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just as the LORD had commanded Moses. So Moses numbered them in the Wilderness of Sinai:
Numbers 1:19 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB As Yahweh commanded Moses, so he counted them in the wilderness of Sinai.
  • KJV As the LORD commanded Moses, so he numbered them in the wilderness of Sinai.
  • NKJV As the Lord commanded Moses, so he numbered them in the Wilderness of Sinai.
  • NASB just as the Lord had commanded Moses. So he counted them in the wilderness of Sinai.
  • NLT just as the Lord had commanded Moses. So Moses recorded their names in the wilderness of Sinai. [20-21] This is the number of men twenty years old or older who were able to go to war, as their names were listed in the records of their clans and families: Tribe NumberReuben (Jacob’s oldest son) 46,500 [22-23] Simeon 59,300 [24-25] Gad 45,650 [26-27] Judah 74,600 [28-29] Issachar 54,400 [30-31] Zebulun 57,400 [32-33] Ephraim son of Joseph 40,500 [34-35] Manasseh son of Joseph 32,200 [36-37] Benjamin 35,400 [38-39] Dan 62,700 [40-41] Asher 41,500 [42-43] Naphtali 53,400

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Moses carries out the census exactly as the LORD commanded. His obedience models faithful submission to God's word.

Overview

The verse emphasizes that the count was done 'as Yahweh commanded,' a refrain underscoring Moses' faithfulness. Numbering in the wilderness of Sinai roots the event in the place of covenant. Such exact obedience anticipates the perfect obedience of Christ, who always did what pleased the Father (John 8:29).

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 3

  • Num 26:1–2After the plague had ended, the LORD said to Moses and Eleazar son of Aaron the priest,
  • Num 1:2“Take a census of the whole congregation of Israel by their clans and families, listing every man by name, one by one.
  • 2 Sam 24:1–10Again the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He stirred up David against them, saying, “Go and take a census of Israel and Judah.”

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Numbers videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Numbers 1:19YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on NumbersMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

In the wilderness Christ is the water from the rock, the bronze serpent lifted up that the dying might look and live (John 3:14), and the star and scepter that Balaam saw rising out of Jacob.

How Numbers 1:19 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.