Numbers 1:11 names Abidan the son of Gideoni as the leader representing the tribe of Benjamin in Israel's first numbering in the wilderness at Sinai. That numbering was taken by Moses at the Lord's command about a year after leaving Egypt, counting men twenty years old and above who were able to go to war in preparation to enter Canaan. In that first census Benjamin numbered 35,400, while in the second census before entering Canaan it numbered 45,600, an increase of 10,200. Compared with that second numbering forty years later, not one man counted in the first except Caleb and Joshua lived to witness it, because the wicked generation rebelled against God and fell in the wilderness, warning that sin brings ruin and that God will fulfill His threatened judgments.
First Census Setting
This verse belongs to Israel's first numbering in the wilderness, taken at Sinai about a year after the people left Egypt. In the connected story it comes after the building of the tabernacle and the establishing of its services and the sin of Nadab and Abihu, and before Israel left Mount Sinai. The numbering counted men able to go to war, giving the number of men of certain ages in each tribe, but not the Levites, females, or those under twenty. The total was 603,550, and the people were arranged in preparation to enter Canaan, the land of promise, providing a count to compare with the tribes' numbers at the end of the forty years.
It names Abidan the son of Gideoni as the leader representing the tribe of Benjamin in the first census. Benjamin numbered 35,400 in that census soon after Israel left Egypt and 45,600 in the later census before entering Canaan, an increase of 10,200. This opening numbering of the host gives the book of Numbers its name, which reflects its two census countings, the first at Sinai and the second in the plains of Moab thirty-eight years later. The censuses in Numbers 1:1-46 were taken by Moses at the Lord's command and therefore caused no trouble, unlike David's census, which was sinful because he took it without the Lord's consent.
Comparison and Solemn Warning
The entry for Benjamin belongs to the first numbering of Israel tribe by tribe, which counted the men of certain ages and furnishes the figure to set against the totals of the tribes at the end of the forty years. That first numbering in Numbers 1 is to be compared with the second numbering in Numbers 26 forty years later at the end of the wilderness journey, to note the differences among the tribes. The comparison shows how the tribes gained or lost population during the journey, with some falling off and others increasing.
That generation counted as able to go to war was preparing to enter the land of promise and expected to inherit it, yet not one man of that first numbering except Caleb and Joshua lived to witness the second numbering. Every other person who rebelled against God fell and died in the wilderness. The failure came because the people were wicked, with sin in their midst breaking out in open, wanton rebellion against the God of heaven. By a solemn oath He therefore excluded them from the land and doomed them to die in the wilderness. The account thus warns that sin brings ruin and impresses the fact that God will fulfill His threatened judgments.
Numbers 1:11 names Abidan the son of Gideoni as the leader representing the tribe of Benjamin in Israel's first numbering in the wilderness at Sinai. That numbering was taken by Moses at the Lord's command about a year after leaving Egypt, counting men twenty years old and above who were able to go to war in preparation to enter Canaan. In that first census Benjamin numbered 35,400, while in the second census before entering Canaan it numbered 45,600, an increase of 10,200. Compared with that second numbering forty years later, not one man counted in the first except Caleb and Joshua lived to witness it, because the wicked generation rebelled against God and fell in the wilderness, warning that sin brings ruin and that God will fulfill His threatened judgments.
First Census Setting
This verse belongs to Israel's first numbering in the wilderness, taken at Sinai about a year after the people left Egypt. In the connected story it comes after the building of the tabernacle and the establishing of its services and the sin of Nadab and Abihu, and before Israel left Mount Sinai. The numbering counted men able to go to war, giving the number of men of certain ages in each tribe, but not the Levites, females, or those under twenty. The total was 603,550, and the people were arranged in preparation to enter Canaan, the land of promise, providing a count to compare with the tribes' numbers at the end of the forty years.
It names Abidan the son of Gideoni as the leader representing the tribe of Benjamin in the first census. Benjamin numbered 35,400 in that census soon after Israel left Egypt and 45,600 in the later census before entering Canaan, an increase of 10,200. This opening numbering of the host gives the book of Numbers its name, which reflects its two census countings, the first at Sinai and the second in the plains of Moab thirty-eight years later. The censuses in Numbers 1:1-46 were taken by Moses at the Lord's command and therefore caused no trouble, unlike David's census, which was sinful because he took it without the Lord's consent.
Comparison and Solemn Warning
The entry for Benjamin belongs to the first numbering of Israel tribe by tribe, which counted the men of certain ages and furnishes the figure to set against the totals of the tribes at the end of the forty years. That first numbering in Numbers 1 is to be compared with the second numbering in Numbers 26 forty years later at the end of the wilderness journey, to note the differences among the tribes. The comparison shows how the tribes gained or lost population during the journey, with some falling off and others increasing.
That generation counted as able to go to war was preparing to enter the land of promise and expected to inherit it, yet not one man of that first numbering except Caleb and Joshua lived to witness the second numbering. Every other person who rebelled against God fell and died in the wilderness. The failure came because the people were wicked, with sin in their midst breaking out in open, wanton rebellion against the God of heaven. By a solemn oath He therefore excluded them from the land and doomed them to die in the wilderness. The account thus warns that sin brings ruin and impresses the fact that God will fulfill His threatened judgments.