Numbers 26
New Catholic Bible
The Second Census and the Plan to Enter the Promised Land
Chapter 26
The Second Census. 1 After the plague, the Lord spoke to Moses and to Eleazar, the priest, saying, 2 “Take a census of the whole assembly of the people of Israel by their father’s house, those twenty years and older, all of those who are fit to bear arms.”
3 Moses and Eleazar spoke with them in the plain of Moab near the Jordan, across from Jericho, saying, 4 “Take a census of those twenty years and older, as the Lord commanded Moses, of all the people of Israel who came forth from the land of Egypt.”
5 Reuben was the firstborn son of Israel. The sons of Reuben were: Hanoch, of the Hanochite clan; Pallu, of the Palluite clan; 6 Hezron, of the Hezronite clan; Carmi, of the Carmite clan. 7 These were the clans of Reuben. Those counted numbered forty-three thousand, seven hundred and thirty.
8 The son of Pallu was Eliab. 9 The sons of Eliab were Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram. These are the Dathan and Abiram who were the community leaders who rebelled against Moses and Aaron. They were companions of Korah when they rebelled against the Lord. 10 The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them together with Korah, whose followers died when fire devoured two hundred and fifty men; they served as a warning. 11 The descendants of Korah, however, did not die out.
12 The sons of Simeon by their clans were: Nemuel, of the Nemuelite clan; Jamin, of the Jaminite clan; Jachin, of the Jachinite clan; 13 Zerah, of the Zerahite clan; and Shaul, of the Shaulite clan. 14 These were the clans of Simeon. There were twenty-two thousand, two hundred of them.[a]
15 The sons of Gad by their clans were: Zephon, of the Zephonite clan; Haggi, of the Haggite clan; Shuni, of the Shunite clan; 16 Ozni, of the Oznite clan; Eri, of the Erite clan; 17 Arod, of the Arodite clan; and Areli, of the Arelite clan. 18 These were the clans of Gad. There were forty thousand, five hundred of them.
19 The sons of Judah: Er and Onan (but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan). 20 The sons of Judah by their clans were: Shelah, of the Shelahite clan; Perez,[b] of the Perezite clan; and Zerah, of the Zerahite clan. 21 The sons of Perez were: Hezron, of the Hezronite clan; and Hamul, of the Hamulite clan. 22 These were the clans of Judah. There were seventy-six thousand, five hundred of them.
23 The sons of Issachar by their clans were: Tola, of the Tolaite clan; Puvah, of the Puvahite clan; 24 Jashub, of the Jashubite clan; and Shimron, of the Shimronite clan. 25 These were the clans of Issachar. There were sixty-four thousand, three hundred of them.
26 The sons of Zebulun by their clans were: Sered, of the Seredite clan; Elon, of the Elonite clan; and Jahleel, of the Jahleelite clan. 27 These were the clans of Zebulun. There were sixty thousand, five hundred of them.
28 The sons of Joseph by their clans through Manasseh and Ephraim were: 29 the sons of Manasseh: Machir, of the Machirite clan (Machir was the father of Gilead); Gilead, of the Gileadites. 30 These were the sons of Gilead: Iezer, of the Iezerite clan; Helek, of the Helekite clan; 31 Asriel, of the Asrielite clan; Shechem, of the Shechemite clan; 32 Shemida, of the Shemidaite clan; and Hepher, of the Hepherite clan. 33 (Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, had no sons, only daughters. The name of the daughters of Zelophehad were: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.) 34 These were the clans of Manasseh. There were fifty-two thousand, five hundred of them.
35 The sons of Ephraim by their clans were: Shuthelah, of the Shuthelahite clan; Becher, of the Becherite clan; and Tahan, of the Tahanite clan. 36 These were the sons of Shuthelah: Eran, of the Eranite clan. 37 These were the clans of Ephraim. There were thirty-two thousand, five hundred of them. These were the descendants of Joseph by their clans.
38 The sons of Benjamin by their clans were: Bela, of the Belaite clan; Ashbel, of the Ashbelite clan; Ahiram, of the Ahiramite clan; 39 Shupham, of the Shuphamite clan; and Hupham, of the Huphamite clan. 40 The sons of Bela were Ard and Naaman: Ard, of the Ardite clan; and Naaman, of the Naamite clan. 41 These were the clans of Benjamin. There were forty-five thousand, six hundred of them.
