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Numbers 1
The Voice
Numbers 1
The Voice
The people of the Lord have been out of Egypt for more than a year; and God has provided direction, instruction, and correction from inside columns of smoke, from on top of mountains, from anywhere His people were located. But now they have the special congregation tent—a complex, multilayered tent within an enclosed court, which they can take along on their journeys and set up anywhere. This is a holy place for the people of the Lord. It is the place for them to offer sacrifices; and inside this special tent, behind a heavy curtain, is the holiest place of all, where their spiritual leaders receive revelation from God. There are two Hebrew words used for this special place. One is literally “tent” while the other is “dwelling.” The word “tent” usually refers to the entire congregation tent, where any Israelite may come to the outer court and sacrifice. The word “dwelling” is used for that extra holy place or sanctuary behind the curtain, the residence of God or the place of His revelation where only certain priests were allowed.
Now the people are ready to begin the preparation to move into the land promised to them by the Lord. First, He sets about organizing this enormous band of escaped slaves.
1 Nearly two years after they had left Egypt, the Israelites were still in the wild desert area of Sinai. But on the first day of the second month, the Eternal One spoke to Moses in the tent of congregation.
Eternal One (to Moses): 2 Add up exactly how many Israelites there are, but don’t merely count them. Identify all the people by their clans and families, right down to the individual name of every male. 3 Furthermore, those who are 20 years old or older shall be considered potential soldiers. Aaron can help you organize them into groups and record them as armies. 4 Your leadership team will include someone from each tribe who is the head of his extended family. 5 They are: Elizur (Shedeur’s son) from the Reuben family; 6 Shelumiel (Zurishaddai’s son) from the Simeon family; 7 Nahshon (Amminidab’s son) from the Judah family; 8 Nethanel (Zuar’s son) from the Issachar family; 9 Eliab (Helon’s son) from the Zebulun family; 10 from the two branches of Joseph’s family, Elishama (Ammihud’s son) from the Ephraim family and Gamaliel (Pedahzur’s son) from the Manasseh family; 11 Abidan (Gideoni’s son) from the Benjamin family; 12 Ahiezer (Ammishaddai’s son) from the Dan family; 13 Pagiel (Ochran’s son) from the Asher family; 14 Eliasaph (Deuel’s son) from the Gad family; 15 and Ahira (Enan’s son) from the Naphtali family. 16 These are the tribal leaders and representatives of the extended families, chosen by the community. They are the heads of the clans that compose Israel.
17 Moses and Aaron gathered these chosen leaders by name; 18 and on the first day of the second month, they brought the whole community together to register by their clans and extended families and to specify individuals who were 20 years old and older. 19 This Moses did in the wild desert area of Sinai, just as the Eternal One had directed him to do. 20-21 This is the tally of the twelve clans by extended family, identifying those for battle (20 years old and older): from Reuben’s tribe (Reuben was the firstborn of Jacob, whom God renamed “Israel”)—46,500; 22-23 from Simeon’s tribe—59,300; 24-25 from Gad—45,650; 26-27 from Judah—74,600; 28-29 from Issachar—54,400; 30-31 from Zebulun—57,400; 32-35 from Joseph, the Ephraim tribe—40,500; from Joseph, the Manasseh tribe—32,200; 36-37 from Benjamin—35,400; 38-39 from Dan—62,700; 40-41 from Asher—41,500; 42-43 from Naphtali—53,400. 44 This is the organization that Moses, Aaron, and the heads of the twelve clans recorded according to their extended families. 45 Those who were 20 years old or older and could fight in the army 46 totaled 603,550.
Three times God calls the Israelites to count their people. In Exodus 30, they count the population to develop an orderly funding program for the construction of the congregation tent. Here God tells them to count the men eligible for fighting in their militia; and in chapter 26, after a plague has ravaged the people, they will once again determine the size and makeup of their fighting force. It is interesting to note the change in the number of warriors within each of the extended families. Some tribes experience a tremendous loss in the number of fighters, and other tribes have a considerable increase:
47-49 The Levites were not included in this registration and organizing of the extended families’ tribe members because the Eternal One had expressly told Moses not to count them.
