Day 39: Numbers 1-3

(The Book of Numbers was the fourth book of the Old Testament. The name of this book in Hebrew was Bəmidbar which literally meant "in the desert of." This book continued the narrative from the end of the Book of Exodus and documented the forty years between Israel being given the Law and their entry into the Promised Land. There were three main parts to this book. The first nine chapters covered the numbering of Israel and preparations to continue their journey to the Promised Land. The next twelve chapters documented their journey to the Promised Land and exile into the desert for forty years. The final fifteen chapters documented the events that occurred before crossing the Jordan River.)

Numbers 1

(Verses 1-3: the purpose of the census.)

¹ And Jehovah spake unto 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 were come out of the land of Egypt, saying,
² Take ye the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, by their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of the names, every male, by their polls;
³ from twenty years old and upward, all that are able to go forth to war in Israel, thou and Aaron shall number them by their hosts.

(God told Moses to number the males who were twenty years old and up and able to go to war.)

(Verses 4-16: the heads of the tribes.)

⁴ And with you there shall be a man of every tribe; every one head of his fathers' house.
⁵ And these are the names of the men that shall stand with you. Of Reuben: Elizur the son of Shedeur.
⁶ Of Simeon: Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai.
⁷ Of Judah: Nahshon the son of Amminadab.
⁸ Of Issachar: Nethanel the son of Zuar.
⁹ Of Zebulun: Eliab the son of Helon.
¹⁰ Of the children 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 Deuel.
¹⁵ Of Naphtali: Ahira the son of Enan.
¹⁶ These are they that were called of the congregation, the princes of the tribes of their fathers; they were the heads of the thousands of Israel.

(The head man (elder) from each tribe accompanied Moses during the numbering. Remember, Levi was not represented and Joseph was represented by two tribes: Ephraim and Manasseh.)

¹⁷ And Moses and Aaron took these men that are mentioned by name:
¹⁸ And they assembled all the congregation together on the first day of the second month; and they declared their pedigrees after their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, by their polls.
¹⁹ As Jehovah commanded Moses, so he numbered them in the wilderness of Sinai.

(As God commanded, they were numbered in the wilderness.)

(Verses 20-21: Reuben.)

²⁰ And the children of Reuben, Israel's first-born, their generations, by their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of the names, by their polls, every male from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;
²¹ those that were numbered of them, of the tribe of Reuben, were forty and six thousand and five hundred.

(The males twenty years old and up in the tribe of Reuben numbered 46,500.)

(Verses 22-23: Simeon.)

²² Of the children of Simeon, their generations, by their families, by their fathers' houses, those that were numbered thereof, according to the number of the names, by their polls, every male from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;
²³ those that were numbered of them, of the tribe of Simeon, were fifty and nine thousand and three hundred.

(The males twenty years old and up in the tribe of Simeon numbered 59,300.)

(Verses 24-25: Gad.)

²⁴ Of the children of Gad, their generations, by their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;
²⁵ those that were numbered of them, of the tribe of Gad, were forty and five thousand six hundred and fifty.

(The males twenty years old and up in the tribe of Gad numbered 45,650.)

(Verses 26-27: Judah.)

²⁶ Of the children of Judah, their generations, by their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;
²⁷ those that were numbered of them, of the tribe of Judah, were threescore and fourteen thousand and six hundred.

(The males twenty years old and up in the tribe of Judah numbered 74,600.)

(Verses 28-29: Issachar.)

²⁸ Of the children of Issachar, their generations, by their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;
²⁹ those that were numbered of them, of the tribe of Issachar, were fifty and four thousand and four hundred.

(The males twenty years old and up in the tribe of Issachar numbered 54,400.)

(Verses 30-31: Zebulun.)

³⁰ Of the children of Zebulun, their generations, by their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;
³¹ those that were numbered of them, of the tribe of Zebulun, were fifty and seven thousand and four hundred.

(The males twenty years old and up in the tribe of Zebulun numbered 57,400.)

(Verses 32-33: Ephraim.)

