Numbers 26:57-65

F. CENSUS OF THE LEVITES vv. 57-65
TEXT

Numbers 26:57. And these are they that were numbered of the Levites after their families: of Gershon, the family of the Gershonites: of Kohath, the family of the Kohathites: of Merari, the family of the Merarites. 58. These are the families of the Levites: the family of the Libnites, the family of the Hebronites, the family of the Mahlites, the family of the Mushites, the family of the Korathites. And Kohath begat Amram. 59. And the name of Amram's wife was Jochebed, the daughter of Levi, whom her mother bare to Levi in Egypt: and she bare unto Amram, Aaron and Moses, and Miriam their sister. 60. And unto Aaron was born Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. 61. And Nadab and Abihu died, when they offered strange fire before the Lord. 62. And those that were numbered of them were twenty and three thousand, all males from a month old and upward: for they were not numbered among the children of Israel, because there was no inheritance given them among the children of Israel.

63. These are they that were numbered by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who numbered the children of Israel in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho. 64. But among these there was not a man of them whom Moses and Aaron the priest numbered, when they numbered the children of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai. 65. For the Lord had said of them, They shall surely die in the wilderness. And there was not left a man of them, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.

PARAPHRASE

Numbers 26:57. And these are those who were numbered of the Levites according to their families: of Gershon, the family of the Gershonites; of Kohath, the family of the Kohathites; of Merari, the family of the Merarites. 58. These are the families of Levi: the family of the Libnites, the family of the Hebronites. the family of the Mahlites, the family of the Mushites, the family of the Korahites. And Kohath became the father of Amram. 59. And the name of Amram's wife was Jochebed, the daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt; and she bore to Amram: Aaron, and Moses, and their sister, Miriam. 60. And to Aaron were born Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. 61. But Nadab and Abihu died when they offered strange fire before the Lord. 62. And those who were counted of them were 23,000 every male from one month of age and up, for they were not counted among the sons of Israel, since no inheritance was given them among the sons of Israel.

63. These are those who were counted by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who counted the sons of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho. 64. But among those there was not a man of those who were counted by Moses and Aaron the priest who counted the sons of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai, 65. for the Lord had said of them, They shall surely die in the wilderness. And not a man was left of them, excepting Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.

COMMENTARY

We have here an incomplete listing of the Levitical families. The purpose of the abbreviated passage seems to be concentrated on establishing the descent of Moses, Aaron and Miriam rather than all the families of Gershon, Kohath and Merari. The counting was complete, of course, when originally done, and shows that the Levites had increased by one thousand. Once more, their numbering began with sons at one month of age.

No general land allotment was awarded later to the Levites. Instead, they received forty-eight cities distributed throughout the land (see Numbers 35:1-8 and Joshua 21), in order that they might serve all of the people.

The genealogical chart here is much abbreviated, since Jochebed could not have been the daughter of Levi himself. The word daughter is properly understood to mean she was a direct female descendant; the number of generations intervening would be irrelevant. Jochebed here becomes one of a select few women who figure prominently in any Biblical genealogy. No doubt the most prominent names to be found in such lists would be those of Rahab and Ruth, listed in Matthew's chart of Jesus Christ's ancestors (Numbers 1:5). Matthew also gives Tamar, who bore Phares and Zara to Judah (Numbers 1:3); he alludes to her that had been the wife of Urias (Bathsheba, Numbers 1:6) as well. But the appearance of any feminine name in genealogical listings among the Jews was rare enough to be notable, and places Jochebed in perspective as the great woman she must have been.

Our attention is called appropriately to the fact that among all those counted in the second census, there was not a man of them whom Moses and Aaron the priest numbered, with the exception of Caleb and Joshua, since all those above twenty years of age at the time of the first census were now dead, (cf. Numbers 14:23; Numbers 14:28-30).

QUESTIONS AND RESEARCH ITEMS

491.

Are there good reasons for omitting many names of the sons of Levi and their descendants?

492.

What difference was there in the total number of Levites since the first census?

493.

Why is it impossible that Jochebed might have been the daughter of Levi?

494.

How are we to understand the use of the word daughter here?

495.

Why are there so few names of women given in the genealogical lists of the Israelites? Find as many examples as you can.

496.

How many Israelites were counted in the second census who had been tallied in the first? Who were they?