The verse names Pagiel son of Ocran as the leader standing for Asher when Israel was first counted in the wilderness. That counting organized the people for the march toward Canaan by numbering the men old enough for war, leaving out the Levites, women and those under twenty, with Asher totaling 41,500, at the start of the forty years while the tabernacle was being set up before leaving Sinai. Set beside the second counting in Numbers 26 it shows how Asher and the other tribes grew or shrank through the wilderness, with some prospering greatly and others falling off. Of all counted the first time only Caleb and Joshua lived to the second counting, proving that divine favor does not make sin safe but that rebellion brings judgment and death, though counting at God's command was not wrong as David's proud counting without consent was.
First Census and Setting
Of Asher, Pagiel the son of Ocran is named as the leader representing that tribe in Israel's first wilderness census. That census was the numbering of the tribes at the beginning of the forty years. It organized the people for the journey toward Canaan as Israel prepared to enter the land.
It counted men able to go to war, giving the number of men of the specified age in each tribe. Females, those under twenty, and the Levites were excluded from the count. In that first census the total for Asher was 41,500.
The numbering stands in the first numbering of the host of Israel that opens the book of Numbers. The book is fitly named from these numberings. Another numbering was made again at the end of the forty years. It comes in the story of Israel in the building of the tabernacle and establishing its services, before Israel left Mount Sinai.
Comparison and Moral Warning
The naming of Pagiel the son of Ocran as the representative and leader of Asher belongs to Israel's first census, which is to be compared with the second census in Numbers 26 to see how Asher and the other tribes gained or lost population during the wilderness journey. That first chapter gives the number of men of the specified age in each tribe, providing a record that stands against the later numbering to note the differences among the tribes. The comparison is between the numbering at the beginning of the forty years of wandering and the numbering at the end of the forty years, and it shows that some tribes prospered greatly and increased while others declined and fell off.
Of those numbered the first time, not one man except Caleb and Joshua lived to witness the second numbering, every other person having fallen in the wilderness. The second numbering thus impresses that God will fulfill His threatened judgments, for the people were wicked, with sin in their midst breaking out at last in open, wanton rebellion against the God of Heaven, so that by solemn oath He excluded them from the land and doomed them to die in the wilderness. The first numbering was made at God's command and counted men able to go to war who expected to enter the promised land, and their failure shows that God's favor and promises do not make sin safe, for rebellion brought God's judgment and death in the wilderness.
As a record of Moses taking a census at God's command, the naming shows that numbering Israel was not wrong in itself, unlike David's census, which was undertaken without the Lord's consent and from pride and confidence in military strength.
The verse names Pagiel son of Ocran as the leader standing for Asher when Israel was first counted in the wilderness. That counting organized the people for the march toward Canaan by numbering the men old enough for war, leaving out the Levites, women and those under twenty, with Asher totaling 41,500, at the start of the forty years while the tabernacle was being set up before leaving Sinai. Set beside the second counting in Numbers 26 it shows how Asher and the other tribes grew or shrank through the wilderness, with some prospering greatly and others falling off. Of all counted the first time only Caleb and Joshua lived to the second counting, proving that divine favor does not make sin safe but that rebellion brings judgment and death, though counting at God's command was not wrong as David's proud counting without consent was.
First Census and Setting
Of Asher, Pagiel the son of Ocran is named as the leader representing that tribe in Israel's first wilderness census. That census was the numbering of the tribes at the beginning of the forty years. It organized the people for the journey toward Canaan as Israel prepared to enter the land.
It counted men able to go to war, giving the number of men of the specified age in each tribe. Females, those under twenty, and the Levites were excluded from the count. In that first census the total for Asher was 41,500.
The numbering stands in the first numbering of the host of Israel that opens the book of Numbers. The book is fitly named from these numberings. Another numbering was made again at the end of the forty years. It comes in the story of Israel in the building of the tabernacle and establishing its services, before Israel left Mount Sinai.
Comparison and Moral Warning
The naming of Pagiel the son of Ocran as the representative and leader of Asher belongs to Israel's first census, which is to be compared with the second census in Numbers 26 to see how Asher and the other tribes gained or lost population during the wilderness journey. That first chapter gives the number of men of the specified age in each tribe, providing a record that stands against the later numbering to note the differences among the tribes. The comparison is between the numbering at the beginning of the forty years of wandering and the numbering at the end of the forty years, and it shows that some tribes prospered greatly and increased while others declined and fell off.
Of those numbered the first time, not one man except Caleb and Joshua lived to witness the second numbering, every other person having fallen in the wilderness. The second numbering thus impresses that God will fulfill His threatened judgments, for the people were wicked, with sin in their midst breaking out at last in open, wanton rebellion against the God of Heaven, so that by solemn oath He excluded them from the land and doomed them to die in the wilderness. The first numbering was made at God's command and counted men able to go to war who expected to enter the promised land, and their failure shows that God's favor and promises do not make sin safe, for rebellion brought God's judgment and death in the wilderness.
As a record of Moses taking a census at God's command, the naming shows that numbering Israel was not wrong in itself, unlike David's census, which was undertaken without the Lord's consent and from pride and confidence in military strength.