The sons of Joseph, after their families Manasseh and Ephraim.
In this second count of Israel, one son of Jacob counts as two tribes. The list names Joseph through his sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. Behind that small detail lie a forfeited birthright and two names that describe how a believer grows.
This chapter counts Israel again. The wilderness is behind them, and the land is ahead. One writer explains what such a count was meant to show.
The new numbering of the people shows how they have come through the wilderness, their increase or decrease, and God's faithfulness to His word, whether in grace or in judgment.
The contrast with the first count is severe. One writer measures the loss.
Here we have the record of the second numbering of the people, as they were about to enter the promised land. How sad to think of it! Of the six hundred thousand men of war counted at the first, only two remain — Joshua and Caleb! All the rest lay rotting in the dust, buried beneath the sand of the desert, all passed away. The two men of simple faith remained to have their faith rewarded.
Jacob's eldest son Reuben lost the rights of the firstborn, and those rights passed to Joseph. Since the firstborn's share was a double share, Joseph's two sons each stand in the list as a full tribe.
Scripture confirms this. For instance, 1 Chronicles 5:2 says of Israel, "the birthright belonged to Joseph." Verse 1 tells us that Reuben was the eldest son, but his birthright "was given to the sons of Joseph the son of Israel." We can see why Joseph had two sons and only two: so that he might have the double portion of the firstborn. So in the sharing out of the land, each of Israel's sons had a single portion — one tribe each, with Levi excepted for obvious reasons. Joseph had the double portion: two tribes, Ephraim and Manasseh.
The camp here belongs to Ephraim, yet Manasseh's name comes first. One writer explains that order.
The third camp is now Ephraim's. In it, however, we find Manasseh foremost — and it is quite understandable why. This, as we have seen, is the order of progress, if Ephraim gives us the governing thought. Here Manasseh may represent whole-heartedness, as with the apostle in Philippians 3:13.
The two names in this verse carry meanings. One writer traces the law of spiritual increase through Joseph and his sons.
It shows how Joseph fulfils his name, which means "adding" or "increase." This is indeed the beautiful lesson of his life. In him we find the law of spiritual increase, shown by the name of his son Ephraim — "fruitfulness." But the way to fruitfulness is by Manasseh — "forgetfulness." So it was with the apostle: "forgetting what lies behind ... I press on." Manasseh is in fact the firstborn. But as the end is greater than the means, so Ephraim is, in the mind of God, greater than Manasseh.
The two tribes moved in opposite directions. One writer draws a lesson from each figure.
Manasseh increased amazingly, from 32,200 to 52,700. Manasseh means "forgetting." Paul forgot past achievements and made Christ the object of living. If we have this same attitude, we shall increase more and more in fruitfulness for God.
Ephraim's name means "fruitfulness." Yet Ephraim stands in sad contrast to Manasseh, for this tribe decreased from 40,500 to 32,500. This may teach us something. If we depend on our reputation for bearing fruit, the fruit itself will be greatly depleted. That is because self has become our object rather than Christ. Self-complacency is one of the most damaging attitudes we can adopt.
- Counted. A second count meets Israel on the edge of the land. It shows each tribe's increase or decrease, and God's faithfulness to His word in grace and in judgment.
- Doubled. Reuben forfeited the birthright and it passed to Joseph. The firstborn's portion was double, so Joseph counts here as two tribes.
- Ordered. Manasseh stands first here, though the camp is Ephraim's. One writer calls this the order of progress, and links Manasseh with Paul's whole-heartedness.
- Named. Manasseh means "forgetting," Ephraim "fruitfulness." Forgetting what lies behind is the road, fruit is the goal. In the mind of God, the goal is the greater.
- Proved. Manasseh grew from 32,200 to 52,700, while Ephraim, the tribe named for fruit, shrank. A reputation for fruit is no substitute for pressing on toward Christ.
The sons of Manasseh of Machir, the family of the Machirites (and Machir begot Gilead); of Gilead, the family of the Gileadites.
Numbers 26 records the second counting of Israel, taken on the plains of Moab just before the nation entered the promised land. Verse 29 opens Manasseh's register with Machir and his son Gilead — so why trace one family through three generations, and what do the names say now?
This roll call comes forty years after the first one. The gap between the two lists is what the chapter records.
Here we have the record of the second numbering of the people, as they were about to enter the promised land. How sad to think that, out of the six hundred thousand men of war numbered at the first, only two remain — Joshua and Caleb! All the rest lay in the dust, buried beneath the sand of the desert, all passed away. The two men of simple faith remained to have their faith rewarded.
Machir stands at the head of a tribe whose numbers rose over those forty years. One writer ties that growth to the meaning of Manasseh's name.
