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Moses counts the people again[a]

26 When the bad disease stopped killing people, the Lord spoke to Moses and to Eleazar, the son of Aaron. He said, ‘Count all the Israelites, clan by clan. Count all the men who are 20 years old or older. Count only those men who can fight in the army.’ So Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke to the Israelites. Their camp was on the flat ground of Moab, beside the Jordan River. Jericho was on the other side of the river. They said, ‘Count all the men who are 20 years old or older. The Lord has told Moses that we must do that.’

These are the names of the Israelites who came out of Egypt:

The tribe of Reuben, Jacob's firstborn son had these clans: Hanoch's family, Pallu's family, Hezron's family and Carmi's family. There were 43,730 men in the clans of the tribe of Reuben.

Pallu's descendant was Eliab. Eliab's descendants were Nemuel, Dathan and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram were the men who turned against Moses and Aaron. Korah was their leader and they all turned against the Lord. 10 A hole opened in the ground. Korah, Dathan, Abiram and their families fell into the hole and they died. And fire killed 250 other men. So they became a sign to warn the other Israelites. 11 But Korah's clan did not all die at that time.

12 The tribe of Simeon had these clans: Nemuel's family, Jamin's family, Jakin's family, 13 Zerah's family and Shaul's family. 14 There were 22,200 men in the clans of the tribe of Simeon.

15 The tribe of Gad had these clans: Zephon's family, Haggi's family, Shuni's family, 16 Ozni's family, Eri's family, 17 Arod's family and Areli's family. 18 There were 40,500 men in the clans of the tribe of Gad.

19 The sons of Judah were Er and Onan, but Er and Onan died in Canaan. 20 The tribe of Judah had these clans: Shelah's family, Perez's family, Zerah's family, 21 Hezron's family and Hamul's family. 22 There were 76,500 men in the clans of the tribe of Judah.

23 The tribe of Issachar had these clans: Tola's family, Puah's family, 24 Jashub's family and Shimron's family. 25 There were 64,300 men in the clans of the tribe of Issachar.

26 The tribe of Zebulun had these clans: Sered's family, Elon's family and Jahleel's family. 27 There were 60,500 men in the clans of the tribe of Zebulun.

28 The descendants of Joseph became two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim.

29 The tribe of Manasseh had these clans: Makir's family and Gilead's family. Makir was Gilead's father. 30 These clans came from Gilead's descendants: Iezer's family, Helek's family, 31 Asriel's family, Shechem's family, 32 Shemida's family and Hepher's family. 33 Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, had no sons, but only daughters. The names of Zelophehad's daughters were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah. 34 There were 52,700 men in the clans of the tribe of Manasseh.

35 The tribe of Ephraim had these clans: Shuthelah's family, Becher's family, and Tahan's family. 36 Eran's family was a clan from the descendants of Shuthelah. 37 There were 32,500 men in the clans of the tribe of Ephraim. The clans of the tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim were all descendants of Joseph.

38 The tribe of Benjamin had these clans: Bela's family, Ashbel's family, Ahiram's family, 39 Shupham's family and Hupham's family. 40 Ard's family and Naaman's family were clans from Bela's descendants. 41 There were 45,600 men in the clans of the tribe of Benjamin.

42 The tribe of Dan had this clan: Shuham's family. 43 There were 64,400 men in Shuham's clan.

44 The tribe of Asher had these clans: Imnah's family, Ishvi's family and Beriah's family. 45 Heber's family and Malkiel's family were clans from Beriah's descendants. 46 There was also a daughter of Asher who was called Serah. 47 There were 53,400 men in the clans of the tribe of Asher.

48 The tribe of Naphtali had these clans: Jahzeel's family, Guni's family, 49 Jezer's family and Shillem's family. 50 There were 45,400 men in the clans of the tribe of Naphtali.

51 There were 601,730 men on the list of all the Israelites.

Each tribe will receive some land in Canaan

52 The Lord said to Moses, 53 ‘I will give part of the land to each tribe. You need to know the number of names that you have on your list for each tribe. 54 The big tribes will receive a big piece of land. The small tribes will receive a smaller piece of land. 55 You must use lots to decide the land that each tribe receive. 56 The larger clans must have more land than the smaller clans.’

