Numbers 26

Numbers 26:1 After the plague, Yahveh said to Moses and Eleazar the son of Aaron, the priest,

Numbers 26:2 “Take a census of all the congregation of the people of Israel, from twenty years old and older, by their fathers’ houses, all in Israel who are able to go to war.”

Numbers 26:3 And Moses and Eleazar, the priest spoke with them in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, and this is what he said

Numbers 26:4 “Take a census of the people, from twenty years old and older,” as Yahveh commanded Moses. The people of Israel who came out of the land of Egypt were:

Numbers 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;

Numbers 26:6 of Hezron, the clan of the Hezronites; of Carmi, the clan of the Carmites.

Numbers 26:7 These are the clans of the Reubenites, and those listed were 43,730.

Numbers 26:8 And the sons of Pallu: Eliab.

Numbers 26:9 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 Yahveh

Numbers 26:10—The ground 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.

Numbers 26:11 But the sons of Korah did not die.

Numbers 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;

Numbers 26:13 of Zerah, the clan of the Zerahites; of Shaul, the clan of the Shaulites.

Numbers 26:14 These are the clans of the Simeonites, 22,200.

Numbers 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;

Numbers 26:16 of Ozni, the clan of the Oznites; of Eri, the clan of the Erites;

Numbers 26:17 of Arod, the clan of the Arodites; of Areli, the clan of the Arelites.

Numbers 26:18 These are the clans of the sons of Gad as they were listed, 40,500.

Numbers 26:19 The sons of Judah were Er and Onan; Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan.

Numbers 26:20 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.

Numbers 26:21 And the sons of Perez were: of Hezron, the clan of the Hezronites; of Hamul, the clan of the Hamulites.

Numbers 26:22 These are the clans of Judah as they were listed, 76,500.

Numbers 26:23 The sons of Issachar according to their clans: of Tola, the clan of the Tolaites; of Puvah, the clan of the Punites;

Numbers 26:24 of Jashub, the clan of the Jashubites; of Shimron, the clan of the Shimronites.

Numbers 26:25 These are the clans of Issachar as they were listed, 64,300.

Numbers 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.

Numbers 26:27 These are the clans of the Zebulunites as they were listed, 60,500.

Numbers 26:28 The sons of Joseph according to their clans: Manasseh and Ephraim.

Numbers 26:29 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.

Numbers 26:30 These are the sons of Gilead: of Iezer, the clan of the Iezerites; of Helek, the clan of the Helekites;

Numbers 26:31 and of Asriel, the clan of the Asrielites; and Shechem, the clan of the Shechemites;

Numbers 26:32 and of Shemida, the clan of the Shemidaites; and of Hepher, the clan of the Hepherites.

Numbers 26:33 Now Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, had no sons but daughters. The names of the daughters of Zelophehad were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.

Numbers 26:34 These are the clans of Manasseh, and those listed were 52,700.

Numbers 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.

Numbers 26:36 And these are the sons of Shuthelah: of Eran, the clan of the Eranites.

Numbers 26:37 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.

Numbers 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 Achiram, the clan of the Achiramites;

Numbers 26:39 of Shephupham, the clan of the Shuphamites; of Hupham, the clan of the Huphamites.

Numbers 26:40 And the sons of Bela were Ard and Naaman: of Ard, the clan of the Ardites; of Naaman, the clan of the Naamites.

Numbers 26:41 These are the sons of Benjamin according to their clans, and those listed were 45,600.

Numbers 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.

Numbers 26:43 All the clans of the Shuhamites, as they were listed, were 64,400.

Numbers 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.

Numbers 26:45 Of the sons of Beriah: of Heber, the clan of the Heberites; of Malchiel, the clan of the Malchielites.

Numbers 26:46 And the name of the daughter of Asher was Serah.

Numbers 26:47 These are the clans of the sons of Asher as they were listed, 53,400.

Numbers 26:48 The sons of Naphtali according to their clans: of Jahzeel, the clan of the Jahzeelites; of Guni, the clan of the Gunites;

Numbers 26:49 of Jezer, the clan of the Jezerites; of Shillem, the clan of the Shillemites.

