Numbers 1:45

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Numbers 1:45 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “So all they that were numbered of the children of Israel by their fathers` houses, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war in Israel;” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

So all they that were numbered of the children of Israel by their fathers` houses, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war in Israel;
Numbers 1:45 — American Standard Version

Context — Numbers 1

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
45So all they that were numbered of the children of Israel by their fathers` houses, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war in Israel;

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“So were all those that were numbered of the children of Israel, etc.] Of all the tribes, excepting Levi, that is, all the sums of the number of the children of Israel; all put together made the sum total given in the next verse: by the house of their fathers, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war in Israel; all in every tribe, family, and house, that were above twenty years of age, healthful and strong, and fit for war.”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“all they that were numbered were six hundred thousand, &c.--What an astonishing increase from seventy-five persons who went down to Egypt about two hundred fifteen years before [see on Gen 46:8], and who were subjected to the greatest privations and hardships! And yet this enumeration was restricted to men from twenty years and upwards [Num 1:3]. Including women, children, and old men, together with the Levites, the whole population of Israel, on the ordinary principles of computation, amounted to about 2,400,000.”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“The enrollment, being taken principally for military purposes (compare Numbers 1:3, Numbers 1:20), would naturally be arranged by hundreds, fifties, etc. (cf. 2Ki 1:9, 2 Kings 1:11, 2 Kings 1:13). In eleven tribes the number enrolled consists of complete hundreds. The difference, in this respect, observable in the case of the tribe of Gad here Numbers 1:25, and of the tribe of Reuben at the later census Numbers 26:7, is probably to be accounted for by the pastoral, and consequently nomadic, habits of these tribes, which rendered it difficult to bring all their members together at once for a census. Judah already takes precedence of his brethren in point of numbers (compare Genesis 49:8…”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification