Numbers 1–6

Chapter 1

Registration of Israel’s Troops

A year after Israel’s departure from Egypt, the Lord spoke to Moses in the Tabernacle in the wilderness of Sinai. On the first day of the second month of that year he said, ²“From the whole community of Israel, record the names of all the warriors by their clans and families. List all the men ³twenty years old or older who are able to go to war. You and Aaron must register the troops, ⁴and you will be assisted by one family leader from each tribe.

⁵“These are the tribes and the names of the leaders who will assist you:

Reuben

Elizur son of Shedeur

⁶

Simeon

Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai

⁷

Judah

Nahshon son of Amminadab

⁸

Issachar

Nethanel son of Zuar

⁹

Zebulun

Eliab son of Helon

¹⁰

Ephraim son of Joseph

Elishama son of Ammihud

Manasseh son of Joseph

Gamaliel son of Pedahzur

¹¹

Benjamin

Abidan son of Gideoni

¹²

Dan

Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai

¹³

Asher

Pagiel son of Ocran

¹⁴

Gad

Eliasaph son of Deuel

¹⁵

Naphtali

Ahira son of Enan

¹⁶These are the chosen leaders of the community, the leaders of their ancestral tribes, the heads of the clans of Israel.”

¹⁷So Moses and Aaron called together these chosen leaders, ¹⁸and they assembled the whole community of Israel on that very day. All the people were registered according to their ancestry by their clans and families. The men of Israel who were twenty years old or older were listed one by one, ¹⁹just as the Lord had commanded Moses. So Moses recorded their names in the wilderness of Sinai.

^20–21This is the number of men twenty years old or older who were able to go to war, as their names were listed in the records of their clans and families:

Reuben (Jacob’s oldest son)

46,500

^22–23

Simeon

59,300

^24–25

Gad

45,650

^26–27

Judah

74,600

^28–29

Issachar

54,400

^30–31

Zebulun

57,400

^32–33

Ephraim son of Joseph

40,500

^34–35

Manasseh son of Joseph

32,200

^36–37

Benjamin

35,400

^38–39

Dan

62,700

^40–41

Asher

41,500

^42–43

Naphtali

53,400

⁴⁴These were the men registered by Moses and Aaron and the twelve leaders of Israel, all listed according to their ancestral descent. ⁴⁵They were registered by families—all the men of Israel who were twenty years old or older and able to go to war. ⁴⁶The total number was 603,550.

⁴⁷But this total did not include the Levites. ⁴⁸For the Lord had said to Moses, ⁴⁹“Do not include the tribe of Levi in the registration; do not count them with the rest of the Israelites. ⁵⁰Put the Levites in charge of the Tabernacle of the Covenant, along with all its furnishings and equipment. They must carry the Tabernacle and all its furnishings as you travel, and they must take care of it and camp around it. ⁵¹Whenever it is time for the Tabernacle to move, the Levites will take it down. And when it is time to stop, they will set it up again. But any unauthorized person who goes too near the Tabernacle must be put to death. ⁵²Each tribe of Israel will camp in a designated area with its own family banner. ⁵³But the Levites will camp around the Tabernacle of the Covenant to protect the community of Israel from the Lord’s anger. The Levites are responsible to stand guard around the Tabernacle.”

⁵⁴So the Israelites did everything just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Chapter 2

Organization for Israel’s Camp

Then the Lord gave these instructions to Moses and Aaron: ²“When the Israelites set up camp, each tribe will be assigned its own area. The tribal divisions will camp beneath their family banners on all four sides of the Tabernacle, but at some distance from it.

^3–4“The divisions of Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun are to camp toward the sunrise on the east side of the Tabernacle, beneath their family banners. These are the names of the tribes, their leaders, and the numbers of their registered troops:

Judah

Nahshon son of Amminadab

74,600

^5–6

Issachar

Nethanel son of Zuar

54,400

^7–8

Zebulun

Eliab son of Helon

57,400

⁹So the total of all the troops on Judah’s side of the camp is 186,400. These three tribes are to lead the way whenever the Israelites travel to a new campsite.

^10–11“The divisions of Reuben, Simeon, and Gad are to camp on the south side of the Tabernacle, beneath their family banners. These are the names of the tribes, their leaders, and the numbers of their registered troops:

Reuben

Elizur son of Shedeur

46,500

^12–13

Simeon

Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai

59,300

^14–15

Gad

Eliasaph son of Deuel

45,650

¹⁶So the total of all the troops on Reuben’s side of the camp is 151,450. These three tribes will be second in line whenever the Israelites travel.

¹⁷“Then the Tabernacle, carried by the Levites, will set out from the middle of the camp. All the tribes are to travel in the same order that they camp, each in position under the appropriate family banner.