Manasseh increased amazingly from 32,200 (Num. 1:35) to 52,700. Manasseh means "forgetting" and may impress on us Paul's words of Philippians 3:13-14: "Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." If we have Paul's attitude of forgetting past achievements and making Christ the object of living, we shall increase more and more in fruitfulness for God.
The verse does not stop at Manasseh. It moves to Machir, then to Gilead, and the next verses open Gilead into six families. One writer finds a meaning in each name.
From Manasseh springs Machir, "one who recollects." As forgetting is the fruit of remembrance, so we also forget so that we can remember. The firm turning away from things here is so that we can be taken up with the things beyond. "Set your minds on things that are above," says the apostle, "not on things that are on earth." From here springs Gilead, the "rocky," hard as it may seem, and rough, but strong. Gilead then branches out into six families. Jeezer means "where there is help"; Helek, "equal division"; Asriel, "divine bond"; Shechem, "shoulder" — that which bears the burden; Shemida, "name of knowledge" — speaking of that one Name, and in understanding that Name is true knowledge. Last comes Hepher, "a digging, a well" — the series ending with what provides lasting refreshment and growth.
Commentators differ over what Gilead's name means. One reading sets it in contrast to Manasseh.
Gesenius gives Gilead as meaning "hard, rocky." But there also seems reason to connect it instead with Jacob's Galeed (Gen. 31:47), "a heap of witness." Gilead would then stand in striking contrast with Manasseh, the name it is linked with, which means "forgetting." A heap of witness exists for the very purpose of making forgetfulness impossible.
Machir's name appears again when Israel divides the land. By then the family has a record behind it.
Slackness and lack of courage are now plain, so it is cheering to read of a warrior with a good inheritance, "because he was a man of war." The family of Machir was brave, and so conquests fell to it. In this way the daughters of Zelophehad, the son of Machir, received their portion according to promise.
The census was not bookkeeping. The totals decided how much land each family received.
This part of the chapter now lays down that each tribe receives its inheritance in the land according to its number. These numbers plainly show gains or losses that the tribes were responsible for. As they had flourished, so they should inherit. The section contains a very solemn warning for us. They divided the land by "lot," which makes this come still more directly from the Lord. (Prov. 16:33.)
- Counted. This verse belongs to the second census. Of the first generation of fighting men, only Joshua and Caleb were still alive.
- Named. Manasseh, "forgetting," fathers Machir, "one who recollects" — we let go of what is behind to take hold of what lies ahead.
- Remembered. Commentators read Gilead either as "rocky" or as Jacob's "heap of witness" — a marker that makes forgetting impossible.
- Strong. Machir's line proved brave, and conquests came to it. Manasseh's total rose by more than twenty thousand in the desert years.
- Inherited. Each tribe received land by its number, so what a family gained in the wilderness set what it received in the land.
These are the sons of Gilead of Jeezer, the family of the Jeezerites; of Helek, the family of the Helkites;
Numbers 26:30 sits inside the second census of Israel, taken just before the nation crossed into Canaan. It names two clans descended from Gilead, in the tribe of Manasseh. Why does God stop to record such names, and what do they have to do with the land ahead?
One writer explains why the count comes now, at the end of the road:
The journey being now ended, God numbers His people afresh, and counts them by name, as heirs ready to take possession of the inheritance. He has kept them through everything, and brought them as far as Canaan; their clothing did not even wear out.
Another writer sees in this fresh counting a love that had not changed:
They were now on the borders of the holy land. The same grace of God that took account of every one of His people when they entered the wilderness shows that His love was unchanged, and His personal interest the same to the end. There was all that could have turned Him aside, had it been possible. Without this there would have been only the taking in of the people as a whole. But here He gives this witness of what they were, every one of them, to Himself.
The men listed under Iezer and Helek are not the men counted in the first census.
How sad to think that, out of the six hundred thousand men of war counted at the first, only two remain — Joshua and Caleb! All the rest lay decaying in the dust, buried beneath the sand of the desert, all passed away. The two men of simple faith remained to have their faith rewarded.
One writer points out who this second list was made of:
The second was made up of the "little ones," who they said in their complaining would be a prey; the Lord brought them into the land of promise. This teaches the same lesson — the old fails and perishes, the new is brought into abiding blessing!
Verse 30 belongs to a line: Manasseh, then Machir, then Gilead, and out of Gilead six families. One commentator reads a meaning in each name:
In this place Manasseh may represent whole-heartedness, as with the apostle in Philippians 3:13. From him springs Machir, "one who recollects." As forgetting is the fruit of remembrance, so we also forget so that we may remember… From here springs Gilead, the "rocky." It is hard, as it may seem, and rough, but strong. Gilead branches out into six families: Jeezer, "where there is help"; Helek, "equal division"; Asriel, "divine bond"; Shechem, "shoulder" — that which bears the burden; Shemida, "name of knowledge"… Last of all, Hepher, "a digging, a well" — the series ends with what provides lasting refreshment and growth.
