# Numbers 01 đź“–: The First Census
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> [!info] Table of Contents
> [[#đź“ś Scripture Text (NET)]]
> [[#đź“– Verse-by-Verse Commentary]]
> [[#🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]]
> [[#🧠Chapter Summary]]
> [[#✝️ Christ in This Chapter]]
> [[#🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application]]
> [[#đź’¬ Discussion Questions]]
> [[#✍️ Key Verses to Remember]]
> [[#đź”— Related Passages/Cross Reference]]
> [[#🙏 Devotional Reflection]]
> [[#đź“‚ Internal Notes]]
## đź“ś Scripture Text (NET)
(The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005)
### Organizing the Census of the Israelites
[[#Verse 01.]]  Now the Lord spoke to Moses in the tent of meeting in the desert of Sinai on the first day of the second month of the second year after the Israelites departed from the land of Egypt. He said:Â
[[#Verse 02.]] “Take a census of the entire Israelite community by their clans and families, counting the name of every individual male.Â
[[#Verse 03.]] You and Aaron are to number all in Israel who can serve in the army, those who are twenty years old or older, by their divisions.Â
[[#Verse 04.]] And to help you there is to be a man from each tribe, each man the head of his family.Â
[[#Verse 05.]] Now these are the names of the men who are to help you:
from Reuben, Elizur son of Shedeur;
[[#Verse 06.]]Â from Simeon, Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai;
[[#Verse 07.]] from Judah, Nahshon son of Amminadab;
[[#Verse 08.]]Â from Issachar, Nethanel son of Zuar;
[[#Verse 09.]]Â from Zebulun, Eliab son of Helon;
[[#Verse 10.]]Â from the sons of Joseph:
from Ephraim, Elishama son of Ammihud;
from Manasseh, Gamaliel son of Pedahzur;
[[#Verse 11.]] from Benjamin, Abidan son of Gideoni;
[[#Verse 12.]]Â from Dan, Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai;
[[#Verse 13.]]Â from Asher, Pagiel son of Ocran;
[[#Verse 14.]] from Gad, Eliasaph son of Deuel;
[[#Verse 15.]] from Naphtali, Ahira son of Enan.”
### The Census of the Tribes
[[#Verse 16.]] These were the ones chosen from the community, leaders of their ancestral tribes. They were the heads of the thousands of Israel.
[[#Verse 17.]]Â So Moses and Aaron took these men who had been mentioned specifically by name,Â
[[#Verse 18.]] and they assembled the entire community together on the first day of the second month. Then the people recorded their ancestry by their clans and families, and the men who were twenty years old or older were listed by name individually,Â
[[#Verse 19.]] just as the Lord had commanded Moses. And so he numbered them in the desert of Sinai.
[[#Verse 20.]]Â And they were as follows:
The descendants of Reuben, the firstborn son of Israel: According to the records of their clans and families, all the males twenty years old or older who could serve in the army were listed by name individually.Â
[[#Verse 21.]] Those of them who were numbered from the tribe of Reuben were 46,500.
[[#Verse 22.]] From the descendants of Simeon: According to the records of their clans and families, all the males numbered of them twenty years old or older who could serve in the army were listed by name individually.Â
[[#Verse 23.]]Â Those of them who were numbered from the tribe of Simeon were 59,300.
[[#Verse 24.]]Â Â From the descendants of Gad: According to the records of their clans and families, all the males twenty years old or older who could serve in the army were listed by name.Â
[[#Verse 25.]]Â Those of them who were numbered from the tribe of Gad were 45,650.
[[#Verse 26.]]Â From the descendants of Judah: According to the records of their clans and families, all the males twenty years old or older who could serve in the army were listed by name.Â
[[#Verse 27.]]Â Those of them who were numbered from the tribe of Judah were 74,600.
[[#Verse 28.]]Â From the descendants of Issachar: According to the records of their clans and families, all the males twenty years old or older who could serve in the army were listed by name.
[[#Verse 29.]]Â Those of them who were numbered from the tribe of Issachar were 54,400.
[[#Verse 30.]]Â From the descendants of Zebulun: According to the records of their clans and families, all the males twenty years old or older who could serve in the army were listed by name.Â
[[#Verse 31.]] Those of them who were numbered from the tribe of Zebulun were 57,400.
[[#Verse 32.]]Â From the sons of Joseph:
From the descendants of Ephraim: According to the records of their clans and families, all the males twenty years old or older who could serve in the army were listed by name.Â
[[#Verse 33.]]Â Those of them who were numbered from the tribe of Ephraim were 40,500.Â
[[#Verse 34.]]Â From the descendants of Manasseh: According to the records of their clans and families, all the males twenty years old or older who could serve in the army were listed by name.Â
[[#Verse 35.]]Â Those of them who were numbered from the tribe of Manasseh were 32,200.
[[#Verse 36.]]Â From the descendants of Benjamin: According to the records of their clans and families, all the males twenty years old or older who could serve in the army were listed by name.Â
[[#Verse 37.]]Â Those of them who were numbered from the tribe of Benjamin were 35,400.
