Hypertext Bible

Numbers 1

Book of ChroniclesHebrew Bible TranslationJewish Publication Society Bible

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This is the opening chapter of the Book of Numbers (Bemidbar) from the Hebrew Bible, a sacred text in the Israelite/Jewish religious tradition. It records God's command to Moses, delivered in the Sinai wilderness one year after the Exodus from Egypt, to conduct a military census of all Israelite men aged twenty and older who are fit for war. The text then enumerates tribal leaders appointed to assist with the count, followed by the census results for each of the twelve tribes, totaling 603,550 fighting men. A distinctive feature of this passage is the explicit exemption of the tribe of Levi from the military census, as the Levites are instead assigned a sacred custodial role: maintaining, transporting, and guarding the Tabernacle (the portable sanctuary), with the penalty of death for any unauthorized person who approaches it. The text frames the entire census as a divinely ordained act of obedience, emphasizing that Moses carried it out precisely as God commanded. A reader seeking this text would find it primarily documentary and procedural in character — an ancient record of tribal organization that establishes both the military structure and the religious hierarchy of Israel during its wilderness period.

Numbers 1

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