Numbers 26-27     Listen

Hey! Can somebody give us an accurate count! (Numbers 26)

The command to count

1 And it came to pass, after the plague, that the LORD spoke to Moses and Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, saying:
2 “Take a census of all the congregation of the children of Israel from twenty years old and above, by their fathers’ houses, all who are able to go to war in Israel.”
3 So Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke with them in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across from Jericho, saying:
4 “Take a census of the people from twenty years old and above, just as the LORD commanded Moses and the children of Israel who came out of the land of Egypt.”

The count at the beginning of the 40-year stay in the wilderness is found in Numbers 1 (see notes). Verse 1 refers to the plague that killed 23,000 in Numbers 25 (see notes). We are told in that chapter that a man named Zimri, son of Salu, a leader among the Simeonites, was the one killed by Phinehas when he brought back the pagan-worshipping gal to camp. For this discussion, you may want to click here to see the positioning of the tribes around the tabernacle. It is likely that the plague of Numbers 25 began spreading on the south side of the tabernacle where the Simeonites were encamped. As a matter of fact, notice the diminished numbers of all three tribes that lived on the south side of the tabernacle below the Kohathites. This is also the area of the camp where the rebellion of Korah (Numbers 16, see notes) originated with the leaders of the Tribe of Reuben. Reuben's immediate neighbors on the south side were Simeon and Gad. Their numbers were reduced by 45,020 (approximately 30%) over those 38 years. Look at the huge hit in numbers Simeon alone took. That rebellion gets mentioned in verses 9-11, but notice particularly verse 11, "Nevertheless the children of Korah did not die." So, the families of the Reubenites, Simeonites and Gadites were killed in that rebellion, but not Korah's children, who were Levites.

Reuben

5 ¶ Reuben was the firstborn of Israel. The children of Reuben were: of Hanoch, the family of the Hanochites; of Pallu, the family of the Palluites;
6 of Hezron, the family of the Hezronites; of Carmi, the family of the Carmites.
7 These are the families of the Reubenites: those who were numbered of them were forty-three thousand seven hundred and thirty.
8 And the son of Pallu was Eliab.
9 The sons of Eliab were Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram. These are the Dathan and Abiram, representatives of 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 two hundred and fifty men; and they became a sign.
11 Nevertheless the children of Korah did not die.

Reuben's tribe took a hit in numbers between the first and second census. The reason is seen in verses 9-11; it was the rebellion that caused some massive deaths among the tribes on the south side of the tabernacle (Numbers 16, see notes). Reuben's numbers diminished to 43,730 from 46,500 since the original census, a loss of 2,770.

Simeon

12 ¶ The sons of Simeon according to their families were: of Nemuel, the family of the Nemuelites; of Jamin, the family of the Jaminites; of Jachin, the family of the Jachinites;
13 of Zerah, the family of the Zarhites; of Shaul, the family of the Shaulites.
14 These are the families of the Simeonites: twenty-two thousand two hundred.

Simeon's tribe was located on the south side of the tabernacle along with Reuben. That's where the rebellion of Numbers 16 (see notes) took place. As a matter of fact, Simeon suffered the biggest loss in population, now only numbering 22,200 - down from 59,300, a loss of 37,100.

Gad

15 ¶ The sons of Gad according to their families were: of Zephon, the family of the Zephonites; of Haggi, the family of the Haggites; of Shuni, the family of the Shunites;
16 of Ozni, the family of the Oznites; of Eri, the family of the Erites;
17 of Arod, the family of the Arodites; of Areli, the family of the Arelites.
18 These are the families of the sons of Gad according to those who were numbered of them: forty thousand five hundred.

Gad's tribe, located on the south side of the tabernacle along with Reuben and Simeon, also suffered a net loss in population between the first census and the second census. This was undoubtedly as a result of the rebellion of Numbers 16 (see notes). They diminished by 5,150 - from 45,650 to 40,500.

Judah

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 families were: of Shelah, the family of the Shelanites; of Perez, the family of the Parzites; of Zerah, the family of the Zarhites.
21 And the sons of Perez were: of Hezron, the family of the Hezronites; of Hamul, the family of the Hamulites.
22 These are the families of Judah according to those who were numbered of them: seventy-six thousand five hundred.

Judah increased from 74,600 to 76,500, a gain of 1,900. The death of Er and Onan in Genesis 38 (see notes) is also noted there. Incidentally, the descendants of Shelah had some Canaanite heritage through Judah's wife, Shuah, also seen in Genesis 38.

Issachar

23 ¶ The sons of Issachar according to their families were: of Tola, the family of the Tolaites; of Puah, the family of the Punites;
24 of Jashub, the family of the Jashubites; of Shimron, the family of the Shimronites.
25 These are the families of Issachar according to those who were numbered of them: sixty-four thousand three hundred.

Issachar's tribe increased from 54,400 to 64,300, a gain of 9,900.

Zebulun

26 ¶ The sons of Zebulun according to their families were: of Sered, the family of the Sardites; of Elon, the family of the Elonites; of Jahleel, the family of the Jahleelites.
27 These are the families of the Zebulunites according to those who were numbered of them: sixty thousand five hundred.

