Numbers26
English Standard Version
1 the , the Lord to and to the of , the ,
2 a of the of the of , from and , by their ’ , in who are able to to .
3And and the with them in the of by the at , ,
4Take a census of the people, from and , as the Lord . The of who out of the of were:
5 , the of ; the of : of , the of the ; of , the of the ;
6of , the of the ; of , the of the .
7These are the of the , and those were .
8And the of : .
9The of : , , and . are the and , from the , and in the of , when they the Lord
10and the its and swallowed them together with , when that , when the , and they became a .
11But the of did .
12The of according to their : of , the of the ; of , the of the ; of , the of the ;
13of , the of the ; of , the of the .
14 are the of the , .
15The of according to their : of , the of the ; of , the of the ; of , the of the ;
16of , the of the ; of , the of the ;
17of , the of the ; of , the of the .
18 are the of the of as they were , .
19The of were and ; and and in the of .
20And the of according to their were: of , the of the ; of , the of the ; of , the of the .
21And the of were: of , the of the ; of , the of the .
22 are the of as they were , .
23The of according to their : of , the of the ; of , the of the ;
24of , the of the ; of , the of the .
25 are the of as they were , .
26The of , according to their : of , the of the ; of , the of the ; of , the of the .
27 are the of the as they were , .
28The of according to their : and .
29The of : of , the of the ; and was the ; of , the of the .
30 are the of : of , the of the ; of , the of the ;
31and of , the of the ; and of , the of the ;
32and of , the of the ; and of , the of the .
33Now the of had , but . And the of the of were , , , , and .
34 are the of , and those were .
35 are the of according to their : of , the of the ; of , the of the ; of , the of the .
36And are the of : of , the of the .
37 are the of the of as they were , . are the of according to their .
38The of according to their : of , the of the ; of , the of the ; of , the of the ;
39of , the of the ; of , the of the .
40And the of were and : of Ard, the of the ; of , the of the .
41 are the of according to their , and those were .
42 are the of according to their : of , the of the . are the of according to their .
43 the of the , as they were , were .
44The of according to their : of , the of the ; of , the of the ; of , the of the .
45Of the of : of , the of the ; of , the of the .
46And the of the of was .
47 are the of the of as they were , .
48The of according to their : of , the of the ; of , the of the ;
49of , the of the ; of , the of the .
50These are the of according to their , and those were .
51This was the of the of , .
52The Lord to , ,
53Among the shall be for according to the of .
54To a tribe you shall give a , and to a tribe you shall give a ; tribe shall be its in to its .
55But the shall be by . According to the of the of their they shall .
56Their shall be to between the and the .
57 was the of the according to their : of , the of the ; of , the of the ; of , the of the .
58 are the of : the of the , the of the , the of the , the of the , the of the . And was the .
59The of was the of , who was to in . And she to and and their .
60And to were , , , and .
61But and when they the Lord.
62And those were , from a and . they were the of , there was to them the of .
63 were those by and the , the of in the of by the at .
64But among these there was of those by and the , had the of in the of .
65 the Lord had of them, They in the . of them was , the of and the of .
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Numbers 26.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: Numbering of Israel in the plains of Moab. (1–51). The division of the land. (52–56). Number of the Levites. (57–62). None remaining of the first numbering. (63–65).
vv1-51
Moses did not number the people but when God commanded him. We have here the families registered, as well as the tribes. The total was nearly the same as when numbered at mount Sinai. Notice is here taken of the children of Korah; they died not, as the children of Dathan and Abiram; they seem not to have joined even their own father in rebellion. If we partake not of the sins of sinners, we shall not partake of their plagues. (Nu 26:52-56)
vv52-56
In distributing these tribes, the general rule of equity is prescribed; that to many should be given more, and to fewer less. Though it seems left to the prudence of their prince, the matter at last must be settled by the providence of God, with which all must be satisfied.
vv57-62
Levi was God's tribe; therefore it was not numbered with the rest, but alone. It came not under the sentence, that none of them should enter Canaan excepting Caleb and Joshua.
