The amount of A. M. 2514. B. C. 1490. A. M. 2514. B. Č. 1490. 26 Of the children of Judah, An. Exod. Isr. 2. by their generations, after their min, by their generations, after An Exod. Isr. 2. Ijar or Zif. families, by the house of their their families, by the house of Ijar or Zif. fathers, according to the number of the names, their fathers, according to the number of the from twenty years old and upward, all, that names, from twenty years old and upward, all were able to go forth to war; that were able to go forth to war;· q 32 Of the children of Joseph, namely, of the children of Ephraim, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war; 33 Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Ephraim, were forty thousand and five hundred. 34 Of the children of Manasseh, by their generations, after their families, by, the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war; 35 Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Manassch, were thirty and two thousand and two hundred. in Gen. xxix. 35.- n Gen. xxx. 18- • Gen. xxx. 20.- -P Gen. xxx. 24. - Gen. xlviii. 5, 6. 39 Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Dan, were threescore and two thousand and seven hundred... 40 Of the children of Asher, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war; 41 Those that were numbered of them, even. of the tribe of Asher, were forty and one thousand and five hundred.. 42 Of the children of Naphtali, throughout their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from- twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war; 43 Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Naphtali, were fifty and three thousand and four hundred. 44 These are those that were numbered, which Moses and Aaron numbered, and the princes of Israel, being twelve men: each one was for the house of his fathers. 45 So'were all those that were numbered of the children of Israel, by the house of their fathers, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war in Israel; 46 Even all they that were numbered were u Gen. xxx. 5, 6., Gen. xlviii. 12–20.- Gen. xxxv. 16-18. Chap. xxvi. 64. from the beginning; his infinite wisdom embraces all occurrences, and it is his province alone to determine what is right, and to predict what himself has pur Verse 33. The tribe of Ephraim-forty thousand and five hundred.] Ephraim, as he was blessed beyond his eldest brother Manasseh, Gen. xlviii. 20, so here he is increased by thousands more than Manas-posed to accomplish. seh, and more than the whole tribe of Benjamin, and Verse 46. All they that were numbered were six his blessing continued above his brother, Deut. xxxiii. 17. And thus the prophecy, Gen. xlviii. 19, was fulfilled His younger brother (Ephraim) shall be greater than he, (Manasseh.) -No word of God can possibly fall to the ground: he alone sees the end VOL. I. ( 40 ) : hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty.] What an astonishing increase from seventy souls that went down into Egypt, Gen. xlvi. 27, about 215 years before, where latterly they had endured the greatest hardships! But God's promise cannot fail, 609 The Levites are not numbered.. A. M. 2514. An. Exod. Isr. 2. A. M. 2514. An. Exod. Isr. 2. Ijar or Zif. six hundred thousand and three ward, the Levites shall take it thousand and five hundred and down and when the tabernacle fifty. is to be pitched, the Levites shall set it up: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death. 47 But the Levites after the tribe of their fathers were not numbered among them. 48 For the LORD had spoken unto Moses, saying, 52 And the children of Israel shall pitch their tents, every man by his own camp, and every man by his own standard, throughout their hosts. 53 But the Levites shall pitch round about the tabernacle of testimony, that there be no wrath upon the congregation of the children of Israel: and the Levites shall keep the charge of the tabernacle of testimony. 54 And the children of Israel did according to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so did they. a Chap..x. 17, 21- Chap. iii. 10, 38; xviii. 22. Chap. ii. 2, 34.d Ver. 50. Lev. x. 6; chap. viti. 19; xvi. 46; Viti. 5; 1 Sám. vi. 19.- Chap. iii. 7, 8; viii. 24, 25, 26; xviii 3, 4, 5; xxxi. 30, 47; I Chron. xxiii. 