Numbers 26-27
Living Bible
26 After the plague had ended, Jehovah said to Moses and to Eleazar (son of Aaron the priest), 2 “Take a census of all the men of Israel who are twenty years old or older, to find out how many of each tribe and clan are able to go to war.”
3-4 So Moses and Eleazar issued census instructions to the leaders of Israel. (The entire nation was camped in the plains of Moab beside the Jordan River, opposite Jericho.) Here are the results of the census:
5-11 The tribe of Reuben: 43,730.
(Reuben was Israel’s oldest son.) In this tribe were the following clans, named after Reuben’s sons:
The Hanochites, named after their ancestor Hanoch.
The Palluites, named after their ancestor Pallu. (In the subclan of Eliab—who was one of the sons of Pallu—were the families of Nemuel, Abiram, and Dathan. This Dathan and Abiram were the two leaders who conspired with Korah against Moses and Aaron, and in fact challenged the very authority of God! But the earth opened and swallowed them; and 250 men were destroyed by fire from the Lord that day, as a warning to the entire nation.)
The Hezronites, named after their ancestor Hezron.
The Carmites, named after their ancestor Carmi.
12-14 The tribe of Simeon: 22,200.
In this tribe were the following clans, founded by Simeon’s sons:
The Nemuelites, named after their ancestor Nemuel.
The Jaminites, named after their ancestor Jamin.
The Jachinites, named after their ancestor Jachin.
The Zerahites, named after their ancestor Zerah.
The Shaulites, named after their ancestor Shaul.
15-18 The tribe of Gad: 40,500.
In this tribe were the following clans founded by the sons of Gad:
The Zephonites, named after their ancestor Zephon.
The Haggites, named after their ancestor Haggi.
The Shunites, named after their ancestor Shuni.
The Oznites, named after their ancestor Ozni.
The Erites, named after their ancestor Eri.
The Arodites, named after their ancestor Arod.
The Arelites, named after their ancestor Areli.
19-22 The tribe of Judah: 76,500.
In this tribe were the following clans named after the sons of Judah—but not including Er and Onan who died in the land of Canaan:
The Shelanites, named after their ancestor Shelah.
The Perezites, named after their ancestor Perez.
The Zerahites, named after their ancestor Zerah.
This census also included the subclans of Perez:
The Hezronites, named after their ancestor Hezron.
The Hamulites, named after their ancestor Hamul.
23-25 The tribe of Issachar: 64,300.
In this tribe were the following clans named after the sons of Issachar:
The Tolaites, named after their ancestor Tola.
The Punites, named after their ancestor Puvah.
The Jashubites, named after their ancestor Jashub.
The Shimronites, named after their ancestor Shimron.
26-27 The tribe of Zebulun: 60,500.
In this tribe were the following clans named after the sons of Zebulun:
The Seredites, named after their ancestor Sered.
The Elonites, named after their ancestor Elon.
The Jahleelites, named after their ancestor Jahleel.
28-37 The tribe of Joseph: 32,500 in the half-tribe of Ephraim; and 52,700 in the half-tribe of Manasseh.
In the half-tribe of Manasseh was the clan of Machirites, named after their ancestor Machir.
The subclan of the Machirites was the Gileadites, named after their ancestor Gilead.
The tribes of the Gileadites:
The Jezerites, named after their ancestor Jezer.
The Helekites, named after their ancestor Helek.
The Asrielites, named after their ancestor Asriel.
The Shechemites, named after their ancestor Shechem.
The Shemidaites, named after their ancestor Shemida.
The Hepherites, named after their ancestor Hepher. (Hepher’s son, Zelophehad, had no sons. Here are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, Tirzah.)
The 32,500 registered in the half-tribe of Ephraim included the following clans, named after the sons of Ephraim:
The Shuthelahites, named after their ancestor Shuthelah. (A subclan of the Shuthelahites was the Eranites, named after their ancestor Eran, a son of Shuthelah.)
The Becherites, named after their ancestor Becher.
The Tahanites, named after their ancestor Tahan.
