Numbers26

Following a plague, the LORD commanded Moses and Eleazar to conduct a second census of the children of Israel in the plains of Moab, numbering all males twenty years old and upward who were able to go to war. This enumeration, taken by families within each tribe, was for the purpose of dividing the land of Canaan as an inheritance. The total count revealed a new generation prepared to enter the promised land, distinct from the generation that perished in the wilderness.

The Second Census Commanded

1
After the plague, 26 1 ADONAI said to Moshe and El'azar, the son of Aharon the cohen, ​
2
"Take a census of the entire assembly of the people of Isra'el twenty years old and over, by their ancestral clans, all who are subject to military service in Isra'el." ​
3
Moshe and El'azar the cohen spoke with them on the plains of Mo'av by the Yarden across from Yericho, explaining,
4
"Those twenty years old and over who came out of the land of Egypt, as ADONAI ordered Moshe and the people of Isra'el." ​

Census Results by Tribe

5
[The census results begin with] Re'uven, the firstborn of Isra'el. The descendants of Re'uven were: of Hanokh, the family of the Hanokhi; of Pallu, the family of the Pallu'i;
6
of Hetzron, the family of the Hetzroni; and of Karmi the family of the Karmi.
7
These were the the families of the Re'uveni; of them were counted 43,730.
8
The sons of Pallu: Eli'av;
9
and the sons of Eli'av: N'mu'el, Datan and Aviram. These are the same Datan and Aviram, men of reputation in the community, who rebelled against Moshe and Aharon in Korach's group, when they rebelled against ADONAI; ​
10
and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up together with Korach when that group died, and the fire consumed 250 men, and they became a warning sign.
11
(However, the sons of Korach did not die.) ​
12
The descendants of Shim'on, by their families, were: of N'mu'el, the family of the N'mu'eli; of Yamin, the family of the Yamini; of Yakhin, the family of the Yakhini;
13
of Zerach, the family of the Zarchi; and of Sha'ul, the family of the Sha'uli.
14
These were the families of the Shim'oni, 22,200. ​
15
The descendants of Gad, by their families, were: of Tz'fon, the family of the Tz'foni; of Haggi, the family of the Haggi; of Shuni, the family of the Shuni;
16
of Ozni, the family of the Ozni; of 'Eri, the family of the 'Eri;
17
of Arod, the family of the Arodi; and of Ar'eli, the family of the Ar'eli.
18
These were the families of the sons of Gad, according to those counted of them, 40,500.
19
The sons of Y'hudah: First 'Er and Onan, but 'Er and Onan died in the land of Kena'an. ​
20
The sons of Y'hudah who had descendants were: of Shelah, the family of the Shelani; of Peretz, the family of the Partzi; and of Zerach, the family of the Zarchi.
21
The sons of Peretz were: of Hetzron, the family of the Hetzroni; and of Hamul, the family of the Hamuli.
22
These were the families of Y'hudah, according to those counted of them, 76,500.
23
The descendants of Yissakhar, by their families, were: of Tola, the family of the Tola'i; of Puvah, the family of the Puni;
24
of Yashuv, the family of the Yashuvi; and of Shimron, the family of the Shimroni.
25
These were the families of Yissakhar, according to those counted of them, 64,300.
26
The descendants of Z'vulun, by their families, were: of Sered, the family of the Sardi; of Elon, the family of the Eloni; and of Yachle'el, the family of the Yachle'eli.
27
These were the families of the Z'vuloni, according to those counted of them, 60,500.
28
The sons of Yosef, by their families, were M'nasheh and Efrayim.
29
The descendants of M'nasheh were: of Makhir, the family of the Makhiri. Makhir was the father of Gil'ad; of Gil'ad, the family of the Gil'adi.
30
These are the descendants of Gil'ad: of I'ezer, the family of the I'ezri; of Helek, the family of the Helki;
31
of Asri'el, the family of the Asri'eli; of Sh'khem, the family of the Shikhmi;
32
of Sh'mida, the family of the Sh'mida'i; and of Hefer, the family of the Hefri.
33
Tz'lof'chad the son of Hefer had no sons but daughters; the names of the daughters of Tz'lof'chad were Machlah, No'ah, Hoglah, Milkah and Tirtzah. ​
34
These were the families of M'nasheh; of them were counted 52,700.
35
These are the descendants of Efrayim, by their families: of Shutelach, the family of the Shutalchi; of Bekher, the family of the Bakhri; and of Tachan, the family of the Tachani.
36
These are the descendants of Shutelach: of 'Eran, the family of the 'Erani.
37
These were the families of the descendants of Efrayim, according to those of them that were counted, 32,500. These were the descendants of Yosef, by their families.
38
The descendants of Binyamin, by their families were: of Bela, the family of the Bal'i; of Ashbel, the family of the Ashbeli; of Achiram, the family of the Achirami;
39
of Sh'fufam, the family of the Shufami; and of Hufam, the family of the Hufami.
40
The sons of Bela were Ard and Na'aman; [of Ard,] the family of the Ardi; and of Na'aman, the family of the Na'ami.
41
These were the descendants of Binyamin, by their families; of them were counted 45,600.
42
The descendants of Dan, by their families, were: of Shucham, the family of the Shuchami. These are the families of Dan, by their families.
43
All the families of the Shuchami, according to those of them that were counted, were 64,400.
44
The descendants of Asher, by their families: of Yimnah, the family of the Yimnah; of Yishvi, the family of the Yishvi; and of B'ri'ah, the family of the B'ri'i.
45
Of the descendants of B'ri'ah: of Hever, the family of the Hevri; and of Malki'el, the family of the Malki'eli.
46
The name of Asher's daughter was Serach.
47
These were the families of the descendants of Asher, according to those of them that were counted, 53,400.
48
The descendants of Naftali, by their families: of Yachtze'el, the families of the Yachtze'eli; of Guni, the family of the Guni;
49
of Yetzer, the family of the Yitzri; and of Shillem, the family of the Shillemi.
50
These are the families of Naftali according to their families; those of them that were counted were 45,400.
51
Thus those who were counted of the people of Isra'el numbered 601,730. ​

