Numbers 1
New Living Translation
Registration of Israel’s Troops
1 A year after Israel’s departure from Egypt, the Lord spoke to Moses in the Tabernacle[a] in the wilderness of Sinai. On the first day of the second month[b] of that year he said, 2 “From the whole community of Israel, record the names of all the warriors by their clans and families. List all the men 3 twenty years old or older who are able to go to war. You and Aaron must register the troops, 4 and you will be assisted by one family leader from each tribe.
5 “These are the tribes and the names of the leaders who will assist you:
Tribe | Leader |
---|---|
Reuben | Elizur son of Shedeur |
6 Simeon | Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai |
7 Judah | Nahshon son of Amminadab |
8 Issachar | Nethanel son of Zuar |
9 Zebulun | Eliab son of Helon |
10 Ephraim son of Joseph | Elishama son of Ammihud |
Manasseh son of Joseph | Gamaliel son of Pedahzur |
11 Benjamin | Abidan son of Gideoni |
12 Dan | Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai |
13 Asher | Pagiel son of Ocran |
14 Gad | Eliasaph son of Deuel |
15 Naphtali | Ahira son of Enan |
16 These are the chosen leaders of the community, the leaders of their ancestral tribes, the heads of the clans of Israel.”
17 So Moses and Aaron called together these chosen leaders, 18 and they assembled the whole community of Israel on that very day.[c] All the people were registered according to their ancestry by their clans and families. The men of Israel who were twenty years old or older were listed one by one, 19 just as the Lord had commanded Moses. So Moses recorded their names in the wilderness of Sinai.
20-21 This is the number of men twenty years old or older who were able to go to war, as their names were listed in the records of their clans and families[d]:
Tribe | Number |
---|---|
Reuben (Jacob’s[e] oldest son) | 46,500 |
22-23 Simeon | 59,300 |
24-25 Gad | 45,650 |
26-27 Judah | 74,600 |
28-29 Issachar | 54,400 |
30-31 Zebulun | 57,400 |
32-33 Ephraim son of Joseph | 40,500 |
34-35 Manasseh son of Joseph | 32,200 |
36-37 Benjamin | 35,400 |
38-39 Dan | 62,700 |
40-41 Asher | 41,500 |
42-43 Naphtali | 53,400 |
44 These were the men registered by Moses and Aaron and the twelve leaders of Israel, all listed according to their ancestral descent. 45 They were registered by families—all the men of Israel who were twenty years old or older and able to go to war. 46 The total number was 603,550.
47 But this total did not include the Levites. 48 For the Lord had said to Moses, 49 “Do not include the tribe of Levi in the registration; do not count them with the rest of the Israelites. 50 Put the Levites in charge of the Tabernacle of the Covenant,[f] along with all its furnishings and equipment. They must carry the Tabernacle and all its furnishings as you travel, and they must take care of it and camp around it. 51 Whenever it is time for the Tabernacle to move, the Levites will take it down. And when it is time to stop, they will set it up again. But any unauthorized person who goes too near the Tabernacle must be put to death. 52 Each tribe of Israel will camp in a designated area with its own family banner. 53 But the Levites will camp around the Tabernacle of the Covenant to protect the community of Israel from the Lord’s anger. The Levites are responsible to stand guard around the Tabernacle.”
54 So the Israelites did everything just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
Footnotes
- 1:1a Hebrew the Tent of Meeting.
- 1:1b This day in the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar occurred in April or May.
- 1:18 Hebrew on the first day of the second month; see 1:1.
- 1:20-21a In the Hebrew text, this sentence (This is the number of men twenty years old or older who were able to go to war, as their names were listed in the records of their clans and families) is repeated in 1:22, 24, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 36, 38, 40, 42.
- 1:20-21b Hebrew Israel’s. The names “Jacob” and “Israel” are often interchanged throughout the Old Testament, referring sometimes to the individual patriarch and sometimes to the nation.
- 1:50 Or Tabernacle of the Testimony; also in 1:53.
Numbers 1
Complete Jewish Bible
Parashah 34: B’midbar (In the desert) 1:1–4:20
1 Adonai spoke to Moshe in the Sinai Desert, in the tent of meeting, on the first day of the second month of the second year after they had left the land of Egypt. He said, 2 “Take a census of the entire assembly of the people of Isra’el, by clans and families. Record the names of all the men 3 twenty years old and over who are subject to military service in Isra’el. You and Aharon are to enumerate them company by company.
4 Take with you from each tribe someone who is head of a clan. 5 These are the men to take with you:
From Re’uven, Elitzur the son of Sh’de’ur;
6 From Shim‘on, Shlumi’el the son of Tzurishaddai;
7 From Y’hudah, Nachshon the son of ‘Amminadav;
8 From Yissakhar, N’tan’el the son of Tzu‘ar;
9 From Z’vulun, Eli’av the son of Helon.
10 Of the children of Yosef:
From Efrayim, Elishama the son of ‘Ammihud;
From M’nasheh, Gamli’el the son of P’dahtzur.
11 From Binyamin, Avidan the son of Gid‘oni;
12 From Dan, Achi‘ezer the son of ‘Ammishaddai;
13 From Asher, Pag‘i’el the son of ‘Okhran;
14 From Gad, Elyasaf the son of De‘u’el;
15 From Naftali, Achira the son of ‘Enan.”
16 These were the ones called from the assembly, the chiefs of their fathers’ clans and heads of thousands in Isra’el. 17 So Moshe and Aharon took these men who had been designated by name; 18 and, on the first day of the second month, they gathered the whole assembly to state their genealogies by families and clans and recorded the names of all those twenty years old and over, as well as their total numbers. 19 Moshe counted them in the Sinai Desert, just as Adonai had ordered him.
(ii) 20 The men twenty years old and over who were subject to military service were recorded by name, family and clan, starting with the descendants of Re’uven, Isra’el’s firstborn. Here are the totals:
21 Descendants of Re’uven | 46,500 |
22-23 Descendants of Shim‘on | 59,300 |
24-25 Descendants of Gad | 45,650 |
26-27 Descendants of Y’hudah | 74,600 |
28-29 Descendants of Yissakhar | 54,400 |
30-31 Descendants of Z’vulun | 57,400 |
32-33 Descendants of Efrayim | 40,500 |
34-35 Descendants of M’nasheh | 32,200 |
36-37 Descendants of Binyamin | 35,400 |
38-39 Descendants of Dan | 62,700 |
40-41 Descendants of Asher | 41,500 |
42-43 Descendants of Naftali | 53,400 |
44 Moshe, Aharon and the twelve leaders of Isra’el, each from a clan, 45 counted the people of Isra’el by their clans, those twenty years old and over, eligible for military service in Isra’el; 46 and the grand total came to 603,550.
47 But those who were L’vi’im, according to the clan of their fathers, were not counted in this census; 48 because Adonai had told Moshe, 49 “Do not include the clan of Levi when you take the census of the people of Isra’el. 50 Instead, give the L’vi’im charge over the tabernacle of the testimony, its equipment and everything else connected with it. They are to carry the tabernacle and all its equipment, serve in it and set up their camp around it. 51 When the tabernacle is to be moved onward, it is the L’vi’im who are to take it down and set it up in the new location; anyone else who involves himself is to be put to death. 52 The rest of Isra’el are to set up camp, company by company, each man with his own banner. 53 But the L’vi’im are to camp around the tabernacle of the testimony, so that no anger will come upon the assembly of the people of Isra’el. The L’vi’im are to be in charge of the tabernacle of the testimony.”
54 This is what the people of Isra’el did — they did everything that Adonai had ordered Moshe.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.