38-41 The tribe of Benjamin: 45,600.
In this tribe were the following clans named after the sons of Benjamin:
The Belaites, named after their ancestor Bela.
Subclans named after sons of Bela were:
The Ardites, named after their ancestor Ard.
The Naamites, named after their ancestor Naaman.
The Ashbelites, named after their ancestor Ashbel.
The Ahiramites, named after their ancestor Ahiram.
The Shuphamites, named after their ancestor Shephupham.
The Huphamites, named after their ancestor Hupham.
42-43 The tribe of Dan: 64,400.
In this tribe was the clan of the Shuhamites, named after Shuham, the son of Dan.
44-47 The tribe of Asher: 53,400.
In this tribe were the following clans named after the sons of Asher:
The Imnites, named after their ancestor Imnah.
The Ishvites, named after their ancestor Ishvi.
The Beriites, named after their ancestor Beriah.
Subclans named after the sons of Beriah were:
The Heberites, named after their ancestor Heber.
The Malchielites, named after their ancestor Malchiel.
Asher also had a daughter named Serah.
48-50 The tribe of Naphtali: 45,400.
In this tribe were the following clans, named after the sons of Naphtali:
The Jahzeelites, named after their ancestor Jahzeel.
The Gunites, named after their ancestor Guni.
The Jezerites, named after their ancestor Jezer.
The Shillemites, named after their ancestor Shillem.
51 So the total number of the men of draft age throughout Israel was 601,730.
52-53 Then the Lord told Moses to divide the land among the tribes in proportion to their population, as indicated by the census— 54 the larger tribes to be given more land, the smaller tribes less land.
55-56 “Let the representatives of the larger tribes have a lottery, drawing for the larger sections,” the Lord instructed, “and let the smaller tribes draw for the smaller sections.”
57 These are the clans of the Levites numbered in the census:
The Gershonites, named after their ancestor Gershon.
The Kohathites, named after their ancestor Kohath.
The Merarites, named after their ancestor Merari.
58-59 These are the families of the tribe of Levi: the Libnites, the Hebronites, the Mahlites, the Mushites, the Korahites.
While Levi was in Egypt, a daughter, Jochebed, was born to him and she became the wife of Amram, son of Kohath. They were the parents of Aaron, Moses, and Miriam. 60 To Aaron were born Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 61 But Nadab and Abihu died when they offered unauthorized incense before the Lord.
62 The total number of Levites in the census was 23,000, counting all the males a month old and upward. But the Levites were not included in the total census figure of the people of Israel, for the Levites were given no land when it was divided among the tribes.
63 So these are the census figures as prepared by Moses and Eleazar the priest, in the plains of Moab beside the Jordan River, across from Jericho. 64-65 Not one person in this entire census had been counted in the previous census[a] taken in the wilderness of Sinai! For all who had been counted then had died, as the Lord had decreed when he said of them, “They shall die in the wilderness.” The only exceptions were Caleb (son of Jephunneh) and Joshua (son of Nun).
27 1-2 One day the daughters of Zelophehad came to the entrance of the Tabernacle to give a petition to Moses, Eleazar the priest, the tribal leaders, and others who were there. The names of these women were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. They were members of the half-tribe of Manasseh (a son of Joseph). Their ancestor was Machir, son of Manasseh. Manasseh’s son Gilead was their great-grandfather, his son Hepher was their grandfather, and his son Zelophehad was their father.
3-4 “Our father died in the wilderness,” they said, “and he was not one of those who perished in Korah’s revolt against the Lord—it was a natural death, but he had no sons. Why should the name of our father disappear just because he had no son? We feel that we should be given property along with our father’s brothers.”
5 So Moses brought their case before the Lord.
6-7 And the Lord replied to Moses, “The daughters of Zelophehad are correct. Give them land along with their uncles; give them the property that would have been given to their father if he had lived. 8 Moreover, this is a general law among you, that if a man dies and has no sons, then his inheritance shall be passed on to his daughters. 9 And if he has no daughter, it shall belong to his brothers. 10 And if he has no brother, then it shall go to his uncles. 11 But if he has no uncles, then it shall go to the nearest relative.”
