Numbers 26

Numbers 26:1

B. The Second Census (Chap. 26)26:1-51 Again Moses was instructed to take a census . . . of the children of Israel, since they were about to enter the land to war against its inhabitants and to receive their share of the inheritance. There was a decrease of 1,820 people from the first census, as seen in the following numbers:

TribeCensus (Chap. 1)Census (Chap. 26) Reuben (vv. 5-11)46,50043,730Simeon (vv. 12-14)59,30022,200Gad (vv. 15-18)45,65040,500Judah (vv. 19-22)74,60076,500Issachar (vv. 23-25)54,40064,300Zebulun (vv. 26, 27)57,40060,500Joseph (vv. 28-37):Manasseh (v. 34)32,20052,700 Ephraim (v. 37)40,50032,500Benjamin (vv. 38-41)35,40045,600Dan (vv. 42, 43)62,70064,400Asher (vv. 44-47)41,50053,400Naphtali (vv. 48-51)53,400 45,400TOTAL603,550601,730Noting the decrease in numbers over the long period of time between the 603,550 of chapter 1 and the 601,730 children of Israel here, Moody comments: Israel’s growth ceased for forty years. So it may be with us as churches, and so forth, if we are unbelieving. The most striking decrease is seen in the Simeonites, who diminished by almost 37,000. The tribe of Simeon was chiefly involved in the incident at Peor in the previous chapter (Zimri was a leader in that tribe), and perhaps most of the slain were Simeonites. Verse 11 tells us that the sons of Korah did not die with their father. 26:52-56 The land was to be divided according to the number of people in each tribe, and yet according to lot. This can only mean that the size of the tribal territory was determined by the number in the tribe, but the location of the land was determined by lot. 26:57-65 The Levites were numbered separately at twenty-three thousand. Only Joshua and Caleb were included in both censuses. All the other men of war listed in the first census had by now perished in the wilderness. Verses 64 and 65 refer to the men who were able to go to war. Levites and women are excluded, though some of these did die during the thirty-eight year journey.