(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
Numbers 1: 17-43, “And Moses and Aaron took these men which are expressed by their names: And they assembled all the congregation together on the first day of the second month, and they declared their pedigrees after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, by their polls. As the LORD commanded Moses, so he numbered them in the wilderness of Sinai. And the children of Reuben, Israel’s eldest son, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, 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; Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Reuben, were forty and six thousand and five hundred. Of the children of Simeon, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, those that were numbered of them, 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; Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Simeon, were fifty and nine thousand and three hundred. Of the children of Gad, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war; Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Gad, were forty and five thousand six hundred and fifty. Of the children of Judah, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war; Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Judah, were threescore and fourteen thousand and six hundred. Of the children of Issachar, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war; Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Issachar, were fifty and four thousand and four hundred. Of the children of Zebulun, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war; Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Zebulun, were fifty and seven thousand and four hundred. Of the children of Joseph, namely, of the children of Ephraim, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war; Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Ephraim, were forty thousand and five hundred. Of the children of Manasseh, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war; Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Manasseh, were thirty and two thousand and two hundred. Of the children of Benjamin, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war; Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Benjamin, were thirty and five thousand and four hundred. Of the children of Dan, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war; Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Dan, were threescore and two thousand and seven hundred. Of the children of Asher, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war; Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Asher, were forty and one thousand and five hundred. Of the children of Naphtali, throughout their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war; Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Naphtali, were fifty and three thousand and four hundred.”
Even though this census only counted the men older than twenty it was far more reaching than we may at first consider. Later, the numbers were used to determine how the Lord should be reimbursed for the fact that He saved the firstborn of those who were protected by the blood and those who perished in Egypt. The Lord chose Levi for His own and the numbers of the other tribes and their firstborn was compared to the numbers in Levi. The second issue concerned the ability of Israel to prosecute a war for they would have to do this in order to take the Promised Land. It is essential for an army to know how many soldiers they have so that they can devise proper tactics for the war that they face. The third issue concerned their responsibilities in their ceremonial duties. They needed to know about what gifts to give and what offerings to make. In the final analysis, each of the men who were counted represented a family and the original promise to Abraham was that all the families of the earth would be blessed through his descendants. This blessing began with all the families of Israel.
(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
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