42 The sons of Dan by their clans were: Shuham, of the Shuhamite clan. These were the clans of Dan. 43 The only clan was of the Shuhamites. There were sixty-four thousand, four hundred of them.
44 The sons of Asher by their clans were: Imnah, of the Imnite clan; Ishvi, of the Ishvite clan; and Beriah, of the Beriite clan. 45 The descendants of Beriah were: Heber, of the Heberite clan and Malchiel, of the Malchielite clan. 46 Asher also had a daughter named Serah.[c] 47 These were the clans of Asher. There were fifty-three thousand, four hundred of them.
48 The sons of Naphtali by their clans were: Jahzeel, of the Jahzeelite clan; Guni, of the Gunite clan; 49 Jezer, of the Jezerite clan; and Shillem, of the Shillemite clan. 50 These were the clans of Naphtali. There were forty-five thousand, four hundred of them.
51 The total number of people of Israel was six hundred and one thousand, seven hundred and thirty.
52 Land Allotments. The Lord then spoke to Moses, saying, 53 “The land is to be allotted unto these as an inheritance based on the number of those inscribed. 54 To the larger group you will give a larger inheritance, to the smaller group you will give a smaller inheritance. Every clan will be given an inheritance according to its size. 55 But the land will be divided by lot; they will inherit it according to the number of the names of their ancestral tribes. 56 Each inheritance will be distributed by lot, to the larger and smaller groups.”
57 The Levite Census.[d]These were the Levites who were counted by their clans: Gershon, of the Gershonite clan; Kohath, of the Kohathite clan; and Merari, of the Merarite clan.[e] 58 These were also Levite clans: the Libnite clan; the Hebronite clan; the Mahlite clan; the Mushite clan; and the Kohathite clan.
Kohath became the father of Amram. 59 The name of Amram’s wife was Jochebed, the daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt. She bore Aaron, Moses, and their sister Miriam to Amram. 60 To Aaron were born Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 61 Nadab and Abihu died when they offered unclean fire before the Lord. 62 The total number of all the males one month old and older was twenty-three thousand. They were not counted among the people of Israel because no inheritance was given to them among the people of Israel.
63 These were the figures of the people of Israel counted by Moses and Eleazar the priest in the plain of Moab near the Jordan, across from Jericho. 64 There was not a single person among the people of Israel whom Moses and Aaron had counted in the Sinai Desert. 65 The Lord said of them: “They will surely die in the wilderness.” There were none of them left except for Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua, the son of Nun.
Footnotes
- Numbers 26:14 Twenty-two thousand, . . . of them: the sons of Simeon in the first census numbered 59,300 (Num 1:22-23). Thirty-eight years later in the second census there is a loss of 37,100 representing the biggest loss of all the tribes. It is possible that most of those who died in the plague (Num 25:9) were from Simeon.
- Numbers 26:20 Perez: the Davidic line from which Jesus came would be through Perez (see Mt 1:3).
- Numbers 26:46 A daughter named Serah: among all of the sons listed, Serah is the only daughter mentioned.
- Numbers 26:57 The two lists of Levite clans are not identical. They come from different traditions, the second being certainly the older. An attempt is made to reconcile them in 1 Chr 6:1-14.
- Numbers 26:57 The Levites have their own census as they did in the first counting (see ch. 3).
Numbers 26
Expanded Bible
The People Are Counted
26 After the ·great sickness [plague], the Lord said to Moses and Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest, 2 “·Count [Take a census of; L Lift the head of] all the ·people of Israel [L community/congregation of the sons/T children of Israel] by ·families [clans], all the men who are twenty years old or older who will serve in the army of Israel [C like a military registration; chapter 1 counts the generation that came out of Egypt; this counts the one that would enter the land].” 3 Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke to the people on the plains of Moab near the Jordan River, across from Jericho. They said, 4 “Count the men [C supplied from v. 2] twenty years old or older, as the Lord commanded Moses.”
Here are the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] who came out of Egypt:
5 The ·tribe [L sons; descendants] of Reuben, the first son born to Israel, was counted. From Hanoch came the Hanochite ·family group [clan]; from Pallu came the Palluite ·family group [clan]; 6 from Hezron came the Hezronite ·family group [clan]; from Carmi came the Carmite ·family group [clan]. 7 These were the ·family groups [clans] of Reuben, and the total number of men was 43,730.
8 The son of Pallu was Eliab, 9 and Eliab’s sons were Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram were the ·leaders [conveners of the community/congregation/assembly] who turned against Moses and Aaron and ·followed [L were in the assembly of] Korah when he ·turned [rebelled] against the Lord. 10 The earth opened up and swallowed them and Korah; they died at the same time the fire burned up the 250 men [16:1–40]. This was a warning, 11 but the children of Korah did not die.
12 These were the ·family groups [clans] in the ·tribe [L sons; descendants] of Simeon: From Nemuel came the Nemuelite ·family group [clan]; from Jamin came the Jaminite ·family group [clan]; from Jakin came the Jakinite ·family group [clan]; 13 from Zerah came the Zerahite ·family group [clan]; from Shaul came the Shaulite ·family group [clan]. 14 These were the ·family groups [clans] of Simeon, and the total number of men was 22,200.
15 These were the ·family groups [clans] in the ·tribe [L sons; descendants] of Gad: From Zephon came the Zephonite ·family group [clan]; from Haggi came the Haggite ·family group [clan]; from Shuni came the Shunite ·family group [clan]; 16 from Ozni came the Oznite ·family group [clan]; from Eri came the Erite ·family group [clan]; 17 from Arodi came the Arodite ·family group [clan]; from Areli came the Arelite ·family group [clan]. 18 These were the ·family groups [clans] of Gad, and the total number of men was 40,500.
19 Two of Judah’s sons, Er and Onan, died in Canaan [Gen. 38:6–11].
20 These were the ·family groups [clans] in the ·tribe [L sons; descendants] of Judah: From Shelah came the Shelanite ·family group [clan]; from Perez came the Perezite ·family group [clan]; from Zerah came the Zerahite ·family group [clan]. 21 These were the ·family groups [clans] from Perez: From Hezron came the Hezronite ·family group [clan]; from Hamul came the Hamulite ·family group [clan]. 22 These were the ·family groups [clans] of Judah, and the total number of men was 76,500.
23 These were the ·family groups [clans] in the ·tribe [L sons; descendants] of Issachar: From Tola came the Tolaite ·family group [clan]; from Puah came the Puite ·family group [clan]; 24 from Jashub came the Jashubite ·family group [clan]; from Shimron came the Shimronite ·family group [clan]. 25 These were the ·family groups [clan] of Issachar, and the total number of men was 64,300.
26 These were the ·family groups [clans] in the ·tribe [L sons; descendants] of Zebulun: From Sered came the Seredite ·family group [clan]; from Elon came the Elonite ·family group [clan]; from Jahleel came the Jahleelite ·family group [clan]. 27 These were the ·family groups [clans] of Zebulun, and the total number of men was 60,500.
28 These were the ·family groups [clans] of Joseph through Manasseh and Ephraim.
29 These were the ·family groups [clans] of [L the sons/descendants of] Manasseh: From Makir came the Makirite ·family group [clan] (Makir was the father of Gilead); from Gilead came the Gileadite ·family group [clan]. 30 These were the ·family groups [clans] that came from Gilead: From Iezer came the Iezerite ·family group [clan]; from Helek came the Helekite ·family group [clan]; 31 from Asriel came the Asrielite ·family group [clan]; from Shechem came the Shechemite ·family group [clan]; 32 from Shemida came the Shemidaite ·family group [clan]; from Hepher came the Hepherite ·family group [clan]. 33 (Zelophehad son of Hepher had no sons; he had only daughters, and their names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah [27:1–11; 36:1–13; Josh. 17:3–6].) 34 These were the ·family groups [clans] of Manasseh, and the total number of men was 52,700.
35 These were the ·family groups [clans] in the ·tribe [L sons; descendants] of Ephraim: From Shuthelah came the Shuthelahite ·family group [clan]; from Beker came the Bekerite ·family group [clan]; from Tahan came the Tahanite ·family group [clan]. 36 This was the ·family group [clan] from Shuthelah: From Eran came the Eranite ·family group [clan]. 37 These were the ·family groups [clans] of [L the sons/descendants of] Ephraim, and the total number of men was 32,500. These are the ·family groups [clans] that came from Joseph.
38 These were the ·family groups [clans] in the ·tribe [L sons; descendants] of Benjamin: From Bela came the Belaite ·family group [clan]; from Ashbel came the Ashbelite ·family group [clan]; from Ahiram came the Ahiramite ·family group [clan]; 39 from Shupham came the Shuphamite ·family group [clan]; from Hupham came the Huphamite ·family group [clan]. 40 These were the ·family groups [clans] from Bela through Ard and Naaman: From Ard came the Ardite ·family group [clan]; from Naaman came the Naamite ·family group [clan]. 41 These were the ·family groups [clans] of Benjamin, and the total number of men was 45,600.
42 This was the ·family group [clan] in the ·tribe [L sons; descendants] of Dan: From Shuham came the Shuhamite ·family group [clan]. That was the ·family group [clan] of Dan, 43 and the total number of men in the Shuhamite ·family group [clan] of Dan was 64,400.
44 These were the ·family groups [clans] in the ·tribe [L sons; descendants] of Asher: From Imnah came the Imnite ·family group [clan]; from Ishvi came the Ishvite ·family group [clan]; from Beriah came the Beriite ·family group [clan]. 45 These were the ·family groups [clans] that came from Beriah: From Heber came the Heberite ·family group [clan]; from Malkiel came the Malkielite ·family group [clan]. 46 (Asher also had a daughter named Serah.) 47 These were the ·family groups [clans] of Asher, and the total number of men was 53,400.
48 These were the ·family groups [clans] in the ·tribe [L sons; descendants] of Naphtali: From Jahzeel came the Jahzeelite ·family group [clan]; from Guni came the Gunite ·family group [clan]; 49 from Jezer came the Jezerite ·family group [clan]; from Shillem came the Shillemite ·family group [clan]. 50 These were the ·family groups [clans] of Naphtali, and the total number of men was 45,400.
51 So the total number of the ·men [L sons; T children] of Israel was 601,730.
52 The Lord said to Moses, 53 “·Divide [Apportion] the land among these people by the number of names. 54 A large tribe will get more ·land [L inheritance], and a small tribe will get less ·land [L inheritance]; the amount of ·land each tribe gets [L inheritance] will depend on the number of its people. 55 ·Divide [Apportion] the land by drawing lots, and the land each tribe ·gets [L inherits] will be named for that tribe. 56 ·Divide [Apportion] the land between large and small groups by drawing lots [Josh. 14:2; 18:6, 8].”
57 The tribe of Levi was also counted. These were the ·family groups [clans] of Levi: From Gershon came the Gershonite ·family group [clan]; from Kohath came the Kohathite ·family group [clan]; from Merari came the Merarite ·family group [clan]. 58 These also were Levite ·family groups [clans]: the Libnite ·family group [clan], the Hebronite ·family group [clan], the Mahlite ·family group [clan], the Mushite ·family group [clan], and the Korahite ·family group [clan]. (Kohath was the ancestor of Amram, 59 whose wife was named Jochebed. She was from the tribe of Levi and she was born in Egypt. She and Amram had two sons, Aaron and Moses, and their sister Miriam [Ex. 2:1–10]. 60 Aaron was the father of Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 61 But Nadab and Abihu died because they made an offering before the Lord with ·the wrong kind of [L strange; C unauthorized by God] fire [Lev. 10:1–20].)
62 The total number of male Levites one month old or older was 23,000. But these men were not counted with the other ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel], because they were not given any ·of the land [L inheritance] among the other ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel].
63 Moses and Eleazar the priest counted all these people. They counted the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] on the plains of Moab across the Jordan River from Jericho. 64 Moses and Aaron the priest had counted the Israelites in the ·Desert [Wilderness] of Sinai [1:1–54], but no one Moses counted on the plains of Moab was in the first counting. 65 The Lord had told the Israelites they would all die in the ·desert [wilderness], and the only two left were Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun [14:20–25].
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