Numbers 1:42
Of the children of Naphtali, throughout their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war; Of the children of Naphtali, throughout their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;
Numbers 1:42 records the counting of Naphtali's men twenty years old and upward who were able to go to war, enrolled by name according to generations, families, and fathers' houses. It belongs to Israel's first wilderness census at Sinai, taken by God's direction through Moses tribe by tribe with appointed inspectors, excluding Levi, women, and all under twenty, with Naphtali forming part of the 603,550 men of war. Those enrolled were marshaled in complete order to march into Canaan, every man expecting an inheritance in the promised land after such tokens of God's lovingkindness. The numbering stands as the baseline to be compared with the second numbering in Numbers 26 in the plains of Moab, where Naphtali had fallen from 53,400 by 8,000, showing how some tribes increased while others decreased during the forty years. It was a numbering taken at the Lord's command, unlike David's proud census without the Lord's consent, yet being counted did not secure entrance into Canaan, for all the rebels died in the wilderness except Caleb and Joshua, proving that God fulfills His judgments and sin can forfeit the promised inheritance.
First Census Meaning
Of the children of Naphtali the verse gives the tribal muster, men from twenty years old and upward, all able to go forth to war, taken by number of the names throughout their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers. It is one tribal count within the counting of Israel by tribe and family in the first numbering.
That numbering is Israel's first wilderness census at Sinai, made at the close of the first year, about a year after entering the wilderness. It followed the proclamation of the law of God from the flaming mount, the erection of the tabernacle with the ark containing God's law in its most holy place, the taking possession of it by the cloud of God's glory, the giving of bread from heaven every morning and water from the smitten rock, while the pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night had not departed from the camp.
The counting was by God's direction through Moses, a careful numbering of God's people tribe by tribe under appointed inspectors, with every name taken down. It did not include the tribe of Levi at all, nor any females, nor any under twenty years of age, and the men of Naphtali counted here formed part of the total of 603,550 men of war.
The host thus numbered was marshalled in complete order preparatory to marching into Canaan, with everything indicating speedy entrance into the land. Every one of these men expected an inheritance in the land of promise, and might have had it after such tokens of God's lovingkindness.
Comparison Across Forty Years
Numbers 1 gives the strength of each tribe in men of twenty years and upward able to go to war, counted by name and set in order by generations, families and houses of their fathers, as a baseline to be set against the second numbering in Numbers 26 in the plains of Moab at the end of the forty years of wandering, that the differences may be noted and the gains and losses of the tribes may be seen. The count of Naphtali here belongs to the beginning of the forty years of wilderness wandering, forty years before the second numbering, and the later census shows how the numbers of the tribes changed during the journey between. The second numbering was made in the plains of Moab thirty-eight years after the numbering at Sinai, and these two censuses give the book its name, so that the Greek title Arithmoi, from which comes the word arithmetic, is fitting.
In the first census Naphtali numbered 53,400 men after Israel left Egypt, which had fallen by 8,000 by the later census in Numbers 26. Comparison of the two numberings shows that some tribes prospered and increased while others declined and decreased.
Command and Solemn Warning
The numbering to which the men of Naphtali belonged was taken at the Lord's command, counting those twenty years old and upward who were able to go to war by family and ancestral house, and it stands in contrast to David's census, which was sinful because it was ordered without the Lord's consent in proud reliance on the size of his forces.
Being enrolled in that first census as fighting men prepared to enter the promised land did not guarantee entrance into it, for the total of 603,550, which excluded the Levites, women, and those under twenty, expected an inheritance in Canaan, yet after rebellion God's judgment fell and all who had rebelled died in the wilderness. Of all those counted only Caleb and Joshua remained alive to witness the second census. The history to which the verse belongs thus shows that God fulfills His judgments and that sin can keep people from the promised inheritance.