Numbers 1–6

Census in the Wilderness of Sinai

^1–51God spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai at the Tent of Meeting on the first day of the second month in the second year after they had left Egypt. He said, “Number the congregation of the People of Israel by clans and families, writing down the names of every male. You and Aaron are to register, company by company, every man who is twenty years and older who is able to fight in the army. Pick one man from each tribe who is head of his family to help you. These are the names of the men who will help you:

from Reuben: Elizur son of Shedeur

⁶from Simeon: Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai

⁷from Judah: Nahshon son of Amminadab

⁸from Issachar: Nethanel son of Zuar

⁹from Zebulun: Eliab son of Helon

¹⁰from the sons of Joseph,

from Ephraim: Elishama son of Ammihud

from Manasseh: Gamaliel son of Pedahzur

¹¹from Ben-jamin: Abidan son of Gideoni

¹²from Dan: Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai

¹³from Asher: Pagiel son of Ocran

¹⁴from Gad: Eliasaph son of Deuel

¹⁵from Naphtali: Ahira son of Enan.”

¹⁶These were the men chosen from the congregation, leaders of their ancestral tribes, heads of Israel’s military divisions.

^17–19Moses and Aaron took these men who had been named to help and gathered the whole congregation together on the first day of the second month. The people registered themselves in their tribes according to their ancestral families, putting down the names of those who were twenty years old and older, just as God commanded Moses. He numbered them in the Wilderness of Sinai.

^20–21The line of Reuben, Israel’s firstborn: The men were counted off head by head, every male twenty years and older who was able to fight in the army, registered by tribes according to their ancestral families. The tribe of Reuben numbered 46,500.

^22–23The line of Simeon: The men were counted off head by head, every male twenty years and older who was able to fight in the army, registered by clans and families. The tribe of Simeon numbered 59,300.

^24–25The line of Gad: The men were counted off head by head, every male twenty years and older who was able to fight in the army, registered by clans and families. The tribe of Gad numbered 45,650.

^26–27The line of Judah: The men were counted off head by head, every male twenty years and older who was able to fight in the army, registered by clans and families. The tribe of Judah numbered 74,600.

^28–29The line of Issachar: The men were counted off head by head, every male twenty years and older who was able to fight in the army, registered by clans and families. The tribe of Issachar numbered 54,400.

^30–31The line of Zebulun: The men were counted off head by head, every male twenty years and older who was able to fight in the army, registered by clans and families. The tribe of Zebulun numbered 57,400.

^32–33The line of Joseph: From son Ephraim the men were counted off head by head, every male twenty years and older who was able to fight in the army, registered by clans and families. The tribe of Ephraim numbered 40,500.

^34–35And from son Manasseh the men were counted off head by head, every male twenty years and older who was able to fight in the army, registered by clans and families. The tribe of Manasseh numbered 32,200.

^36–37The line of Ben-jamin: The men were counted off head by head, every male twenty years and older who was able to fight in the army, registered by clans and families. The tribe of Ben-jamin numbered 35,400.

^38–39The line of Dan: The men were counted off head by head, every male twenty years and older who was able to fight in the army, registered by clans and families. The tribe of Dan numbered 62,700.

^40–41The line of Asher: The men were counted off head by head, every male twenty years and older who was able to fight in the army, registered by clans and families. The tribe of Asher numbered 41,500.

^42–43The line of Naphtali: The men were counted off head by head, every male twenty years and older who was able to fight in the army, registered by clans and families. The tribe of Naphtali numbered 53,400.

^44–46These are the numbers of those registered by Moses and Aaron, registered with the help of the leaders of Israel, twelve men, each representing his ancestral family. The sum total of the People of Israel twenty years old and over who were able to fight in the army, counted by ancestral family, was 603,550.

^47–51The Levites, however, were not counted by their ancestral family along with the others. God had told Moses, “The tribe of Levi is an exception: Don’t register them. Don’t count the tribe of Levi; don’t include them in the general census of the People of Israel. Instead, appoint the Levites to be in charge of The Dwelling of The Testimony—over all its furnishings and everything connected with it. Their job is to carry The Dwelling and all its furnishings, maintain it, and camp around it. When it’s time to move The Dwelling, the Levites will take it down, and when it’s time to set it up, the Levites will do it. Anyone else who even goes near it will be put to death.

