Numbers 1:1-46
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The First Census of Israel
1 The Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tent of meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying,(A) 2 “Take a census of the whole congregation of Israelites, in their clans, by ancestral houses, according to the number of names, every male individually,(B) 3 from twenty years old and up, everyone in Israel able to go to war. You and Aaron shall enroll them, company by company. 4 A man from each tribe shall be with you, each man the head of his ancestral house.(C) 5 These are the names of the men who shall assist you:
From Reuben, Elizur son of Shedeur.
6 From Simeon, Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai.
7 From Judah, Nahshon son of Amminadab.
8 From Issachar, Nethanel son of Zuar.
9 From Zebulun, Eliab son of Helon.
10 From the sons of Joseph:
from Ephraim, Elishama son of Ammihud;
from Manasseh, Gamaliel son of Pedahzur.
11 From Benjamin, Abidan son of Gideoni.
12 From Dan, Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai.
13 From Asher, Pagiel son of Ochran.
14 From Gad, Eliasaph son of Deuel.(D)
15 From Naphtali, Ahira son of Enan.”
16 These were the ones chosen from the congregation, the leaders of their ancestral tribes, the heads of the divisions of Israel.(E)
17 Moses and Aaron took these men who had been designated by name, 18 and on the first day of the second month they assembled the whole congregation together. They registered themselves in their clans, by their ancestral houses, according to the number of names from twenty years old and up, individually, 19 as the Lord had commanded Moses. So he enrolled them in the wilderness of Sinai.
20 The descendants of Reuben, Israel’s firstborn, their lineage, in their clans, by their ancestral houses, according to the number of names, individually, every male from twenty years old and up, everyone able to go to war:(F) 21 those enrolled of the tribe of Reuben were forty-six thousand five hundred.
22 The descendants of Simeon, their lineage, in their clans, by their ancestral houses, those of them who were numbered, according to the number of names, individually, every male from twenty years old and up, everyone able to go to war:(G) 23 those enrolled of the tribe of Simeon were fifty-nine thousand three hundred.
24 The descendants of Gad, their lineage, in their clans, by their ancestral houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and up, everyone able to go to war:(H) 25 those enrolled of the tribe of Gad were forty-five thousand six hundred fifty.
26 The descendants of Judah, their lineage, in their clans, by their ancestral houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and up, everyone able to go to war:(I) 27 those enrolled of the tribe of Judah were seventy-four thousand six hundred.
28 The descendants of Issachar, their lineage, in their clans, by their ancestral houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and up, everyone able to go to war:(J) 29 those enrolled of the tribe of Issachar were fifty-four thousand four hundred.
30 The descendants of Zebulun, their lineage, in their clans, by their ancestral houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and up, everyone able to go to war:(K) 31 those enrolled of the tribe of Zebulun were fifty-seven thousand four hundred.
32 The descendants of Joseph: the descendants of Ephraim, their lineage, in their clans, by their ancestral houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and up, everyone able to go to war:(L) 33 those enrolled of the tribe of Ephraim were forty thousand five hundred; 34 the descendants of Manasseh, their lineage, in their clans, by their ancestral houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and up, everyone able to go to war:(M) 35 those enrolled of the tribe of Manasseh were thirty-two thousand two hundred.
36 The descendants of Benjamin, their lineage, in their clans, by their ancestral houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and up, everyone able to go to war:(N) 37 those enrolled of the tribe of Benjamin were thirty-five thousand four hundred.
38 The descendants of Dan, their lineage, in their clans, by their ancestral houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and up, everyone able to go to war:(O) 39 those enrolled of the tribe of Dan were sixty-two thousand seven hundred.
40 The descendants of Asher, their lineage, in their clans, by their ancestral houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and up, everyone able to go to war:(P) 41 those enrolled of the tribe of Asher were forty-one thousand five hundred.
42 The descendants of Naphtali, their lineage, in their clans, by their ancestral houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and up, everyone able to go to war:(Q) 43 those enrolled of the tribe of Naphtali were fifty-three thousand four hundred.
44 These are those who were enrolled, whom Moses and Aaron enrolled with the help of the leaders of Israel, twelve men, each representing his ancestral house.(R) 45 So all those enrolled of the Israelites, by their ancestral houses, from twenty years old and up, everyone able to go to war in Israel— 46 all those enrolled were six hundred three thousand five hundred fifty.(S)
Read full chapter
Numbers 1:1-46
International Standard Version
A Census of Israel is Taken(A)
1 In the Sinai desert, the Lord spoke to Moses inside 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[a] Israeli community, numbering them by their tribes[b] and by ancestral houses. List the names of every male one-by-one, 3 from 20 years and upward. You and Aaron are to register everyone in Israel who is able to go to war, company by company. 4 One man from each tribe is to accompany you, each man being the leader of his ancestral house.
