Masoretic Notes on Leviticus.
The number of verses in vaiyikra, i. e., Leviticus, is 859. The symbol of which is ^'DJ. "^ pe final stands for 800, J nun for 50, and 13 teth for 9.
Its pareshioth, or larger sections, are 10, the memorial symbol of which is taken from Gen. xxx. 11: TJ J<3 ba gad, a troop cometh: in which 2 beth stands for 2, X aleph for 1, J gimel for 3, and T daleth for 4.
Its sedarim, or Masoretic sections, are 23. The symbol of which is taken from Psa. i, 2, rUTT' yehgeh: In thy law shall he meditate day and night.
Its perakim, or modern chapters, are 27. The memorial sign of which is HTIXI veeyeheh, Gen. xxvi. 3: And I will be with thee, and ivill bless thee.
The number of its open divisions is 52; of its close divisions, 46: total 98. The memorial sign of which is nil* tsach. Cant. v. 10; My beloved is white and ruddy. In this word X tsaddi stands for 90, and PI cheth for 8.
nPHIS, which is the fourth book in order of the Pentateuch, has been called Numbers, Irom its containing an account of the numbering and marshalling the Israelites in ther journeythrough the wilderness to the promised land. Its English name is derived from the title it bears in the Vulgate Latin, Numeri, which is a literal translation of the Greek word Api^fioi, its title in the Septuagint; and from both, our Saxon ancestors called it irecei, numeration, " because in this the children of Israel were numbered," von?am pe irjiaheia beajin paenon on paejia seceaibe. This title, howevcr, does not properly apply to more than the three first chapters, and the 26th. This book, like the preceding, takes its name among the Hebrews from a distinguishing word in the commencement. It is frequently called lanM Vaidabber, and he spoke, from its initial word; but in most Hebrew Bibles its running title is -laina Bemidbar, in the wilderness, which is the Jifth word in the Jirst verse.
The contents of the book of Numbers are briefly the following: On the ^rst day of the iirst month of the second year after the departure from Egypt, the tabernacle being erected, and it and the priests consecrated, Moses is commanded to make a census or enumeration of the people, the Levites excepted, who were appointed to watch over, guard, pitch, and carry the tabernacle and its holy furniture; chap. i.
To form the vast mass of the people into a regular camp, each tribe by itself under its own captain or chief, known by his proper standard, and occupying an assigned place in reference to the tabernacle; chap. ii.
Moses is commanded to separate the Levites to the service of the tabernacle, whom God chooses to take, instead of the first-born of every family, which he claimed as his own. When these were selected in their families, &c., the sum amounted to 22,273; chap. iii.
All this tribe is appointed to serve the tabernacle in a variety of ofiices, each person from the age of thirty till fifty, after which he was excused from farther service; chap. iv.
When these points were settled, God commands them to purify the camp by the expulsion of every unclean person, and establishes the trial of the suspected adulteress by the waters of jealousy; chap. v.
He next institutes the laws relative to Nazarites; and lays down the form according to which the people shall be blessed; chap. vi.
Then follows a particular account of the offerings made to the tabernacle by the princes, or chiefs of the twelve tribes, and the amount of those offerings; chap. vii.
When this work was finished, the Levites were consecrated to their respective services and the duration of the service of each ascertained; chap. viii.
The passover is commanded to be kept, and the first one is celebrated in the wilderness on the 14 th of the first month of the second year after their departure from Egypt chap. ix.
Moses is commanded to make two silver trumpets; he is informed of their use, in what order the different tribes shall march, with the ceremonies at fixing and removing the tabernacle and the departure of the people from the wilderness of Sinai on the twentieth day of the second month of the second year of their exodus from Egypt; chap. x.
The people murmuring, the fire of the Lord consumes many of them; it ceases on the intercession of Moses: they murmur again, quails are sent, and they are smitten with a great plague; chap. xi.
Miriam and her brother Aaron rise up seditiously against Moses, having conceived some dislike against his Cushite wife, and supposing that he assumed too great an authority over the people: at this sedition the Lord is displeased, and smites Miriam with the leprosy; chap. xii.
Twelve spies are sent to examine the promised land; they pass through the whole, return at the end of forty days, and by bringing an evil report, dishearten the people; chap. xiii.
In consequence of this the whole congregation meditate a return to Egypt: God is displeased, and pronounces that all of them, from twenty years old and upwards, shall die in the wilderness. They repent, attack the Amalekites contrary to the commandment of God, and are discomfited; chap. xiv.
A number of ordinances and directions are given relative to the manner of conducting the worship of God in the promised land: different laws are repeated, and a Sabbath-breakei stoned to death; chap. xv.
Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and their associates, form an insurrection against Moses: they are swallowed up by an earthquake; the congregation murmur, and 14,700 of them are cut off; chap. xvi.
As a proof that God had called Aaron and his family to the priesthood, his rod, or staffs buds, and miraculously brings forth blossoms and fruit, and is commanded to be laid up before the testimony; chap. xvii.
The charges of the priests and Levites, and the portions they were to have of the Lord's offerings, for their support in the work; chap, xviii.
The ordinances of the red heifer; the water of purification, and its uses; chap. xix.
The death of Miriam; the waters of Meribah, The Lord tells Moses that, because he did not sanctify him in the eyes of the congregation, he shall not bring the people into the promised land. The king of Edom refuses the Israelites a passage through his territories. Aaron is stripped of his sacerdotal vestments on Mount Hor, and they are put on Eleazar, his son, who is to be a high priest in his stead. Aaron dies, and the people mourn for him thirty days; chap. xx.
Arad, one of the Canaanitish kings, attacks Israel, and he and his people are utterly destroyed. The people murmur for lack of bread and water; fiery serpents are sent among them, they repent; are healed by looking at a brazen serpent. They journey and come to Beer, where they find water; Sihon, king of the Amorites, attacks them, and is defeated; so is likewise Og, king of Bashan, and tlie people possess the lands of both; chap. xxi.