[[#Verse 38.]]Â From the descendants of Dan: According to the records of their clans and families, all the males twenty years old or older who could serve in the army were listed by name.Â
[[#Verse 39.]]Â Those of them who were numbered from the tribe of Dan were 62,700.
[[#Verse 40.]]Â From the descendants of Asher: According to the records of their clans and families, all the males twenty years old or older who could serve in the army were listed by name.Â
[[#Verse 41.]]Â Those of them who were numbered from the tribe of Asher were 41,500.
[[#Verse 42.]] From the descendants of Naphtali: According to the records of their clans and families, all the males twenty years old or older who could serve in the army were listed by name.Â
[[#Verse 43.]]Â Those of them who were numbered from the tribe of Naphtali were 53,400.
[[#Verse 44.]] These were the men whom Moses and Aaron numbered along with the twelve leaders of Israel, each of whom was from his own family.Â
[[#Verse 45.]] All the Israelites who were twenty years old or older, who could serve in Israel’s army, were numbered according to their families.Â
[[#Verse 46.]]Â And all those numbered totaled 603,550.
### The Exemption of the Levites
[[#Verse 47.]] But the Levites, according to the tribe of their fathers, were not numbered among them.Â
[[#Verse 48.]] The Lord had said to Moses,Â
[[#Verse 49.]] “Only the tribe of Levi you must not number or count with the other Israelites.Â
[[#Verse 50.]] But appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the testimony, over all its furnishings and over everything in it. They must carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings; and they must attend to it and camp around it.Â
[[#Verse 51.]] Whenever the tabernacle is to move, the Levites must take it down, and whenever the tabernacle is to be reassembled, the Levites must set it up. Any unauthorized person who approaches it must be killed.
[[#Verse 52.]] “The Israelites will camp according to their divisions, each man in his camp, and each man by his standard.Â
[[#Verse 53.]] But the Levites must camp around the tabernacle of the testimony, so that the Lord’s anger will not fall on the Israelite community. The Levites are responsible for the care of the tabernacle of the testimony.”
[[#Verse 54.]] The Israelites did according to all that the Lord commanded Moses—that is what they did.
## đź“– Verse-by-Verse Commentary
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## 🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights
1. The Hebrew title of the book, *Bemidbar*, means "in the wilderness," taken from the first verse.
2. The English title "Numbers" comes through the Latin *Numeri* from the Greek Septuagint title *Arithmoi*, because of the two census lists.
3. The census was taken on the first day of the second month of the second year after leaving Egypt (1:1).
4. Only men twenty years old and up who could serve in the army were counted (1:3).
5. The total of 603,550 (1:46) matches the number counted for the tabernacle silver in Exodus 38:26.
6. The Levites were not counted in this military census (1:47-49).
7. Judah was the largest tribe with 74,600 men (1:27), and Manasseh was the smallest with 32,200 (1:35).
8. Joseph's descendants were counted as two tribes, Ephraim and Manasseh, which kept the number at twelve even with Levi set apart.
9. Nahshon, the leader of Judah (1:7), is an ancestor of King David (Ruth 4:20-22) and is named in Jesus' genealogy (Matthew 1:4).
10. Numbers covers almost forty years, from Sinai to the plains of Moab across from Jericho.
## 🧠Chapter Summary
> [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way.
## ✝️ Christ in This Chapter
Christ is the Good Shepherd who knows His people by name. God counted every family in Israel (1:2), and Jesus knows His sheep and calls them each by name (John 10:3, 14).
## 🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application
> [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way.
## đź’¬ Discussion Questions
1. God had Moses count the people tribe by tribe and name by name (1:2-3). What does that say about how God sees His people?
2. Each tribe had a leader to help Moses (1:4-16). Why does God so often work through shared leadership?
3. The Levites camped around the tabernacle so wrath would not fall on the community (1:53). What does that teach about approaching a holy God?
## ✍️ Key Verses to Remember
- đź“– verses 2-3: God commands a census of every man twenty years old and up who could go to war.
- đź“– verse 46: The total number counted was 603,550.
- đź“– verses 50-53: The Levites are set apart to care for the tabernacle and camp around it.
## đź”— Related Passages/Cross Reference
- đź”— [[Exodus 38#Verse 26.|Exodus 38:26]] - The same number of men counted for the tabernacle silver.
- đź”— [[Numbers 26#Verse 02.|Numbers 26:2]] - The second census of the next generation.
- đź”— [[John 10#Verse 03.|John 10:3]] - The Shepherd calls His sheep by name.
- đź”— [[Luke 12#Verse 07.|Luke 12:7]] - Even the hairs of your head are numbered.
- đź”— [[Revelation 07#Verse 04.|Revelation 7:4-8]] - The tribes of Israel sealed and counted.
## 🙏 Devotional Reflection
> [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way.
## đź“‚ Internal Notes