Bible Commentaries

The Muster of the Host

v. 1. And it came to pass after the plague, which struck the people on account of the idolatrous, adulterous practices introduced by the Midianites and Moabites, that the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, saying,

v. 2. Take the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, this being the formal census before entering into the Land of Promise, from twenty years old and upward, throughout their fathers' house, all that are able to go to war in Israel, as it was done in the Wilderness of Sinai, chaps. 1 and 2.

v. 3. And Moses and Eleazar, the priest, spake with them, with regard to this mustering, in the Plains of Moab by Jordan, on the eastern side, near Jericho, saying,

v. 4. Take the sum of the people, from twenty years old and upward, as the Lord commanded Moses and the children of Israel which went forth out of the land of Egypt. This is the heading or introduction to the enumeration of the people by their tribes.

v. 5. Reuben, the eldest son of Israel: the children of Reuben: Hanoch, of whom cometh the family of the Hanochites; of Pallu, the family of the Palluites;

v. 6. of Hezron, the family of the Hezronites; of Carmi, the family of the Carmites.

v. 7. These are the families of the Reubenites; and they that were numbered of them were forty and three thousand and seven hundred and thirty (43,730).

v. 8. And the sons of Pallu: Eliab.

v. 9. And the sons of Eliab: Nemuel, and Dathan, and Abiram. This is that Dathan and Abiram which were famous in the congregation, who strove against Moses and against Aaron in the company of Korah, when they strove against the Lord;

v. 10. and the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them up together with Korah when that company died, when the two Reubenites with their families, together with Korah and his servants or immediate followers, were swallowed by the abyss, what time the fire devoured two hundred and fifty men; and they became a sign, Num 16:38; 1Co 10:6.

v. 11. Notwithstanding the children of Korah died not, for they had not joined their father in his rebellion. Samuel, the prophet, was a member of this family, 1Ch 6:22-28, as was Heman, the singer, 1Ch 25:5.

v. 12. The sons of Simeon after their families: of Nemuel, the family of the Nemuelites; of Jamin, the family of the Jaminites; of Jachin, the family of the Jachinites;

v. 13. of Zerah, the family of the Zarhites; of Shaul, the family of the Shaulites.

v. 14. These are the families of the Simeonites, twenty and two thousand and two hundred (22,200). Note that the family of Obed, Gen 46:10, had become extinct, that Nemuel is equivalent with Jemuel, Exo 6:15, and Zohar with Zerah, Gen 46:10.

v. 15. The children of Gad after their families: of Zephon, the family of the Zephonites; of Haggi, the family of the Haggites; of Shuni, the family of the Shunites;

v. 16. of Ozni (or Ezbon, Gen 46:16), the family of the Oznites; of Eri, the family of the Erites;

v. 17. of Arod, the family of the Arodites; of Areli, the family of the Arelites.

v. 18. These are the families of the children of Gad according to those that were numbered of them, forty thousand and five hundred (40,500).

v. 19. The sons of Judah were Er and Onan; and Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan, Genesis 38.

v. 20. And the sons of Judah after their families were: of Shelah, the family of the Shelanites; of Pharez, the family of the Pharzites; of Zerah, the family of the Zarhites.

v. 21. And the sons of Pharez were: of Hezron, the family of the Hezronites; of Hamul, the family of the Hamulites.

v. 22. These are the families of Judah according to those that were numbered of them, threescore and sixteen thousand and five hundred (76,500). Cf Gen 38:6 ff; Gen 46:12; 1Ch 2:3-5.

v. 23. of the sons of Issachar after their families: of Tola, the family of the Tolaites; of Pua (or, Phuvah), the family of the Punites;

v. 24. of Jashub (or. Job), the family of the Jashubites; of Shimron, the family of the Shimronites.

v. 25. These are the families of Issachar according to those that were numbered of them, threescore and four thousand and three hundred (64,300).

v. 26. of the sons of Zebulun after their families; of Sered, the. family of the Sardites; of Elon, the family of the Elonites; of Jahleel, the family of the Jahleelites.

v. 27. These are the families of the Zebulunites according to those that were numbered of them, threescore thousand and five hundred (60,500). Cf Gen 46:14. While the three tribes under Reuben had decreased, due, probably, to the same transgressions and their punishments, all those under Judah had increased.

v. 28. The sons of Joseph after their families were Manasseh and Ephraim, both of whom had been elevated to the position of heads of tribes, Genesis 48.

v. 29. of the sons of Manasseh: of Machir, the family of the Machirites; and Machir begat Gilead; of Gilead come the family of the Gileadites.

v. 30. These are the sons of Gilead: of Jeezer (or Abiezer, Jos 17:2), the family of the Jeezerites; of Helek, the family of the Helekites;

v. 31. and of Asriel, the family of the Asrielites; and of Shechem, the family of the Shechemites;

v. 32. and of Shemida, the family of the Shemidaites; and of Hepher, the family of the Hepherites.

v. 33. And Zeiophehad, the son of Hepher, had no sons, but daughters; and the names of the daughters of Zeiophehad were Mahlah, and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.

v. 34. These are the families of Manasseh, and those that were numbered of them, fifty and two thousand and seven hundred (52,700).

v. 35. These are the sons of Ephraim after their families: of Shuthe-lah, the family of the Shuthalhites; of Becher (or Bered), the family of the Bach-rites; of Tahan, the family of the Tahanites.

v. 36. And these are the sons of Shu-thelah: of Eran, the family of the Eranites.

v. 37. These are the families of the sons of Ephraim according to those that were numbered of them, thirty and two thousand and five hundred (32,500). These are the sons of Joseph after their families.