Balak, king of Moab, sends for Balaam to curse Israel; he departs, is opposed by an angel, and reproved by his ass, whom God, for the purpose, miraculously endued with the gift of speech. He comes to Balak, king of Moab, and shows him that Jehovah had limited his power; chap. xxii.
Balak offers sacrifices, and Balaam, under the influence of God, prophesies good concerning Israel; chap, xxiii.
Continuing to foretell the prosperity of Israel, and the destruction of their enemies, the king of Moab dismisses Balaam in great wrath; chap. xxiv.
The Israelites, seduced by the women of Moab and Midian, commit fornication and idolatry: the chiefs are hanged — ^bold act of Phinehas; chap. xxv.
A second census or enumeration of the people takes place, and the amount is 601,730, among whom not one of those of the first census was now found except Joshua and Caleb; chap. xxvi.
From the case of the daughters of Zelophehad a law is made to enable daughters to inhe rit. Moses ascends Mount Abarim, sees the promised land, and constitutes Joshua his sue ces«K)r; chap, xxvii.
A repetition of the laws relative to burnt-offerings, the Sabbath, the passover, Jirst-fruits, &c.; chap, xxviii
The three solemnities of the seventh month are commanded to be held on the Jirst, tenth, and fourteenth days of the month; chap. xxix.
Several laws and ordinances concerning vows of different kinds, made by various persons; when they should be confirmed, and in what cases annulled; chap. xxx.
Twelve thousand Israelites go against the people of Midian and slay them, their five kings, and Balaam their prophet; and the Israelites take immense booty in persons, cattle, gold, silver, and precious stones, of which they make a great offering to the Lord, because in this contest they lost not one man; chap. xxxi.
The children of Reuben and Gad, and the half tribe oi Manasseh, request to receive for their inheritance the territories of Sihon and Og on the east side of Jordan; their desire is granted on the condition of their going over armed with their brethren, to assist them in conquering the land; chap, xxxii.
A circumstantial account of the forty-two journeys of the Israelites from their departure from Rameses till their arrival at Jordan. They are commanded to expel all the ancient inhabitants; chap, xxxiii.
The borders of the land are described, and the persons appointed by God, who should assist Joshua in dividing the land among the nine tribes and half; chap, xxxiv.
Forty-eight cities are to be assigned to the Levites, out of the twelve tribes, for their goods and for their cattle: and out of these they were to appoint six cities of refuge for the person who had unawares slain his neighbour; to one of which cities the manslayer was to escape, and tarry there till the death of the high priest; chap. xxxv.
A law established that the daughters to whom the paternal inheritance descends, shall not marry out of their own tribes, lest their inheritances should become alienated and lost by being blended with those of other tribes; chap, xxxvi. See the case of Zelophehad's daughters, chap, xxvii.
In this book, which comprehends the history of between thirty-eight and thirty-nine years, we have in one word a distinct account of the several stages of the Israelites' journey in the wilderness, the various occurrences on the way, their trials, rebellions, punishments, deliverances, conquests, &c., with several laws and ordinances not mentioned in the preceding books, together with a repetition and explanation of some others which had been previously delivered; the whole forming a most interesting history of the justice, mercy, and provi dence of God.
On the first day of the second month of the second year after Israel came out of Egypt, God commands Moses to number all the males of the people from twenty years and upward, who were effective men and able to go to war, 1-3. A chief of each tribe is associated ivith Moses and Aaron in this business, 4; the names of whom are given, 5-16. Moses assembles the people, tvho declare their pedigrees according to their families, 17—19. The descendants o/* Reuben are numbered, and amount to 46,500, ver. 20, 21. Those o/ Simeon, 59,300, t;er. 22, 23. Those of Gad, 45,650, ver. 2^,25. Those of Jvbah, 7 4,600, ver. 26, 27. Those of IssACHAR, 54,400, ver. 28, 29. Those o/Zebulun, 57,400, t)er. 30, 31, Those o/Ephraim, 40,500, ver. 32, 33. Those of Manasseh, 32,200, ver. 34, 35. Those of Benjamin, 35,400, ver. 36, 37. Those of Ban, 62,700, ver. 38, 39. Those o/ Asher, 41,500, ver. 40, 41. Those o/Naphtali, 53,400, ver. 42, 43. The amount of all the effective men in Israel, from twenty years old and upward, was 603,550, ver. 44-46. The Levites are not numbered ivith the tribes, because they were dedicated to the service of God. Their particular work is specified, 47—54.
AND the Lord spake unto Moses ^ in the wilderness of Sinai, ^ in the tabernacle of congregation, on the first day of the
second month, in the second year after they were come out of the land of Egjrpt, saying, 2 ° Take ye the sum of all the congregation
Numbers
Verse 1. The Lord spake unto Moses — on the first day of the second month] As the tabernacle was erected upon the first day of the first month, in the second year after their coming out of Egypt, Exod. xl. 17; and this muster of the people was made on the first day of the second month, in the same year; it is evident that the transactions related in the preceding book must all have taken place in the space of one month, and during the time the Israelites were encamped at Mount Sinai, before they had begun their journey to the promised land.
Verse 2. Take ye the sum, ^-c] God, having established the commonwealth of Israel by just and equitable laws, ordained every thing relative to the due performance of his own worship, erected his tabernacle, which was his throne, and the place of his residence among the people, and consecrated his priests who were to minister before him; he now orders his suba
of the children of Israel, after their famiUes, by the house of their fathers, with the. number of their names, every male by their polls;
3 From ^twenty years old and upward, all that are able to go forth to war in Israel: thou and Aaron shall number them by their ^ armies,
jects to be mustered, 1. That they might see he had not forgotten his promise to Abraham, but was multi-. plying his posterity. 2. That they might observe due order in their march toward the promised land. 3. That the tribes and families might be properly distinguished; that all litigations concerning property, inheritance, &c., might, in all future times, be prevented. 4. That the promise concerning the Messiah might be known to have its due accomplishment, when in the fulness of time God should send him from the seed of Abraham through the house of David. And, 5. That they might know their strength for war; for although they should ever consider God as their protector and defence, yet it was necessary that they should be assured of their own fitness, naturally speaking, to cope with any ordinary enemy, or to surmount any common difficulties.
