Bible Strands
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.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The LORD addresses Moses in the Tent of Meeting during the second month of the second year after leaving Egypt, initiating a formal population count.
The words — שְׂאוּ (se'u) means "lift up" and רֹאשׁ (rosh) means "head," combining in the Hebrew idiom to command a literal "lifting up of the head" or census.
The thread — This directive parallels Exodus 30:12 and 38:26 on numbering the people and collecting a ransom per individual, and extends to Numbers 1:18 where the congregation assembles and records their lineage.
Why it lands — The text requires an exact, name-by-name enumeration of every eligible man in Israel, establishing a foundation of precise accountability before any military or communal organization.
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
Take ye the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, after their families, by the house of their fathers, with the number of their names, every male by their polls;
Cross-references
- Exodus 30:12 “When you take a census of the Israelites to number them, each man must pay the LORD a ransom for his life when he is counted. Then no plague will come upon them when they are numbered.
- Exodus 38:26 a beka per person, that is, half a shekel, according to the sanctuary shekel, from everyone twenty years of age or older who had crossed over to be numbered, a total of 603,550 men.
- 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,
- Numbers 1:22 From the sons of Simeon, according to the records of their clans and families, counting one by one the names of every male twenty years of age or older who could serve in the army,
- Numbers 26:2 “Take a census of the whole congregation of Israel by the houses of their fathers—all those twenty years of age or older who can serve in the army of Israel.”
- Genesis 49:1 Then Jacob called for his sons and said, “Gather around so that I can tell you what will happen to you in the days to come:
- Exodus 1:1 These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt with Jacob, each with his family:
- Exodus 6:14 These were the heads of their fathers’ houses: The sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel, were Hanoch and Pallu, Hezron and Carmi. These were the clans of Reuben.
- Numbers 1:26 From the sons of Judah, according to the records of their clans and families, counting the names of all those twenty years of age or older who could serve in the army,
- Numbers 26:63 These were the ones numbered by Moses and Eleazar the priest when they counted the Israelites on the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across from Jericho.