Land Distribution Instructions

52
ADONAI said to Moshe,
53
"The land is to be parceled out among these as a possession to be inherited, according to the number of names. ​
54
To those families with more persons you are to give a greater inheritance, and to those with fewer you are to give a smaller inheritance - each family's inheritance is to be given according to the number counted in it.
55
However, the land is to be awarded by lot. They will inherit according to the names of the tribes of their ancestors, ​
56
but the inheritance is to be parceled out by lot between the families with more and those with fewer."

The Census of the Levites

57
Those counted among the Levi, by their families, were: of Gershon, the family of the Gershuni, of K'hat, the family of the K'hati; and of M'rari, the family of the M'rari.
58
These are the families of Levi: the family of the Livni, the family of the Hevroni, the family of the Machli, the family of the Mushi and the family of the Korchi. K'hat was the father of 'Amram.
59
The name of 'Amram's wife was Yokheved the daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt; and she bore to 'Amram Aharon, Moshe and their sister Miryam. ​
60
To Aharon were born Nadav, Avihu, El'azar and Itamar;
61
but Nadav and Avihu died when they offered unauthorized fire before ADONAI. ​
62
Those males one month old or more counted of the Levi were 23,000. These were not included in the census of the people of Isra'el, because no land for inheritance was given to them among the people of Isra'el. ​

The Fulfillment of God's Judgment

63
These are the ones counted by Moshe and El'azar the cohen, who took a census of the people of Isra'el in the plains of Mo'av by the Yarden across from Yericho.
64
But there was not a man among them who had also been included in the census of Moshe and Aharon the cohen when they enumerated the people of Isra'el in the Sinai Desert; ​
65
because ADONAI had said of them, "They will surely die in the desert." So there was not left even one of them, except Kalev the son of Y'funeh and Y'hoshua the son of Nun. ​

Study Notes for Numbers 26

Verse 1

This census is commissioned after the plague at Baal-Peor (ch. 25) and marks the end of the 38 years of wilderness wandering. It confirms the new generation ready to enter Canaan.

Verse 2

Counting males aged twenty and upward establishes the military strength of the nation and, crucially, provides the demographic basis for dividing the land inheritance (see vv. 53-54).

Verse 4

The census location, the Plains of Moab, signifies that Israel is positioned directly across the Jordan River from the Promised Land, ready for immediate entry.

Verse 9

The insertion of Dathan and Abiram’s fate serves as an historical anchor and a solemn warning against rebellion. It validates the authority of Moses and confirms the consequences of defying the LORD.

Verse 11

The fact that the children of Korah were spared demonstrates that divine judgment is specific to the offenders and not automatically inherited by their descendants. Later, Korah’s descendants became prominent temple musicians (Psalms 42, 44–49).

Verse 14

Simeon saw the largest population decrease (from 59,300 to 22,200), likely due to their high involvement in the apostasy and plague described in Chapter 25.

Verse 19

Er and Onan died before the Exodus (Gen 38), reminding the reader that the history of mortality and judgment spans generations, not confined only to the wilderness period.

Verse 33

The specific mention of Zelophehad’s daughters introduces a critical legal issue regarding inheritance when there are no male heirs, setting the stage for the landmark ruling in Chapter 27.

Verse 51

The total of 601,730 is statistically similar to the first census (603,550), confirming God’s faithfulness in preserving the nation despite the intervening decades of judgment and death.

Verse 53

This command ensures equity: the size of the inheritance was proportional to the size of the tribe, guaranteeing that larger populations received sufficient territory.

Verse 55

While population determined the scale (v. 54), the specific location was determined by lot, emphasizing that the distribution, though systematic, was ultimately governed by divine providence.

Verse 59

Jochebed is identified as the daughter of Levi, reinforcing the specific and holy lineage of Moses, Aaron, and Miriam within the priestly tribe.

Verse 61

The deaths of Nadab and Abihu (Lev 10:1-2) serve as a perpetual warning that even those closest to God must uphold strict obedience and respect God's holiness.

Verse 62

The Levites were counted separately starting from one month old, as they were set apart for sanctuary service and were not included in the military census or the territorial inheritance.

Verse 64

This verse dramatically highlights the theological purpose of the second census: to demonstrate that the entire generation numbered at Sinai had perished, fulfilling God’s judgment (Num 14:28-35).

Verse 65

The exception of Caleb and Joshua underscores their faithfulness and God’s commitment to rewarding those who obeyed Him fully when the rest of the generation rebelled.

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