Pulpit Commentary 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, Verse 1. - In the tabernacle of the congregation - where the Lord spake with Moses "face to face" (Exodus 33:11), and where all the laws of Leviticus had been given (Leviticus 1:1). On the first day of the second month, in the second year. On the first day of Zif (or Ijar); a year and a fortnight since the exodus, ten months and a half since their arrival at Sinai, and a month since the tabernacle had been set up.
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; Verse 2. - Take ye the sum of all the congregation. The census here ordered had clearly been anticipated, as far as the numbers were concerned, by the results of the half-shekel poll-tax for the service of the sanctuary levied some time before on all adult males on pain of Divine displeasure (Exodus 30:11, sq.). Since all who were liable had paid that tax (Exodus 38:25, 26), it would only have been requisite to make slight; corrections for death or coming of age during the interval. The totals, however, in the two cases being exactly the same, it is evident that no such corrections were made, and that the round numbers already obtained were accepted as sufficiently accurate for all practical purposes. After their families. This was to be a registration as well as a census. No doubt the lists and pedigrees collected at this time laid the foundation of that exact and careful genealogical lore which played so important a part both in the religious and in the secular history of the Jews down to the final dispersion. Every Jew had not only his national, but also (and often even more) his tribal and family, associations, traditions, and sympathies. Unity, but not uniformity, - unity in all deepest interests and highest purposes, combined with great variety of character, of tradition, and even of tendency, - was the ideal of the life of Israel. The number of their names. It is impossible to help thinking of the parallel expression in Acts 1:15, of the similarity in position of the two peoples, of the contrast between their numbers and apparent chances of success, of the more striking contrast between their actual achievements.
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. Verse 3. - By their armies. Every citizen was a soldier. The military monarchies of mediaeval or of modern days, with their universal obligation to service in the ranks, have (so far) but followed the example of ancient Israel.
And with you there shall be a man of every tribe; every one head of the house of his fathers. Verse 4. - A man of every tribe. The former census, which was for religious purposes only, was made with the assistance of the Levites. This, which was rather for political and military purposes, was supervised by the lay heads of the people.
And these are the names of the men that shall stand with you: of the tribe of Reuben; Elizur the son of Shedeur. Verse 5. - These are the names of the men. The tribes are here mentioned (through their princes) very nearly in the order of their subsequent encampment - south, east, west, and north. Gad alone is displaced, in order that he may be classed with the other sons of the handmaids after the sons of the free women.
Of Simeon; Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai.
Of Judah; Nahshon the son of Amminadab. Verse 7. - Nahshon - the brother-in-law of Aaron (Exodus 6:23), and ancestor of David and of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:4).
Of Issachar; Nethaneel the son of Zuar.
Of Zebulun; Eliab the son of Helon.
Of the children of Joseph: of Ephraim; Elishama the son of Ammihud: of Manasseh; Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur. Verse 10. - Elishama - grandfather of Joshua (1 Chronicles 7:26). All the rest are unnamed elsewhere.
Of Benjamin; Abidan the son of Gideoni.
Of Dan; Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.
Of Asher; Pagiel the son of Ocran.
Of Gad; Eliasaph the son of Deuel.
Of Naphtali; Ahira the son of Enan.
These were the renowned of the congregation, princes of the tribes of their fathers, heads of thousands in Israel. Verse 16. - Heads of thousands. Septuagint, chiliarchs; but the word is used for families (see Judges 6:15), and, like all such words, it rapidly lost its numerical significance.
CHAPTER 1:17-46 THE CENSUS TAKEN (verses 17-46). And Moses and Aaron took these men which are expressed by their names: Verse 17. - These men. Designated by direct command of God; yet probably the same, or some of the same, selected by Moses for obvious personal and social reasons a short time before (Exodus 18:25).
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. Verse 18. - On the first day of the second month. The natural meaning is that the census was completed in one day. If so, the "census papers," the pedigrees and family lists, must have been ready beforehand. Notice had in fact been given more than a month before, and the lists made up, when the poll-tax was paid.
As the LORD commanded Moses, so he numbered them in the wilderness of Sinai. Verse 19. - As the Lord commanded Moses, so he numbered them. The usual note of absolute obedience to the Divine instructions; but it serves to express the fundamental difference between this numbering and David's.
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;
Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Reuben, were forty and six thousand and five hundred. Verse 21. - Forty and six thousand and five hundred. All the numbers (save of Gad only) are in unbroken hundreds. It might have been so arranged by miracle; but such an overruling would have no assignable object, and therefore it is far better to fall back on the obvious and natural explanation that the totals were approximate. If they were simply the poll-tax figures unaltered, it would be natural to suppose that the offerings were made up in fifty-shekel lots, and the offerers divided as nearly as possible into hundreds. For military purposes a certain number of supernumeraries would be convenient. In the one excepted case of Gad a half-hundred appears for some unexplained cause,
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;
Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Simeon, were fifty and nine thousand and three hundred.