32; 2 Chron. xiii. 10. seventh place for number. Seven of the tribes had an increase; five a decrease. Manasseh had an increase of 20,500; Judah, 1,900; Issachar, 9,900; Zebulun, 3,100; Benjamin, 10,200; Dan, 1,700; Asher, 11,900... 50 But thou shalt appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of testimony, and over all the vessels thereof, and over all things that belong to it: they shall bear the tabernacle, and all the vessels thereof; and they shall minister unto it, z and shall encamp round about the tabernacle. 51 And when the tabernacle setteth for. Exod. xxxviii. 26; see Exod. xii. 37; chap. ii. 32; xxxi. 51. Chap. ii. 33; see chap. iii., v., xxvi. 57; 1 Chron. vi., xxi. 6. Chap. ii. 33; xvi. 62. - Exod, xxxviii. 21; chap. ifi. 7, 8; iv. 15, 25, 26, 27, 33.- Chap. iii. 23, 29, 35, 38. (Gen. xvi. 5;) and who can resist his will, and bring to naught his counsel? That a comparative view may be easily taken of the state of the tribes, I shall produce them here from the first census mentioned in the first chapter of this book, in their decreasing proportion, beginning with the greatest and proceeding to the least; and in the second census, mentioned chap: xxvi., where the increase of some and the decrease of others may be seen in one point of view. It may be just remarked, that except in the case of Gad in this chapter, and Reuben in chap. xxvi., all the num-whole only 1,820.'. bers are what may be called whole or round numbers, beginning with thousands, and ending with hundreds, Gad and Reuben alone ending with tens; but the Scripture generally uses round numbers, units and fractions being almost constantly disregarded.: On the contrary there was a decrease in Reuben of 2,770; in Simeon, 37,100; Gad, 5,150; Ephraim, 8,000; Naphtali, 8,000. Decrease in the whole, 61,020 effective men. See on chap: xxvi.; but balanced with the increase, the decrease was upon the On the subject of these enumerations, and the manner in which this vast multitude sprang in about four generations from seventy-five persons, Scheuchzer has some valuable calculations, though liable to some ob jections, which I shall take the liberty to insert, as they tend to throw considérable light upon the subject. "We find in the writings of Moses three enumerations of the Jewish people, that follow each other pretty closely : The first, which was made at their departure from Egypt, Exod. xii. 37, amounted to 600,000 One year after, to 603,550 On entering the land of Canaan, to 601,730 39, and which amounted to 22,000 Total 601,730 Total 603,550 "We find the same number, on adding that of each tribe given us in detail, which is the best proof of the exactness of the calculation. Thus we find Judah the most populous tribe, and Manasseh the least so; the difference between them "I think I shall afford the reader some degree of being so great as 42,400, for which no very satisfac-pleasure by presenting him, in this place, the number tory reason can be assigned. In the second census, mentioned chap. xxvi. 34, Judah still has the pre-eminency; and Simeon, the third in number before, is become the least. Now we see also that the little tribe of Manasseh occupies the a 610 of each tribe separately, beginning at their earliest I shall begin with a Genealogical Table of that family which God so wonderfully blessed; and to it I shall afterward add each separate tribe, following the calculation of Reyher, (Math. Mos., p. 222.) And we shall see that the fourth generation, taken with the third, produces the very number mentioned in the text. Children of JACOB by LEAH Gen. xlvi. 15. Hanoch Libni of the Israelites. 53,400. Num. i. 43. I. REUBEN 46,500. "Let us now descend to the particular enumeration of each tribe. REUBEN had four sons now if we suppose that one of these four sons had seven, and 46,500. Num. i. 21. that each of the other three had eight, we shall find the number 31 for the first Egyptian generation. If we afterward suppose that each of these 31 sons had five sons, the second generation, will amount to 155, which, multiplied by 15, will produce 2,325 for the 59,300. Num. i. 23. third generation; and these, multiplied by 19, will make, 44,175 for the fourth; so that the third, together with the fourth, will make 46,500. We shall have the same product if the given sum, 46,500, be Shimet 7,500. Num. iii. 22. divided by the most probable number of children, for example, by the number 19; we shall then have 2,447 for the third generation; which sum being deducted 8,600. Num. iii. 