Israel’s First Census

¹And the Lord spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai in the tent of meeting on the first day of the second month in the second year after they went out from the land of Egypt, saying:[#Ex 19:1; #Ex 40:17]

²Take the sum of all the congregation of the Israelites, after their families, by the house of their fathers, with the number of their names, every male by their polls,[#Ex 30:12]

³from twenty years old and upward, all who are able to go out to war in Israel. You and Aaron will number them by their armies.[#Ex 30:14; 38:26; Nu 14:29]

⁴With you there will be a man of every tribe, each one the head of his father’s house.[#Ex 18:25; Nu 1:16]

⁵These are the names of the men who will stand with you:

¹⁶These were the renowned of the congregation, leaders of the tribes of their fathers, heads of thousands in Israel.[#Ex 18:21]

¹⁷Moses and Aaron took these men who had been mentioned by name,

¹⁸and they assembled all the congregation on the first day of the second month, and they declared their pedigrees according to their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, by their polls.[#Ezr 2:59; Heb 7:3]

¹⁹As the Lord commanded Moses, so he numbered them in the Wilderness of Sinai.

⁴⁴These are those who were numbered, which Moses and Aaron numbered, and the leaders of Israel, being twelve men. Each one was for the house of his fathers.[#Nu 26:64]

⁴⁵So were all those who were numbered of the Israelites, by the house of their fathers, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go out to war in Israel.

⁴⁶Even all they who were numbered were six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty.[#Ex 12:37; 38:26]

⁴⁷But the Levites after the tribe of their fathers were not numbered among them.[#Nu 2:33; 3:1–4:49]

⁴⁸For the Lord had spoken to Moses, saying:

⁴⁹Only you will not number the tribe of Levi, nor take the census of them among the Israelites,[#Nu 26:62]

⁵⁰but you will appoint the Levites over the tent of the testimony, and over all its vessels, and over all things that belong to it. They will carry the tabernacle, and all its vessels, and they will minister to it, and will camp around the tabernacle.[#Ex 38:21; Nu 3:24–26, 30–31, 35–37]

⁵¹When the tabernacle sets out, the Levites will take it down, and when the tabernacle is to be set up, the Levites will set it up, and the foreigner that approaches will be put to death.[#Nu 3:10, 38]

⁵²The Israelites will pitch their tents, every man by his own camp, and every man by his own standard, throughout their armies.[#Nu 2:2, 34]

⁵³But the Levites will camp around the tabernacle of the testimony, so there will be no wrath on the congregation of the Israelites. And the Levites will keep the charge of the tabernacle of the testimony.[#Lev 10:6; Nu 16:46]

⁵⁴Thus the Israelites did according to all that the Lord commanded Moses.