³² Of the children of Joseph, namely, of the children of Ephraim, their generations, by their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;
³³ those that were numbered of them, of the tribe of Ephraim, were forty thousand and five hundred.

(The males twenty years old and up in the tribe of Ephraim (of Joseph) numbered 40,500.)

(Verses 34-35: Manasseh.)

³⁴ Of the children of Manasseh, their generations, by their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;
³⁵ those that were numbered of them, of the tribe of Manasseh, were thirty and two thousand and two hundred.

(The males twenty years old and up in the tribe of Manasseh (of Joseph) numbered 32,200.)

(Verses 36-37: Benjamin.)

³⁶ Of the children of Benjamin, their generations, by their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;
³⁷ those that were numbered of them, of the tribe of Benjamin, were thirty and five thousand and four hundred.

(The males twenty years old and up in the tribe of Benjamin numbered 35,400.)

(Verses 38-39: Dan.)

³⁸ Of the children of Dan, their generations, by their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;
³⁹ those that were numbered of them, of the tribe of Dan, were threescore and two thousand and seven hundred.

(The males twenty years old and up in the tribe of Dan numbered 62,700.)

(Verses 40-41: Asher.)

⁴⁰ Of the children of Asher, their generations, by their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;
⁴¹ those that were numbered of them, of the tribe of Asher, were forty and one thousand and five hundred.

(The males twenty years old and up in the tribe of Asher numbered 41,500.)

(Verses 42-43: Naphtali.)

⁴² Of the children of Naphtali, their generations, by their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;
⁴³ those that were numbered of them, of the tribe of Naphtali, were fifty and three thousand and four hundred.

(The males twenty years old and up in the tribe of Naphtali numbered 53,400.)

(Verses 44-46: Summary of census.)

⁴⁴ These are they that were numbered, whom Moses and Aaron numbered, and the princes of Israel, being twelve men: they were each one for his fathers' house.
⁴⁵ So all they that were numbered of the children of Israel by their fathers' houses, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war in Israel;
⁴⁶ even all they that were numbered were six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty.

(All that were numbered twenty years old and up were 603,550.)

⁴⁷ But the Levites after the tribe of their fathers were not numbered among them.

(The Levites were not numbered.)

⁴⁸ For Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,
⁴⁹ Only the tribe of Levi thou shalt not number, neither shalt thou take the sum of them among the children of Israel;
⁵⁰ but appoint thou the Levites over the tabernacle of the testimony, and over all the furniture thereof, and over all that belongeth to it: they shall bear the tabernacle, and all the furniture thereof; and they shall minister unto it, and shall encamp round about the tabernacle.

(The Levites were in charge of the tabernacle and everything in it. This responsibility took precedence to them going to war.)

⁵¹ And when the tabernacle setteth forward, the Levites shall take it down; and when the tabernacle is to be pitched, the Levites shall set it up: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.

(The Levites set up and took down the tabernacle when they were on the move. Any stranger that went near it would be put to death.)

⁵² And the children of Israel shall pitch their tents, every man by his own camp, and every man by his own standard, according to their hosts.
⁵³ But the Levites shall encamp round about the tabernacle of the testimony, that there be no wrath upon the congregation of the children of Israel: and the Levites shall keep the charge of the tabernacle of the testimony.

(The Levites made their camp around the tabernacle so that no wrath from God would come upon the Israelites.)

⁵⁴ Thus did the children of Israel; according to all that Jehovah commanded Moses, so did they.




Numbers 2
¹ And Jehovah spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
² The children of Israel shall encamp every man by his own standard, with the ensigns of their fathers' houses: over against the tent of meeting shall they encamp round about.

(When the Israelites made camp, each tribe was assigned their own area distinguished by their tribe’s standard (banner/flag). They were instructed to make their camps “over against” the tent of meeting/tabernacle. "Over against" was translated to "far off" in the KJV. They were not supposed to camp near the tabernacle.)

(Verses 3-9: Those camped to the east of the tabernacle.)

³ And those that encamp on the east side toward the sunrising shall be they of the standard of the camp of Judah, according to their hosts: and the prince of the children of Judah shall be Nahshon the son of Amminadab.
⁴ And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were threescore and fourteen thousand and six hundred.

