Census of Israel in the Plains of Moab, Part 1

Continuing with a chronological Bible study designed by Skip Andrews:

(Numbers 26:1) And it came to pass, after the plague, that the LORD spoke to Moses and Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, saying, (2) “Take the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, from twenty years old and upward, throughout their fathers' houses, all who are able to go to war in Israel.”

In the last chapter and post, Israel had suffered a plague because of their adultery and idolatry, and 24,000 of them died.  At this time, after that plague, the Lord told Moses and Eleazar, Aaron's son, the priest, to take a census of the Israelites throughout all their families to count those who were twenty years and older and able to go to war.  I imagine there were some who were much older than twenty who were not able-bodied enough to go to war.

(3) And Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke with them in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across from Jericho, saying, (4) “Take the sum of the people, from twenty years old and upward, as the LORD commanded Moses and the children of Israel who came out of the land of Egypt.”

Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke with the Israelites, perhaps the heads of their families, telling them to take a census of the men, twenty years and older, just as the Lord had commanded they do when they came out of Egypt, back in Numbers 1:2-3.  The congregation of Israel was still in the plains of Moab by the Jordan River across from Jericho.

(5) Reuben, the eldest son of Israel: the children of Reuben--Hanoch, of whom came the family of the Hanochites; of Pallu, the family of the Palluites; (6) Of Hezron, the family of the Hezronites; of Carmi, the family of the Carmites.

The census began with the oldest son of Jacob or Israel, that is Reuben, and his four sons, Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi, and their four resulting families.

(7) These are the families of the Reubenites, and they who were numbered of them were forty-three thousand seven hundred and thirty.

All of the Reubenites, twenty years and older, able-bodied for war, totaled 43,730.  Albert Barnes, in his Notes on the Bible, made a chart of the number of each tribe at the earlier census at Mount Sinai and compared it to the present census.  The Reubenites had decreased by 2770 men in 38 years.  Although their numbers had surely increased over 38 years' time, they had been decreased by plagues.

(8) And the son of Pallu was Eliab. (9) And the sons of Eliab--Nemuel, and Dathan, and Abiram. These are the Dathan and Abiram who were famous in the congregation, who strove against Moses and against Aaron in the company of Korah, when they strove against the LORD. (10) And the earth opened its mouth, and swallowed them up together with Korah, when that company died, when the fire devoured two hundred and fifty men; and they became a sign.

The son of Reuben's son Pallu was Eliab.  Eliab's sons were Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram.  Dathan and Abiram were the ones who teamed up with Korah to come against Moses and Aaron in chapter 16 of Numbers.  At that time the earth opened up and swallowed Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, and the company of 250 men who had offered improper incense, and they had become a sign to Israel that no man outside the line of Aaron, the priests, was to offer incense before the Lord. Additionally, 14,700 people had died in a plague immediately following this incident because they complained about Moses and Aaron killing the people of the Lord.  This incident was repeated here to explain why there were no descendants of Dathan and Abiram to be counted.  There don't appear to be any descendants of Nemuel to be counted, unless they were counted as Palluites.

(11) Nevertheless the children of Korah did not die.

The children of Korah did not die in the events reported in chapter 16 of Numbers.  Although we were told that "all that appertained" to Korah was destroyed, this appears to have been only those in his company that came against Moses and Aaron and offered the improper incense.  We were told specifically in Numbers 16:27 that the wives and children of Dathan and Abiram joined them, but apparently the family of Korah did not.

Because Blogger limits the number of labels per post, and because all these names are of importance, I have separated chapter 26 into multiple posts.  To continue the study on chapter 26:

Census of Israel in the Plains of Moab, Part 2