Bible Strands
Numbers 1:18
and on the first day of the second month they assembled the whole congregation and recorded their ancestry by clans and families, counting one by one the names of those twenty years of age or older,
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Moses and Aaron, assisted by designated tribal representatives, convene the entire Israelite assembly in the Wilderness of Sinai on the first day of the second month to execute a commanded census.
The words — The Hebrew verb יִתְיַלְדוּ (yit.yal.Du) literally renders "they were born" or "they recorded their ancestry," anchoring the census in official clan and family lineage rather than mere population tally.
The thread — The requirement to verify family lines reappears in Ezra 2:59 and Nehemiah 7:61 when exiles cannot prove their ancestry, while Hebrews 7:3 notes that Melchizedek himself has no recorded genealogy.
Why it lands — The text first establishes that the community's identity and military readiness depend on precise, verifiable records, then requires the reader to apply the same standard of documented obedience to any covenant community under divine instruction.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And they assembled all the congregation together on the first day of the second month, and they declared their pedigrees after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, by their polls.
Cross-references
- Ezra 2:59 The following came up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addan, and Immer, but they could not prove that their families were descended from Israel:
- Nehemiah 7:61 The following came up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer, but they could not prove that their families were descended from Israel:
- Hebrews 7:3 Without father or mother or genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God, he remains a priest for all time.
- Numbers 1:1 On the first day of the second month of the second year after the Israelites had come out of the land of Egypt, the LORD spoke to Moses in the Tent of Meeting in the Wilderness of Sinai. He said:
- Hebrews 7:6 But Melchizedek, who did not trace his descent from Levi, collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises.