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Registration of Israel’s Troops

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, “From the whole community of Israel, record the names of all the warriors by their clans and families. List all the men twenty years old or older who are able to go to war. You and Aaron must register the troops, and you will be assisted by one family leader from each tribe.

“These are the tribes and the names of the leaders who will assist you:

TribeLeader
ReubenElizur son of Shedeur
SimeonShelumiel son of Zurishaddai
JudahNahshon son of Amminadab
IssacharNethanel son of Zuar
ZebulunEliab son of Helon
10 Ephraim son of JosephElishama son of Ammihud
Manasseh son of JosephGamaliel son of Pedahzur
11 BenjaminAbidan son of Gideoni
12 DanAhiezer son of Ammishaddai
13 AsherPagiel son of Ocran
14 GadEliasaph son of Deuel
15 NaphtaliAhira 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]:

TribeNumber
Reuben (Jacob’s[e] oldest son)46,500
22-23 Simeon59,300
24-25 Gad45,650
26-27 Judah74,600
28-29 Issachar54,400
30-31 Zebulun57,400
32-33 Ephraim son of Joseph40,500
34-35 Manasseh son of Joseph32,200
36-37 Benjamin35,400
38-39 Dan62,700
40-41 Asher41,500
42-43 Naphtali53,400

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.

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Footnotes

  1. 1:1a Hebrew the Tent of Meeting.
  2. 1:1b This day in the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar occurred in April or May.
  3. 1:18 Hebrew on the first day of the second month; see 1:1.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.

The Census of Israel’s Warriors

Then [a]Yahweh spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tent of meeting, on (A)the first of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, (B)Take a [b]census of all the congregation of the sons of Israel, by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, every male, head by head from (C)twenty years old and upward, whoever is able to go out to war in Israel, you and Aaron shall [c]number them by their armies. With you, moreover, there shall be a man of each tribe, (D)each one head of his father’s household. These then are the names of the men who shall stand with you:

(E)of Reuben, Elizur the son of Shedeur;
of Simeon, Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai;
of Judah, (F)Nahshon the son of Amminadab;
of Issachar, Nethanel the son of Zuar;
of Zebulun, Eliab the son of Helon;
10 of the sons of Joseph:
of Ephraim, Elishama the son of Ammihud;
of Manasseh, Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur;
11 of Benjamin, Abidan the son of Gideoni;
12 of Dan, Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai;
13 of Asher, Pagiel the son of Ochran;
14 of Gad, Eliasaph the son of (G)Deuel;
15 of Naphtali, Ahira the son of Enan.

16 These are they who were (H)called upon by the congregation, the leaders of their fathers’ tribes; they were the (I)heads of [d]divisions of Israel.”

17 So Moses and Aaron took these men who had been designated by name, 18 and they assembled all the congregation together on the (J)first of the second month. Then they registered by (K)genealogy in their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, head by head, 19 just as (L)Yahweh had commanded Moses. So he numbered them in the wilderness of Sinai.

20 (M)Now the sons of Reuben, Israel’s firstborn, their genealogical registration by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go out to war, 21 their numbered men of the tribe of Reuben were 46,500.

22 (N)Of the sons of Simeon, their genealogical registration by their families, by their fathers’ households, their numbered men, according to the number of names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upward, (O)whoever was able to go out to war, 23 their numbered men of the tribe of Simeon were 59,300.

24 (P)Of the sons of Gad, their genealogical registration by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go out to war, 25 their numbered men of the tribe of Gad were 45,650.

26 (Q)Of the sons of Judah, their genealogical registration by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go out to war, 27 their numbered men of the tribe of Judah were 74,600.

28 (R)Of the sons of Issachar, their genealogical registration by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go out to war, 29 their numbered men of the tribe of Issachar were 54,400.

30 (S)Of the sons of Zebulun, their genealogical registration by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go out to war, 31 their numbered men of the tribe of Zebulun were 57,400.

32 (T)Of the sons of Joseph, namely, of the sons of Ephraim, their genealogical registration by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go out to war, 33 their numbered men of the tribe of Ephraim were 40,500.

34 (U)Of the sons of Manasseh, their genealogical registration by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go out to war, 35 their numbered men of the tribe of Manasseh were 32,200.

36 (V)Of the sons of Benjamin, their genealogical registration by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go out to war, 37 their numbered men of the tribe of Benjamin were 35,400.

38 (W)Of the sons of Dan, their genealogical registration by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go out to war, 39 their numbered men of the tribe of Dan were 62,700.

40 (X)Of the sons of Asher, their genealogical registration by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go out to war, 41 their numbered men of the tribe of Asher were 41,500.

42 (Y)Of the sons of Naphtali, their genealogical registration by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go out to war, 43 their numbered men of the tribe of Naphtali were 53,400.

44 These are the ones who were numbered, whom Moses and Aaron numbered, with the leaders of Israel, twelve men, each of whom was of his father’s household. 45 So all the numbered men of the sons of Israel by their fathers’ households, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go out to war in Israel, 46 even all the numbered men were (Z)603,550.

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Footnotes

  1. Numbers 1:1 The personal covenant name of God, a form of I AM WHO I AM, cf. Ex 3:14-15
  2. Numbers 1:2 Lit sum
  3. Numbers 1:3 Lit muster, so in ch
  4. Numbers 1:16 Or clans; lit thousands