Numbers 26:13

Study note

Setting — Moses records the second census of Israel’s tribes before the conquest of Canaan, listing Simeon’s descendants by their founding patriarchs. The passage functions as an administrative ledger for the community preparing to cross the Jordan.

The words — מִשְׁפַּחַת (mishpaḥat) denotes a clan or family unit, while הַזַּרְחִי (ha-zarḥî) identifies members belonging to Zerah’s line. These terms anchor the verse’s genealogical record in concrete tribal divisions.

The thread — The patriarch Shaul appears earlier as a son of Simeon in Genesis 46:10, and the clan enumeration pattern repeats in Numbers 26:12. This lineage structure reappears in Joshua 19 and 1 Chronicles 4 as the basis for land allocation.

Why it lands — The text states the names of founding fathers to establish legal and military boundaries for the tribe. It asks the reader to recognize that tribal identity and inheritance rights are preserved through documented lineage rather than personal achievement.

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.