The first of these two names appears elsewhere in Scripture in a fuller form:
Jeezer, Jeezerites. Son of Gilead and his descendants. Numbers 26:30. It seems to be the same name as Abiezer and the Abiezrites in Joshua 17:2; Judges 6:11, etc., with one letter left out.
These families belonged to Manasseh, and both its growth and its name carry a lesson:
Manasseh increased amazingly, from 32,200 to 52,700. Manasseh means "forgetting." The name may impress on us Paul's words in Philippians 3:13-14: "Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." If we have Paul's attitude of forgetting past achievements and making Christ the object of living, we shall increase more and more in fruitfulness for God.
One commentator sets Manasseh beside Ephraim and draws a lesson about appearances:
Manasseh reverses Ephraim's experience, and illustrates the saying that "many who are first will be last, and the last first." Many a sincere, quiet, plodding Christian, with nothing brilliant about him, will show a brighter record at the close than his brother who apparently had much better prospects.
One commentator points out what the chapter's numbers were for:
This fifth section now provides that their inheritance in the land shall be given out according to the number of the tribes. These numbers clearly represent gains or losses for which they were responsible. As they had flourished, so they should inherit… The "lot" that decided the division makes this come still more directly from the Lord.
- Counted — God counts the people name by name as heirs, right at the border of the land.
- Kept — the count shows a love unchanged from the first numbering to the last.
- Replaced — this roll lists the children their parents said would be prey. Of the old generation, only Joshua and Caleb are left.
- Named — Iezer and Helek are two of Gilead's six families. Iezer is the Abiezer of Joshua and Judges, and each name carries meaning.
- Rewarded — Manasseh, the tribe of these families, grew the most. The quiet plodder can finish with the brighter record, and growth shaped the share of land.
and of Asriel, the family of the Asrielites; and of Shechem, the family of the Shechemites;
God counts His people a second time at the edge of the promised land. This single line in a long roll call names two of the six families that came from Gilead, inside the tribe of Manasseh. Why does God bother to write down clan names like these, and does a name carry any meaning beyond bookkeeping?
The list belongs to the moment when the journey is over and the land is about to be shared out.
Now that the journey is over, God numbers His people again, and counts them by name, as heirs ready to take possession of the inheritance. He has kept them through everything, and brought them as far as Canaan; even their clothes did not wear out.
Family lines matter here in a way they did not before. Once Israel held the land, records of descent decided who owned what.
Though 'generations' appear from the beginning, we do not read of 'genealogies' until Israel was in the land. It was important then to keep the genealogies, because the law said that each of the children of Israel should enjoy the inheritance of his fathers. The inheritance must not pass from one tribe to another.
Asriel and Shechem sit three generations down inside Manasseh. The line runs through Machir, then Gilead. Machir stands at its head.
Machir was the eldest son of Manasseh, and the father of Gilead. His descendants were warriors, and they were the foremost in the tribe.
Here Shechem is a man, the head of a family. The Shechemites are his descendants.
One writer traces a meaning behind each name in this branch, including Gilead's six families.
Manasseh here may stand for whole-heartedness, as with the apostle in Philippians 3:13. From him springs Machir, "one who remembers"… and from him springs Gilead, the "rocky" one — hard, as it may seem, and rough, but strong. Gilead branches out into six families: Jeezer, "where there is help"; Helek, "equal division"; Asriel, "divine bond"; Shechem, "shoulder," the one that bears the burden; Shemida, "name of knowledge," speaking of that one Name, and to grasp that Name is true knowledge. Last, Hepher, "a digging, a well" — the series ending with what gives lasting refreshment and growth.
Asriel and Shechem come third and fourth in that list. This verse is where they appear.
The same writer takes the shoulder further, and points it to Christ Himself.
Shechem means "shoulder," the part that bears the burden. It pictures Christ as the Servant of God's will — for us the Burden-bearer, or rather the One who carries us, as the Shepherd carries the lost sheep in His own parable. Here is power, a power outside ourselves equal to every emergency, to every possible demand made on it. So "the government shall be upon His shoulder," and He is fully able.
Ephraim's name means fruitful. In this second count, Ephraim came out smaller.
Fruitful Ephraim seems to contradict his name, losing eight thousand men. It is one thing to have a name by grace, and quite another to prove it in the way we live.
Manasseh went the other way, and that turnaround speaks to quiet believers.
Manasseh reverses Ephraim's experience. He shows that 'many who are first will be last, and the last first.' Many a sincere, quiet, plodding Christian, with nothing brilliant about him, will show a brighter record at the end than his brother who seemed to have far better prospects.