Eternal One (to Moses): 50 You will make the Levites responsible for the congregation tent that houses the terms of the covenant, its furnishings, and accoutrements. They will be the ones who carry all of it, maintain it, and camp around it. 51 When it’s time to move, it will be the Levites who pack up that tent; they are the ones who shall set it back up. If any outsider tries to get involved, he will be killed. 52 The rest of the Israelites will camp according to their troops, each extended family under its own banner. 53 Remember: only the Levites shall camp around the congregation tent that houses the terms of the covenant, guarding and servicing that place to spare the Israelites an outbreak of My wrath.
54 The Israelites did all this, exactly as the Eternal One had commanded through Moses.
Numbers 1
New Catholic Bible
Numbers 1
New Catholic Bible
The Census and the Preparation to Depart from Sinai[a]
Chapter 1
The Census. 1 The Lord spoke to Moses in the Sinai Desert in the tent of meeting on the first day of the second month of the second year after they left the land of Egypt, saying,[b] 2 “Take a census of the community of the people of Israel, arranging them by their families, by their clans, listing every single man by name. 3 You and Aaron will count them, company by company, each one who is twenty years and older and is able to go to war in Israel. 4 A man from every tribe,[c] the head of his clan, will accompany you.
Assistants to Moses Named. 5 “These are the names of the men who will accompany you: from the tribe of Reuben, Elizur, the son of Shedeur; 6 from the tribe of Simeon, Shelumiel, the son of Zurishaddai; 7 from the tribe of Judah, Nahshon, the son of Amminadab; 8 from the tribe of Issachar, Nathanel, the son of Zuar; 9 from the tribe of Zebulun, Eliab, the son of Helon; 10 from the son of Joseph, from the tribe of Ephraim, Elishama, the son of Ammihud, and from the tribe of Manasseh, Gamaliel, the son of Pedahzur; 11 from the tribe of Benjamin, Abidan, the son of Gideoni; 12 from Dan, Ahiezer, the son of Ammishaddai; 13 from Asher, Pagiel, the son of Ochran; 14 from Gad, Eliasaph, the son of Reuel; 15 from Naphtali, Ahira, the son of Enan.” 16 These were the ones summoned from the assembly, the leaders of their tribes. They were the heads of the clans of Israel.
17 Moses and Aaron took the men who had been named 18 and on the first day of the second month they gathered together the entire community who registered themselves by families, by the name of their fathers’ households. The men twenty years and older were listed according to their names, one by one, 19 as the Lord had commanded Moses. And so he counted them in the Sinai Desert.
20 The Count of the Twelve Tribes. Thus the members of the tribe of Reuben, the oldest son of Israel, who were twenty years or older and who were fit to bear arms were listed by name according to their clans and families, one by one. 21 The number of men in the tribe of Reuben was forty-six thousand, five hundred.
22 The members of the tribe of Simeon who were twenty years or older and who were fit to bear arms were listed by name according to their clans and families, one by one. 23 The number of men in the tribe of Simeon was fifty-nine thousand, three hundred.
24 The members of the tribe of Gad who were twenty years or older and who were fit to bear arms were listed by name according to their clans and families. 25 The number of men in the tribe of Gad was forty-five thousand, six hundred fifty.
26 The members of the tribe of Judah who were twenty years or older and who were fit to bear arms were listed by name according to their clans and families. 27 The number of men in the tribe of Judah was seventy-four thousand, six hundred.
28 The members of the tribe of Issachar who were twenty years or older and who were fit to bear arms were listed by name according to their clans and families. 29 The number of men in the tribe of Issachar was fifty-four thousand, four hundred.
30 The members of the tribe of Zebulun who were twenty years or older and who were fit to bear arms were listed by name according to their clans and families. 31 The number of men in the tribe of Zebulun was fifty-seven thousand, four hundred.
