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After the plague, Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, saying,
Numbers 26:1 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV And it came to pass after the plague, that the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, saying,
  • BSB After the plague had ended, the LORD said to Moses and Eleazar son of Aaron the priest,
  • NKJV And it came to pass, after the plague, that the Lord spoke to Moses and Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, saying:
  • NASB Then it came about after the plague, that the Lord spoke to Moses and to Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, saying,
  • NLT After the plague had ended, the Lord said to Moses and to Eleazar son of Aaron the priest,

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

After the plague, the LORD instructs Moses and Eleazar the priest to take a census. A new counting of the people begins as a new generation prepares for the land.

Overview

With the plague ended and the wilderness generation passing away, God orders a fresh census in preparation for entering Canaan. Eleazar now stands alongside Moses, marking the transition of leadership after Aaron's death. This second census signals that, despite Israel's failures, God remains faithful to bring a people into the inheritance He promised.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 1

  • Num 25:9Those who died by the plague were twenty-four thousand.

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 26:1YouTube · 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 26:1 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.