- Counted — the journey is over, and God counts His people by name as heirs ready to take possession.
- Recorded — Israel kept these family records so each man could enjoy his fathers' inheritance, which must never pass to another tribe.
- Placed — Asriel and Shechem stand inside Manasseh through Machir and Gilead. Even a small clan has a fixed place among the heirs.
- Named — one writer reads Asriel as "divine bond" and Shechem as "shoulder," the part that carries the load.
- Carried — the shoulder points past the clan to Christ the Burden-bearer, power outside ourselves equal to every demand. So quiet, plodding Manasseh grew where fruitful-sounding Ephraim lost ground.
and of Shemida, the family of the Shemidaites; and of Hepher, the family of the Hepherites.
Numbers 26 is a second head count of Israel, taken on the plains of Moab just before the people crossed into Canaan. This verse is one line in the list of Manasseh's clans, and it raises a simple question: why keep two names like Shemida and Hepher on record at all?
This count is not leftover paperwork.
The journey has now ended. God numbers His people again, and counts them by name, as heirs ready to take possession of the inheritance. He has kept them through everything, and brought them as far as Canaan. Even their clothes did not wear out. He settles the details of the inheritance. He appoints a leader in the place of Moses to bring them into the land of promise.
The first census came at the start of the journey. This one comes at the end, after forty years of failure.
They were now on the borders of the holy land. It is the same grace of God that took account of every one of His people when they entered the wilderness. That grace shows His love was unchanged, and His personal interest the same to the end. There was all that could have turned Him aside, had it been possible. Without this there would have been only the taking in of the people as a whole. But here He gives this witness of what they were, every one of them, to Himself. He loves to convince His people of His unwavering love, despite failure on their part.
Each family's name stands next to the land that family would receive.
The numbering of the people, the record of the name of each family, and the inheritance allotted to each all prove the care and love of God. He enters, so to speak, into the details of their life, so that He appoints the place and quality of their possessions.
The names in Manasseh's line carry meanings. The two in this verse close the series.
From Manasseh springs Machir, "one who recollects." From him springs Gilead, the "rocky" — hard, as it may seem, and rough, but strong. Gilead branches out into six families: Jeezer, "where there is help"; Helek, "equal division"; Asriel, "divine bond"; Shechem, "shoulder" — the one who bears the burden. Then comes Shemida, "name of knowledge" — speaking of that one Name, and to understand that Name is true knowledge. Last is Hepher, "a digging, a well" — the series ending with what provides permanent refreshment and growth.
Hepher is on this list for a reason beyond the count.
Zelophehad the son of Hepher is introduced here, not as the head of a distinct family in Manasseh, but as preparing the way for what follows in the next chapter.
The next chapter tells what that family did.
Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, had no sons (see Numbers 27:1-11). Scripture gives the names of his five daughters here again. They now claim the inheritance the Lord had given them. They, too, show the courage of faith. May we also claim in faith that inheritance which belongs to us through the grace of God.
These clans belong to Manasseh. Between the first count and this one, the tribe grew.
But Manasseh increased amazingly from 32,200 (Num. 1:35) to 52,700. Manasseh means "forgetting." The name may impress on us Paul's words of Philippians 3:13-14: "Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." If we have this attitude of Paul in forgetting past achievements and making Christ the object of living, we shall increase more and more in fruitfulness for God.
The count records loss as well as gain.
The new numbering of the people shows how they have come through the wilderness, their increase or decrease, and God's faithfulness to His word, whether in grace or judgment.
- Counted — God counts His people again at the end of the journey. They stand ready as heirs to take the inheritance.
- Named — He records each family by name. The grace that counted them at the start counts them at the finish, and their failure did not change His love.
- Meant — Shemida means "name of knowledge" and Hepher "a well." They close Gilead's six families with what gives lasting refreshment and growth.
- Claimed — Hepher's name prepares the way for Zelophehad's daughters. They show the courage of faith and claim the inheritance the Lord had given them.
- Increased — Manasseh, whose clans these are, grew between the two counts. The numbers record God's faithfulness to His word, in grace and in judgment alike.
-- And Zelophehad the son of Hepher had no sons, but daughters; and the names of the daughters of Zelophehad were Mahlah, and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.
The second census of Israel counts fighting men family by family. Then the list stops at one man of Manasseh who left no sons — only five daughters, each named. That pause opens a question about inheritance that fills three more chapters of Scripture.
The census could have closed Zelophehad's line with a blank. Instead it names his daughters, and those names return again and again in Israel's history.
