Numbers 26-27
The Voice
26 After the deaths of so many Israelites from the plague, the Eternal commissioned another census through Moses and Eleazar (Priest Aaron’s son).
Eternal One: 2 Add up exactly how many Israelites there are, those who are 20 years and older who are able to go to war. Identify them by their extended families.
3 So Moses and Priest Eleazar got everyone together in the Moabite flatlands next to the Jordan River, east of Jericho.
Moses and Eleazar: 4 Add up the people 20 years old and older, just as the Eternal One commanded Moses.
This is the record of the twelve Israelite families, the clans within them (according to the names of their founders) who actually enter the land.
The total number of the Israelites who had left Egypt were:
5-9 From Reuben (the eldest of Israel’s twelve sons)—the clans of Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi; the clans of Reuben number 43,730. Within this extended family, Pallu had Eliab, who had three sons—Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram. Those last two are the same Dathan and Abiram, who (along with Korah) led that revolt against Moses and Aaron and the Eternal One. 10 They are the ones who (along with Korah) were swallowed up by the earth when so many people died and 250 were burned to death, too, as a future warning to the people. 11 (Korah’s sons were not killed in that episode, however.)
12-14 From Simeon—the clans of Nemuel, Jamin, Jachin, Zerah, and Shaul; the clans of Simeon number 22,200.
15-18 From Gad—the clans of Zephon, Haggi, Shuni, Ozni, Eri, Arod, and Areli; the clans of Gad number 40,500.
19-22 From Judah (remember that Judah also had Er and Onan, the sons who died in Canaan)[a]—the clans of Shelah, Perez, and Zerah. Within this extended family, Perez had Hezron and Hamul; the clans of Judah number 76,500.
23-25 From Issachar—the clans of Tola, Puvah (they’re called Punites), Jashub, and Shimron; the clans of Issachar number 64,300.
26-27 From Zebulun—the clans of Sered, Elon, and Jahleel; the clans of Zebulun number 60,500.
28 From Joseph—the clans of Manasseh and Ephraim. 29 Within this extended family, Manasseh had Machir, who generated his own clan and fathered Gilead, who also generated a clan. 30-32 Gilead’s descendants also became clans—Iezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Shemida, and Hepher. 33 (Hepher is the one whose son, Zelophehad, didn’t himself have any sons. His daughters were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.)[b] 34 The clans of Manasseh number 52,700. 35-37 Also within Joseph’s extended family, Ephraim had Shuthelah, Becher, and Tahan. From Shuthelah came the clan of Eranites. The clans of Ephraim number 32,500. So the total number from Joseph’s descendants, Manasseh plus Ephraim and counted by clans, was 85,200.
38-41 From Benjamin—the clans of Bela, Ashbel, Ahiram, Shephupham, and Hupham. Bela had two sons, Ard and Naaman, each of which became a clan; the clans of Benjamin number 45,600.
42-43 From Dan—the clans of Shuham; the clans of Dan number 64,400.
44-47 From Asher—the clans of Imnah, Ishvi, and Beriah. Beriah gave rise also to the clans of Heber and Malchiel. Asher’s daughter was Serah. The clans of Asher number 53,400.
48-50 From Naphtali—the clans of Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem; the clans of Naphtali number 45,400.
51 The grand total of Israelites organized was 601,730.
52 The Eternal One spoke to Moses.
God has promised the children of Abraham from the very beginning until this day that they will inherit this land. Now it is time.
Eternal One: 53 The land shall be divided up following the number of ancestral families—twelve. 54 If one clan has a lot of people in it, then it should receive a large amount of land; if the clan is small, then assign it a smaller plot. Every extended family will be allotted land in proportion to its size, and that particular land will be considered its inheritance. 55 Nevertheless, the assignments will be based on lots, and the assigned land will be inherited only within the clan. 56 Among the large and small clans, property will be divided by lots.
In this system, Levi is an exception. Because of their priestly status, they don’t serve in the military and don’t get a portion of land.
57 So the Levites were listed according to their clans of Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 58 The clans of Levi include Libnites, Hebronites, Mahlites, Mushites, and Korahites. 59 For the record, when Levi was still in Egypt, he had a daughter, Jochebed. She married Amram, the son of Kohath. Jochebed bore Aaron, Moses, and their sister Miriam. 60 Aaron fathered Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 61 Nadab and Abihu died when they presumed to offer a strange fire to the Eternal One. 62 The total number of Levite men, one month and older, was 23,000. They were not counted along with the rest of the people of Israel since they did not have a land inheritance.