32 The sons of Joseph include the members of the tribe of Ephraim who were twenty years or older and who were fit to bear arms. They were listed by name according to their clans and families. 33 The number of men in the tribe of Ephraim was forty thousand, five hundred.
34 There are also the members of the tribe of Manasseh who were twenty years or older and who were fit to bear arms. They were listed by name according to their clans and families. 35 The number of men in the tribe of Manasseh was thirty-two thousand, two hundred.
36 The members of the tribe of Benjamin who were twenty years or older and who were fit to bear arms were listed by name according to their clans and families. 37 The number of men in the tribe of Benjamin was thirty-five thousand, four hundred.
38 The members of the tribe of Dan who were twenty years or older and who were fit to bear arms were listed by name according to their clans and families. 39 The number of men in the tribe of Dan was sixty-two thousand, seven hundred.
40 The members of the tribe of Asher who were twenty years or older and who were fit to bear arms were listed by name according to their clans and families, one by one. 41 The number of men in the tribe of Asher was forty-one thousand, five hundred.
42 The members of the tribe of Naphtali who were twenty years or older and who were fit to bear arms were listed by name according to their clans and families, one by one. 43 The number of men in the tribe of Naphtali was fifty-three thousand, four hundred.
44 This was the number of men counted by Moses and Aaron and the twelve leaders, each representing his ancestral clan. 45 The total number of the people of Israel who were listed according to their clan who were twenty years or older and fit to bear arms in Israel 46 was six hundred and three thousand, five hundred and fifty.
47 Responsibility of the Levites. The families of the tribe of Levi, however, were not counted with the rest of them[d] 48 for the Lord had said to Moses, 49 “You are not to take a census of the tribe of Levi, nor are you to include them in the census of the people of Israel. 50 You will assign the Levites responsibility over the tent of the tabernacle and over all of its vessels and over all of the things that belong to it. They will carry the tabernacle and all of its vessels. They will care for it and they will camp around the tabernacle. 51 When the tabernacle is to be moved, the Levites will take it down. When it is to be erected, the Levites will set it up. Anyone else who approaches it must be put to death.
52 “Each of the Israelites will pitch his tent within his own camp, alongside his own standard, each in his own company, 53 but the Levites will camp around the tabernacle of the Testimony so that no wrath come upon the community of the people of Israel. The Levites will keep guard over the tabernacle of the Testimony.” 54 This is what the people of Israel did. They did everything that the Lord had commanded Moses.
Footnotes
- Numbers 1:1 The final editor of the Book has somewhat exaggerated the figures, undoubtedly in order to highlight the extraordinary fecundity of the people of the promise (Gen 13:16). Perhaps he was also mistaken about the meaning of the Hebrew word translated as “thousand”: at the time of the Exodus the word did not mean “thousand” but referred to the small contingent of men that each clan had to supply in time of war.
- Numbers 1:1 From the first verse of this book to the very last, it is Moses in his role as prophet—spokesperson of the Lord—that is emphasized time and again. Moses’ unique position is described in Num 12:6-8.
- Numbers 1:4 A man from every tribe: appointing one man from each tribe to assist Moses and Aaron fostered a community spirit and a fair and accurate count.
- Numbers 1:47 The tribe of Levi, the Levites, was responsible for worship and would not be counted for military purposes.