Scripture mentions them five times in the course of biblical history (Num. 26:33; Num. 27:1-11; Num. 36:3-12; Joshua 17:3-6; 1 Chron. 7:15), proof of the important place they occupy in God's thoughts. Not one of their names is forgotten; they are Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. In Numbers 27 we notice several details about them. First, they recognized that their situation was the result of their father's sin. He was not among those who joined together against the LORD in Korah's company, yet he "died in the wilderness" for "his own sin," and that is why "he had no sons."
Land in Canaan passed from father to son. A household with no son faced disappearing from the map. This verse opens that gap.
The daughters of Zelophehad claimed their father's inheritance. Through that claim God proves the sovereignty of grace, and makes provision in a case where the law made none. Zelophehad had no sons, and no one to carry on the family name. By the law only sons could inherit. Is this inheritance to be lost, swallowed up by others? No — grace gives to these daughters the inheritance of their father, and grace made it a "statute of judgment." This already shows, in shadow, the great truth that in Christ Jesus there is neither male nor female. All believers are sons, heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ.
They made their claim before Israel had even reached the land. They treated God's promise as good as property.
In Numbers 27 we find that this led to legislation in Israel, though they had not yet reached the land where the inheritance was to be. So these daughters were women of faith who relied on the promise of God. They took it for granted that the inheritance would become real. They asked that their father's portion not be lost. The answer of God was, "The daughters of Zelophehad are right." Faith is always right and it commands a blessing.
It also took nerve. They were asking for a share in land no one could yet see.
What presumption — yes, that is the word! — for someone to believe he has a right to a portion in the Promised Land. What presumption, to try to make it real, to make it a substance! What presumption indeed, or what humility and faith! Is it presumption to believe God's promises?
The census lists their names but settles nothing. God's answer came after they spoke.
The Lord waits to set their situation in order until they express this need before Him... Wherever there is zeal to take hold of God's blessings and promises, an answer is sure. But the Lord gives them much more than they were asking.
Had they stayed quiet, the loss would not have stopped with their own family.
Suppose they had listened to the voice of fear and unbelief. Suppose they had refused to come forward before the whole assembly and press the claims of faith. Then they would have lost their own inheritance and blessing. And every future daughter of Israel in the same position would have lost her portion too. Instead they acted in the precious energy of faith. So they kept their inheritance; they got the blessing; they received testimony from God; their names shine on the page of Scripture; and God's own authority made their conduct a precedent for all future generations.
The gift came with a restraint.
If they take the land, the command is that they marry only within the clan of their father's tribe. Some would have thought this an unwelcome restriction. But it was absolutely necessary, so that the property would not pass to another tribe. Every ability and privilege carries a restraint with it. In any case, it is typical of Zelophehad's daughters that they accept the condition and keep it with loyalty and submission, though they had not yet seen so much as a grain of soil of the land promised to them.
- Named — Five daughters, no sons. Yet not one name is forgotten. They appear five times in Scripture, proof of "the important place they occupy in God's thoughts."
- Gap — Under the law only sons could inherit. So their father's portion faced being swallowed up by others — a case "where the law made none."
- Grace — God fills the gap Himself, and commentators see in it a shadow of the truth that in Christ "there is neither male nor female."
- Faith — They asked for land no one had yet seen. God's answer was, "The daughters of Zelophehad are right."
- Reach — Their courage won "a precedent for all future generations." And they accepted the restraint that came with the gift.
-- These are the families of Manasseh; and those that were numbered of them, fifty-two thousand seven hundred.
Numbers 26:34 closes the roll of Manasseh with one figure: 52,700 men. Israel was camped on the plains of Moab, at the edge of the land. Two questions sit behind that line. Why did God count His people a second time, and why had this tribe grown while others shrank?
God had numbered Israel once already, at the start of the desert journey. Counting them again, after years of failure, was an act of love and not mere record-keeping.
After this (Num. 26) there is a fresh numbering of the men of Israel, in view of going to war. They were now on the borders of the holy land. The same grace of God that took account of every one of His people when they entered the wilderness shows that His love was unchanged, and His personal interest in them the same to the end. Everything that could have turned Him aside was there, if that had been possible. Without this there would have been only the taking in of the people as a whole. But here He gives this witness of what they were, every one of them, to Himself. He loves to convince His people of His unwavering love, despite their failure.
The totals in this chapter move in every direction — some tribes up, some down. That unevenness is itself evidence that these are records, not invented numbers.
Besides, I repeat, the numbers given are such as prove they are not fabricated. The small number of Levites, and the numbers of Dan, prove that these statements are drawn from history and facts, and are such as no man on earth would have invented. Population may increase or decrease at such a rate, but that says nothing whatever for particular families. One increases, another becomes extinct. So Manasseh rose from 32,200 to 52,700. Ephraim had sunk from 40,500 to 32,500. Benjamin increased from 35,410 to 45,600. Dan was stationary, Asher had increased from 41,500 to 53,400.