(Judah made their camp on the east side of the tabernacle.)

⁵ And those that encamp next unto him shall be the tribe of Issachar: and the prince of the children of Issachar shall be Nethanel the son of Zuar.
⁶ And his host, and those that were numbered thereof, were fifty and four thousand and four hundred.

(Issachar camped next to Judah.)

⁷ And the tribe of Zebulun: and the prince of the children of Zebulun shall be Eliab the son of Helon.
⁸ And his host, and those that were numbered thereof, were fifty and seven thousand and four hundred.

(Zebulun camped next to Judah.)

⁹ All that were numbered of the camp of Judah were a hundred thousand and fourscore thousand and six thousand and four hundred, according to their hosts. They shall set forth first.

(Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun camped on the east side of the tabernacle. These were Leah's fourth, fifth, and sixth sons. The number of these three tribes was 186,400. These tribes led the way whenever Israel would move. Remember, Leah's first three sons all committed a grievous act.)

(Verses 10-16: Those camped to the south of the tabernacle.)

¹⁰ On the south side shall be the standard of the camp of Reuben according to their hosts: and the prince of the children of Reuben shall be Elizur the son of Shedeur.
¹¹ And his host, and those that were numbered thereof, were forty and six thousand and five hundred.

(Reuben, Leah's and Jacob's eldest son, made their camp on the south side of the tabernacle.)

¹² And those that encamp next unto him shall be the tribe of Simeon: and the prince of the children of Simeon shall be Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai.
¹³ And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were fifty and nine thousand and three hundred.

(Simeon, Leah's and Jacob's second oldest son, camped next to Reuben.)

¹⁴ And the tribe of Gad: and the prince of the children of Gad shall be Eliasaph the son of Reuel.
¹⁵ And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were forty and five thousand and six hundred and fifty.

(Gad, born of Leah's handmaid, camped next to Reuben.)

¹⁶ All that were numbered of the camp of Reuben were a hundred thousand and fifty and one thousand and four hundred and fifty, according to their hosts. And they shall set forth second.

(Reuben, Simeon, and Gad camped on the south side of the tabernacle. The number of these three tribes was 151,450. They, the two eldest sons, traveled second, behind Leah's youngest sons.)

¹⁷ Then the tent of meeting shall set forward, with the camp of the Levites in the midst of the camps: as they encamp, so shall they set forward, every man in his place, by their standards.

(The Levites, Leah's third oldest son, were in the middle of the camps.)

(Verses 18-24: Those camped to the west of the tabernacle.)

¹⁸ On the west side shall be the standard of the camp of Ephraim according to their hosts: and the prince of the children of Ephraim shall be Elishama the son of Ammihud.
¹⁹ And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were forty thousand and five hundred.

(Ephraim made their camp on the west side of the tabernacle.)

²⁰ And next unto him shall be the tribe of Manasseh: and the prince of the children of Manasseh shall be Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur.
²¹ And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were thirty and two thousand and two hundred.

(Manasseh camped next to Ephraim.)

²² And the tribe of Benjamin: and the prince of the children of Benjamin shall be Abidan the son of Gideoni.
²³ And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were thirty and five thousand and four hundred.

(Benjamin camped next to Ephraim.)

²⁴ All that were numbered of the camp of Ephraim were a hundred thousand and eight thousand and a hundred, according to their hosts. And they shall set forth third.

(Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin camped on the west side of the tabernacle. The number of these three tribes was 108,100. These represent Rachel's sons...and Jacob's youngest sons. They traveled third.)

(Verses 25-31: Those camped to the north of the tabernacle.)

²⁵ On the north side shall be the standard of the camp of Dan according to their hosts: and the prince of the children of Dan shall be Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.
²⁶ And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were threescore and two thousand and seven hundred.

(Dan made their camp on the north side of the tabernacle.)

²⁷ And those that encamp next unto him shall be the tribe of Asher: and the prince of the children of Asher shall be Pagiel the son of Ochran.
²⁸ And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were forty and one thousand and five hundred.

