Numbers 1

This is the first chapter of Numbers. Its events take place one month after the tabernacle was set up in Exodus 40 (on the first day of the first month of the second year after the Exodus), and the sacrificial regulations of Leviticus fall in between. The chapter's account of numbering the people gave rise to the Korean name of the book, Minsugi (民數記), meaning "record of the numbering of the people."

Outline

• Verses 1–4 On the first day of the second month of the second year after the Exodus, the LORD commands Moses in the tabernacle of the congregation in the wilderness of Sinai to number every male twenty years old and upward who is able to go to war. Aaron and one head from each tribe join him.
• Verses 5–16 The names of the representatives of the twelve tribes are listed. The representative of the tribe of Judah is Nahshon the son of Amminadab.
• Verses 17–19 On the same day the whole congregation is assembled, and the people declare their pedigrees by families and by the house of their fathers as they are numbered.
• Verses 20–43 The figures for each tribe are given. The largest tribe is Judah (74,600), and the smallest is Manasseh (32,200).
• Verses 44–46 The total is 603,550.
• Verses 47–54 The tribe of Levi is not numbered but is instead charged with carrying and caring for the tabernacle of testimony. The Levites camp round about the tabernacle, and the people do according to all that was commanded.

Key Verses

• Numbers 1:3 "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 armies." This shows that the census was intended to organize an army.
• Numbers 1:46 "Even all they that were numbered were six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty." This matches the figure in Exodus 38:26.
• Numbers 1:53 The Levites pitch round about the tabernacle of testimony "that there be no wrath upon the congregation," a verse that sets forth the Levites' role in guarding the holy dwelling place.

People and Places

• Moses and Aaron: They lead the census at God's command.
• The representatives of the twelve tribes: Leaders called from each tribe. Nahshon also appears in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1.
• Levites: The tribe excluded from the census for service at the tabernacle.
• The wilderness of Sinai: The wilderness surrounding Mount Sinai, where Israel received the law and encamped.

Points for Reflection

• Although Levi is omitted, the descendants of Joseph are counted as two tribes, Ephraim and Manasseh, so the number of tribes counted remains twelve. See also the article Twelve Tribes of Israel.
• Many traditions read the figure of more than 600,000 fighting men literally. Some scholars, however, hold that the Hebrew word translated "thousand" refers instead to a military unit or clan.
• Most of this generation dies in the wilderness, and the next generation is numbered again in Numbers 26. In the New Testament, 1 Corinthians 10 teaches that the experiences of the wilderness generation are to serve as a lesson for believers.