Manasseh's jump of more than twenty thousand is the largest gain in the chapter. Commentators read the tribal names as carrying meaning, and Manasseh's name points to letting the past go.
But Manasseh increased amazingly from 32,200 (Num. 1:35) to 52,700. Manasseh means "forgetting." It may impress on us Paul's words in Philippians 3:13-14: "forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." If we have this attitude of Paul in forgetting past achievements and making Christ the object of living, we shall increase more and more in fruitfulness for God.
Manasseh's brother tribe went the other way, and the pairing is pointed.
Ephraim's name means "fruitfulness," yet this tribe stands in sad contrast to Manasseh. It decreased from 40,500 (Num. 1:33) to 32,500 (v. 37). This may teach us a lesson. If we depend on our reputation for bearing fruit, the fruit itself will shrink badly, because self has become our object rather than Christ. Self-complacency is one of the most damaging attitudes we can adopt.
The total is made up of named clans: Machir, Gilead, and the six families that came from Gilead. Their names carry meanings, and together they read like a path of growth.
In this place Manasseh may represent whole-heartedness, as with the apostle in Phil. 3:13. From him springs Machir, "one who recollects." For as forgetting is the fruit of remembrance, so we also forget in order to remember. We turn firmly away from the things here to occupy ourselves with the things beyond. "Set your minds on things that are above," says the apostle (Col. 3:2), "not on things that are on earth." From him, in turn, springs Gilead, the "rocky" — hard, as it may seem, and rough, but strong. Gilead branches out into six families. Jeezer means "where there is help"; Helek, "equal division"; Asriel, "divine bond"; Shechem, "shoulder," the one that bears the burden; Shemida, "name of knowledge," speaking of that one Name, in the understanding of which is true knowledge. Last comes Hepher, "a digging, a well" — the series ending with what provides for permanent refreshment and growth.
The count had a practical purpose. Later in the chapter God divides the land in proportion to these very figures. That gives the 52,700 a weight beyond arithmetic.
This section now provides that their inheritance in the land will be given to them according to the number of the tribes. These numbers clearly represent gains or losses for which they were responsible. As they had flourished, so should they inherit. The section contains a very solemn warning for us. The "lot," by which the land was divided, makes this come still more directly from the Lord. (Prov. 16:33.)
- Counted — God numbers His people again at the border of the land. His interest in each one is the same at the end of the journey as at the start.
- Credible — tribes rise and fall unevenly. Manasseh climbs from 32,200 to 52,700. Such figures come from real history, not from someone's invention.
- Growing — Manasseh means "forgetting," and this tribe gained the most. Let the past go and press on to Christ.
- Shrinking — Ephraim means "fruitfulness," yet it lost eight thousand men. Leaning on a reputation for fruit is the fastest way to lose the fruit.
- Inheriting — God divided the land by these numbers. What a tribe gained in the desert shaped what it received in the land.
These are the sons of Ephraim, after their families of Shuthelah, the family of the Shuthalhites; of Becher, the family of the Bachrites; of Tahan, the family of the Tahanites.
Numbers 26 records a second counting of Israel, taken on the plains of Moab just before the nation entered Canaan. Verse 35 names Ephraim's three clans, and the total they feed into says something about the forty years just ended.
This count comes at the end of the road, and it looks forward.
The journey being now ended, God numbers afresh His people, and counts them by name, as heirs ready to take possession of the inheritance. He has kept them through everything, and brought them as far as Canaan; their clothing did not even wear out. He settles the details of the inheritance, and appoints a leader in place of Moses to bring them into the land of promise.
This list of Ephraim's clans is a list of a new generation. Of the men counted the first time, only two were still alive.
In this chapter we have the record of the second numbering of the people, as they were about to enter the promised land. How sad to think that, out of the six hundred thousand men of war numbered at first, only two remain — Joshua and Caleb! All the rest lay decaying in the dust, buried beneath the sand of the desert, all passed away.
Each son becomes the head of a clan bearing his name, and that is how the register identifies him:
Son of Ephraim, and the head of the Becherites, Num. 26:35.
Two of these names go back much further. They appear in the count of Jacob's household that went down into Egypt — at least in the Greek version of the Old Testament that Stephen quotes:
This is God's register of Jacob and his house: "seventy" souls including Jacob, and Joseph with his two sons, or "sixty-six" without them. The Septuagint cited by Stephen speaks of seventy-five, because it adds Manasseh's son Machir and grandson Gilead, and Ephraim's two sons, Shuthelah and Tahan, with Shuthelah's son, Eran or Edom.
One commentator will not guess at what these names mean, and he says why.
Ephraim comes after Manasseh with three sons, and a grandson. There is much difficulty with these names. They need an intelligent, believing study that they have never yet received. So I do not try to explain them.