v. 38. The sons of Benjamin after their families: of Bela, the family of the Belaites; of Ashbel, the family of the Ashbelites; of Ahiram (or Ehi, Gen 46:21; or Aharah, 1Ch 8:1), the family of the Ahiramites;

v. 39. of Shupham, the family of the Shuphamites; of Hupham, the family of the Huphamites (Muppim and Huppim, Gen 46:21).

v. 40. And the sons of Bela were Ard and Naaman: of Ard, the family of the Ardites; and of Naaman, the family of the Naamites.

v. 41. These are the sons of Benjamin after their families; and they that were numbered of them were forty and five thousand and six hundred (45,600). Note that the same man may have borne different names, or that grandsons appear as sons, since some of the men did not found distinct families.

v. 42. These are the sons of Dan after their families: of Shuham, the family of the Shuhamites (Hushim, Gen 46:23). These are the families of Dan after their families. Only the most numerous and influential families are enumerated.

v. 43. All the families of the Shuhamites, according to those that were numbered of them, were threescore and four thousand and four hundred (64,400).

v. 44. of the children of Asher after their families: of Jimna, the family of the Jimnites; of Jesui, the family of the Jesuites; of Beriah, the family of the Beriites.

v. 45. of the sons of Beriah: of Heber, the family of the Heberites; of Malchiel, the family of the Malchielites.

v. 46. And the name of the daughter of Asher was Sarah. In this case, three families were founded by sons, and two by grandsons.

v. 47. These are the families of the sons of Asher according to those that were numbered of them; who were fifty and three thousand and four hundred (53,400).

v. 48. of the sons of Naphtali after their families: of Jahzeel, the family of the Jahzeelites; of Guni, the family of the Gunites;

v. 49. of Jezer, the family of the Jezerites; of Shillem, the family of the Shillemites.

v. 50. These are the families of Naphtali according to their families; and they that were numbered of them were forty and five thousand and four hundred (45,400). Cf Gen 46:24; 1Ch 7:30.

v. 51. These were the numbered of the children of Israel, six hundred thousand and a thousand seven hundred and thirty (601,730). "A comparison of the totals here and in Chapter 1 shows a small loss. The people which had grown so rapidly in Egypt had scarcely held its own through the wilderness, with its sins and judgments. That one generation merely filled the gaps made vacant by the death of that which preceded it shows that other than merely natural causes were at work in the wasting of the earlier generations and confirms the history of the wilderness life. " (Gosman. )

The Command of God Against the Midianites. —

v. 16. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

v. 17. Vex the Midianites, show your enmity, openly oppose them, and smite them;

v. 18. for they vex you, prove themselves your most dangerous enemies, with their wiles, wherewith they have beguiled you in the matter of Peor, by seducing them to idolatrous practices, and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of a prince of Midian, their sister, which was slain in the day of the plague for Peor's sake. Thus the zeal of Phinehas, the zeal for Jehovah, might be assumed by all the nation and the honor of the Lord be vindicated. It had been an extreme case of the grossest outrage that this princess had caused herself to be led into the sacred camp, to glorify lust, and to render it an act of service or worship. This command of God was carried out Num 31:1-12.

Concerning the Divisions of the Land and the Levites

v. 52. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

v. 53. Unto these, in accordance with the census just taken, shall be divided for an inheritance according to the number of names, each tribe being given a territory whose extent should be proportionate to its own size.

v. 54. To many thou shalt give the more inheritance, and to few thou shalt give the less inheritance; to every one shall his inheritance be given according to those that were numbered of him, this consideration applying to the size of the tribal territory, as it would be known after the name of the head of the tribe.

v. 56. Notwithstanding the land shall be divided by lot, not only to avoid all dissatisfaction and complaint, but also to cause every tribe to accept the territory assigned to it as the gift of God, for so the outcome of the lot was generally regarded; according to the names of the tribes of their fathers they shall inherit.

v. 56. According to the lot shall the possession thereof be divided between many and few. Thus the relative situation of each tribe's inheritance in Canaan was determined and, at the same time, all cause for dispute removed.

v. 57. And these are they that were numbered of the Levites after their families: of Gershon, the family of the Gershonites; of Kohath, the family of the Kohathites; of Merari, the family of the Merarites.

v. 58. These are the families of the Levites: the family of the Libnites, which belonged to the Gershonites, the family of the Hebronites, which belonged to the Kohathites, the family of the Mahlites, the family of the Mushites, both of which belonged to the Merarites, the family of the Korathites, which belonged to the Kohathites. And Kohath begat Amram.

v. 59. And the name of Amram's wife was Jochebed, the daughter of Levi, whom her mother bare to Levi in Egypt, Exo 2:1-2; Exo 6:20; and she bare unto Amram Aaron and Moses, and Miriam, their sister.

v. 60. And unto Aaron was born Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

v. 61. And Nadab and Abihu died when they offered strange fire before the Lord, Lev 10:1-2.

v. 62. And those that were numbered of them were twenty and three thousand, all males from a month old and upward; for they were not numbered among the children of Israel, because there was no inheritance given them among the children of Israel, Num 18:20.

v. 63. These are they that were numbered by Moses and Eleazar, the priest, who numbered the children of Israel in the Plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho; the census was made under their direction.

v. 64. But among these there was not a man of them whom Moses and Aaron, the priest, numbered, when they numbered the children of Israel in the "Wilderness of Sinai, chaps. 1 and 2; the entire generation of people who had been twenty years old and more at the time of the departure out of Egypt had passed away in the wilderness. Cf Num 14:29-38.

v. 65. For the Lord had said of them, They shall surely die in the wilderness. Cf 1Co 10:5-6. And there was not left a man of them, save Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua, the son of Nun, the two spies that had opposed the majority report with such emphasis. The judgments of the just and holy God are often carried out with terrifying exactness, as a standing warning to the unbelieving generation of all times.