^18–19“The divisions of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin are to camp on the west side of the Tabernacle, beneath their family banners. These are the names of the tribes, their leaders, and the numbers of their registered troops:

Ephraim

Elishama son of Ammihud

40,500

^20–21

Manasseh

Gamaliel son of Pedahzur

32,200

^22–23

Benjamin

Abidan son of Gideoni

35,400

²⁴So the total of all the troops on Ephraim’s side of the camp is 108,100. These three tribes will be third in line whenever the Israelites travel.

^25–26“The divisions of Dan, Asher, and Naphtali are to camp on the north side of the Tabernacle, beneath their family banners. These are the names of the tribes, their leaders, and the numbers of their registered troops:

Dan

Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai

62,700

^27–28

Asher

Pagiel son of Ocran

41,500

^29–30

Naphtali

Ahira son of Enan

53,400

³¹So the total of all the troops on Dan’s side of the camp is 157,600. These three tribes will be last, marching under their banners whenever the Israelites travel.”

³²In summary, the troops of Israel listed by their families totaled 603,550. ³³But as the Lord had commanded, the Levites were not included in this registration. ³⁴So the people of Israel did everything as the Lord had commanded Moses. Each clan and family set up camp and marched under their banners exactly as the Lord had instructed them.

Chapter 3

Levites Appointed for Service

This is the family line of Aaron and Moses as it was recorded when the Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai: ²The names of Aaron’s sons were Nadab (the oldest), Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ³These sons of Aaron were anointed and ordained to minister as priests. ⁴But Nadab and Abihu died in the Lord’s presence in the wilderness of Sinai when they burned before the Lord the wrong kind of fire, different than he had commanded. Since they had no sons, this left only Eleazar and Ithamar to serve as priests with their father, Aaron.

⁵Then the Lord said to Moses, ⁶“Call forward the tribe of Levi, and present them to Aaron the priest to serve as his assistants. ⁷They will serve Aaron and the whole community, performing their sacred duties in and around the Tabernacle. ⁸They will also maintain all the furnishings of the sacred tent, serving in the Tabernacle on behalf of all the Israelites. ⁹Assign the Levites to Aaron and his sons. They have been given from among all the people of Israel to serve as their assistants. ¹⁰Appoint Aaron and his sons to carry out the duties of the priesthood. But any unauthorized person who goes too near the sanctuary must be put to death.”

¹¹And the Lord said to Moses, ¹²“Look, I have chosen the Levites from among the Israelites to serve as substitutes for all the firstborn sons of the people of Israel. The Levites belong to me, ¹³for all the firstborn males are mine. On the day I struck down all the firstborn sons of the Egyptians, I set apart for myself all the firstborn in Israel, both of people and of animals. They are mine; I am the Lord.”

Registration of the Levites

¹⁴The Lord spoke again to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai. He said, ¹⁵“Record the names of the members of the tribe of Levi by their families and clans. List every male who is one month old or older.” ¹⁶So Moses listed them, just as the Lord had commanded.

¹⁷Levi had three sons, whose names were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

¹⁸The clans descended from Gershon were named after two of his descendants, Libni and Shimei.

¹⁹The clans descended from Kohath were named after four of his descendants, Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

²⁰The clans descended from Merari were named after two of his descendants, Mahli and Mushi.

These were the Levite clans, listed according to their family groups.

²¹The descendants of Gershon were composed of the clans descended from Libni and Shimei. ²²There were 7,500 males one month old or older among these Gershonite clans. ²³They were assigned the area to the west of the Tabernacle for their camp. ²⁴The leader of the Gershonite clans was Eliasaph son of Lael. ²⁵These two clans were responsible to care for the Tabernacle, including the sacred tent with its layers of coverings, the curtain at its entrance, ²⁶the curtains of the courtyard that surrounded the Tabernacle and altar, the curtain at the courtyard entrance, the ropes, and all the equipment related to their use.

²⁷The descendants of Kohath were composed of the clans descended from Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. ²⁸There were 8,600 males one month old or older among these Kohathite clans. They were responsible for the care of the sanctuary, ²⁹and they were assigned the area south of the Tabernacle for their camp. ³⁰The leader of the Kohathite clans was Elizaphan son of Uzziel. ³¹These four clans were responsible for the care of the Ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the various articles used in the sanctuary, the inner curtain, and all the equipment related to their use. ³²Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, was the chief administrator over all the Levites, with special responsibility for the oversight of the sanctuary.

³³The descendants of Merari were composed of the clans descended from Mahli and Mushi. ³⁴There were 6,200 males one month old or older among these Merarite clans. ³⁵They were assigned the area…