^52–53“The rest of the People of Israel will set up their tents in companies, every man in his own camp under its own flag. But the Levites will set up camp around The Dwelling of The Testimony so that wrath will not fall on the community of Israel. The Levites are responsible for the security of The Dwelling of The Testimony.”

⁵⁴The People of Israel did everything that God commanded Moses. They did it all.

Marching Orders

^1–22God spoke to Moses and Aaron. He said, “The People of Israel are to set up camp circling the Tent of Meeting and facing it. Each company is to camp under its distinctive tribal flag.”

^3–4To the east toward the sunrise are the companies of the camp of Judah under its flag, led by Nahshon son of Amminadab. His troops number 74,600.

^5–6The tribe of Issachar will camp next to them, led by Nethanel son of Zuar. His troops number 54,400.

^7–8And the tribe of Zebulun is next to them, led by Eliab son of Helon. His troops number 57,400.

⁹The total number of men assigned to Judah, troop by troop, is 186,400. They will lead the march.

^10–11To the south are the companies of the camp of Reuben under its flag, led by Elizur son of Shedeur. His troops number 46,500.

^12–13The tribe of Simeon will camp next to them, led by Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai. His troops number 59,300.

^14–15And the tribe of Gad is next to them, led by Eliasaph son of Deuel. His troops number 45,650.

¹⁶The total number of men assigned to Reuben, troop by troop, is 151,450. They are second in the order of the march.

¹⁷The Tent of Meeting with the camp of the Levites takes its place in the middle of the march. Each tribe will march in the same order in which they camped, each under its own flag.

^18–19To the west are the companies of the camp of Ephraim under its flag, led by Elishama son of Ammihud. His troops number 40,500.

^20–21The tribe of Manasseh will set up camp next to them, led by Gamaliel son of Pedahzur. His troops number 32,200.

^22–23And next to him is the camp of Ben-jamin, led by Abidan son of Gideoni. His troops number 35,400.

²⁴The total number of men assigned to the camp of Ephraim, troop by troop, is 108,100. They are third in the order of the march.

^25–26To the north are the companies of the camp of Dan under its flag, led by Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai. His troops number 62,700.

^27–28The tribe of Asher will camp next to them, led by Pagiel son of Ocran. His troops number 41,500.

^29–30And next to them is the tribe of Naphtali, led by Ahira son of Enan. His troops number 53,400.

³¹The total number of men assigned to the camp of Dan number 157,600. They will set out, under their flags, last in the line of the march.

^32–33These are the People of Israel, counted according to their ancestral families. The total number in the camps, counted troop by troop, comes to 603,550. Following God’s command to Moses, the Levites were not counted in with the rest of Israel.

³⁴The People of Israel did everything the way God commanded Moses: They camped under their respective flags; they marched by tribe with their ancestral families.

The Levites

¹3This is the family tree of Aaron and Moses at the time God spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai.

^2–4The names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar—anointed priests ordained to serve as priests. But Nadab and Abihu fell dead in the presence of God when they offered unauthorized sacrifice to him in the Wilderness of Sinai. They left no sons, and so only Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests during the lifetime of their father, Aaron.

^5–10God spoke to Moses. He said, “Bring forward the tribe of Levi and present them to Aaron so they can help him. They shall work for him and the whole congregation at the Tent of Meeting by doing the work of The Dwelling. Their job is to be responsible for all the furnishings of The Dwelling, ministering to the affairs of The Dwelling as the People of Israel come to perform their duties. Turn the Levites over to Aaron and his sons; they are the ones assigned to work full time for him. Appoint Aaron and his sons to minister as priests; anyone else who tries to elbow his way in will be put to death.”

^11–13God spoke to Moses: “I have taken the Levites from among the People of Israel as a stand-in for every Israelite mother’s firstborn son. The Levites belong to me. All the firstborn are mine—when I killed all the firstborn in Egypt, I consecrated for my own use every firstborn in Israel, whether human or animal. They belong to me. I am God.”

^14–16God spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai: “Count the Levites by their ancestral families and clans. Count every male a month old and older.” Moses counted them just as he was instructed by the mouth of God.

¹⁷These are the names of the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

¹⁸These are the names of the Gershonite clans: Libni and Shimei.

¹⁹The sons of Kohath by clan: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

²⁰The sons of Merari by clan: Mahli and Mushi.

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