This book has its name from the account it gives of the “numbers” of the children of Israel, twice taken particularly; which name it has with this Greeks and Latins, and so with the Syriac and Arabic versions; but with the Jews it is called sometimes “Vajedabber”, from the first word of it, “and…

And the Lord spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai Which is different from the wilderness of Sin, ; and had its name from the mountain so called, on which God gave the law of the decalogue, and where the Israelites had been encamped eleven months, (Ex. 19:1, Ex.

Take ye the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel Excepting the Levites; nor were any account taken of the mixed multitude that came out of Egypt with the children of Israel, only of them; and this account was taken, partly to observe the fulfilment of the divine promise to Abraham…

From twenty years old and upwards All that had entered into their twentieth year, or, as it should rather seem, who were full twenty years of age, and all that were above it without any limitation; though some limit it to fifty, and others to sixty years, when men may be reasonably excused going to…

And with you there shall be a man of every tribe Excepting Levi, of which Moses and Aaron were, to assist in taking the account, and to see that it was an exact and perfect one: everyone head of the house of his fathers; and prince of the tribe he belonged to, as appears from and , where an account…

And these are the names of the men that shall stand with you Be present with Moses and Aaron when numbering the people; not merely as spectators of the affair, and inspectors of the accounts, but as assistants in the work; each man in his tribe, being best acquainted with the families and houses in…

Of Simeon; Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai. (See Gill on Num. 1:5).

Of Judah; Nahshon the son of Amminadab. (See Gill on Num. 1:5).

Of Issachar; Nethaneel the son of Zuar. (See Gill on Num. 1:5).

Of Zebulun; Eliab the son of Helon. (See Gill on Num. 1:5).

Of the children of Joseph: of Ephraim; Elishama the son of Ammihud: of Manasseh; Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur. (See Gill on Num. 1:5).

Of Benjamin; Abidan the son of Gideoni. (See Gill on Num. 1:5).

Of Dan; Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai. (See Gill on Num. 1:5).

Of Asher; Pagiel the son of Ocran. (See Gill on Num. 1:5).

Of Gad; Eliasaph the son of Deuel. (See Gill on Num. 1:5).

Of Naphtali; Ahira the son of Enan. (See Gill on Num. 1:5).

These were the renowned of the congregation The most famous and eminent among the people, for their birth and pedigree, or for their excellent qualities of wisdom, courage, and the like; or “the called of the congregation” [[3]], whom God had called by name and selected from the rest of the…

And Moses and Aaron took these men They doubtless sent for them, and acquainted them with the nomination of them, by the Lord himself, for such a service; and they took them with them to the place where the number of the people was to be taken: which are expressed by their names: in , and that as…

And they assembled all the congregation together on the first day of the second month The month Ijar, as the Targum of Jonathan, answering to part of April and May: this was done on the selfsame day the Lord spake unto Moses about this affair, ; so expeditious were he and Aaron in doing the will of…

As the Lord commanded Moses In this Moses and David differed in numbering the people of Israel; the one did it by an express command from God, and in obedience to it; the other without one, and against his will, ; so he numbered them in the wilderness of Sinai; where they now were when this order…

And the children of Reuben, Israel’s eldest son Were numbered first, and next to them those of Simeon and Gad, for they were numbered according to the order in which they were to be encamped; for under Reuben’s standard were Simeon and Gad, and under Judah’s Issachar and Zebulun, and under…

Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Reuben, were forty and six thousand and five hundred. 46,500 men. (See Gill on Num. 1:20).

Of the children of Simeon, by their generations (See Gill on Num. 1:20).

Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Simeon, were fifty and nine thousand and three hundred. 59,300 men. (See Gill on Num. 1:20).

Of the children of Gad, by their generations (See Gill on Num. 1:20).

Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Gad, were forty and five thousand six hundred and fifty. 45,650 men. (See Gill on Num. 1:20).

Of the children of Judah, by their generations (See Gill on Num. 1:20).

Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Judah, were threescore and fourteen thousand and six hundred. 74,600 men. (See Gill on Num. 1:20).