Numbers 26:50 These are the clans of Naphtali according to their clans, and those listed were 45,400.

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

Numbers 26:52 Yahveh spoke to Moses, and this is what he said,

Numbers 26:53 “Among these the land will be divided for inheritance according to the number of names.

Numbers 26:54 To a large tribe, you will give a large inheritance, and to a small tribe, you will give a small inheritance; every tribe will be given its inheritance in proportion to its list.

Numbers 26:55 But the land will be divided by lot. They will inherit according to the names of the tribes of their fathers.

Numbers 26:56 Their inheritance will be divided according to lot between the larger and the smaller.”

Numbers 26:57 This was the list of the Levites according to their clans: Gershon, the clan of the Gershonites; Kohath, the clan of the Kohathites; and Merari, the clan of the Merarites.

Numbers 26:58 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.

Numbers 26:59 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.

Numbers 26:60 And to Aaron were born Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

Numbers 26:61 But Nadab and Abihu died when they offered unauthorized fire to the face of Yahveh.

Numbers 26:62 And those listed were 23,000, every male from a month old and upward because they were not listed among the people of Israel, because there was no inheritance given to them among the people of Israel.

Numbers 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.

Numbers 26:64 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 open country of Sinai.

Numbers 26:65 Because Yahveh had said of them, “They will die in the open country.” Not one of them was left except Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua, the son of Nun.

Numbers 26 quotes:

“The Lord is a God who knows people by name. The recitation of names is boring only when one expects to know no one on the list. Contrast this with the breathless excitement of reading lists for good or ill where one might expect to see a familiar name, such as a roster for teams, a blotter for criminals, or a roll call of faithful donors. What is most remarkable about this list is that everyone on it is known by God and is being used by God to move this story forward. For a people of faith, we should read this listing as we would read the faint script of a long-lost family genealogy, for it is through this generation that we gain a link with all the promises that have gone before. Not only will a single person not disappear from the Lord’s roster without some accounting, but everyone on the list also will be known by name by God and be properly sorted into clans and tribes. The Lord does not work through humanity in general, but through tribes and disciples with names and particular stories.”

Boyce Richard Nelson. Leviticus and Numbers. 1st ed. Westminster John Knox Press 2008. p. 233.

“The names of those enrolled in this second census follow precise instructions about the Midianites who, on Balaam’s advice, had ‘deceived’ the Israelites (25:16-18; 31:16) and were the cause of widespread death in the camp. All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army of Israel were to be enlisted as the community’s soldiers, preparing themselves for conflict not only with Midian’s forces in the Transjordan region (31:1-24) but aiso on a more widespread scale when they entered Canaan. After such huge losses in the Baal-Peor apostasy, Israel’s leaders needed to know exactly how many able-bodied men they could count on in the inevitable conflicts of the future.”

Brown Raymond. The Message of Numbers : Journey to the Promised Land. InterVarsity Press 2002. p. 234.

“All those who rebelled in the wilderness died according to the word of the Lord—indeed, to the very last man. Caleb and Joshua, who displayed courage and went against the popular sentiment, did cross over into the land the Lord gave Israel and were rewarded for their faith Qosh. 15:13-19; 19:49-50).”

Martin, Glen, and Max E. Anders. Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers. Broadman & Holman, 2002. p. 355.

“God now commands that Moses and the high priest number the people. You remember at Sinai, nearly forty years before, the children of Israel had been numbered. But all along the journey we have seen them falling by the wayside, sometimes one by one, and sometimes in large numbers together. “Their bleaching bones along the way tell the sad story of unbelief and disobedience.” Probably the last remnant of those who started from Egypt, and were numbered at Sinai, have been swept away in this plague. Those now to be numbered are the new generation, who started from Egypt as children, or were born in the wilderness. A large majority of them have never eaten anything but manna, and this is the generation who go over and conquer and possess Canaan. People who feed all their lives on the bread of life, which is the true manna (John 6), are always able to conquer and possess.”

Saxe, Grace. Studies in Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. Grace Saxe, 1921. p. 51.