(Asher camped next to Dan.)

²⁹ And the tribe of Naphtali: and the prince of the children of Naphtali shall be Ahira the son of Enan.
³⁰ And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were fifty and three thousand and four hundred.

(Naphtali camped next to Dan.)

³¹ All that were numbered of the camp of Dan were a hundred thousand and fifty and seven thousand and six hundred. They shall set forth hindmost by their standards.

(Dan, Asher, and Naphtali camped on the north side of the tabernacle. The number of these three tribes was 157,600. Dan and Naphtali were Jacob's sons by Rachel's handmaid. Asher was Jacob's other son by Leah's handmaid. They traveled last. Notice, all of Rachel's and her handmaid's children traveled after the Levites.)

³² These are they that were numbered of the children of Israel by their fathers' houses: all that were numbered of the camps according to their hosts were six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty.

(The total number was 603,550. These were the men available to fight.)

³³ But the Levites were not numbered among the children of Israel; as Jehovah commanded Moses.
³⁴ Thus did the children of Israel; according to all that Jehovah commanded Moses, so they encamped by their standards, and so they set forward, every one by their families, according to their fathers' houses.




Numbers 3

(This chapter covered the numbering of the Levites.)

¹ Now these are the generations of Aaron and Moses in the day that Jehovah spake with Moses in mount Sinai.
² And these are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the first-born, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
³ These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the priests that were anointed, whom he consecrated to minister in the priest's office.
⁴ And Nadab and Abihu died before Jehovah, when they offered strange fire before Jehovah, in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children; and Eleazar and Ithamar ministered in the priest's office in the presence of Aaron their father.
⁵ And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,
⁶ Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister unto him.

(The Levites were presented before Aaron so that they could minister to him.)

⁷ And they shall keep his charge, and the charge of the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, to do the service of the tabernacle.
⁸ And they shall keep all the furniture of the tent of meeting, and the charge of the children of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle.
⁹ And thou shalt give the Levites unto Aaron and to his sons: they are wholly given unto him on the behalf of the children of Israel.

(The Levites were wholly given to Aaron.)

¹⁰ And thou shalt appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall keep their priesthood: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.
¹¹ And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,
¹² And I, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of all the first-born that openeth the womb among the children of Israel; and the Levites shall be mine:

(The Levites were given to Aaron instead of all the firstborn. God said the Levites "shall be Mine.")

¹³ for all the first-born are mine; on the day that I smote all the first-born in the land of Egypt I hallowed unto me all the first-born in Israel, both man and beast; mine they shall be: I am Jehovah.

(Verses 14-20: the command to number the Levites.)

¹⁴ And Jehovah spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying,
¹⁵ Number the children of Levi by their fathers' houses, by their families: every male from a month old and upward shalt thou number them.

(The Levites were numbered by males from a month old and up.)

¹⁶ And Moses numbered them according to the word of Jehovah, as he was commanded.
¹⁷ And these were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari.

(Levi had three sons. The Levites were separated by the descendants of these three sons.)

¹⁸ And these are the names of the sons of Gershon by their families: Libni and Shimei.
¹⁹ And the sons of Kohath by their families: Amram, and Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
²⁰ And the sons of Merari by their families: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to their fathers' houses.

(Verses 21-26: the family of Gershon.)

²¹ Of Gershon was the family of the Libnites, and the family of the Shimeites: these are the families of the Gershonites.
²² Those that were numbered of them, according to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, even those that were numbered of them were seven thousand and five hundred.
²³ The families of the Gershonites shall encamp behind the tabernacle westward.

(The Gershonites numbered 7,500 males one month old and older. They camped to the west of the tabernacle, with Rachel's (and Joseph's) sons.)

²⁴ And the prince of the fathers' house of the Gershonites shall be Eliasaph the son of Lael.
²⁵ And the charge of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting shall be the tabernacle, and the Tent, the covering thereof, and the screen for the door of the tent of meeting,
²⁶ and the hangings of the court, and the screen for the door of the court, which is by the tabernacle, and by the altar round about, and the cords of it for all the service thereof.

