Numbers 26

1 After the plague, Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, saying,

After the plague [ended], Yahweh said to Eleazar and Moses/me,

2 “Take a census of all the congregation of the children of Israel, from twenty years old and upward, by their fathers’ houses, all who are able to go out to war in Israel.”

“Count all the people of Israel [again]. Write down the names of all the men who are at least 20 years old who are able to fight [in battles], along with their family names.”

3 Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke with them in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying,

So while the Israelis were on the plains where the Moab people-group lived, Eleazar and Moses/I told this to the Israeli leaders:

4 “Take a census, from twenty years old and upward, as Yahweh commanded Moses and the children of Israel.” These are those who came out of the land of Egypt.

“Write down the names of all the Israeli men who are at least 20 years old, as Yahweh has commanded us.” [So they did that], and this is a record of all the descendants of Jacob who came out of Egypt [who were still alive].

5 Reuben, the firstborn of Israel; the sons of Reuben: of Hanoch, the family of the Hanochites; of Pallu, the family of the Palluites;

[They counted] 43,730 men from the tribe of Reuben, Jacob’s oldest son. They were in clans descended from Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.

6 of Hezron, the family of the Hezronites; of Carmi, the family of the Carmites.

7 These are the families of the Reubenites; and those who were counted of them were forty-three thousand seven hundred thirty.

8 The son of Pallu: Eliab.

Pallu’s son was Eliab

9 The sons of Eliab: Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram. These are that Dathan and Abiram who were called by the congregation, who rebelled against Moses and against Aaron in the company of Korah when they rebelled against Yahweh;

and his grandsons were Nemuel, Dathan and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram were the leaders who joined with Korah to conspire against Aaron and Moses/me and rebelled against Yahweh.

10 and the earth opened its mouth, and swallowed them up together with Korah when that company died; at the time the fire devoured two hundred fifty men, and they became a sign.

But the earth opened up and swallowed them and Korah. Yahweh also sent a fire that burned up 250 men who supported those three men. That was a warning [to all the Israeli people] that they should respect and obey the leaders whom Yahweh had appointed.

11 Notwithstanding, the sons of Korah didn’t die.

But the descendants of Korah did not die [on that day].

12 The sons of Simeon after their families: of Nemuel, the family of the Nemuelites; of Jamin, the family of the Jaminites; of Jachin, the family of the Jachinites;

The Israeli leaders counted 22,200 men from the tribe of Simeon. They were in clans descended from Nemuel, Jamin, Jakin, Zerah, and Shaul.

13 of Zerah, the family of the Zerahites; of Shaul, the family of the Shaulites.

14 These are the families of the Simeonites, twenty-two thousand two hundred.

15 The sons of Gad after their families: of Zephon, the family of the Zephonites; of Haggi, the family of the Haggites; of Shuni, the family of the Shunites;

They counted 40,500 men from the tribe of Gad. They were in clans descended from Zephon, Haggi, Shuni, Ozni, Eri, Arod, and Areli.

16 of Ozni, the family of the Oznites; of Eri, the family of the Erites;

17 of Arod, the family of the Arodites; of Areli, the family of the Arelites.

18 These are the families of the sons of Gad according to those who were counted of them, forty thousand and five hundred.

19 The sons of Judah: Er and Onan. Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan.

They counted 76,500 men from the tribe of Judah. They were in clans descended from Shelah, Perez, Zerah, Hezron, and Hamul. Judah’s other two sons, Er and Onan, died in Canaan [without having had any children].

20 The sons of Judah after their families were: of Shelah, the family of the Shelanites; of Perez, the family of the Perezites; of Zerah, the family of the Zerahites.

21 The sons of Perez were: of Hezron, the family of the Hezronites; of Hamul, the family of the Hamulites.

22 These are the families of Judah according to those who were counted of them, seventy-six thousand five hundred.

23 The sons of Issachar after their families: of Tola, the family of the Tolaites; of Puvah, the family of the Punites;

They counted 64,300 men from the tribe of Issachar. They were in clans descended from Tola, Puvah, Jashub, and Shimron.

24 of Jashub, the family of the Jashubites; of Shimron, the family of the Shimronites.

25 These are the families of Issachar according to those who were counted of them, sixty-four thousand three hundred.

26 The sons of Zebulun after their families: of Sered, the family of the Seredites; of Elon, the family of the Elonites; of Jahleel, the family of the Jahleelites.

They counted 60,500 men from the tribe of Zebulun. They were in clans descended from Sered, Elon, and Jahleel.

27 These are the families of the Zebulunites according to those who were counted of them, sixty thousand five hundred.

28 The sons of Joseph after their families: Manasseh and Ephraim.

They counted 52,700 men from the tribe of Manasseh, who was one of the sons of Joseph. They were in clans descended from Machir, from his son Gilead, and from his six grandsons—Jezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Shemida, and Hepher. Hepher’s son Zelophehad did not have any sons, but he had five daughters—Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.

29 The sons of Manasseh: of Machir, the family of the Machirites; and Machir became the father of Gilead; of Gilead, the family of the Gileadites.

30 These are the sons of Gilead: of Iezer, the family of the Iezerites; of Helek, the family of the Helekites;

31 and Asriel, the family of the Asrielites; and Shechem, the family of the Shechemites;

32 and Shemida, the family of the Shemidaites; and Hepher, the family of the Hepherites.

33 Zelophehad the son of Hepher had no sons, but daughters: and the names of the daughters of Zelophehad were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.