Numbers 1
New International Version
Numbers 1
New International Version
The Census
1 The Lord spoke to Moses in the tent of meeting(A) in the Desert of Sinai(B) on the first day of the second month(C) of the second year after the Israelites came out of Egypt.(D) He said: 2 “Take a census(E) of the whole Israelite community by their clans and families,(F) listing every man by name,(G) one by one. 3 You and Aaron(H) are to count according to their divisions all the men in Israel who are twenty years old or more(I) and able to serve in the army.(J) 4 One man from each tribe,(K) each of them the head of his family,(L) is to help you.(M) 5 These are the names(N) of the men who are to assist you:
from Reuben,(O) Elizur son of Shedeur;(P)
6 from Simeon,(Q) Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai;(R)
7 from Judah,(S) Nahshon son of Amminadab;(T)
8 from Issachar,(U) Nethanel son of Zuar;(V)
9 from Zebulun,(W) Eliab son of Helon;(X)
10 from the sons of Joseph:
from Ephraim,(Y) Elishama son of Ammihud;(Z)
from Manasseh,(AA) Gamaliel son of Pedahzur;(AB)
11 from Benjamin,(AC) Abidan son of Gideoni;(AD)
12 from Dan,(AE) Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai;(AF)
13 from Asher,(AG) Pagiel son of Okran;(AH)
16 These were the men appointed from the community, the leaders(AM) of their ancestral tribes.(AN) They were the heads of the clans of Israel.(AO)
17 Moses and Aaron took these men whose names had been specified, 18 and they called the whole community together on the first day of the second month.(AP) The people registered their ancestry(AQ) by their clans and families,(AR) and the men twenty years old or more(AS) were listed by name, one by one, 19 as the Lord commanded Moses. And so he counted(AT) them in the Desert of Sinai:
20 From the descendants of Reuben(AU) the firstborn son(AV) of Israel:
All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, one by one, according to the records of their clans and families. 21 The number from the tribe of Reuben(AW) was 46,500.
22 From the descendants of Simeon:(AX)
All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were counted and listed by name, one by one, according to the records of their clans and families. 23 The number from the tribe of Simeon was 59,300.(AY)
24 From the descendants of Gad:(AZ)
All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families. 25 The number from the tribe of Gad(BA) was 45,650.
26 From the descendants of Judah:(BB)
All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families. 27 The number from the tribe of Judah(BC) was 74,600.
28 From the descendants of Issachar:(BD)
All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families. 29 The number from the tribe of Issachar(BE) was 54,400.(BF)
30 From the descendants of Zebulun:(BG)
All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families. 31 The number from the tribe of Zebulun was 57,400.(BH)
32 From the sons of Joseph:(BI)
From the descendants of Ephraim:(BJ)
All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families. 33 The number from the tribe of Ephraim(BK) was 40,500.
34 From the descendants of Manasseh:(BL)
All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families. 35 The number from the tribe of Manasseh was 32,200.
36 From the descendants of Benjamin:(BM)
All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families. 37 The number from the tribe of Benjamin(BN) was 35,400.
38 From the descendants of Dan:(BO)
All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families. 39 The number from the tribe of Dan was 62,700.(BP)
40 From the descendants of Asher:(BQ)
All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families. 41 The number from the tribe of Asher(BR) was 41,500.
42 From the descendants of Naphtali:(BS)
All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families. 43 The number from the tribe of Naphtali(BT) was 53,400.(BU)
44 These were the men counted by Moses and Aaron(BV) and the twelve leaders of Israel, each one representing his family. 45 All the Israelites twenty years old or more(BW) who were able to serve in Israel’s army were counted according to their families.(BX) 46 The total number was 603,550.(BY)
47 The ancestral tribe of the Levites,(BZ) however, was not counted(CA) along with the others. 48 The Lord had said to Moses: 49 “You must not count the tribe of Levi or include them in the census of the other Israelites. 50 Instead, appoint the Levites to be in charge of the tabernacle(CB) of the covenant law(CC)—over all its furnishings(CD) and everything belonging to it. They are to carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings; they are to take care of it and encamp around it. 51 Whenever the tabernacle(CE) is to move,(CF) the Levites are to take it down, and whenever the tabernacle is to be set up, the Levites shall do it.(CG) Anyone else who approaches it is to be put to death.(CH) 52 The Israelites are to set up their tents by divisions, each of them in their own camp under their standard.(CI) 53 The Levites, however, are to set up their tents around the tabernacle(CJ) of the covenant law so that my wrath will not fall(CK) on the Israelite community. The Levites are to be responsible for the care of the tabernacle of the covenant law.(CL)”
54 The Israelites did all this just as the Lord commanded Moses.
The Voice (VOICE)
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New International Version (NIV) 
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