Of the children of Issachar, by their generations (See Gill on Num. 1:20).

Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Issachar, were fifty and four thousand and four hundred. 54,400 men. (See Gill on Num. 1:20).

Of the children of Zebulun, by their generations (See Gill on Num. 1:20).

Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Zebulun, were fifty and seven thousand and four hundred. 57,400 men. (See Gill on Num. 1:20).

Of the children of Joseph, namely, of the children of Ephraim, by their generations (See Gill on Num. 1:20).

Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Ephraim, were forty thousand and five hundred. 40,500 men. (See Gill on Num. 1:20).

Of the children of Manasseh, by their generations (See Gill on Num. 1:20).

Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Manasseh, were thirty and two thousand and two hundred. 32,200 men. (See Gill on Num. 1:20).

Of the children of Benjamin, by their generations (See Gill on Num. 1:20).

Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Benjamin, were thirty and five thousand and four hundred. 35,400 men. (See Gill on Num. 1:20).

Of the children of Dan, by their generations (See Gill on Num. 1:20).

Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Dan, were threescore and two thousand and seven hundred. 62,700 men. (See Gill on Num. 1:20).

Of the children of Asher, by their generations (See Gill on Num. 1:20).

Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Asher, were forty and one thousand and five hundred. 41,500 men. (See Gill on Num. 1:20).

Of the children of Naphtali, throughout their generations, &c.] (See Gill on Num. 1:20).

Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Naphtali, were fifty and three thousand and four hundred. 53,400 men. (See Gill on Num. 1:20).

These are those that were numbered Or, as the Targum of Jonathan, these are the sums of the numbers; namely, those before given of the several respective tribes: which Moses and Aaron numbered, and the princes of Israel, being twelve men; for though the tribe of Levi was not numbered, yet Joseph…

So were all those that were numbered of the children of Israel Of all the tribes, excepting Levi, that is, all the sums of the number of the children of Israel; all put together made the sum total given in the next verse: by the house of their fathers, from twenty years old and upward, all that…

Even all they that were numbered Of whom an account was taken, and their names set down in a book or register: were 603,550; which was exactly the number of them, when taken about seven months before this, when they were assessed for defraying the expenses of the tabernacle, ; so that it should…

But the Levites The tribe of Levi were excepted from this muster, they being employed in a kind of warfare, and therefore not to be engaged in another: after the tribe of their fathers, were not numbered among them: the rest of the tribes; the reason follows.

For the Lord had spoken unto Moses Not to number the Levites, when he gave him the orders to number the rest of the tribes: this is observed, lest it should be thought that this was what Moses did of himself, out of affection to the tribe he was of, and to spare it, that it might not be obliged to…

Only thou shall not number the tribe of Levi That is, along with the other tribes, for it might be numbered by itself, as it afterwards was, ; neither take the sum of them among the children of Israel; which confirms what is before observed: now this being the declared will of God clears Moses from…

But thou shalt appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of testimony So called from the ark in it, in which was the law of God, which was a testimony of the will of God to his people: and over all the vessels thereof; the candlestick, table: and altars, as Aben Ezra notes: and over all things that…

And when the tabernacle setteth forward Or was about to set forward; that is, the congregation were about to journey, and take the tabernacle with them, as they always did, when and wherever they journeyed: the Levites shall take it down; unpin it, take the boards and pillars out of their sockets,…

And the children of Israel shall pitch their tents, every man by his own camp There were four, unless every tribe was a camp, and so then there were twelve camps, besides the camp of the Levites: the Targum of Jonathan is, “by the house of his troop,” the regiment to which he belonged, every tribe…

But the Levites shall pitch round about the tabernacle of testimony Between the tabernacle and the camps of Israel, to guard the tabernacle and preserve the things in it, and to keep persons from going into it that should not, to pollute or plunder it: these were placed in like manner as the four…

And the children of Israel did according to all the Lord commanded Moses Pitched their tents by their own camps and standards; did not come near the tabernacle but kept at a proper distance from it, and did not meddle with things they had no concern, with, and which were peculiar to the Levites: so…