Verse 3. From twenty years old and upward] In this census no women were reckoned, nor children,
Names of the persons appointed NUMBERS.
to number the Israelites.
A. M. 25^4. 4 And with you there shall be a
An. Exod. isr. 2. man oi every tribe; every one ^J""'"^'^- head of the house of his fathers.
5 And these are the names of the men that shall stand with you: of the tribe of Reuben; Elizur the son of Shedeur.
6 Of Simeon; Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai.
7 Of Judah; Nahshonthe son of Amminadab.
8 Of Issachar; Nethaneel the son of Zuar.
9 Of Zebulun; Ehab the son of Helon.
1 0 Of the children of Joseph: of Ephraim; Elishama the son of Ammihud: of Manasseh; Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur.
1 1 Of Benjamin; Abidan the son of Gideoni.
12 Of Dan; Ahiezer thesonof Ammishaddai.
13 Of Asher; Pagiel the son of Ocran.
14 Of Gad; Eliasaph the son of ^ Deuel.
15 Of NaphtaH; Ahira the son of Enan.
1 6 ^ These were the renowned of the congregation, princes of the tribes of their fathers, ^ heads of thousands in Israel.
17 And Moses and Aaron took these men which are expressed by their names:
18 And they assembled all the congregation together on the first day of the second month, and they declared their pedigrees after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, by their polls.
nor strangers, nor the Levites, nor old men, which, collectively, must have formed an immense multitude; the Levites alone amounted to 22,300. True-born Israelites only are reckoned; such as were able to carry arms, and were expert for war.
Verse 14. Eliasaph, the son of Deuel.] This person is called Reuel, chap. ii. 14. As the T daleth is Very like the "» resh, it was easy to mistake the one for the other. The Septuagint and the Syriac have Reuel in this chapter; and in chap. ii. 14, the Vulgate, the Samaritan, and the Arabic have Deuel instead of Reuel, with which reading a vast number of MSS. concur; and this reading is supported by chap. x. 20; we may safely conclude therefore that Sx^n Deuel, not Sxi;;"l Reuel, was the original reading. See Kennicott.
An ancient Jewish rabbin pretends to solve every difficulty by saying that " Eliasaph was a proselyte; that before he embraced the true faith he was called the son of Reuel, but that after his conversion he was called the son of Deuel.'''' As Reuel may be translated the breach of God, and Deuel the knowledge of God, I suppose the rabbin grounded his supposition on the different meanings of the two words.
1 9 As the Lord commanded a. m. 2514. Moses, so he numbered them in An^Exod^S2. the wilderness of Sinai. ijar or zif.
20 And the children of Reuben, Israel's eldest son, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, by their polls, every male from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;
2 1 Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of ^ Reuben, were forty and six thousand and five hundred.
22 Of the childi-en of ^ Simeon, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, those that were numbered of them, according to the number of the names, by their polls, every male from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;
of the tribe of Simeon, were fifty and nine thousand and three hundred.
24 Of the children of ^ Gad, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the
that were able to go forth to war;
of the tribe of Gad, were forty and five thousand six hundred and fifty.
Verse 16. These were the renowned] Literally, the called, of the congregation — those who were summoned by name to attend. The order of the tribes in the above enumeration m.ay be viewed thus; —
Verse 25. Forty and five thousand six hundred and fifty.] Mr. Ainsworth has remarked that Gad, the handmaid's son, is the only one of all the tribes whose number ends with fifty, all the others are by thousands, and end with hundreds; which shows God's admirable providence and blessing in multiplying them so, that no odd or broken number was among all the tribes. But see on ver. 46.
An. Exod. isr. 2. by their generations, after their ^J^'^"'^^^^- 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 tribe of Judah, were threescore and fourteen thousand and six hundred.
28 Of the children of "» Issachar, by 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 tribe of Issachar, were fifty and four thousand and four hundred.
30 Of the children of » Zebulun, by 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;
3 1 Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Zebulun, were fifty and seven thousand and four hundred.
32 Of the children of p Joseph, namely, of the children of i Ephraim, by their generations, after their families, by the houss of their fathers, according to the number of the
that were able to go forth to war;
of the tribe of Ephraim, were forty thousand and five hundred.
34 Of the children of ^ Manasseh, by 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;
3 5 Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Manasseh, were thirty and two thousand and two hundred.
Verse 33. The tribe of Ephraim — -forty thousand and Jive hundred.] Ephraim, as he was blessed beyond his eldest brother Manasseh, Gen. xlviii. 20, so here he is increased by thousands more than Manasseh, and more than the whole tribe of Benjamin, and his blessing continued above his brother, Deut. xxxiii. 17. And thus the prophecy, Gen. xlviii. 19, was fulfilled: His younger brother (Ephraim) shall be greater than he, (Manasseh.) No word of God can possibly fall to the ground: he alone sees the end mm, by their generations, alter An. Exod. isr. 2. their families, by the house of Ijar or Zif. their fathers, according to the number of the that were able to go forth to war;
of the tribe of Benjamin, were thirty and five thousand and four hundred.
38 Of the children of * Dan, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of. the
that were able to go forth to war;
of the tribe of Dan, were threescore and two thousand and seven hundred.
40 Of the children of Asher, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the
that were able to go forth to war;
4 1 Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Asher, were forty and one thousand and five hundred.
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 tribe of Naphtali, were fifty and three thousand and four hundred.
44 " These are those that were numbered, which Moses and Aaron numbered, and the princes of Israel, being twelve men: each one was for the house of his fathers.