(Verses 27-32: the family of Kohath.)

²⁷ And of Kohath was the family of the Amramites, and the family of the Izharites, and the family of the Hebronites, and the family of the Uzzielites: these are the families of the Kohathites.
²⁸ According to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, there were eight thousand and six hundred, keeping the charge of the sanctuary.
²⁹ The families of the sons of Kohath shall encamp on the side of the tabernacle southward.

(The Kohathites numbered 8,600 males one month and older. They camped to the south of the tabernacle, with Leah's sons that were second in the procession.)

³⁰ And the prince of the fathers' house of the families of the Kohathites shall be Elizaphan the son of Uzziel.
³¹ And their charge shall be the ark, and the table, and the candlestick, and the altars, and the vessels of the sanctuary wherewith they minister, and the screen, and all the service thereof.
³² And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be prince of the princes of the Levites, and have the oversight of them that keep the charge of the sanctuary.

(Verses 33-37: the family of Merari.)

³³ Of Merari was the family of the Mahlites, and the family of the Mushites: these are the families of Merari.
³⁴ And those that were numbered of them, according to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, were six thousand and two hundred.
³⁵ And the prince of the fathers' house of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail: they shall encamp on the side of the tabernacle northward.

(The families of Merari numbered 6,200 males one month and older. They camped to the north of the tabernacle, with Rachel's handmaid's sons that was the last in the procession.)

³⁶ And the appointed charge of the sons of Merari shall be the boards of the tabernacle, and the bars thereof, and the pillars thereof, and the sockets thereof, and all the instruments thereof, and all the service thereof,
³⁷ and the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords.
³⁸ And those that encamp before the tabernacle eastward, before the tent of meeting toward the sunrising, shall be Moses, and Aaron and his sons, keeping the charge of the sanctuary for the charge of the children of Israel; and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.

(Moses, Aaron and his sons set their camp to the east of the tabernacle, with Leah's sons that led the procession.)

³⁹ All that were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron numbered at the commandment of Jehovah, by their families, all the males from a month old and upward, were twenty and two thousand.

(All that were numbered of the Levites from one month old and up were 22,000.)

⁴⁰ And Jehovah said unto Moses, Number all the first-born males of the children of Israel from a month old and upward, and take the number of their names.

(The Lord told Moses to number all the firstborn of Israel from a month old and up.)

⁴¹ And thou shalt take the Levites for me (I am Jehovah) instead of all the first-born among the children of Israel; and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstlings among the cattle of the children of Israel:
⁴² and Moses numbered, as Jehovah commanded him, all the first-born among the children of Israel.
⁴³ And all the first-born males according to the number of names, from a month old and upward, of those that were numbered of them, were twenty and two thousand two hundred and threescore and thirteen.

(All that were numbered of the firstborn of Israel from one month old and up were 22,273.)

⁴⁴ And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,
⁴⁵ Take the Levites instead of all the first-born among the children of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle; and the Levites shall be mine: I am Jehovah.
⁴⁶ And for the redemption of the two hundred and threescore and thirteen of the first-born of the children of Israel, that are over and above the number of the Levites,
⁴⁷ thou shalt take five shekels apiece by the poll; after the shekel of the sanctuary shalt thou take them (the shekel is twenty gerahs):
⁴⁸ and thou shalt give the money, wherewith the odd number of them is redeemed, unto Aaron and to his sons.
⁴⁹ And Moses took the redemption-money from them that were over and above them that were redeemed by the Levites;
⁵⁰ from the first-born of the children of Israel took he the money, a thousand three hundred and threescore and five shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary:
⁵¹ and Moses gave the redemption-money unto Aaron and to his sons, according to the word of Jehovah, as Jehovah commanded Moses.

(Since there were more firstborn than Levites, the surplus was redeemed and given to Aaron and his sons.)

(This post covered the initial numbering of Israel when they came out of Egypt, the situation and responsibilities of each tribe of Israel, and the numbering of the Levites.)

Day 40