Bible Strands
Numbers 1:19
just as the LORD had commanded Moses. So Moses numbered them in the Wilderness of Sinai:
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Moses executes a population count immediately after the Israelite congregation assembles on the first day of the second month. He performs this enumeration in the Wilderness of Sinai following the divine directive.
The words — The verbs צִוָּה (tzi.Vah, "he commanded") and וַיִּפְקֹדֵם (va/yi.fqo.de/m, "and he numbered them") establish the sequence of command and compliance. The phrase בְּמִדְבַּר סִינַי (be./mid.Bar si.Nai) explicitly locates the administrative act.
The thread — This action fulfills the initial directive in Numbers 1:2 and parallels the later tribal registration in Numbers 26:1. The structural pattern of recording lineage and military-age males appears in 2 Samuel 24:1.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to observe that organizational action follows explicit instruction rather than human planning. The passage demands attention to the precise alignment of location, timing, and obedience.
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
As the Lord commanded Moses, so he numbered them in the wilderness of Sinai.
Cross-references
- Numbers 1:2 “Take a census of the whole congregation of Israel by their clans and families, listing every man by name, one by one.
- Numbers 26:1 After the plague had ended, the LORD said to Moses and Eleazar son of Aaron the priest,
- 2 Samuel 24:1 Again the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He stirred up David against them, saying, “Go and take a census of Israel and Judah.”