Numbers 1:43

Study note

Setting — Moses and Aaron record the military census of Israel at Sinai, noting the Naphtali contingent immediately after the preceding tribal counts.

The words — The Hebrew פְּקֻדֵי (pe.ku.dei) means "enrolled men," and the numeral sequence שְלֹשָׁה וַחֲמִשִּׁים אֶלֶף וְאַרְבַּע מֵאוֹת (she.lo.shah va.cha.mi.shim 'E.lef ve.'ar.ba me.'ot) literally strings together "three and fifty thousand and four hundred."

The thread — This exact figure appears again in Numbers 2:30 for camp positioning and is later revised to 45,400 in Numbers 26:50 after the wilderness generation.

Why it lands — The text requires a reader to accept the precise tally as a factual record and to apply it to the immediate task of tribal organization and readiness.

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.