45 So were all those that were numbered of the children of Israel, by the house of their fathers, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war in Israel;
46 Even all they that were numbered were
from the beginning; his infinite wisdom embraces all occurrences, and it is his province alone to determine what is right, and to predict what himself has purposed to accomplish.
Verse 46. All they that were numbered were six hundred thousand and three thousand and Jive hundred and fifty.] What an astonishing increase from seventy souls that went down into Egypt, Gen. xlvi. 27, about 215 years before, where latterly they had endured the greatest hardships! But God's promise cannot fail,
The Levites are not numbered.
Their particular work specified
47 But ^ the Levites after the tribe of their fathers w^ere not numbered among them.
48 For the Lord had spoken unto Moses,
49 ^ Only thou shalt not number the tribe of Levi, neither take the sum of them among the children of Israel:
50 y But thou shalt appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of testimony, and over all the vessels thereof, and over all things that belong to it: they shall bear the tabernacle, and all the vessels thereof; and they shall minister unto it, ' and shall encamp round about the tabernacle.
51 * And when the tabernacle setteth for-
(Gen. xvi. 5;) and who can resist his will, and bring to naught his counsel 1 That a comparative view may be easily taken of the state of the tribes, I shall produce them here from the first census mentioned in the first chapter of this book, in their decreasing proportion, beginning with the greatest and proceeding to the least; and in the second census, mentioned chap, xxvi., where the increase of some and the decrease of others may be seen in one point of view. It may be just remarked, that except in the case of Gad in this chapter, and Reuben in chap, xxvi., all the numbers are what may be called lohole or round numbers, beginning with thousands, and ending with liundreds, Gad and Reuben alone ending with tens; but the Scripture generally uses round numbers, units and fractions being almost constantly disregarded.
Total 603,550 Total 601,730 Thus we find Judah the most populous tribe, and Manasseh the least so; the difference between them being so great as 42,400, for which no very satisfactory reason can be assigned.
In the second census, mentioned chap. xxvi. 34,
Judah still has the pre-cminency; and Simeon, the see al<50 that the little tribe of Manasseh occupies the and when the tabernacle An. Exod. isr. 2.
V7ard, the Levites shall take it is to be pitched, the Levites shall
set it up: ^ and the stranger that cometh nigh
52 And the children of Israel shall pitch their tents, '^ every man by his own camp, and every man by his own standard, throughout their hosts.
53 "^ But the Levites shall pitch round about the tabernacle of testimony, that there be no ® wrath upon the congregation of the children of Israel: ^ and the Levites shall keep the charge of the tabernacle of testimony.
54 And the children of Israel did according to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so did they.
On the contrary there was a decrease in Reuben of 2,770; in Simeon, 37,100; Garf, 5,150; Ephraim, 8,000; Naphtali, 8,000. Decrease in the whole, 61,020 effective men. See on chap. xxvi.; but balanced with the increase, the decrease was upon the whole only 1,820.
On the subject of these enumerations, and the manner in which this vast multitude sprang in about four generations from seventy-five persons, Scheuchzer has some valuable calculations, though liable to some ob jections, which I shall take the liberty to insert, as they tend to throw considerable light upon the subject.
" We find in the writings of Moses three enumerations of the Jewish people, that follow each othei pretty closely: — The first, which was made at their departure that of the Levites given us in chap. iii.
" We find the same number, on adding that of each tribe given us in detail, which is the best proof of the exactness of the calculation.
" I think I shall afford the reader some degree of pleasure by presenting him, in this place, the number of each tribe separately, beginning at their earliest ancestors. We shall see, by this means, how faithfully God fulfilled the promise he had made to Abraham, as well as the great utility of the mathematics for the right understanding of the Holy Scriptures. C 40»)
Remarks on the multiplication
I shall begin with a Genealogical Table of that family which God so wonderfully blessed; and to it I shall afterward add each separate tribe, following the calculation of Reyher, (Math. Mos., p. 222.) And we shall see that the fourth generation, taken with the third, produces the very number mentioned in the text. Children of Jacob by Leah. Gen. xlvi. 15. Hanoch
_ Car mi Jemuel Jamin Ohad Jachin Zohar
LShimron J rSered Zebulun < Elon
Children of Jacob by Zilpah. ■ Ziphion Haggai Shuni Ezbon Eri Arodi. Areli " Jimnah Ishuah Isui
Heber Malchiel Children of Jacob by Rachel
Manasseh Ephraim Belah ' Becher Ashbel Gerah Naaman Ehi Rosh Muppim Huppim Ard
I. — Reuben 46,500. " Let us now descend to the particular enumeration of each tribe. Reuben had four sons: now if we suppose that one of these four sons had seven, and that each of the other three had eight, we shall find the number 31 for the frsl Egyptian generation. If we afterward suppose that each of these 31 sons had five sons, the second generation will amount to 155, which, multiplied by 15, will produce 2,325 for the third generation; and these, multiplied by 19, will make 44,175 for the fourth; so that the third, together with the fourth, will make 46,500. We shall have the same product if the given sum, 46,500, be divided by the most probable number of children, for example, by the number 19; we shall then have 2,447 for the third generation; which sum being deducted from the sum total, there will remain 44,053 for the fourth generation, which is exactly the number that is produced in multiplying 2,440 of the third generation by 18, and the other 7 by 19. If we wish to make the same calculation with respect to the preceding generations, i. e., divide them by the most probable number of children, we shall have the following
Sons of Reuben I. Generation II. Ditto
" Simeon had six sons. Let us suppose that each of the three first had six children, and each of the three others seven, we shall have thirty-nine for the first generation. If we multiply 31 of this number by 9, and 8 by 10, we shall have for the second generation 359; of which number, if we multiply 355 by 11, and 4 by 12, the third generation will give us 3,953. Let us then multiply 3,948 of these by 14, and 5 of them by 15, and we shall have for the fourth 55,347. The third and /ot<ri!A, added together, will make 59,300.