12 One day the Lord said to Moses, “Go up into Mount Abarim and look across the river to the land I have given to the people of Israel. 13 After you have seen it, you shall die as Aaron your brother did, 14 for you rebelled against my instructions in the wilderness of Zin. When the people of Israel rebelled, you did not glorify me[b] before them by following my instructions to order water to come out of the rock.” He was referring to the incident at the waters of Meribah (“Place of Strife”) in Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin.
15 Then Moses said to the Lord, 16 “O Jehovah, the God of the spirits of all mankind, before I am taken away[c] please appoint a new leader for the people, 17 a man who will lead them into battle and care for them, so that the people of the Lord will not be as sheep without a shepherd.”
18 The Lord replied, “Go and get Joshua (son of Nun), who has the Spirit in him, 19 and take him to Eleazar the priest, and as all the people watch, charge him with the responsibility of leading the people. 20 Publicly give him your authority so that all the people of Israel will obey him. 21 He shall be the one to consult with Eleazar the priest in order to get directions from the Lord. The Lord will speak to Eleazar through the use of the Urim, and Eleazar will pass on these instructions to Joshua and the people. In this way the Lord will continue to give them guidance.”
22 So Moses did as Jehovah commanded and took Joshua to Eleazar the priest. As the people watched, 23 Moses laid his hands upon him and dedicated him to his responsibilities, as the Lord had commanded.
Footnotes
- Numbers 26:64 Not one person . . . had been counted in the previous census. Forty years earlier, at the time of the first census, they had been under twenty years of age, and so were not counted. All who at that time were older than twenty years of age were now dead.
- Numbers 27:14 you did not glorify me, implied.
- Numbers 27:16 before I am taken away, implied.
Mark 8:1-21
Living Bible
8 1-2 One day about this time as another great crowd gathered, the people ran out of food again. Jesus called his disciples to discuss the situation.
“I pity these people,” he said, “for they have been here three days and have nothing left to eat. 3 And if I send them home without feeding them, they will faint along the road! For some of them have come a long distance.”
4 “Are we supposed to find food for them here in the desert?” his disciples scoffed.
5 “How many loaves of bread do you have?” he asked.
“Seven,” they replied. 6 So he told the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves, thanked God for them, broke them into pieces and passed them to his disciples; and the disciples placed them before the people. 7 A few small fish were found, too, so Jesus also blessed these and told the disciples to serve them.
8-9 And the whole crowd ate until they were full, and afterwards he sent them home. There were about 4,000 people in the crowd that day and when the scraps were picked up after the meal, there were seven very large basketfuls left over!
10 Immediately after this he got into a boat with his disciples and came to the region of Dalmanutha.
11 When the local Jewish leaders learned of his arrival, they came to argue with him.[a]
“Do a miracle for us,” they said. “Make something happen in the sky. Then we will believe in you.”
12 He sighed deeply when he heard this and he said, “Certainly not. How many more miracles do you people need?”[b]
13 So he got back into the boat and left them, and crossed to the other side of the lake. 14 But the disciples had forgotten to stock up on food before they left and had only one loaf of bread in the boat.
15 As they were crossing, Jesus said to them very solemnly, “Beware of the yeast of King Herod and of the Pharisees.”
16 “What does he mean?” the disciples asked each other. They finally decided that he must be talking about their forgetting to bring bread.
17 Jesus realized what they were discussing and said, “No, that isn’t it at all! Can’t you understand? Are your hearts too hard to take it in? 18 ‘Your eyes are to see with—why don’t you look? Why don’t you open your ears and listen?’ Don’t you remember anything at all?
19 “What about the 5,000 men I fed with five loaves of bread? How many basketfuls of scraps did you pick up afterwards?”
“Twelve,” they said.
20 “And when I fed the 4,000 with seven loaves, how much was left?”
“Seven basketfuls,” they said.
21 “And yet you think I’m worried that we have no bread?”[c]
Read full chapterThe Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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