5 “Here is a list of names of the men who are to assist[c] you:
“From Reuben: Shedeur’s son Elizur. 6 From Simeon: Zurishaddai’s son Shelumiel. 7 From Judah: Amminadab’s son Nahshon. 8 From Issachar: Zuar’s son Nethanel. 9 From Zebulun: Helon’s son Eliab.
10 “From Joseph’s descendants through Ephraim: Ammihud’s son Elishama. From Manasseh: Pedahzur’s son Gamaliel. 11 From Benjamin: Gideoni’s son Abidan. 12 From Dan: Ammishaddai’s son Ahiezer. 13 From Asher: Ochran’s son Pagiel. 14 From Gad: Deuel’s son Eliasaph. 15 From Naphtali: Enan’s son Ahira.”
16 These men were appointed from within their communities, since they were leaders of their ancestral houses and heads of the tribes of Israel.
17 Moses and Aaron gathered these men who had been mentioned by name. 18 They assembled the entire community together during the second month. Then they recorded their ancestries,[d] according to their tribes and ancestral houses, as well as the names of the men[e] 20 years old and above individually,[f] 19 just as the Lord had commanded Moses. He numbered them in the Sinai desert.
Numbering the Tribes
20 The genealogies of the descendants of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel, were recorded individually, according to their tribes and ancestral houses, as were the names of all the men 20 years and above who could serve in the army. 21 Those registered with the tribe of Reuben numbered 46,500.
22 The genealogies of Simeon’s descendants were recorded individually, according to their tribes and ancestral houses, as were the names of all the men 20 years and above who could serve in the army. 23 Those registered with the tribe of Simeon numbered 59,300.
24 The genealogies of Gad’s descendants were recorded individually, according to their tribes and ancestral houses, as were the names of all the men 20 years and above who could serve in the army. 25 Those registered with the tribe of Gad numbered 45,650.
26 The genealogies of Judah’s descendants were recorded individually, according to their tribes and ancestral houses, as were the names of all the men 20 years and above who could serve in the army. 27 Those registered with the tribe of Judah numbered 74,600.
28 The genealogies of Issachar’s descendants were recorded individually, according to their tribes and ancestral houses, as were the names of all the men 20 years and above who could serve in the army. 29 Those registered with the tribe of Issachar numbered 54,400.
30 The genealogies of Zebulun’s descendants were recorded individually, according to their tribes and ancestral houses, as were the names of all the men 20 years and above who could serve in the army. 31 Those registered with the tribe of Zebulun numbered 57,400.
32 The genealogies of Joseph’s descendants were recorded individually, according to their tribes and ancestral houses, as were the names of all the men 20 years and above who could serve in the army. 33 Those registered with the tribe of Joseph numbered 40,500.
34 The genealogies of Manasseh’s descendants were recorded individually, according to their tribes and ancestral houses, as were the names of all the men 20 years and above who could serve in the army. 35 Those registered with the tribe of Manasseh numbered 32,200.
36 The genealogies of Benjamin’s descendants were recorded individually, according to their tribes and ancestral houses, as were the names of all the men 20 years and above who could serve in the army. 37 Those registered with the tribe of Benjamin numbered 35,400.
38 The genealogies of Dan’s descendants were recorded individually, according to their tribes and ancestral houses, as were the names of all the men 20 years and above who could serve in the army. 39 Those registered with the tribe of Dan numbered 62,700.
40 The genealogies of Asher’s descendants were recorded individually, according to their tribes and ancestral houses, as were the names of all the men 20 years and above who could serve in the army. 41 Those registered with the tribe of Asher numbered 41,500.
42 The genealogies of Naphtali’s descendants were recorded individually, according to their tribes and ancestral houses, as were the names of all the men 20 years and above who could serve in the army. 43 Those registered with the family of Naphtali numbered 53,400.
44 These individuals were the ones whom Moses and Aaron registered from the twelve leaders of Israel, each person from his ancestral house. 45 Everyone was numbered from the descendants of Israel, from their ancestral houses, from all the men who were 20 years and above and who could serve in the army. 46 The total of all those who were numbered was 603,550.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Numbers 1:2 Lit. census of the head of all the
- Numbers 1:2 Or families; and so throughout the book
- Numbers 1:5 Lit. to stand with
- Numbers 1:18 Or genealogies; and so throughout the book
- Numbers 1:18 Or sons of Israel; and so throughout the book
- Numbers 1:18 Lit. according to their heads; and so throughout the book
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.
