NOTES for Num 1:1-54
1 And the LORD spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tabernacle of the congregation, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they were come out of the land of Egypt, saying, |
2 Take ye the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, after their families, by the house of their fathers, with the number of their names, every male by their polls; |
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. |
4 And with you there shall be a man of every tribe; every one head of the house of his fathers. |
5 And these are the names of the men that shall stand with you: of the tribe 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; Nethaneel 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 Ocran. |
14 Of Gad; Eliasaph the son of Deuel. |
15 Of Naphtali; Ahira the son of Enan. |
16 These were the renowned of the congregation, princes of the tribes of their fathers, heads of thousands in Israel. |
17 And Moses and Aaron took these men which are expressed by their names: |
18 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. |
19 As the LORD commanded Moses, so he numbered them in the wilderness of Sinai. |
20 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; |
21 Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Reuben, were forty and six thousand and five hundred. |
22 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; |
23 Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Simeon, were fifty and nine thousand and three hundred. |
24 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; |
25 Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Gad, were forty and five thousand six hundred and fifty. |
26 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; |
27 Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Judah, were threescore and fourteen thousand and six hundred. |
28 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; |
29 Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Issachar, were fifty and four thousand and four hundred. |
30 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; |
31 Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Zebulun, were fifty and seven thousand and four hundred. |
32 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; |
33 Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Ephraim, were forty thousand and five hundred. |
34 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; |
35 Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Manasseh, were thirty and two thousand and two hundred. |
36 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; |
37 Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Benjamin, were thirty and five thousand and four hundred. |
38 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; |
39 Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Dan, were threescore and two thousand and seven hundred. |
40 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; |
41 Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Asher, were forty and one thousand and five hundred. |
42 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; |
43 Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Naphtali, were fifty and three thousand and four hundred. |
44 These are those that were numbered, which Moses and Aaron numbered, and the princes of Israel, being twelve men: each one was for the house of his fathers. |
45 So were all those that were numbered of the children of Israel, by the house of their fathers, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war in Israel; |
46 Even all they that were numbered were six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty. |
47 But the Levites after the tribe of their fathers were not numbered among them. |
48 For the LORD had spoken unto Moses, saying, |
49 Only thou shalt not number the tribe of Levi, neither take the sum of them among the children of Israel: |
50 But thou shalt appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of testimony, and over all the vessels thereof, and over all things that belong to it: they shall bear the tabernacle, and all the vessels thereof; and they shall minister unto it, and shall encamp round about the tabernacle. |
51 And when the tabernacle setteth forward, the Levites shall take it down: and when the tabernacle is to be pitched, the Levites shall set it up: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death. |
52 And the children of Israel shall pitch their tents, every man by his own camp, and every man by his own standard, throughout their hosts. |
53 But the Levites shall pitch round about the tabernacle of testimony, that there be no wrath upon the congregation of the children of Israel: and the Levites shall keep the charge of the tabernacle of testimony. |
54 And the children of Israel did according to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so did they. |
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The Book of Numbers did not receive its name by accident: there really are many numbers in it. True, this name was given to it by translators, while in Hebrew it is called, like all the books of the Pentateuch, by the first word of the first chapter. The impression, however, is conveyed correctly, at least the first impression: the book is full of numbers. All kinds of them. Like a statistical report or an account book. Why? For what purpose?
Those who ask themselves and others such questions seem to suppose from the very beginning that numbers are an unspiritual matter. Or at least certainly a boring one. God has everything in immeasurable abundance, so why are numbers needed? True, there are no exact sciences without numbers, but surely they are not needed in communion with God; after all, this is not mathematics. For Pythagoras and his followers, for example, all cosmic harmony was connected with number, but that was Pythagoras. And also, to be sure, Plato, but he too was a pagan, like Pythagoras.
Meanwhile, on closer examination, number turns out to be something very spiritual indeed. Not because number lies at the foundation of world harmony, though that question is still open. The point, after all, is not world harmony, but ourselves. Fear of number in our life is often connected with fear of concreteness. Of precision. Of unambiguity, where it is necessary. Of that very thing without which it is difficult to speak seriously about spiritual life. For spiritual life is not floating in pink and blue daydreams, but quite real life. Just as dense, reliable, and tangible as our ordinary life, only fuller and more spacious. More capacious. It contains all the numbers of this world, and everything that stands behind them too. Unlike a statistical report or an account book, where the numbers are abstract.
As in this list of men able to bear arms from all twelve Hebrew tribes: they are certainly not listed here by accident. This is an army, or rather a tribal militia, ready to go and conquer the land promised by God. For us these are only numbers and the names of tribes. For God they are specific people, with whom He Himself will go to fight where He sends them. Here the main difference becomes clear between the numbers in an account book or a statistical report and the numbers in the Book of Numbers: those numbers are with people, these are with God. With God, for whom truly no one is forgotten.
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Readings for 19 November 2025
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