57 The Levites included these clans: Gershon's family, Kohath's family and Merari's family. 58 It also included these clans: Libni's family, Hebron's family, Mahli's family, Mushi's family and Korah's family. Kohath was the father of Amram. 59 The name of Amram's wife was Jochebed. She was a descendant of Levi, and she was born in Egypt. Amram and Jochebed were the parents of Moses and Aaron, and their sister Miriam. 60 Aaron was the father of Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. 61 Nadab and Abihu died when they offered strange fire to the Lord.[b]

62 There were 23,000 male Levites who were more than one month old. Moses did not include them on the list of the other Israelite tribes. They did not receive any land as the other tribes did.

63 Those are the men that Moses and Eleazar the priest counted. They counted them on the flat ground in Moab beside the Jordan River. Jericho was on the other side of the river. 64 None of the men that Moses and Aaron had counted in the Sinai desert were still alive. 65 The Lord had said about those men, ‘They will certainly die in the desert.’ Among all those men, only Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun were still alive.

Footnotes

  1. 26:1 The Book of Numbers began with a count of the people. See Numbers 1:2-3. This second count happened 40 years later.
  2. 26:61 We are not sure what ‘strange fire’ was. But we know that it was something that did not please God. See Numbers 3:4.

The Second Census

26 After the plague(A) the Lord said to Moses and Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest, “Take a census(B) of the whole Israelite community by families—all those twenty years old or more who are able to serve in the army(C) of Israel.” So on the plains of Moab(D) by the Jordan across from Jericho,(E) Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke with them and said, “Take a census of the men twenty years old or more, as the Lord commanded Moses.”

These were the Israelites who came out of Egypt:(F)

The descendants of Reuben,(G) the firstborn son of Israel, were:

through Hanok,(H) the Hanokite clan;

through Pallu,(I) the Palluite clan;

through Hezron,(J) the Hezronite clan;

through Karmi,(K) the Karmite clan.

These were the clans of Reuben; those numbered were 43,730.

The son of Pallu was Eliab, and the sons of Eliab(L) were Nemuel, Dathan and Abiram. The same Dathan and Abiram were the community(M) officials who rebelled against Moses and Aaron and were among Korah’s followers when they rebelled against the Lord.(N) 10 The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them(O) along with Korah, whose followers died when the fire devoured the 250 men.(P) And they served as a warning sign.(Q) 11 The line of Korah,(R) however, did not die out.(S)

12 The descendants of Simeon by their clans were:

through Nemuel,(T) the Nemuelite clan;

through Jamin,(U) the Jaminite clan;

through Jakin, the Jakinite clan;

13 through Zerah,(V) the Zerahite clan;

through Shaul, the Shaulite clan.

14 These were the clans of Simeon;(W) those numbered were 22,200.(X)

15 The descendants of Gad by their clans were:

through Zephon,(Y) the Zephonite clan;

through Haggi, the Haggite clan;

through Shuni, the Shunite clan;

16 through Ozni, the Oznite clan;

through Eri, the Erite clan;

17 through Arodi,[a] the Arodite clan;

through Areli, the Arelite clan.

18 These were the clans of Gad;(Z) those numbered were 40,500.

19 Er(AA) and Onan(AB) were sons of Judah, but they died(AC) in Canaan.

20 The descendants of Judah by their clans were:

through Shelah,(AD) the Shelanite clan;

through Perez,(AE) the Perezite clan;

through Zerah, the Zerahite clan.(AF)

21 The descendants of Perez(AG) were:

through Hezron,(AH) the Hezronite clan;

through Hamul, the Hamulite clan.

22 These were the clans of Judah;(AI) those numbered were 76,500.

23 The descendants of Issachar by their clans were:

through Tola,(AJ) the Tolaite clan;

through Puah, the Puite[b] clan;

24 through Jashub,(AK) the Jashubite clan;

through Shimron, the Shimronite clan.

25 These were the clans of Issachar;(AL) those numbered were 64,300.

26 The descendants of Zebulun(AM) by their clans were:

through Sered, the Seredite clan;

through Elon, the Elonite clan;

through Jahleel, the Jahleelite clan.

27 These were the clans of Zebulun;(AN) those numbered were 60,500.

28 The descendants of Joseph(AO) by their clans through Manasseh and Ephraim(AP) were:

29 The descendants of Manasseh:(AQ)

through Makir,(AR) the Makirite clan (Makir was the father of Gilead(AS));

through Gilead, the Gileadite clan.

30 These were the descendants of Gilead:(AT)

through Iezer,(AU) the Iezerite clan;

through Helek, the Helekite clan;

31 through Asriel, the Asrielite clan;

through Shechem, the Shechemite clan;

32 through Shemida, the Shemidaite clan;

through Hepher, the Hepherite clan.