63 These are the people and their numbers that Moses and his nephew, Eleazar the priest, organized into armies when they stood on the plains of Moab, just across the Jordan River, east of Jericho. 64 Not a single one of the people organized this time by Moses and Priest Aaron were among those so many years ago, when they added up the Israelites in the Sinai Wilderness. 65 The Eternal One had declared that the previous generation had to die in the wilderness. No one was remaining from that generation except for Caleb (Jephunneh’s son) and Joshua (Nun’s son).
As God has said, an entire rebellious generation must die off before anyone can enter the long-awaited and much-anticipated land of milk and honey.
27 Now Zelophehad’s five daughters came forward. Zelophehad came from the Manasseh family (he was a son of Joseph’s). Zelophehad’s father was Hepher, his grandfather was Gilead, and his great-grandfather was Machir. The girls’ names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 2 They approached the congregation tent and boldly stood in front of Moses, the priest Eleazar, the Israelite clan chiefs, and even before the whole congregation.
Zelophehad’s Daughters: 3 Our father died in the wilderness; he wasn’t part of Korah’s coup that tried to undermine the authority of the Eternal One. He just died having committed his own wickedness like everyone else in his generation, but he left no sons. 4 Why should his name disappear from his clan simply because no boys were born to him? We request that you give us land of our own, just as you are giving it to the descendants of our uncles.
Zelophehad didn’t have any sons, and their inheritance—claim to the land—will die with him and his place among the people for all generations.
5 Moses disappeared inside the tent to ask the Eternal One what should be done, 6 and He answered Moses.
Eternal One: 7 Zelophehad’s daughters make a good point. They’re right, so do as they ask. Give them an inheritance such as would be given to a son. They shall have land alongside their uncles’ families. 8 Moreover, tell the Israelites that in the future they should pass the inheritance to the daughter if there is no son. 9 If a man doesn’t have any daughters either, then after he dies, his property shall go to his brothers. 10 If he has no brothers, then it should go to his uncles. 11 If no uncles, then whoever is his closest relative, give the property to him. This is the system you should apply as a permanent law for the Israelites, coming from Me through Moses.
12 (later God called to Moses) Hike up here, to the top of this mountain amidst the Abarim peaks. When you get to the top, you’ll be able to see the land I’ve already given to the Israelites. 13 After you’ve had that glance, you will join your ancestors, as your brother Aaron did not so long ago. 14 You will not set foot in the promised land, even after all you’ve done for Me and this people because you didn’t follow My instructions back in the Zin Wilderness when the people argued and rebelled. You failed to treat me as holy at the waters before the eyes of the people. This happened at the water called Meribah, in Kadesh of the Zin Wilderness.
15 Then Moses addressed the Eternal One.
Moses: 16-17 Please, take care of these people. Eternal One, God of the spirit in all human beings, see to it that an able leader is appointed to guide and direct Your people by going out and coming in before them so that they are not like sheep without a shepherd.
Eternal One (to Moses): 18-19 Single out Joshua (Nun’s son). In him is the breath of My Spirit. Before the whole congregation, bring him to stand before the priest, Eleazar. Put your hand on him, and commission him into leadership. 20 You should make clear that you are investing him with some of your authority, so that every Israelite accepts his leadership. 21 Joshua shall consult with Eleazar the priest, who will ask of Me (by consulting the Urim and Thummim) to show how they should proceed. In other words, Eleazar will consult the oracle and indicate when the people should go forward and when they should pull back, both he and the congregation of Israel.
Attention now shifts to their future in the land. Just as God has used Moses and Aaron to lead the congregation up until now, a new leader must be trained and in place for Israel to move forward. Remember that Moses and Aaron must be replaced because they are part of that unfaithful generation God won’t allow into the land; they, too, acted against Him and are being punished in spite of their consistent favor with God. The preparation to enter the land needed only a couple of years for God to provide the law, the plans for the congregation tent, and an orderly structuring of the tribes. But the time in the wilderness has stretched on for another 38 years because it took a generation for God to purge the lack of belief on the part of the people.
22-23 Moses did with Joshua and Eleazar exactly what the Eternal One instructed; he laid his hands on Joshua to indicate this transfer of authority. Just as the Eternal One commanded, Moses did.
Footnotes
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
