Bible Strands
Numbers 26:50
These were the clans of Naphtali, and their registration numbered 45,400.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Moses records the second census of Israel in the plains of Moab, listing tribal counts before the conquest of Canaan. The text addresses the assembled clans of Israel, documenting population data for inheritance and military organization.
The words — אֵ֛לֶּה ('E.leh) means "these," introducing the specific tribal list, while חֲמִשָּׁ֧ה (cha.mi.Shah) and אֶ֖לֶף ('E.lef) literally render "five" and "thousand," establishing the exact census total of 45,400.
The thread — The enumeration of Naphtali’s clans appears again in Numbers 1:42 during the first wilderness census and determines the tribe’s military placement in Numbers 2:29. The immediate context in Numbers 26:49 and 26:51 frames this count within the broader tally of all Israelite tribes.
Why it lands — The verse functions as an administrative record requiring the reader to track precise population data for tribal inheritance and tribal organization. It demands attention to the continuity of the covenant community through systematic documentation rather than symbolic interpretation.
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
These are the families of Naphtali according to their families: and they that were numbered of them were forty and five thousand and four hundred.
Cross-references
- Numbers 1:42 From the sons of Naphtali, 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 2:29 Next will be the tribe of Naphtali. The leader of the Naphtalites is Ahira son of Enan,