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; Verse 24. - Gad. He is here ranked immediately after Reuben and Simeon, because he was placed with them in the encampment (see above, verse 5).
Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Gad, were forty and five thousand six hundred and fifty.
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; Verse 26. - Judah. The immense and disproportionate increase of Judah is no doubt a difficulty in itself; but it is quite in keeping with the character assigned to him in prophecy and the part played by him in history.
Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Judah, were threescore and fourteen thousand and six hundred.
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;
Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Issachar, were fifty and four thousand and four hundred.
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;
Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Zebulun, were fifty and seven thousand and four hundred.
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; Verse 32. - Of the children of Joseph. Both are numbered as separate tribes, but Ephraim already takes precedence, not as being larger, which is not considered in this list, but according to prophecy (Genesis 48:5, 14).
Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Ephraim, were forty thousand and five hundred.
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;
Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Manasseh, were thirty and two thousand and two hundred.
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;
Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Benjamin, were thirty and five thousand and four hundred.
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; Verse 38. - Of the children of Dan. The enormous numerical increase in this tribe is the more remarkable because it is clearly intimated that Dan had but one son, Hushim or Shuham (Genesis 46:23; Numbers 26:42). It may, of course, be said that he had other sons not enumerated, but such an assumption is arbitrary and improbable in the face of the family genealogies in chapter 26. If he had any other sons, they did not leave any families behind them. But if the sojourning of the Israelites in Egypt was 430 years, according to the plain statement of Exodus 12:40, even this increase is quite within possible, and even probable, limits, considering the peculiar circumstances and the known fecundity of the race. For if Hushim, who came into Egypt with his grandfather, had only three sons born to him within the next twenty-five years, and if his descendants doubled themselves every quarter of a century, which is not an uncommon rate of increase under certain circumstances, then his numbers would have fully reached 200,000 by the time of the exodus. Perhaps the most puzzling feature about the increase is the great inequality with which it was spread over the various tribes, a fact of which we cannot even suggest any explanation.
Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Dan, were threescore and two thousand and seven hundred.
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;
Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Asher, were forty and one thousand and five hundred.
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;
Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Naphtali, were fifty and three thousand and four hundred.
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.
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;
Even all they that were numbered were six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty. Verse 46. - Six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty. See Exodus 38:26. As the adult male Levites numbered about 10,000, this represents an increase of 13,000 since the exodus. Some thousands had died through the Divine displeasure, but, on the other hand, the natural mortality may have ceased. It was evidently in the purpose of God that all who crossed the Red Sea should also enter their promised land.
CHAPTER 1:47-54 THE LEVITES (verses 47-54). But the Levites after the tribe of their fathers were not numbered among them. Verse 47. - Not numbered among them. They were numbered (Numbers 3:39), but not among the rest; their census was taken separately, and on a different basis.
For the LORD had spoken unto Moses, saying, Verse 48. - Had spoken. Rather, "spake," and so Septuagint. This was the formal command to separate, although it had been anticipated to a considerable extent. The Levites had been marked out from the others
(1) as the tribesmen of Moses and Aaron, (2) as the champions of Jehovah in the matter of the golden calf (Exodus 32:26, sq.); they had been already employed, or at least designated, for religious services; and the peculiarity of their future position in Israel had been recognized in the Divine legislation (Leviticus 25:32, sq.), and in their not being called upon to contribute to the capitation for the sanctuary. In a word, this ordinance, like so many others, did little more than give a formal and direct sanction to a state of things which had already come into play, partly through natural causes, partly through providential directions. Only thou shalt not number the tribe of Levi, neither take the sum of them among the children of Israel:
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.
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. Verse 51. - The stranger. The word appears to mean here any unauthorized person (see Numbers 16:40). This is the first intimation given of the extreme and awful sanctity of the tabernacle, as the tent of the Divine Presence. It is, however, quite of a piece with the anxious warnings against intrusion upon the holy mount at the time of the giving of the law (Exodus 19:21, sq.). The great necessity for Israel was that he should understand and believe that the Lord before whom he had trembled at Sinai was really in the midst of him in all his travail and his danger. This could only be impressed upon his dull mind and hard heart by surrounding the presence chamber of Jehovah with awful sanctities and terrors. At a subsequent period, when the religious reverence here thrown around the tabernacle had been transferred to, or rather concentrated upon, the ark alone, Uzzah was actually smitten for breaking this law (1 Chronicles 13:10). The tumult raised against St. Paul (Acts 21:27, sq.) was justified by a supposed violation of the same.
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.
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. Verse 53. - That there be no wrath upon the congregation - that no man, not being a Levite, intrude himself through ignorance or presumption upon the sacredness of the tabernacle, and so bring death upon himself, and displeasure upon the people. The Levites shall keep the charge of the tabernacle. Out of this command grew the Levitical guard of the temple, which afterwards played a considerable part in the history of Israel (2 Kings 11).
And the children of Israel did according to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so did they. The Pulpit Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright © 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2010 by BibleSoft, inc., Used by permission Bible Hub |
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