Numbers 1 Commentary

The first thing the LORD wanted Moses to do in preparation for leaving Mount Sinai was to take a census of all the tribes and families of Israel. They were to count all of the males twenty years old and older by tribes, families, and households. The reason for this was to obtain a count of how many men would be able to go to war.

God names a man from each tribe to be appointed to help Moses and Aaron carry out the census.

Verses 20 – 46 relates the count of the number of men qualified for warfare by each tribe. The last three verses record the totals.

Even though the Levites were one of the twelve tribes of Israel, the LORD commanded that they were not to be numbered. The reason He gave was that the Levites were designated to be the ones who maintained and transported the tabernacle, the LORD's dwelling place amongst His people. Thus, they were to be exempt from military duty.