Zebulun's tribe increased from 57,400 to 60,500, a gain of 3,100.

Joseph gets honorable mention

28 ¶ The sons of Joseph according to their families, by Manasseh and Ephraim, were:

Joseph's two sons were adopted by Jacob in Genesis 48:5-22 (see notes). They become the substitute for Joseph among the Tribes of Israel. Since the Levites are not numbered, the number of tribes still rounds out to an even twelve.

Manasseh

29 The sons of Manasseh: of Machir, the family of the Machirites; and Machir begot Gilead; of Gilead, the family of the Gileadites.
30 These are the sons of Gilead: of Jeezer, the family of the Jeezerites; of Helek, the family of the Helekites;
31 of Asriel, the family of the Asrielites; of Shechem, the family of the Shechemites;
32 of Shemida, the family of the Shemidaites; of Hepher, the family 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 families of Manasseh; and those who were numbered of them were fifty-two thousand seven hundred.

Manasseh was the son of Joseph. His numbers increased from 32,200 to 52,700, a big gain of 20,500.

Ephraim

35 ¶ These are the sons of Ephraim according to their families: of Shuthelah, the family of the Shuthalhites; of Becher, the family of the Bachrites; of Tahan, the family of the Tahanites.
36 And these are the sons of Shuthelah: of Eran, the family of the Eranites.
37 These 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.

Ephraim was also the son of Joseph. His numbers decreased from 40,500 to 32,500, a significant loss of 8,000. We are not told what brought about their loss in population. Incidentally, this was Joshua's tribe.

Benjamin

38 ¶ The sons of Benjamin according to their families were: of Bela, the family of the Belaites; of Ashbel, the family of the Ashbelites; of Ahiram, the family of the Ahiramites;
39 of Shupham, the family of the Shuphamites; of Hupham, the family of the Huphamites.
40 And the sons of Bela were Ard and Naaman: of Ard, the family of the Ardites; of Naaman, the family of the Naamites.
41 These are the sons of Benjamin according to their families; and those who were numbered of them were forty-five thousand six hundred.

Benjamin's numbers significantly increased by 10,200, from 35,400 to 45,600.

Dan

42 ¶ These 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.
43 All the families of the Shuhamites, according to those who were numbered of them, were sixty-four thousand four hundred.

Dan's numbers increased somewhat (1,700) from 62,700 to 64,400.

Asher

44 ¶ The sons of Asher according to their families were: of Jimna, the family of the Jimnites; of Jesui, the family of the Jesuites; of Beriah, the family of the Beriites.
45 Of the sons of Beriah: of Heber, the family of the Heberites; of Malchiel, the family of the Malchielites.
46 And the name of the daughter of Asher was Serah.
47 These are the families of the sons of Asher according to those who were numbered of them: fifty-three thousand four hundred.

Asher began with 41,500 and significantly increased (by 11,900) to 53,400.

Naphtali

48 ¶ The sons of Naphtali according to their families were: of Jahzeel, the family of the Jahzeelites; of Guni, the family of the Gunites;
49 of Jezer, the family of the Jezerites; of Shillem, the family of the Shillemites.
50 These are the families of Naphtali according to their families; and those who were numbered of them were forty-five thousand four hundred.

Naphtali lost 8,000 over the years, from 53,400 to 45,400. We do not know why.

And the grand total is 601,730

51 ¶ These are those who were numbered of the children of Israel: six hundred and one thousand seven hundred and thirty.

Overall, the twelve tribes diminished in population over the 40 years from 603,550 to 601,730, a loss of 1,820. Keep in mind, these numbers include no Levite men.

Instructions for dividing the land

52 ¶ Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying:
53 “To these the land shall be divided as an inheritance, according to the number of names.
54 To a large tribe you shall give a larger inheritance, and to a small tribe you shall give a smaller inheritance. Each shall be given its inheritance according to those who were numbered of them.
55 But the land shall be divided by lot; they shall inherit according to the names of the tribes of their fathers.
56 According to the lot their inheritance shall be divided between the larger and the smaller.”

Numbering the Levites

57 ¶ And 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.
58 These 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 Korathites. And Kohath begot Amram.
59 The 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.
60 To Aaron were born Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.
61 And Nadab and Abihu died when they offered profane fire before the LORD.
62 ¶ Now 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 children of Israel, because there was no inheritance given to them among the children of Israel.

Of non-Levite men, only Joshua and Caleb were left from 40 years ago

63 ¶ These are those who were numbered by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who numbered the children of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across from Jericho.
64 But among these there was not a man of those who were numbered by Moses and Aaron the priest when they numbered the children of Israel in the Wilderness of Sinai.
65 For the LORD had said of them, “They shall surely die in the wilderness.” So there was not left a man of them, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.

The Levites were numbered from one month old upward - only males. Their number in the 40th year according to verse 62 was 23,000. They weren't numbered above because they were separated out and received no inheritance of land for their tribe. The Levites lived among the other twelve tribes upon arrival into Canaan.