34 These are the families of Manasseh. Those who were counted of them were fifty-two thousand seven hundred.

35 These are the sons of Ephraim after their families: of Shuthelah, the family of the Shuthelahites; of Becher, the family of the Becherites; of Tahan, the family of the Tahanites.

They counted 32,500 men from the tribe of Ephraim, who was Joseph’s other son. They were in clans descended from Shuthelah, Becher, Tahan, and Shuthelah’s son Eran.

36 These are the sons of Shuthelah: of Eran, the family of the Eranites.

37 These are the families of the sons of Ephraim according to those who were counted of them, thirty-two thousand five hundred. These are the sons of Joseph after their families.

38 The sons of Benjamin after their families: of Bela, the family of the Belaites; of Ashbel, the family of the Ashbelites; of Ahiram, the family of the Ahiramites;

They counted 45,600 men from the tribe of Benjamin. They were in clans descended from Bela, Ashbel, Ahiram, Shephupham, and Hupham, and from Bela’s two sons—Ard and Naaman.

39 of Shephupham, the family of the Shuphamites; of Hupham, the family of the Huphamites.

40 The sons of Bela were Ard and Naaman: the family of the Ardites; and of Naaman, the family of the Naamites.

41 These are the sons of Benjamin after their families; and those who were counted of them were forty-five thousand six hundred.

42 These are the sons of Dan after their families: of Shuham, the family of the Shuhamites. These are the families of Dan after their families.

They counted 64,400 men from the tribe of Dan. They were in one clan descended from Shuham.

43 All the families of the Shuhamites, according to those who were counted of them, were sixty-four thousand four hundred.

44 The sons of Asher after their families: of Imnah, the family of the Imnites; of Ishvi, the family of the Ishvites; of Beriah, the family of the Berites.

They counted 53,400 men from the tribe of Asher. They were in clans descended from Imnah, Ishvi, and Beriah, and from Beriah’s two sons—Heber and Malkiel. Asher also had a daughter named Serah.

45 Of the sons of Beriah: of Heber, the family of the Heberites; of Malchiel, the family of the Malchielites.

46 The name of the daughter of Asher was Serah.

47 These are the families of the sons of Asher according to those who were counted of them, fifty-three thousand four hundred.

48 The sons of Naphtali after their families: of Jahzeel, the family of the Jahzeelites; of Guni, the family of the Gunites;

They counted 45,400 men from the tribe of Naphtali. They were in clans descended from Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.

49 of Jezer, the family of the Jezerites; of Shillem, the family of the Shillemites.

50 These are the families of Naphtali according to their families; and those who were counted of them were forty-five thousand four hundred.

51 These are those who were counted of the children of Israel, six hundred one thousand seven hundred thirty.

The total of the Israeli men whom the leaders counted was 601,730.

52 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

Then Yahweh said to Moses/me,

53 “To these the land shall be divided for an inheritance according to the number of names.

“Divide Canaan land among the tribes. Distribute the land according the number of people in each tribe that are on your lists.

54 To the more you shall give the more inheritance, and to the fewer you shall give the less inheritance. To everyone according to those who were counted of him shall his inheritance be given.

Decide by (casting lots/throwing stones which are marked) to determine which group will get which area, but give the largest areas to the groups with the most people.”

55 Notwithstanding, the land shall be divided by lot. According to the names of the tribes of their fathers they shall inherit.

56 According to the lot shall their inheritance be divided between the more and the fewer.”

57 These are those who were counted of the Levites after their families: of Gershon, the family of the Gershonites; of Kohath, the family of the Kohathites; of Merari, the family of the Merarites.

The leaders also counted the male descendants of Levi. They were in clans descended from Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

58 These are the families of Levi: the family of the Libnites, the family of the Hebronites, the family of the Mahlites, the family of the Mushites, and the family of the Korahites. Kohath became the father of Amram.

These also included people from the clans of Libni, Hebron, Mahli, Mushi, and Korah. All of them were descendants of Levi. Kohath was the ancestor of Amram,

59 The name of Amram’s wife was Jochebed, the daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt. She bore to Amram Aaron and Moses, and Miriam their sister.

whose wife was Jochebed. She also was a descendant of Levi, but she was born in Egypt. She and Amram had two sons, Aaron and Moses/me, and their/our [older] sister Miriam.

60 To Aaron were born Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.

Aaron’s sons were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

61 Nadab and Abihu died when they offered strange fire before Yahweh.

But Nadab and Abihu died when they burned [incense for a sacrifice] to Yahweh in a way that disobeyed what Yahweh had commanded.

62 Those who were counted of them were twenty-three thousand, every male from a month old and upward; for they were not counted among the children of Israel, because there was no inheritance given them among the children of Israel.

The leaders counted 23,000 men from the descendants of Levi who were at least one month old. But these men were not counted when the rest of the Israeli people [were counted], because they were not given any land.

63 These are those who were counted by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who counted the children of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.

Those were the men whom Eleazar and Moses/I said should be counted. They counted the Israeli people on the plains where the Moab people-group lived, on the [east] side of the Jordan River, across from Jericho [city].

64 But among these there was not a man of them who were counted by Moses and Aaron the priest, who counted the children of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai.

None of the men whom they counted were on the lists that were made by Aaron and Moses/me when the Israelis were in the Sinai Desert,

65 For Yahweh had said of them, “They shall surely die in the wilderness.” There was not a man left of them, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.

because Yahweh had said about them, “They will all die in this desert,” [and that is what happened]. The only ones who were still alive were Jephunneh’s son Caleb and Nun’s son Joshua.