Bible Strands
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.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — After a plague ended, the LORD instructed Moses and Eleazar son of Aaron the priest to conduct a new count (Numbers 26:1). This directive was issued on the plains of Moab by the Jordan, opposite Jericho (Numbers 26:3).
The words — The command opens with שְׂא֞וּ (se.'U), literally "lift up," paired with רֹ֣אשׁ (rosh), meaning "head," to denote a headcount. The phrase עֲדַ֣ת בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל (a.Dat be.nei-Yis.ra.'El) specifies the "congregation of the people of Israel" (Numbers 26:2).
The thread — This military census repeats the structural command of Numbers 1:2 and parallels the silver tally from numbered congregants in Exodus 38:25. The administrative framework of counting by families also aligns with the sanctuary tax instructions in Exodus 30:11.
Why it lands — The text requires a precise enumeration of every male Israelite aged twenty or older eligible for military service. It demands that the reader acknowledge communal identity and national readiness as functions of direct accountability before God.
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 the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, from twenty years old and upward, throughout their fathers’ house, all that are able to go to war in Israel.
Cross-references
- Exodus 38:25 The silver from those numbered among the congregation totaled 100 talents and 1,775 shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel—
- 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.
- Exodus 30:11 Then the LORD said to Moses,