Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Manasseh, were thirty and two thousand and two hundred.
The verse records 32,200 men of warlike age numbered separately from the tribe of Manasseh. It belongs to the first numbering commanded by God at Sinai about a year after Israel left Egypt, counting only men twenty years old and upward able to go to war apart from Levi for a total of 603,550, after the law was given, the tabernacle erected, and daily bread and water provided in preparation for speedy entrance into the promised land. That first count stands as the baseline against the second numbering in Numbers 26 nearly forty years later, when Manasseh had grown to 52,700, an increase of 20,500 or almost two-thirds. Taken together the two numberings show both the great growth of some tribes and the judgment that all counted the first time except Caleb and Joshua died in the wilderness after rebellion and never entered.
First Census Context and Content
Numbers 1:35 belongs to Israel's first numbering under Moses, made when they had been in the desert about one year, at the close of the first year when the work on the way seemed almost accomplished. That numbering came after the law had been proclaimed from the flaming mount, the tabernacle had been erected with the ark containing God's law in its most holy place, and the cloud of God's glory had taken possession of it. Bread from heaven had been given every morning, water had been given from the smitten rock, and the pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night remained over the camp.
The numbering was commanded by God and counted only men twenty years old and upward who were able to go forth to war, entirely excluding the tribe of Levi, all females, and all under twenty. Its total was 603,550 men of war, whose names were taken down and whose host was marshaled in completest order preparatory to marching into the land of promise with speedy entrance indicated. Every man so numbered expected an inheritance in the land of promise which he might have had after such tokens of God's loving-kindness as no other people ever witnessed.
The verse records 32,200 fighting-age men of specified age counted from the tribe of Manasseh. It is part of a careful census in which each tribe was numbered separately under census inspectors and definite numbers were given. The census was made at Sinai and began the book of Numbers, whose first five chapters concern the numbering of Israel and related arrangements for worship and camp life. It is the first of the two censuses recorded in Numbers, the second being made in the plains of Moab thirty-eight years later, or forty years after the first. These two numberings give the book its name, expressed in the Greek title Arithmoi, from which comes the word arithmetic. The census was taken at God's command and, unlike David's later census, this authorized census brought no trouble.
Comparison With Second Census
The numbering to which the 32,200 of Manasseh belongs was made forty years before the second numbering in Numbers 26, and it provides the baseline for comparison with that later count. Its definite figures for men of specified age are to be set beside the census at the end of the forty years to note the difference in the tribes and to see how each tribe gained or lost. The comparison of the two numberings reveals differences among the tribes over the wilderness journey.
Manasseh was counted at 32,200 at the beginning of the forty years of wandering. By the second census nearly forty years later the tribe numbered 52,700. That was an increase of 20,500, or almost two-thirds of its earlier size.
Comparing the first census with the one in Numbers 26 shows how the tribes' numbers changed during the wilderness years. Some tribes grew greatly, while others declined and fell off. Others increased while some fell off by the end of the forty years.
Set against the second census, the first census shows that all who had been counted the first time died in the wilderness after Israel's rebellion. Only Caleb and Joshua were excepted from those first counted. The people who had been prepared to enter the promised land as men able to go to war failed to enter, fulfilling God's threatened judgment.
The verse records 32,200 men of warlike age numbered separately from the tribe of Manasseh. It belongs to the first numbering commanded by God at Sinai about a year after Israel left Egypt, counting only men twenty years old and upward able to go to war apart from Levi for a total of 603,550, after the law was given, the tabernacle erected, and daily bread and water provided in preparation for speedy entrance into the promised land. That first count stands as the baseline against the second numbering in Numbers 26 nearly forty years later, when Manasseh had grown to 52,700, an increase of 20,500 or almost two-thirds. Taken together the two numberings show both the great growth of some tribes and the judgment that all counted the first time except Caleb and Joshua died in the wilderness after rebellion and never entered.
First Census Context and Content
Numbers 1:35 belongs to Israel's first numbering under Moses, made when they had been in the desert about one year, at the close of the first year when the work on the way seemed almost accomplished. That numbering came after the law had been proclaimed from the flaming mount, the tabernacle had been erected with the ark containing God's law in its most holy place, and the cloud of God's glory had taken possession of it. Bread from heaven had been given every morning, water had been given from the smitten rock, and the pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night remained over the camp.
The numbering was commanded by God and counted only men twenty years old and upward who were able to go forth to war, entirely excluding the tribe of Levi, all females, and all under twenty. Its total was 603,550 men of war, whose names were taken down and whose host was marshaled in completest order preparatory to marching into the land of promise with speedy entrance indicated. Every man so numbered expected an inheritance in the land of promise which he might have had after such tokens of God's loving-kindness as no other people ever witnessed.
The verse records 32,200 fighting-age men of specified age counted from the tribe of Manasseh. It is part of a careful census in which each tribe was numbered separately under census inspectors and definite numbers were given. The census was made at Sinai and began the book of Numbers, whose first five chapters concern the numbering of Israel and related arrangements for worship and camp life. It is the first of the two censuses recorded in Numbers, the second being made in the plains of Moab thirty-eight years later, or forty years after the first. These two numberings give the book its name, expressed in the Greek title Arithmoi, from which comes the word arithmetic. The census was taken at God's command and, unlike David's later census, this authorized census brought no trouble.
Comparison With Second Census
The numbering to which the 32,200 of Manasseh belongs was made forty years before the second numbering in Numbers 26, and it provides the baseline for comparison with that later count. Its definite figures for men of specified age are to be set beside the census at the end of the forty years to note the difference in the tribes and to see how each tribe gained or lost. The comparison of the two numberings reveals differences among the tribes over the wilderness journey.
Manasseh was counted at 32,200 at the beginning of the forty years of wandering. By the second census nearly forty years later the tribe numbered 52,700. That was an increase of 20,500, or almost two-thirds of its earlier size.
Comparing the first census with the one in Numbers 26 shows how the tribes' numbers changed during the wilderness years. Some tribes grew greatly, while others declined and fell off. Others increased while some fell off by the end of the forty years.
Set against the second census, the first census shows that all who had been counted the first time died in the wilderness after Israel's rebellion. Only Caleb and Joshua were excepted from those first counted. The people who had been prepared to enter the promised land as men able to go to war failed to enter, fulfilling God's threatened judgment.