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The Fourth Book of Moses: Numbers

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- Chapter 1 -

(Numbers 26:1–4)
1
In the second month of the year after the Israelite people had left Egypt, Yahweh spoke to Moses while he was in the sacred tent, in the wilderness of Sinai. Yahweh said to him,
2
“Count how many Israelite men, from each family in Israel, and count them by name.
3
You and Aaron must count the men who are at least twenty years old, those who can serve as soldiers in the army. Write down the number of the men, along with the names of their clans and families.
4
I have chosen one man from each of the tribes to help you to do this. Each one must be a leader of his clan.

The Leaders of the Tribes

5
Their names are: Elizur son of Shedeur, from the tribe of Reuben;
6
Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai, from the tribe of Simeon;
7
Nahshon son of Amminadab, from the tribe of Judah;
8
Nethanel son of Zuar, from the tribe of Issachar;
9
Eliab son of Helon, from the tribe of Zebulun;
10
Elishama son of Ammihud, from the tribe of Joseph’s son Ephraim; Gamaliel son of Pedahzur, from the tribe of Joseph’s son Manasseh;
11
Abidan son of Gideoni, from the tribe of Benjamin;
12
Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai, from the tribe of Dan;
13
Pagiel son of Ocran, from the tribe of Asher;
14
Eliasaph son of Deuel, from the tribe of Gad;
15
Ahira son of Enan, from the tribe of Naphtali.”
16
These were the men whom Yahweh chose from the people. They were leaders of their tribes. They were the chief men of the clans of the Israelite people.

The Number of Every Tribe

17
Aaron and Moses summoned all these leaders,
18
and they gathered all of the people on that same day. They listed the names of all the men who were at least 20 years old, and with their names they wrote the names of their clans and their family groups
19
just as Moses had commanded. They wrote the names while the Israelites were there in the wilderness of Sinai.
20
There were 46,500 men from the tribe of Reuben (who was Jacob’s oldest son) who were at least twenty years old and were able to fight in battles.
21
They were listed by their names, their clans, and their family groups.
22
There were 59,300 men from the tribe of Simeon who were at least twenty years old and were able to fight in battles.
23
They were listed by their names, their clans, and their family groups.
24
There were 45,650 men from the tribe of Gad who were at least twenty years old and were able to fight in battles.
25
They were listed by their names, their clans, and their family groups.
26
There were 74,600 men from the tribe of Judah who were at least twenty years old and were able to fight in battles.
27
They were listed by their names, their clans, and their family groups.
28
There were 54,400 men from the tribe of Issachar who were at least twenty years old and were able to fight in battles.
29
They were listed by their names, their clans, and their family groups.
30
There were 57,400 men from the tribe of Zebulun who were at least twenty years old and were able to fight in battles.
31
They were listed by their names, their clans, and their family groups.
32
There were 40,500 men from the tribe of Ephraim who were at least twenty years old and were able to fight in battles.
33
They were listed by their names, their clans, and their family groups.
34
There were 32,200 men from the tribe of Manasseh who were at least twenty years old and were able to fight in battles.
35
They were listed by their names, their clans, and their family groups.
36
There were 35,400 men from the tribe of Benjamin who were at least twenty years old and were able to fight in battles.
37
They were listed by their names, their clans, and their family groups.
38
There were 62,700 men from the tribe of Dan who were at least twenty years old and were able to fight in battles.
39
They were listed by their names, their clans, and their family groups.
40
There were 41,500 men from the tribe of Asher who were at least twenty years old and were able to fight in battles.
41
They were listed by their names, their clans, and their family groups.
42
There were 53,400 men from the tribe of Naphtali who were at least twenty years old and were able to fight in battles.
43
They were listed by their names, their clans, and their family groups.
44
That was the number of men from each tribe that Aaron and Moses and the twelve leaders of the tribes of Israel listed,
45
along with the names of their clans.
46
The total was 603,550 men.