" Gershon, Levi's eldest son, had two children: let us give to one of these 10 children, and to the other 17, and we shall have 33 for the second generation; 28 of which, multiplied by 15, and 5 by 16, will produce 500 for the third. Multiply each by 14, and these will produce 7,000; and the third and fourth together, 7,500.
" Kohath, Levi's second son, had four sons, which form the first line. Give to one of them 10 sons, and 1 1 to each of the other three, for the secoiid generation there will be 43. Multiply them by 10, there will be 430 for the third; these, multiplied by 19 for the fourth, will produce the number of 8,170. The third and fourth added together make 8,600.
Remarks on the multiplication
10 children to each of them, there will then be 20 for the second generation. Now if we say that 10 of these 20 had each 16 sons, and each of the others 16, we shall have 310, which, multiplied by 19, will give us 5,890 for the fourth; and the two last together, 6,200. This may be seen by the following example: —
" The sons oiJudah were Shelah, Pharez, and Zerah. His grandsons by Pharez were Hezron and Hamul. Hezron had two sons. Suppose each of them had six children, which will make 12 for the first generation; to eight of whom allow eight children, and nine to each of the others, and there will be 100 for the second generation. To 92 of these then give 18 children, and 19 to the eight others; this will produce for the third generation 1,808. If we then suppose that 1,800 of these had each 18 children, and that each of the other eight had 19, the fourth generation will be 32,552, which, added to the product of the third, will make the descendants oi Hezron amount to 34,360.
"Hamul had ttvo sons, who, multiplied by 10, produce the number of 20 for the second generation: these, multiplied by 20, will make 400 for the third, and these again by 25 will produce 10,000 for the fourth. And thus the two last generations will amount together to the number of 10,400.
" If we allow Jive sons to Shelah, and sioc to Zerah, we shall have 1 1 for the first generation. To three of whom allow 1 0 children and 1 1 to the other eight, this will give us 1 18 for the second. To 1 13 of these give 14, and 15 to the other fve, and 1657 will be produced for the third. Give 17 to 1643, and 18 to the 14 remaining, and for the fourth there will be 28,183. The third and fourth added together will produce the number of 29,840.
" According to this calculation, all these generations will amount to the following numbers: —
IssACHAR hadyiue sons. Suppose that three of tnem had each five children, and the other tiuo, six, we.shall have 27 for the first generation. If we then imagine that of these 1 9 had each «mc sons, and each of the other eight 10, the second generation will be 251. Now 241 of these, multiplied by 12, will produce 2,892, and the 10 others, multiplied by 13, will make 130; consequently the third generation will amount to 3,022. If 3,018 of these had each 17 eona, and each of the other /our had 18, i]\e fourth
" Zebulun had three sons. If we suppose that two of them had in all fourteen children, and the third, six, here will be 20 for the first generation. The second will produce 143, on multiplying 17 by 7, and 3 by 8. If we multiply 135 by 16, and 8 by 17, the third will amount to 2,296. By multiplying the third by 24, the fourth will give us 55,104. The two last will produce, together, 57,400.
Amount of generations III. and IV.
" Heber and Malchiel were sons of Beriah. Now these two sons multiplied by 5, give us for
Amount of generations III. and IV. " Another son of Beriah had in the I. Generation. _ - -
II. Ditto multiply by 8 -
III. Ditto multiply by 10
The Israelites are taught how to pitch their tents.
"He had 10 sons; two of whom, multiplied by 9, and the other 8 by 10, will give for the
III. Ditto multiply by 19
*' He had 4 sons, the half of whom, multiplied by 7, and the other half by 6, give us for the I. Generation - - - - - 26
Amount of generations III. and IV. Total number of all the tribes. Reuben. _ _
X. Benjamin XI. Dan XIL Naphtali
The whole number together, as above - 625,850"
In the above calculations, Scheuchzer and Reyher take for granted, 1. That from the going down to Egypt to the exodus there were four generations.
2. That the first two generations had died in Egypt.
3. That the promise of God in multiplying them as the stars of heaven, had taken place particularly in the two last generations. 4. That these two last generations alone form the aggregate sums given in the sacred text. 5. That their method of accounting for this aggregate through the four generations, is not only perfectly natural and mathematical, but strictly accordant with the promises made by God to them, as the sum of each tribe sufficiently proves. 6. That the whole account shows the truth of the Divine promise, the great accuracy of the Jewish lawgiver, and a proof of the inspiration of the sacred writings. But even to these calculations and deductions there may be objections, e. g., "Scheuchzer gives to 2,508 families of Dan, 24 male children, each above the age of 20: we may fairly allow an equal number of females, and add 5 more under 20, as in the note under Exod. xii. 37, and we have 53 children on the average through all the families of a tribe; whilst to 4,425 families of Benjamin are allotted 7 males aged 20, and adding 7 females at 5 children, we have 19 children in each family; a tolerable number; but apparently more rea^ sonable than the other." — ^Anon.
Moses commanded to teach the Israelites hoio they are to pitch their tents, and erect the ensigns of their fathers'' houses, 1, 2. Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun, on the east, amounting to 186,400 men, 3—9. Reuben, Simeon, and Gad, ore the south, ivith 151,450 men, 10-16. TAe Levites to be in the midst of the camp, 17. Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin, on the west, loith 108,100 men, 18-24. Dan, Asher, and Naphtali, on the north, tuith 157,600 men, 25-31. The sum total of the whole, 603,550 men, 32. But the Levites are not included, 33. The people do as the Lord commands them, 34.