Key Words
אַחַר: properly, the hind part; generally used as an adverb or conjunction, after (in various senses)
מַגֵּפָה: a pestilence; by analogy, defeat
מֹשֶׁה: Mosheh, the Israelite lawgiver
אֶלְעָזָר: Elazar, the name of seven Israelites
בֵּן: a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., (like father or brother), etc.)
אַהֲרוֹן: Aharon, the brother of Moses
כֹּהֵן: literally one officiating, a priest; also (by courtesy) an acting priest (although a layman)
נָשָׂא: to lift, in a great variety of applications, literal and figurative, absolute and relative
רֹאשׁ: the head (as most easily shaken), whether literal or figurative (in many applications, of place, time, rank, itc.)
כֹּל: properly, the whole; hence, all, any or every (in the singular only, but often in a plural sense)
Cross References
Numbers 26Details the literal opening of the earth and the fire consuming the 250 men.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Direct sequel where the daughters of Zelophehad petition Moses for their inheritance.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Direct fulfillment of God's threat that the Sinai generation would fall in the wilderness.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole
Refers to the immediate historical trigger of the new census, 'the plague' which swept away many.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Poetic historical remembrance of the earth opening to swallow Dathan and Abiram.
Supported by JFB
Clarifies that while Korah's house was swallowed, his actual children did not die.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Fulfillment of Zelophehad's daughters receiving their inheritance in the division of Canaan.
Supported by JFB
Restates the divine mandate to distribute the land proportionally to the size of each tribe.
Confirms that the division of land by lot was ultimately directed and determined by the Lord.
Supported by JFB
Explicit fulfillment of the divine oath that only Caleb and Joshua would enter the land.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Points to the first census at Sinai 38 years prior, showing population shifts.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Confirms the exact geographical location of this census in the plains of Moab.
Supported by Matthew Poole
References the rebellion of Korah's company in the context of inheritance rights.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Traces the lineage of Joseph's sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, back to Genesis.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Jacob's blessing on Joseph's sons, predicting their great numerical growth.
Supported by JFB
Parallels the genealogy of Manasseh, Machir, and Gilead in the Chronicles registry.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Allows comparison of Benjamin's descendants listed here with the original list in Egypt.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Compares the final total of the second census with the initial census at Mount Sinai.
Supported by JFB, Matthew Poole
Provides the structural baseline for the Levitical families numbered here in the plains of Moab.
Supported by JFB
Corroborates the parentage of Aaron, Moses, and Miriam from Amram and Jochebed.
The original account of Nadab and Abihu offering unauthorized fire before the Lord.
The divine judgment of fire that consumed Nadab and Abihu for their transgression.
Provides the earlier Levite census count, showing an increase of one thousand males.
Supported by JFB
New Testament warning highlighting how the rebellious generation was overthrown in the wilderness.
Asks with whom God was angry for forty years, identifying those whose bodies fell.
Confirms that Joshua and Caleb survived the plague and the wilderness journey.
Verifies that the fire devoured the 250 men who offered incense.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
The sons of Korah survived to write and lead classic temple worship liturgy.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Explains the historical background of why Judah's sons Er and Onan died in Canaan.
Supported by JFB
Confirms the sons of Pharez as Hezron and Hamul in Judah's genealogy.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Traces Issachar's families back to the names of his sons who entered Egypt.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Traces Zebulun's families back to Sered, Elon, and Jahleel in Genesis.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Confirms Machir as the firstborn of Manasseh and father of Gilead in partition.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Traces the development of the Benjamite families from the original sons of Benjamin listed in Genesis.
Identifies Dan's sole ancestral line, called Hushim in Genesis and Shuham here.
Aligns with the earlier list of Asher's sons and his daughter Serah.