The three clans of verse 35 are counted so that a figure can be reached two verses later — and that figure is lower than it was forty years earlier.
The tribe in the second year from leaving Egypt numbered 40,500 fighting men, but had decreased during the forty years to 32,500. Num. 1:33; Num. 26:37.
No specific sin is recorded to explain it. Commentators differ on how far such swings can be traced: one notes that apart from Simeon's fall after Baal-peor and Reuben's after the rebellion of Dathan and Abiram, "we know nothing that accounts for these other variations." Others read the loss against the meaning of Ephraim's own name.
Fruitful Ephraim seems to contradict his name, losing eight thousand men. It is one thing to have a name by grace, quite another to prove it in our walk.
The contrast with Ephraim's brother tribe is pointed. Manasseh, whose name speaks of forgetting, rose by more than twenty thousand; Ephraim fell.
Ephraim, whose name means "fruitfulness," stands in sad contrast to Manasseh, for this tribe decreased from 40,500 to 32,500. This may teach us that if we depend on our reputation for bearing fruit, the fruit itself will be greatly depleted, because self has become our object rather than Christ. Self-complacency is one of the most damaging attitudes we can adopt.
Naming each family and sharing out the land were both acts of care.
The numbering of the people, the record of the name of each family, and the allotted inheritance for each all prove the care and love of God. He enters, we might say, into the details of their life. He Himself appoints the place and quality of their possessions.
- Counted. God counts His people again at the journey's end, as heirs ready to take the inheritance.
- Named. Shuthelah, Becher and Tahan each head a clan named after him. Two of them go back to the household that went down into Egypt.
- Measured. The clan list builds to a total, and Ephraim's total had dropped from 40,500 to 32,500.
- Tested. The tribe whose name means fruitfulness came out smaller. Holding a name by grace is one thing; proving it in the walk is another.
- Allotted. God appointed each family's portion, entering into the details of their life.
And these are the sons of Shuthelah of Eran, the family of the Eranites.
Numbers 26:36 is one line in a long roll call. Israel has reached the border of Canaan, and God has every tribe listed family by family. So why does He record a grandson like Eran, and what does the count decide?
This list is no leftover from the wilderness. It comes at the moment the journey ends and the land begins.
The journey being now ended, God numbers afresh His people, and counts them by name, as heirs ready to take possession of the inheritance. He has kept them through everything, and brought them as far as Canaan; their clothing did not even wear out. He settles the details of the inheritance, and appoints a leader in place of Moses to bring them into the land of promise.
Eran is not one of Ephraim's sons but one step further down, a son of Shuthelah. A Bible dictionary puts his place plainly:
Son of Shuthelah, and his descendants. Numbers 26:36.
That extra generation is what makes Ephraim's entry unusual, and one writer who traces the meanings of names through the whole chapter stops here and says so honestly:
Ephraim comes after Manasseh with three sons, and a grandson. These names carry much difficulty. They need a thoughtful, believing study that they have never yet received. So I do not try to explain them.
A name in this register is not decoration. It is a legal claim to a piece of ground, and that is why these names belong on earth's record while the believer's name is kept elsewhere.
It was right and proper that the names of Israel's families should be known here. Here is their inheritance, and their title-deeds are in God's book for the earth. It is just as right that our names should not be given. We should be known by the moral traits the Lord taught, not by name, as Israel's families were. Yet God knows us by name. The Lamb's book of life records not the family name but the name of each person.
The totals beside each family were not neutral figures. They recorded gains and losses, and God shared out the land to match.
This fifth section now rules that their inheritance in the land will be shared out according to the number of the tribes. These numbers clearly stand for gains or losses they were responsible for. As they had flourished, so they should inherit. The section therefore fills its numerical place exactly, and it carries a very solemn warning for us. The division was to be made by lot, which makes it come still more directly from the Lord (Proverbs 16:33).
Shuthelah's family belonged to a tribe that shrank over the journey. Its own name makes the loss sharper:
Ephraim, however, whose name means "fruitfulness," stands in sad contrast to Manasseh, for this tribe decreased from 40,500 (Numbers 1:33) to 32,500 (v.37). This may teach us a lesson. If we depend on our reputation for bearing fruit, the fruit itself will shrink badly. The reason is that self has become our object instead of Christ. Self-complacency is one of the most damaging attitudes we can adopt.
Yet the count is not an accusation. The God who counted His people at the start counts them again at the finish.
After this there is a fresh numbering of the men of Israel, in view of going to war. They were now on the borders of the holy land. The same grace of God had taken account of every one of His people when they entered the wilderness. That same grace now shows that His love had not cooled, and that His personal interest was the same to the end. There was all that could have turned Him aside, had it been possible. Without this there would have been only the taking in of the people as a whole. Here He gives this witness of what they were, every one of them, to Himself. He loves to convince His people of His unwavering love, despite their failure.
