Numbers 3:39

3:39 All who were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron numbered by the word ¹  of the Lord, according to their families, every male from a month old and upward, were 22,000. ² 

Numbers 4:49

4:49 According to the word of the Lord they were numbered, ³  by the authority of Moses, each according to his service and according to what he was to carry. ⁴  Thus were they numbered by him, ⁵  as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Numbers 7:2

7:2 Then the leaders of Israel, the heads of their clans, ⁶  made an offering. They were the leaders of the tribes; they were the ones who had been supervising ⁷  the numbering.

Numbers 7:88

7:88 All the animals for the sacrifice for the peace offering were 24 young bulls, 60 rams, 60 male goats, and 60 lambs in their first year. These were the dedication offerings for the altar after it was anointed. ⁸ 

Numbers 36:1

Women and Land Inheritance

36:1 Then the heads of the family groups ⁹  of the Gileadites, the descendant of Machir, the descendant of Manasseh, who were from the Josephite families, approached and spoke before Moses ¹⁰  and the leaders who were the heads of the Israelite families. ¹¹ 

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¹ tn Here again the Hebrew has “at the mouth of,” meaning in accordance with what the Lord said. So also in v. 51.

² tn The total is a rounded off number; it does not duplicate the precise total of 22,300. Some modern scholars try to explain it by positing an error in v. 28, suggesting that “six” should be read as “three” (שֵׁשׁ [shesh] as שָׁלֹשׁ [shalosh]).

³ tn The verb is the simple perfect tense – “he numbered them.” There is no expressed subject; therefore, the verb can be rendered as a passive.

⁴ tn Or “his burden.”

⁵ tn The passive form simply reads “those numbered by him.” Because of the cryptic nature of the word, some suggest reading a preterite, “and they were numbered.” This is supported by the Greek, Syriac, Targum, and Vulgate. It would follow in the emendation that the relative pronoun be changed to “just as” (כַּאֲשֶׁר, ka’asher). The MT is impossible the way it stands; it can only be rendered into smooth English by adding something that is missing.

⁶ tn Heb “the house of their fathers.”

⁷ tn The form is the Qal active participle from the verb “to stand” (עָמַד, ’amad). The form describes these leaders as “the ones standing over [the ones numbered].” The expression, along with the clear indication of the first census in chapter 1, shows that this was a supervisory capacity.

⁸ sn Even though the chapter seems wearisome and repetitious to the modern reader, it is a significant document. A. Rainey shows how it matches the exact ledgers of ancient sanctuaries (see ZPEB 5:202). The recording would have been done by the priestly scribes. Of the many points that can be observed here, it should not be missed that each tribe, regardless of its size or relative importance, was on equal footing before the Lord. Each tribe shared in the work of the Lord equally. Each tribe approached the sanctuary in precisely the same way on this memorable occasion. All such devotion to the work of the Lord was to receive the blessing of God.

⁹ tn The expression is “the heads of the fathers by the family of the Gileadites.”

¹⁰ tn The Greek and the Syriac add “and before Eleazar the priest.”

¹¹ tn Heb “heads of the fathers.”