You will recall that when the Hebrews wanted to stone Moses and Aaron after the spies came back in Numbers 14 (see notes), God made a decree which kept them in the wilderness for another 38+ years. Remember his words in Numbers 14:29-30, "The carcasses of you who have complained against Me shall fall in this wilderness, all of you who were numbered, according to your entire number, from twenty years old and above. Except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun, you shall by no means enter the land which I swore I would make you dwell in."

Now notice the comment made regarding this fortieth-year census in Numbers 26:64-65, "But among these there was not a man of those who were numbered by Moses and Aaron the priest when they numbered the children of Israel in the Wilderness of Sinai. For the LORD had said of them, 'They shall surely die in the wilderness.' So there was not left a man of them, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun."

Here's an interesting aspect of this count. Who is now the High Priest succeeding Aaron and going on into Canaan with Israel? If you said Eleazar, you are correct. However, Eleazar was serving as a priest under his father Aaron back before the spies were sent out, so obviously he was an adult at that point in time, and if we follow the service age of the priests in Numbers 4 (see notes), he was at least 30 years old. Yet, he did not die before reaching Canaan. Therefore, one can confidently deduct that the Levites were exempt from the judgment on the adult men of Numbers 14:29-30 (see notes). Refer to the window to the right of this screen for a full development of the wilderness decree or click here to read it in a separate window.

Hey! That ain't fair! (Numbers 27:1-11)

1 Then came the daughters of Zelophehad the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, from the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph; and these were the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.
2 And they stood before Moses, before Eleazar the priest, and before the leaders and all the congregation, by the doorway of the tabernacle of meeting, saying:
3 “Our father died in the wilderness; but he was not in the company of those who gathered together against the LORD, in company with Korah, but he died in his own sin; and he had no sons.
4 Why should the name of our father be removed from among his family because he had no son? Give us a possession among our father’s brothers.”
5 ¶ So Moses brought their case before the LORD.
6 ¶ And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying:
7 “The daughters of Zelophehad speak what is right; you shall surely give them a possession of inheritance among their father’s brothers, and cause the inheritance of their father to pass to them.
8 And you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying: “If a man dies and has no son, then you shall cause his inheritance to pass to his daughter.
9 If he has no daughter, then you shall give his inheritance to his brothers.
10 If he has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to his father’s brothers.
11 And if his father has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to the relative closest to him in his family, and he shall possess it.’ ” And it shall be to the children of Israel a statute of judgment, just as the LORD commanded Moses.

The squeaky wheel gets the oil. These women (daughters of Zelophehad of the Tribe of Manasseh) approach Moses with their problem. Because their father had died in the wilderness since they left Egypt, current inheritance laws leave them with nothing when they arrive in Canaan. Hmmm...big Law revision is in view here; Moses consults God himself on the issue. Subsequently, God commands Moses to make some you-won't-be-left-out legislation to take care of the situation for them as well as others who may fall into that category.

This issue comes up again in Numbers 36:1-13 (see notes) where it gets amended. They receive their inheritance in Joshua 17:1-18 (see notes).

Joshua gets the promotion of his life (Numbers 27:12-23)

12 ¶ Now the LORD said to Moses: “Go up into this Mount Abarim, and see the land which I have given to the children of Israel.
13 And when you have seen it, you also shall be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother was gathered.
14 For in the Wilderness of Zin, during the strife of the congregation, you rebelled against My command to hallow Me at the waters before their eyes.” (These are the waters of Meribah, at Kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin.)
15 ¶ Then Moses spoke to the LORD, saying:
16 “Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation,
17 who may go out before them and go in before them, who may lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the LORD may not be like sheep which have no shepherd.”
18 ¶ And the LORD said to Moses: “Take Joshua the son of Nun with you, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him;
19 set him before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation, and inaugurate him in their sight.
20 And you shall give some of your authority to him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may be obedient.
21 He shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire before the LORD for him by the judgment of the Urim. At his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, he and all the children of Israel with him—all the congregation.”
22 ¶ So Moses did as the LORD commanded him. He took Joshua and set him before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation.
23 And he laid his hands on him and inaugurated him, just as the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses.

That's right; Joshua gets the big job. Moses had gotten the word from God that, because of his fit of rage in Numbers 20:1–13 (see notes) regarding the water-from-the-rock incident, he won't be going on over into Canaan with his people. However, we do see the concept of eternal life in verse 13 when God tells Moses, "you also shall be gathered to your people." They hold a swearing-in ceremony before the people for Joshua where Eleazar (the High Priest) will "inaugurate him in their sight." Meet your new leader: Joshua!

Incidentally, Joshua had all the right credentials for the job. As a matter of fact, Joshua ascended the mountain with Moses in Exodus 24:13 (see notes) when God gave the plan for the tabernacle to Moses. Joshua was with Moses when they descended from the mountain in Exodus 32:17 (see notes) to find that Aaron had constructed a golden calf. Since there are only two non-Levite men who were with Moses out of Egypt (Joshua and Caleb), it just makes sense that Joshua is God's man to lead Israel.