26. from the sum total, there, will remain 44,053 for the fourth generation, which is exactly the number that is produced in multiplying 2,440 of the third genera 6,200. Num. iii. 34. tion by 18, and the other 7 by 19. If we wish to make the same calculation with respect to the preceding generations, i. e., divide them by the most pro74,600. Num. i. 27. bable number of children, we shall have the following Amram Merari {Mahli Hezron Sons of Reuben Shelah JUDAH Zerah sums I. Generation Shimron II. Ditto Sered III. Ditto IV. Ditto DINAH Amount of generations III. and IV. 46,500 II. SIMEON 59,300. "SIMEON had six sons, Let us suppose that each of the three first had six children, and each of the three 45,650. Num. i. 25. others seven, we shall have thirty-nine for the first generation. If we multiply 31 of this number by 9, and 8 by 10, we shall have for the second generation 359; of which number, if we multiply 355 by 11, and 4 by 12, the third generation will give us 3,953. Let us then multiply 3,948 of these by 14, and 5 of thêm by 15, and we shall have for the fourth 55,347. 41,500. Num. i. 41. The third and fourth, added together, will make 59,300. Beriah Malchief Children of JACOB by RACHEL. JOSEPH S Manasseh ८ Ephraim Belah Becher Ashbel Gerah Gen. xlvi. 22. 35,400. Num. i. 37. III.-LEVI 22,300. 66 Gershon, Levi's eldest son, had two children; let us give to one of these 16 children, and to the other 17, and we shall have 33 for the second generation; 28 of which, multiplied by 15, and 5 by 16, will produce 500 for the third. Multiply each by 14, and these will produce 7,000; and the third and fourth together, 7,500. "Kohath, Levi's second son, had four sons, which form the first line. Give to one of them 10 sons, and 11 to each of the other three, for the second generation there will be 43. Multiply them by 10, there will be 430 for the third; these, multiplied by 19 for the fourth, will produce the number of 8,170. The third and fourth added together make 8,600. “Merari, the third son of Levi, had two sons. Give NUMBERS. of the Israelites. generation will be 51,378; the third and fourth generations, then, will produce a number of 54,400. VI.—ZEBULUN 57,400. "Zebulun had three sons. If we suppose that two of them had in all fourteen children, and the third, six, here will be 20 for the first generation. The second will produce 143, on multiplying 17 by 7, and 3 by 8. If we multiply 135 by 16, and 8 by 17, the third will amount to 2,296. By multiplying the third by 24, the fourth will give us 55,104. The two last will produce, together, 57,400. VII-GAD 45,650. "Gad had seven sons. I. Generation: multiply 3 by 9, and 4 by 10, there will be 67 Ditto multiply 61 by 7, and 6 by 8 475 Amount of generations III. and IV. 45,650 "The sons of Asher, Jimnah, Ishua, and Isui, multiplied by 8, produce for the I. Generatión "The sons of Judah were Shelah, Pharez, and Zerah. II. His grandsons by Pharez were Hezron and Hamul. III. Hezron had two sons. Suppose each of them had six IV. children, which will make 12 for the first generation; to eight of whom allow eight children, and. nine to each of the others, and there will be 100 for the second generation. To 92 of these then give 18 children, and 19 to the eight others; this will produce for the third generation 1,808. If we then suppose that 1,800 of these had each 18 children, and that each of the other eight had 19, the fourth generation will be 32,552, which, added to the product of the third, will make the descendants of Hezron amount to 34,360.. “Hamul had two sons, who, multiplied by 10, produce the number of 20 for the second generation : these, multiplied by 20, will make 400 for the third, and these again by 25 will produce 10,000 for the fourth. And thus the two last generations will amount together to the number of, 10,400. "If we allow five sons to Shelah, and six to Zerah, we shall have 11 for the first generation.. To three of whom allow 10 children and 11 to the other eight, this will give us 118 for the second, To 113 of these give 14, and 15 to the other five, and 1657 will be produced for the third. Give 17 to 1643, and 18 to the 14 remaining, and for the fourth there will be 28,183. The third and fourth added together will produce the number of 29,840. "According to this calculation, all these generations will amount to the following numbers: Hezronites Hamulites Shelanites and Zarhites V.