Numbers 1

The Census of Israel’s Warriors

1Now the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tent of meeting, on 1the first day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, 2“2Take a 3census of all the congregation of the sons of Israel, by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, every male, head by head 3from 4twenty years old and upward, whoever is able to go to war in Israel. You and Aaron shall 5count them by their armies. 4With you, moreover, there shall be a man of each tribe, 6each one head of his father’s household. 5These then are the names of the men who shall stand with you: 7of the tribe of Reuben, Elizur the son of Shedeur; 6of the tribe of Simeon, Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai; 7of the tribe of Judah, 8Nahshon the son of Amminadab; 8of Issachar, Nethanel the son of Zuar; 9of Zebulun, Eliab the son of Helon; 10of the sons of Joseph: of Ephraim, Elishama the son of Ammihud; of Manasseh, Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur; 11of Benjamin, Abidan the son of Gideoni; 12of Dan, Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai; 13of Asher, Pagiel the son of Ochran; 14of Gad, Eliasaph the son of 9Deuel; 15of Naphtali, Ahira the son of Enan. 16These are the men who were 10called from the congregation, the leaders of their fathers’ tribes; they were the 11heads of 12divisions of Israel.”

17So Moses and Aaron took these men who had been designated by name, 18and they assembled all the congregation on the 13first day of the second month. Then they registered by 14ancestry in their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, head by head, 19just as 15the Lord had commanded Moses. So he counted them in the wilderness of Sinai.

2016Now the sons of Reuben, Israel’s firstborn, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war, 21their numbered men of the tribe of Reuben were 46,500.

2217Of the sons of Simeon, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, their numbered men, according to the number of names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upward, 18whoever was able to go to war, 23their numbered men of the tribe of Simeon were 59,300.

2419Of the sons of Gad, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war, 25their numbered men of the tribe of Gad were 45,650.

2620Of the sons of Judah, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war, 27their numbered men of the tribe of Judah were 74,600.

2821Of the sons of Issachar, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war, 29their numbered men of the tribe of Issachar were 54,400.

3022Of the sons of Zebulun, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war, 31their numbered men of the tribe of Zebulun were 57,400.

3223Of the sons of Joseph, namely, of the sons of Ephraim, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war, 33their numbered men of the tribe of Ephraim were 40,500.

3424Of the sons of Manasseh, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war, 35their numbered men of the tribe of Manasseh were 32,200.

3625Of the sons of Benjamin, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war, 37their numbered men of the tribe of Benjamin were 35,400.

3826Of the sons of Dan, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war, 39their numbered men of the tribe of Dan were 62,700.

4027Of the sons of Asher, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war, 41their numbered men of the tribe of Asher were 41,500.

4228Of the sons of Naphtali, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war, 43their numbered men of the tribe of Naphtali were 53,400.

44These are the ones who were numbered, whom Moses and Aaron counted, with the leaders of Israel, twelve men, each of whom was of his father’s household. 45So all the numbered men of the sons of Israel by their fathers’ households, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war in Israel, 46all the numbered men were 29603,550.

Levites Exempted

4730The Levites, however, were not counted among them by their fathers’ tribe. 48For the Lord had spoken to Moses, saying, 49“Only the tribe of Levi 31you shall not count, nor shall you take their 32census among the sons of Israel. 50And you shall 33appoint the Levites over the 34tabernacle of the testimony, and over all its furnishings and over everything that belongs to it. They shall carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings, and they shall take care of it; they shall also camp around the 35tabernacle. 5136So when the tabernacle is to move on, the Levites shall take it down; and when the tabernacle encamps, the Levites shall set it up. But 37the 38layman who comes near it shall be put to death. 5239So the sons of Israel shall camp, each man by his own camp, and each man by his own 40flag, according to their armies. 5341But the Levites shall camp around the tabernacle of the testimony, so that there will be 42no divine wrath against the congregation of the sons of Israel. 43So the Levites shall be responsible for service to the tabernacle of the testimony.” 54And the sons of Israel did so; in accordance with all that the Lord had commanded Moses, so they did.