The Exemption of the Levites

47
But this number did not include the names of the men of the tribe of Levi,
48
because Yahweh had said to Moses,
49
“When you count the men of the tribes of Israel, do not count the men in the tribe of Levi.
50
Appoint the male descendants of Levi to take care of the sacred tent and the chest inside it that contains the tablets on which are written the Ten Commandments. They must also take care of the other things that are inside the tent. When you travel, they are the ones who must carry the sacred tent and all the things that are inside it, and they must take care of it and set up their tents around it.
51
Whenever it is time for all of you to move to another location, the descendants of Levi are the ones who must dismantle the sacred tent. And when it is time to stop traveling, they are the ones who must set it up again. Any other person who goes near the sacred tent to do this work must be executed.
52
The people of each Israelite tribe must set up their tents in their own area, and they must set up a flag that represents their tribe.
53
But the male descendants of Levi must set up their tents around the sacred tent in order to protect the other Israelite people from being punished by Yahweh for coming close to the sacred tent. The descendants of Levi are the ones who must stand around the sacred tent to guard it.”
54
So the Israelite people did everything just like Yahweh had commanded Moses.
(Numbers 26:1–4)
1
The LORD (a) 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,
2
Take a census 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, one by one,
3
from twenty years old and upward, all who are able to go out to war in Israel. You and Aaron shall count them by their divisions.
4
With you there shall be a man of every tribe, each one head of his fathers’ house.

The Leaders of the Tribes

5
These are the names of the men who 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 those who were called of the congregation, the princes (b) of the tribes of their fathers; they were the heads of the thousands of Israel.

The Number of Every Tribe

17
Moses and Aaron took these men who are mentioned by name.
18
They assembled all the congregation together on the first day of the second month; and they declared their ancestry by their families, by their fathershouses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, one by one.
19
As the LORD commanded Moses, so he counted them in the wilderness of Sinai.
20
The children of Reuben, Israel’s firstborn, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of the names, one by one, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go out to war:
21
those who were counted of them, of the tribe of Reuben, were forty-six thousand five hundred.
22
Of the children of Simeon, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, those who were counted of it, according to the number of the names, one by one, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go out to war:
23
those who were counted of them, of the tribe of Simeon, were fifty-nine thousand three hundred.
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 who were able to go out to war:
25
those who were counted of them, of the tribe of Gad, were forty-five thousand six hundred fifty.
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 who were able to go out to war:
27
those who were counted of them, of the tribe of Judah, were seventy-four thousand six hundred.
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 who were able to go out to war:
29
those who were counted of them, of the tribe of Issachar, were fifty-four thousand four hundred.
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 who were able to go out to war:
31
those who were counted of them, of the tribe of Zebulun, were fifty-seven thousand four hundred.
32
Of the children of Joseph: 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 who were able to go out to war:
33
those who were counted of them, of the tribe of Ephraim, were forty thousand five hundred.
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 who were able to go out to war:
35
those who were counted of them, of the tribe of Manasseh, were thirty-two thousand two hundred.
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 who were able to go out to war:
37
those who were counted of them, of the tribe of Benjamin, were thirty-five thousand four hundred.
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 who were able to go out to war:
39
those who were counted of them, of the tribe of Dan, were sixty-two thousand seven hundred.
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 who were able to go out to war:
41
those who were counted of them, of the tribe of Asher, were forty-one thousand five hundred.
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 who were able to go out to war:
43
those who were counted of them, of the tribe of Naphtali, were fifty-three thousand four hundred.
44
These are those who were counted, whom Moses and Aaron counted, and the twelve men who were princes of Israel, each one for his fathers’ house.
45
So all those who were counted of the children of Israel by their fathers’ houses, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go out to war in Israel
46
all those who were counted were six hundred three thousand five hundred fifty.

The Exemption of the Levites

47
But the Levites after the tribe of their fathers were not counted among them.
48
For the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
49
“Only the tribe of Levi you shall not count, neither shall you take a census of them among the children of Israel;
50
but appoint the Levites over the Tabernacle of the Testimony, and over all its furnishings, and over all that belongs to it. They shall carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings; and they shall take care of it, and shall encamp around it.
51
When the tabernacle is to move, the Levites shall take it down; and when the tabernacle is to be set up, the Levites shall set it up. The stranger who comes near shall be put to death.
52
The children of Israel shall pitch their tents, every man by his own camp, and every man by his own standard, according to their divisions.
53
But the Levites shall encamp around the Tabernacle of the Testimony, that there may be no wrath on the congregation of the children of Israel. The Levites shall be responsible for the Tabernacle of the Testimony.”
54
Thus the children of Israel did. According to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so they did.

Footnotes

(a)1:1 When rendered in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS, “LORD” or “GOD” is the translation of God’s Proper Name.
(b)1:16 or, chiefs, or, leaders