- Counted — At the journey's end God numbers His people by name, as heirs ready to take possession.
- Named — Eran is a grandson of Ephraim through Shuthelah. His family's line is a title-deed to land in God's book for the earth.
- Measured — The numbers stand for gains or losses the tribes were responsible for. As they had flourished, so they would inherit.
- Diminished — Ephraim, whose name means fruitfulness, fell from 40,500 to 32,500. Living off a reputation for fruit costs the fruit itself.
- Loved — The same care that counted them at the start counts them at the finish. His love had not cooled, despite their failure.
These are the families of the sons of Ephraim according to those that were numbered of them, thirty-two thousand five hundred. These are the sons of Joseph after their families.
Numbers 26 records the second counting of Israel, taken on the edge of the promised land. Verse 37 closes the section on Joseph's descendants with Ephraim's total of 32,500, then gathers both tribes under one name. Two questions follow. Why is Joseph's line split into two tribes? And why does Ephraim leave the desert smaller than he entered it?
The first census in Numbers 1 belonged to the start of the journey. This one belongs to its end, and the difference in purpose shapes everything the chapter reports.
The journey is now over. God numbers His people afresh, and counts them by name, as heirs ready to take possession of the inheritance. He has kept them through everything, and brought them as far as Canaan; their clothing did not even wear out.
That is why a figure like 32,500 is not filler.
The second numbering (Num. 1:2-3) came when Israel was about to fight the enemy. Its object was to find the number of men able to go to war. The Word mentions a third numbering (Num. 26:2, 52-65) of the men fit for military service, and this one was with a view to dividing up the land. Here again the numbering was all important. Each family would see its inheritance in Canaan increase or decrease according to the number of its sons.
The verse ends by calling Ephraim and Manasseh together "the sons of Joseph." Behind that lies an inheritance handed to Joseph through his two boys.
1 Chronicles 5:2 tells us, concerning Israel, "the birthright was Joseph's." Verse 1 tells us that the birthright of Reuben, the eldest son, "was given to the sons of Joseph the son of Israel." We can see why Joseph had two sons and only two: so that he might have the double portion of the firstborn. So in the dividing up of territory, each of Israel's sons had a single portion, that is one tribe each (Levi excluded for obvious reasons). Joseph had the double portion: two tribes, Ephraim and Manasseh.
Ephraim began with the greater promise. Israel (Jacob) put the younger boy ahead of the elder, yet the figures moved the wrong way.
When Israel blessed the two sons of Joseph, he set Ephraim before his elder brother. He said Ephraim should be greater, and his descendants should become a multitude (or "fatness") of nations. Gen. 48:17-19... In the second year from the Exodus the tribe numbered 40,500 fighting men. Over the forty years it had decreased to 32,500. Num. 1:33; Num. 26:37.
The loss cuts deeper because of what the name Ephraim means.
Fruitful Ephraim seems to contradict his name, losing eight thousand men. It is one thing to have a name by grace, quite another to prove it in our walk.
One writer presses the warning further, into the motive behind a shrinking harvest:
This may teach us something. If we depend on our reputation for bearing fruit, the fruit itself will be greatly depleted. The reason is that self has become our object instead of Christ. Self-complacency is one of the most damaging attitudes we can adopt.
Manasseh, the elder brother, went the other way.
Manasseh reverses Ephraim's experience. He illustrates the truth that "many who are first will be last, and the last first." Many a sincere, quiet, plodding Christian, with nothing brilliant about him, will show a brighter record at the close than his brother who seemed to have much better prospects.
The rises and falls are recorded for a reason.
The new numbering of the people shows how they have come through the wilderness, their increase or decrease, and God's faithfulness to His word, whether in grace or judgment.
And the counting itself, coming after forty years of failure, is an act of care:
God took account of every one of His people when they entered the wilderness. That same grace now shows His love had not weakened, and His personal interest was the same to the end... He loves to convince His people of His unwavering love, despite failure on their part.
- Counted — God numbers the people "as heirs ready to take possession of the inheritance." Every figure, including Ephraim's 32,500, measured a share of the land.
- Doubled — Joseph appears as two tribes because Reuben's birthright passed to Joseph's sons. Ephraim and Manasseh are his double portion.
- Named — Ephraim's name speaks of fruitfulness, yet the tribe lost eight thousand men. "It is one thing to have a name by grace, quite another to prove it in our walk."
- Reversed — Manasseh, the elder brother, grew while Ephraim shrank: "many who are first will be last, and the last first."
- Loved — The list records "how they have come through the wilderness." God still counts each one, which shows His love had not weakened to the end.