Verse 2. Every man — shall pitch by his oivn standard] Commentators, critics, philosophers, and professional men, have taken a great deal of pains to illustrate this chapter by showing the best method of encampment for such a vast number of men, and the manner in which they conceive the Israelites formed the ensign of their father's house: An. Exod. Isr. 2. ^ far off about <= the tabernacle of ^i^''>'^'^- the congregation shall they pitch.
their camp in the wilderness. As God gave them the plan, it was doubtless in every respect perfect; and fully answered the double purpose of convenience and security. Scheuchzer has entered into this subject with his usual ability, and in very considerable detail. Following the plan of Reyher, as in the preceding chapter, he endeavours to ascertain the precise order
A. M. 2514. 3 And on the east side toward An. Exod. isr! 2. the rising of the sun, shall they
^j" "'' ^'^- of the standard of the camp of Judah pitch throughout their armies: and ^ Nahshon the son of Amminadab shall he captain of the children of Judah.
bered of them, were threescore and fourteen thousand and six hundred.
5 And those that do pitch next unto him shall he the tribe of Issachar: and Nethaneel the son of Zuar shall he captain of the children of Issachar.
bered thereof, were fifty and four thousand and four hundred.
7 Then the tribe of Zebulun: and Eliab the son of Helon shall he captain of the children of Zebulun.
bered thereof, were fifty and seven thousand and four hundred.
9 All that were numbered in the camp of Judah were a hundred thousand and fourscore thousand and six thousand and four hundred, throughout their armies. ® These shall first set forth.
1 0 On the south side shall he the standard of the camp of Reuben according to their armies: and the captain of the children of Reuben shall he Elizur the son of Shedeur.
1 1 And his host, and those that were numbered thereof, wei-e forty and six thousand and five hundred.
12 And those which pitch by him shall he the tribe of Simeon: and the captain of the children of Simeon shall he Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai.
1 3 And his host, and those that a. m. 2514. were numbered of them, were An. Exod. isr! 2. fifty and nine thousand and three Ijar or Zif.
14 Then the tribe of Gad: and the captain of the sons of Gad shall he Eliasaph the son of ^ Reuel.
bered of them, were forty and five thousand and six hundred and fifty.
16 All that were numbered in the camp of Reuben were a hundred thousand and fifty and one thousand and four hundred and fifty, throughout their armies & And they shall set forth in the second rank.
17 ^ Then the tabernacle of the co'igregation shall set forward with the camp of the Levites in the midst of the camp: as they encamp, so shall they set forward, every man in his place by their standards,
18 On the west side shall he the standarc of the camp of Ephraim, according to their armies: and the captains of the sons of Ephraim shall he Elishama the son of Ammihud.
20 And by him shall he the tribe of Manasseh: and the captain of the children of Manasseh shall he Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur.
2 1 And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were thirty and two thousand and two hundred.
22 Then the tribe of Benjamin: and the captain of the sons of Benjamin shall he Abidan the son of Gideoni.
in which the several tribes were disposed; and as his work is both scarce and dear, the reader will not be displeased to meet here with a translation of all that refers to the subject.
Scheuchzer's Descuiption and Plan of the Encampments OP THE Israelites in the Wilderness.
" If we form a proper idea of God, of his essence and his attributes, we shall easily perceive that this infinite and supreme Being wills and executes what his Divine wisdom appoints; in a word, we shall see that he is the God of order. This order displays itself in the perfection, arrangement, and assemblage of all created beings; in the construction of the earth
which we inhabit, where every thing is formed in order, number, weight, and measure; and in all bodies, great and small. It is certain that Noah^s ark is a perfect model of naval architecture. The temple of Solomon, and that of Ezekiel were likewise masterpieces in their kind. But at present we are to consider the Divine arrangement of the Israelitish camp, and the manner in which it was formed.
" The Israelitish army was divided into three principal divisions. The first, which was the least in extent, but the strongest and the most powerful, occupied the centre of the array: this was the throne of God, i. e., the tabernacle. The second, which was composed of the priests and Levites, surrounded the
How the different tribes
kjoere disposed in camps.
A. M. 2514. bered of them, were thirty and Au. JExod. isr. 2. five thousand and four hundred.
^"°'^^'^- 24 All that were numbered of the camp of Ephraim were a hundred thousand and eight thousand and a hundred, throughout their armies. ' And they shall go foTward in the third rank.
25 The standard of the camp of Dan shall be on the north side by their annies: and the captain of the children of Dan shall be Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.
bered of them, were threescore and two thousand and seven hundred.
27 And those that encamp by him shall be the tribe of Asher: and the captain of the children of Asher shall be Pagiel the son of Ocran.
bered of them, were forty and one thousand and five hundred.
29 Then the tribe of Naphtali: and the captain of the children of Naphtali shall be Ahira the son of Enan.
first. The third, and the farthest from the centre, took in all the other tribes of Israel, who were at least about a mile from the tabernacle. For it appears from Josephus, iii. 4, that the nearest approach they dared make to the ark, except during the time of worship, was a distance of 2,000 cubits. The reverence due to the Divine Majesty, the numerous army of the Israelites, composed of 600,000 soldiers, with their families, which made about 3,000,000 souls, naturally demanded a considerable extent of ground. We are not to imagine that all these families pitched their tents pellmell, without order, like beasts, or as the troops of Tartary, and the eastern armies; on the contrary, their camp was divided according to the most exact rules. And we cannot even doubt that their camp was laid out, and the place of every division and tribe exactly assigned by some engineers, or geometricians, before the army stopped to encamp, in order that every person might at once find his own quarter, and the road he ought to take to reach the other tents. " Four divisions, which faced the four quarters of the heavens, each with his own ensign, formed the centre of the army. Judah was placed on the east, and under him he had Issachar and Zebulun; on the south was Reuben, and under him Simeon and Gad: on the west was Ephraim, and under him Manasseh and Benjamin; finally, Dan was on the north, and he had under him Asher and Naphtali. It has been pretended by some that these four principal divisions were not alone distinguished by their ensigns, but that each particular tribe had likewise its standard or ensign. On this subject we might refer to the Talraudists, who have gone so far as to define the a
30 And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were fifty and three thousand and four
31 All they that were numbered in the camp of Dan were a hundred thousand and fifty and seven thousand and six hundred. ^They shall go hindmost with their standards.
32 These are those which were numbered of the children of Israel by the house of their fathers: ^ all those that were numbered of the camps throughout their hosts were six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty.
33 But " the Levites were not numbered among the children of Israel; as the Lord
34 And the children of Israel did according to all that the Lord commanded Moses: ^ so they pitched by their standards, and so they set forward, every one after their families, according to the house of their fathers.
colours, and the figures or arms, of the very ensigns. They pretend that on that of Judah a lion was painted, with this inscription: ' Rise, Lord, let thine enemies he dispersed, and let those that hate thee flee before thee,-' and they found this description of Judah's ensign in Gen. xlix. 9. They give to Issachar an ass. Gen. xlix. 14; to Zebulun a ship, Gen. xlix. 13; to Reuben a river, Gen. xlix. 4, (others give Reuben the figure of a man;) to Simeon a sivord. Gen. xlix. 5; to Gad a lion, Deut. xxxiii. 20; to Ephraim a unicorn, Deut. xxxiii. 17; an ox to Manasseh, Deut. xxxiii. 17; a toolf to Benjamin, Gen. xlix. 27; and a serpent to Dan, Gen. xlix. 17, though others give him an eagle. In short, they pretend that the ensign of Asher was a handful of corn, Gen. xlix. 20, and that of Naphtali a stag, Gen. xlix. 21.
" To prove that the sums here are correctly added, we have but to join together the detached numbers, and see if they agree with the total. The text will furnish us with an example of this: there was in the quarter of
" Among other things we must remark that rule of military tactics which requires that the advanced and rear guards should be stronger than the centre.
" In a well-regulated camp, cleanliness is considered indispensably necessary; this is particularly remarkable in the Israelitish army, where the most exact order was maintained. Hence every person who had
castrametation of the Israetitei.
any kind of disease, and those who were reputed uncleem, were forbidden to enter it; Num. v. 2, 3; Deut. xxiii. 10.
" Those who have the health of men, and of a whole army confided to them, are not ignorant that diseases may be easily produced by putrid exhalations from excrementitious matter; and that such matter will produce in camps pestilential fevers and dysenteries. For this reason, care should be always taken that offices, at a distance from the camp, be provided for the soldiers, and also that those who are sick should be separated from the others, and sent to hospitals to be properly treated.
" In military tactics we find two distinct wings spoken of; the right and the left. The Israelitish army not only had them on one side, as is customary, but on all their four sides. On the eastern side, the tribe of Issachar formed the right, that of Zebulun the left, and that of Judah the centre. On the south, Simeon formed the right wing. Gad the left, and Reuben the centre. Towards the west, Manasseh composed the right, Benjamin the left, and Ephraim the centre. And on the north, Asher was on the right wing, Naphtali on the left wing, and Dan in the centre. Notwithstanding this, however, the army was not in danger of being easily broken; for every tribe being numerous, they were supported by several ranks, in such a manner that the first being broken, the second was capable of making resistance; and if the second gave way, or shared the same fate as the first, it found itself supported by the third, and so on with the rest. The square form in which the Jewish army was ordinarily placed, was the very best for security and defence. The use and importance of the hollow square in military tactics is well known.
" For so large a multitude of people, and for so numerous an army, it was needful that all the necessary articles of life should be prepared beforehand, or be found ready to purchase. In these respects nothing was wanting to the Israelites. Their bread came down to them from heaven, and they had besides an abundance of every thing that could contribute to magnificence. If we may credit Josephus, they had amongst them public markets, and a variety of shops. Ant., 1. iii. c. 12, sec. 5. The tabernacle being erected, it was placed in the midst of the camp, each of the three tribes stretching themselves on the wings, and leaving between them a sufficient space to pass.
" It was, says Josephus, like a well appointed market where every thing was ready for sale in due order, and all sorts of artificers kept their shops; so that this camp might be considered a movable city.
" In Exod. xxxii. 27 we likewise find that mention is made of the gates of the camp: ' Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp.' From whence we may certainly conclude that if the camp had gates, the Israelites had also sentinels to guard them. If this be true, we may also believe that they were surrounded with entrenchments, or that at least their gates were defended by some fortifications. Sagittarius (de Jan. Vet., c. 18. ^ 10) pretends that the tabernacle was not only guarded by the Levites, but that there were likewise sentinels at the gates, and at the entrance of the Israelitish camps. See the note on Exod. xxxii. 27.
" If we examine and compare the camp of Israel with that of our most numerous armies, which in these days are composed of 100,000 or of 150,000 men, we cannot but consider it of vast extent. The Jews say it was twelve miles in circumference; this is not at all improbable, and consequently the front of each wing must be three miles in extent. But taking in the tents, the soldiers and their numerous families, the beasts of burden, the cattle, and the goods, it certainly must have formed a very considerable inclosure, much more than twelve miles. See the notes on Exod. xii. 37, and xiii. 18. Reyher (Math. Mos., p. 568) assigns to the
Tribe of Judah, A space of
298f cubits in breadth
Which makes 74,600 square cubits,
" We must observe that we are here merely speaking of the ground which the soldiers of this tribe occupied whilst remaining close to each other in their ranks, and that in this computation there is but one cubit square allowed for each man; wherefore, if we take in the arrangement of the soldiers, the tents, the necessary spaces, the families, the beasts of burden, and the movables, a much larger extent of ground is requisite. All those circumstances do not come into Reyher^s calculation. He continues thus: —
For the tribe of Issachar,
217| cubits in breadth
For the tribe of Gad,
1 40 j^i cubits in breadth
For the tribe of Zebulun,
22 9f cubits in breadth
For the tribe of Ephraim,
2 02 A cubits in breadth
For the tribe of Reuben,
143i cubits in breadth
For the tribe of Manasseh,
161 cubits in breadth
castrametation of the Israelites.
