Bible Strands
Numbers 1:36
From the sons of Benjamin, 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,
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The text records the census registration for the tribe of Benjamin, specifying the count of males twenty years old and older eligible for military service. This occurs during the initial organization of Israel's camps at Sinai.
The words — בִנְיָמִן (vin.ya.Min) translates to Benjamin, identifying the specific tribal lineage. תּוֹלְדֹתָ֥/ם (tol.do.Ta/m) means their genealogies, indicating the administrative records used to verify family lines.
The thread — The tribe of Benjamin appears in Genesis 49:27 as a ravenous wolf, in Genesis 35:16 during the early stages of Rachel’s childbirth, and in Genesis 44:20 regarding a younger brother and elderly father. These passages track the tribe’s origins and narrative role.
Why it lands — The text requires readers to recognize that tribal identity and military readiness are grounded in documented lineage and age thresholds. It demands precise accounting rather than voluntary or informal grouping.
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
Of the children of Benjamin, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;
Cross-references
- Genesis 49:27 Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the prey, in the evening he divides the plunder.”
- Genesis 35:16 Later, they set out from Bethel, and while they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth, and her labor was difficult.
- Genesis 44:20 And we answered, ‘We have an elderly father and a younger brother, the child of his old age. The boy’s brother is dead. He is the only one of his mother’s sons left, and his father loves him.’
- Genesis 46:21 The sons of Benjamin: Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard.
- Numbers 26:38 These were the descendants of Benjamin by their clans: The Belaite clan from Bela, the Ashbelite clan from Ashbel, the Ahiramite clan from Ahiram,
- 2 Chronicles 17:17 From Benjamin: Eliada, a mighty man of valor, and with him 200,000 armed with bows and shields;
- Revelation 7:8 from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000, from the tribe of Joseph 12,000, and from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000.