pharzites; of Zerah, the family of the Zerahites. 21And the sons of Pharez: of Hezron, the family of the Hezronites, of Hamul the family of the Hamulites. 22These are the families of Judah, according to their numbered ones, seventy six thousand, five hundred. 23Of the sons of Issachar, according to their families: of Tola, the family of the Tolaites; of Pua, 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 their numbered ones, sixty four thousand, three hundred. 26Of the 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 numbered to them, sixty thousand, five hundred. 28And the sons of Joseph according to their families: Manasseh and Ephraim. 29The sons of Manasseh: of Machir, the family of the Machirites; and Machir fathered 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. 31And of Asriel, the family of the Asrielites; and of Shechem, the family of the Shechemites; 32and of Shemida, the family of the Shemidaites; and of Hepher, the family of the Hepherites. 33And 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 by their numbered ones, fifty two thousand, seven hundred. 35These are the sons of Ephraim, according to their families: of Shuthelah, the family of the Shuthelahites; of Becher, the family of the Bachrites; 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 by their numbered ones, 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 Bela's sons 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 by their numbered ones, 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 their numbered ones, sixty four thousand, four hundred. 44 Of the sons of Asher according to their families: of Jimna, the family of the Jimnites; of Jesui, the family of the Jesuites of Beriah, the family of the Berites. 45Of the sons of Beriah: of Heber, the family of the Heberites; of Malchiel, the family of the Malchielites. 46And Asher's daughter's name was Serah. 47These are the families of the sons of Asher, by their numbered ones, 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 by their families, and their numbered ones were forty five thousand, four hundred. 51These were the numbered ones of the sons of Israel, six hundred and one thousand, seven hundred and thirty. 52And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, 53The land shall be divided to those for an inheritance, according to the number of names. 54To the many you shall increase their inheritance; and to the few you shall diminish their inheritance; each according to the mouth of his numbered ones shall be given his inheritance. 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, possession of it shall be divided between the many and few. 57And these are the numbered ones of the Levites by 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; the family of the Korathites. And Kohath fathered Amram. 59And the name of Amram's wife was Jochebed, the daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt. And she bore Aaron and Moses to Amram, and their sister Miriam. 60And Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar were born to Aaron. 61And Nadab and Abihu died for bringing strange fire before Jehovah. 62And their numbered ones were twenty three thousand, all males, a son of a month and upward. For they were not counted among the sons of Israel, because there was no possession given them among the sons of Israel. 63These are those numbered by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who numbered the sons of Israel in the plains of Moab, beside Jordan, near Jericho. 64And among these there was not a man of those numbered by Moses and Aaron the priest, who numbered the sons of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai. 65For Jehovah had said to them, Dying they shall die in the wilderness, and not a man of them should be left 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