-ISSACHAR 54,400. II. III. IV. 24 Amount of generations III. and IV. II. Ditto multiply 10 by 11 10 110 990 11,880 All these generations added together, amount to 41.500 34,360 10,400 29,840 IX.-JOSEPH. MANASSEH 32,200, II. Ditto multiply 6 by 13, and 4 by 14 10 134 1,610 - 30,590 ISSACHAR had five sons. Suppose that three of them had each five children, and the other two, six, we shall have 27 for the first generation. If we then imagine that of these 19 had each nine sons, and each of the other eight 10, the second generation will be "I. Generation 251. Now 241 of these, multiplied by 12, will produce 2,892, and the 10 others, multiplied by 13, will III. Ditto multiply 152 by 12, and 8 by 13 make 130; consequently the third generation will IV. Ditto multiply 1,916 by 20, and 12 by 21 38,572 amount to 3,022. If 3,018 of these had each 17 soffs, and each of the other four had 18, the fourth "I. Generation 11 Amount of generations III, and IV. II. Ditto multiply by 12 III. Ditto multiply by 19 IV. Ditto multiply by 24. Amount of generations III. and IV. XH.-NAPHTALI 53,400. He had 4 sons, the half of whom, multiplied 7, and the other half by 6, give us for the II. Ditto multiply 16 by .11, and 10 by 127 III. Ditto multiply 288.by 12, and 8 by 13 IV. Ditto multiply by 14 Amount of generations III. and IV. by 26 296 3,560 -49,840 In the above calculations, Scheuchzer and Reyher 132 take for granted, 1. That from the going down to 2,508 Egypt to the exodus there were four generations. -60,192 2. That the first two generations had died in Egypt. 3. That the promise of God in multiplying them as the 62,700 stars of heaven, had taken place particularly in the two last generations. 4. That these two last generations alone form the aggregate sums given in the sacred text. 5. That their method of accounting for this aggregate through the four generations, is not only perfectly natural and mathematical, but strictly accordant with the promises made by God to them, as the sum of each tribe sufficiently proves. 6. That the whole account shows the truth of the Divine promise, the great accuracy of the Jewish lawgiver, and a proof 53,400 of the inspiration of the sacred writings. But even to these calculations and deductions there may be objections, e. g., "Scheuchzer gives to 2,508 families of Dan, 24 male children, each above the age of 20: we may fairly allow an equal number of females, and add 5 more under 20, as in the note under Exod. xii. 37, and we have 53 children on the average through all the families of a tribe; whilst to 4,425 families of Benjamin are állotted 7 males aged 20, and adding 7 females at 5 children, we have 19 children in each 32,200 family; a tolerable number; but apparently more rea40,500 sonable than the other."-ANON. 46,500 59,300 22,300 .74,600 54,400 57,400 I. Reuben II. Simeon III. Levi IV. Judah V. Issachar VI. Zebulun.. VIL. Gad 45,650 Moses commanded to teach the Israelites how they are to pitch their tents, and erect the ensigns of their fathers' houses, 1, 2. Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun, on the EAST, amounting to 186,400 men, 3-9. Reuben, Simeon, and Gad, on the SOUTH, with 151,450 men, 10-16. The Levites to be in the midst of the camp, 17. Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin, on the WEST, with 108,100 men, 18-24. Dan, Asher, and Naphtali, on the NORTH, with 157,600 men, 25-31. The sum total of the whole, 603,550 men, 32. But the Levites are not included, 33. The people do as the Lord commands them, 34. 2 Every man of the children of Israel shall the congregation shall they pitch. a Chap. i. 52.- b Heb. over against. NOTES ON CHAP. II. c Josh. iii. 4.. A. M. 2514. An Exod. Isr. 2. their camp in the wilderness. As God gave them the Verse 2. Every man—shall pitch by his own stand-plan, it was doubtless in every respect perfect; and ard] Commentators, critics, philosophers, and profes- fully answered the double purpose of convenience and sional men, have taken a great deal of pains to illus-security. Scheuchzer has entered into this subject trate this chapter by showing the best method of encampment for such a vast number of men, and the manner in which they conceive the Israelites formed with his usual ability, and in very considerable detail. Following the plan of Reyher, as in the preceding chapter, he endeavours to ascertain the precise order |