33 (Zelophehad(AV) son of Hepher had no sons;(AW) he had only daughters, whose names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milkah and Tirzah.)(AX)

34 These were the clans of Manasseh; those numbered were 52,700.(AY)

35 These were the descendants of Ephraim(AZ) by their clans:

through Shuthelah, the Shuthelahite clan;

through Beker, the Bekerite clan;

through Tahan, the Tahanite clan.

36 These were the descendants of Shuthelah:

through Eran, the Eranite clan.

37 These were the clans of Ephraim;(BA) those numbered were 32,500.

These were the descendants of Joseph by their clans.

38 The descendants of Benjamin(BB) by their clans were:

through Bela, the Belaite clan;

through Ashbel, the Ashbelite clan;

through Ahiram, the Ahiramite clan;

39 through Shupham,[c] the Shuphamite clan;

through Hupham, the Huphamite clan.

40 The descendants of Bela through Ard(BC) and Naaman were:

through Ard,[d] the Ardite clan;

through Naaman, the Naamite clan.

41 These were the clans of Benjamin;(BD) those numbered were 45,600.

42 These were the descendants of Dan(BE) by their clans:(BF)

through Shuham,(BG) the Shuhamite clan.

These were the clans of Dan: 43 All of them were Shuhamite clans; and those numbered were 64,400.

44 The descendants of Asher(BH) by their clans were:

through Imnah, the Imnite clan;

through Ishvi, the Ishvite clan;

through Beriah, the Beriite clan;

45 and through the descendants of Beriah:

through Heber, the Heberite clan;

through Malkiel, the Malkielite clan.

46 (Asher had a daughter named Serah.)

47 These were the clans of Asher;(BI) those numbered were 53,400.

48 The descendants of Naphtali(BJ) by their clans were:

through Jahzeel, the Jahzeelite clan;

through Guni, the Gunite clan;

49 through Jezer, the Jezerite clan;

through Shillem, the Shillemite clan.

50 These were the clans of Naphtali;(BK) those numbered were 45,400.(BL)

51 The total number of the men of Israel was 601,730.(BM)

52 The Lord said to Moses, 53 “The land is to be allotted to them as an inheritance based on the number of names.(BN) 54 To a larger group give a larger inheritance, and to a smaller group a smaller one; each is to receive its inheritance according to the number(BO) of those listed.(BP) 55 Be sure that the land is distributed by lot.(BQ) What each group inherits will be according to the names for its ancestral tribe. 56 Each inheritance is to be distributed by lot among the larger and smaller groups.”

57 These were the Levites(BR) who were counted by their clans:

through Gershon, the Gershonite clan;

through Kohath, the Kohathite clan;

through Merari, the Merarite clan.

58 These also were Levite clans:

the Libnite clan,

the Hebronite clan,

the Mahlite clan,

the Mushite clan,

the Korahite clan.

(Kohath was the forefather of Amram;(BS) 59 the name of Amram’s wife was Jochebed,(BT) a descendant of Levi, who was born to the Levites[e] in Egypt. To Amram she bore Aaron, Moses(BU) and their sister(BV) Miriam.(BW) 60 Aaron was the father of Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.(BX) 61 But Nadab and Abihu(BY) died when they made an offering before the Lord with unauthorized fire.)(BZ)

62 All the male Levites a month old or more numbered 23,000.(CA) They were not counted(CB) along with the other Israelites because they received no inheritance(CC) among them.(CD)

63 These are the ones counted(CE) by Moses and Eleazar the priest when they counted the Israelites on the plains of Moab(CF) by the Jordan across from Jericho.(CG) 64 Not one of them was among those counted(CH) by Moses and Aaron(CI) the priest when they counted the Israelites in the Desert of Sinai. 65 For the Lord had told those Israelites they would surely die in the wilderness,(CJ) and not one of them was left except Caleb(CK) son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.(CL)

Footnotes

  1. Numbers 26:17 Samaritan Pentateuch and Syriac (see also Gen. 46:16); Masoretic Text Arod
  2. Numbers 26:23 Samaritan Pentateuch, Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac (see also 1 Chron. 7:1); Masoretic Text through Puvah, the Punite
  3. Numbers 26:39 A few manuscripts of the Masoretic Text, Samaritan Pentateuch, Vulgate and Syriac (see also Septuagint); most manuscripts of the Masoretic Text Shephupham
  4. Numbers 26:40 Samaritan Pentateuch and Vulgate (see also Septuagint); Masoretic Text does not have through Ard.
  5. Numbers 26:59 Or Jochebed, a daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi