Tyndale Open Study Notes

Verse 1

1:1–10:10 The Israelites prepared to leave for the Promised Land by registering all the troops eligible to participate in the conquest. The nation was transitioning from slavery to nationhood.

1:1-16 One family leader from each tribe (except Levi) was appointed to count Israel’s men of fighting age.

1:1 In the year after Israel’s departure from Egypt, the Lord frequently communicated his will to the people through Moses and gave them every opportunity to conform to his divine plan. • God’s self-disclosure often took place at the Tabernacle (literally the Tent of Meeting; see study note on Exod 27:21). • The wilderness of Sinai was a great, terrifying, and inhospitable desert (Deut 1:19). This relatively unpopulated region was the anvil on which God forged Israel as the environmental challenges of Sinai tested Israel’s dependence upon the Lord throughout the book of Numbers. Sinai reminded later biblical authors of the law and of Israel’s rebellious spirit (Ps 106:19; Heb 12:25-26).

Verse 2

1:2-16 men twenty years old or older who are able to go to war: In this effort to register Israel’s men of military age, more information was gathered than in the previous registration (cp. Exod 38:26). • the tribes and the names of the leaders: Hebrew culture was tribal, built around clans and families. The tribal leaders were readily identified and appear again as a group in Num 7. • Moses and Aaron did not include Levi’s tribe in this registration, since it had a special status in Israelite society (cp. 1:47-53; 26:51-62; Deut 18:5; 33:8-11).

Verse 16

1:16 These tribal leaders had apparently shown themselves responsible and trustworthy by fulfilling other important duties.

Verse 17

1:17-46 The tabulation yields the same number of qualified men (603,550) as mentioned in Exod 38:26. Exodus 12:37 and Num 11:21 give an approximate number of 600,000. These numbers have been interpreted in different ways. They might reflect the literal size of this army (cp. Exod 1:9-10); alternatively, the figures might be symbolic, projected backward from a later period, or simply misunderstood in translation. See also study note on Exod 12:37.

Verse 20

1:20-43 In this second list of the tribes, Gad is placed alongside Reuben and Simeon, the tribes with whom Gad would camp while Israel was on the march.

Verse 47

1:47-54 The tribe of Levi did not serve in Israel’s army with the other tribes. This section of Numbers describes the organization of Levites for service in the Tabernacle, which was their primary responsibility.

Verse 50

1:50-53 The Levites inherited the task of erecting, dismantling, transporting, and guarding the Tabernacle. By keeping unauthorized persons from getting too close or desecrating it, they protected the Hebrews from the Lord’s anger.

1:50 Tabernacle of the Covenant: This portable sanctuary symbolized the presence of the Lord and represented Israel’s covenant relationship with him.