Numbers 1-2

The First Census of Israel / The Order of Encampment and Marching

The First Census of Israel: Numbers 1

It is the first day of the second month of the second year since the Israelites fled Egypt, and God tells Moses to finally take the census God commanded in Exodus. The census counts males that are twenty years old and older - everyone in Israel who is able to go to war.

And, because numbers likes numbers and lists, what follows is a list of helpers from each tribe, eac man  the head of his ancestral house:

1. From Reuben, Elizur son of Shedeur.
2. From Simeon, Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai.
3. From Judah, Nahshon son of Amminadab.
4. From Issachar, Nethanel son of Zuar.
5. From Zebulun, Eliab son of Helon.
From the sons of Joseph:
6. from Ephraim, Elishama son of Ammihud;
7. from Manasseh, Gamaliel son of Pedahzur.
8. From Benjamin, Abidan son of Gideoni.
9. From Dan, Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai.
10. From Asher, Pagiel son of Ochran.
11. From Gad, Eliasaph son of Deuel.
12. From Naphtali, Ahira son of Enan.
(Num. 1.5-15)

Notice that Levi is left out. This is because the Levites were priests. Therefore to maintain the perfect number 12, two sons of Joseph - Israel's favorite son - are chosen as tribal leaders.

What follows is another list, this one of all twelve tribes being accounted for. There are twelve entries, and each entry follows the same pattern:

The descendants of [son of Israel], their lineage, in their clans, by their ancestral houses, those of them that were numbered, according to the number of names, individually, every male from twenty years old and upwards, everyone able to go to war: those enrolled of the tribe of Simeon were [number].

The book of Numbers loves lists, as it turns out. Below I have summed up the results of the census. The tribal names correspond to the names of Israel's sons:

1. Reuben - 46,500
2. Simeon - 59,300
3. Gad - 45,650
4. Judah - 74,600
5. Issachar - 54,400
6. Zebulun - 57,400
7. Ephraim (son of Joseph) - 40,500
8. Manasseh (son of Joseph) - 32,200
9. Benjamin - 35,400
10. Dan - 62,700
11. Asher - 41,500
12. Naphtali - 53,400

The literary purpose of the census is to demonstrate Israel's might by revealing the size of the army that will fight in order to enter the promised land. Note that the census covers those going to war, imbuing this chapter from the beginning with overtones of combat. Ancient censuses, of course, served to determine how many were able to fight. But the placement of the census at the beginning of the book sets the stage for the rest of the book. In total, 603,550 of the Israelites will be able to fight:

"So the whole number of the Israelites, by their ancestral houses, from twenty years old and upward, everyone able to go to war in Israel - their whole number was 603,550. The Levites, however, were not numbered by their ancestral tribe along with them"
(Num. 1.45-47)

The exclusion of the Levites is based on the Levites' service of the Lord with the tabernacle. Because they are constantly with the tabernacle, they may not take part in fighting, and therefore are not included in the military census.

The Order of Encampment and Marching: Numbers 2

The Israelites are to camp by tribe, each camp facing the tent of meeting. There shall be three tribes in each cardinal direction, extending out in a cross (no Christian imagery intended) from the tabernacle. Check out the symmetry employed by the biblical author. Two adjacent sides are listed, then the center, then the remaining two adjacent sides:

To the east, listed from the outside going inward to the tent, are Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.
To the south, listed from the outside going inward to the tent, are Reuben, Simeon, and Gad.
In the center is the tent of meeting, surrounded by the Levites.
To the west, listed from the outside going inward to the tent, are Ephraim, Manasseh, Benjamin.
To the north, listed from the outside going inward to the tent, are Dan, Asher, and Naphtali.

Each side is designated a "regimental encampment" and assigned the name of the outermost tribe. [The eastward camp is Judah, the southward is Reuben, the westward is Ephraim, the northward is Dan.] When marching, the camps shall leave in the following order: Judah, Reuben, Ephraim, Dan. The Levites shall march with the camp in whose quadrant they camped.

The militaristic diction comes to the fore in Numbers 2, and I think it is not just the prejudice of the translators that makes it so. The following phrases caught my attention: regiments, regimental encampments, ensigns (the signs of the tribes), march, set out. The biblical author seems to be setting the Israelites up for battle.

It is clear that the biblical author favored the tribe of Judah, and was probably himself (/themselves) from the kingdom of Judah, in the south. Favoritism is apparent in Judah's numbers: 74,600 fighting-age men is 11,900 more than the next closest tribe. Also, Judah is to lead the march and is in the position facing the sunrise. A sunrise, of course, is a symbol of hope, birth, newness, and vitality. At least here, Judah represents the strength of Israel.