For the tribe of Simeon,
182i^ cubits in breadth
For the tribe of Benjamin,
cubits in breadth in length
For the tribe of Dan,
cubits in breadth in length
For the tribe of Asher, 103J
cubits in breadth in length
For the tribe of Naphtali,
133^ cubits in breadth
" If we make the ichnography, or even the scenography, of the camp on this plan, in following it we must first, in the centre, form a parallelogram of 100 cubits long and 50 broad for the court of the tabernacle with an empty space all round of 50 cubits broad. We must then place the camp of the Levites in the following order: —
Length 250 cubits
Length 100 cubits
Length 100 cubits
" On the east we must place tents for Moses, Aaron, and his sons, chap. iii. 38.
" At the place where the camp of the Levites ends, a space must be left of 2,000 square cubits, after which we must take the dimensions of the camp of the twelve tribes.
" This plan is in the main well imagined, but it does not afford an ichnography of sufficient extent. To come more accurately to a proper understanding of this subject, I shall examine the rules that are now in use for encampments, and compare them afterward •with what is laid down in the Holy Scriptures, in order that we may hereby form to ourselves an idea of the camp of God. the grandeur and perfection of which
surpassed every thing of the kind ever seen. I shall now mention what I am about to propose as the foun dation upon which I shall proceed.
" In Exod. xviii. 21, Deut. i. 15, we find the advice given by Jethro to Moses respecting political government and military discipline: ' Thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.' [See the note on Exod. xviii. 21.] We may very well compare these tribunes, or rather these chiliarchs, to our colonels, the centu rions or hecatontarchs to commanders or captains, the quinquagenaries or pentecontarchs to lieutenants, and the decurions or decarchs to our sergeants. These chiefs, whether they were named magistrates or officers, were each drawn from his own particular tribe, so that it was not permitted to place over one tribe an officer taken from another. Whatever matter the decarchs could not decide upon or terminate, went to the pentecontarchs, and from thence by degrees to the hecatontarchs, to the chiliarchs, to Moses, and at length to God himself, the sovereign head of the army. If we divide the whole army (such as it was at its departure from Egypt) by the numbers already laid down, we shall find 600 chiliarchs, 6,000 hecatontarchs, 12,000 pentecontarchs, 60,000 decarchs, which in all make 78,600 officers. Josephus regulates the number of them still more exactly by saying that there were chiefs set over 10,000, 1,000, 500, 50, 30, 20, and 10. We find this regulation in Ant. Jud., b. iii., c. 4: ' Take a review of the army, and appoint chosen rulers over tens of thousands, and then over thousands, then divide them into five hundreds, and again into hundreds, and into fifties, and set rulers over each of them who may distinguish them into thirties, and keep them in order; and at last number them by twenties and by tens, and let there be one commander over each number, to be denominated from the number of those over whom they are rulers.'
" We ought not to pass over in silence this division by tens, for twice 10 make 20, three times 10, 30, five times 10, 50, ten times 10, 100, ten times 50, 500, ten times 1,000, 10,000. It was in this manner, as is pretended, that Cangu, the first of the great Khams, (as he is called,) and after him Tamerlane, drew out an army, i. e., by 10, 100, 1,000, 10,000, mentioned in Alhazen, c. v. Probably these Tartars borrowed from the very Hebrews themselves this manner of laying out a camp. At all events it is certain that nothing more ancient of the kind can be found than that mentioned in the books of Moses. To distinguish it from that of the Greeks and Romans we may with justice call it the Hebrew castrametation, or, if we judge it more proper, the Divine castrametation, and consequently the most perfect of all. For although Moses places the pentecontarchs in the middle, between the hecatontarchs and the decarchs, i. e., 50 between 100 and 10; and although Josephus afterward places 1,000 between 500 and 10,000, and 30 and 20 between 10 and 50, this does not at all derange the progression by tens, which is the foundation of arithmetic. These subaltern officers were equally useful aud necessary, as we now see that their
castrametation of the Israelites.
number, far from creating confusion, helps to maintain order, and that the more there are of them the better is order preserved. According to the modem method of carrying on war, the next in rank to the generals of the army (who have the supreme command) axe field marshals and brigadiers^ who command 5,000 men.
" There are then between the chiliarchs or colonels and the hecatontarchs or captains, lieutenant-colonels; and between the hecatontarchs and the decarchs, lieutenant-captains; and these have under them lieutenants and ensigns.
" It is certain that this method of distributing an army by tens, and of encamping, which is very concise, has far greater advantages even with respect to expense than the very best plans of the Greeks, Romans, or any other ancient nation. On this subject we h?ve the testimony of Simon Steven, Castrametat. c. 1, art. 1, and c. 4, art. 3, Oper. Math., p. 574 and 596, &c. According to this arrangement each soldier, or if more proper, each father of a family, being thus placed by ten and ten in a straight line one after the other, might very easily name themselvesyzr^-^, second, &c. Each troop in like manner might be distinguished by its ensigns, that of 100 might have them small, that of 1,000 larger, and that of 10,000 still larger. Every officer, from the lowest subaltern to the general officers of the camp, and even to the generalissimos themselves, had only an easy inspection of ten men each; the decarch had the inspection of 10 soldiers, the hecatontarch of 10 decarchs, and the chiliarch of 10 hecatontarchs. After the chiliarchs, which in no troop — CJfn amount to ten, there is the chief or head of each tribe. Each then exactly fulfilling the duty assigned him, we may suppose every thing to be in good order, even were the camp larger and more numerous. The same may be said respecting the contentions that might arise among the soldiers, as well as every thing relative to the general duty of the officers, as to the labours they were to undertake, whether for striking their tents for works of fortification or for making entrenchments. This arrangement might be easily retained in the memory, or a general list be kept of the names of both officers and soldiers to distribute to them their pay, and to keep exact accounts.
" It was possible in one moment to know tiie number of those who were either wanting or were out of their ranks, and to avoid this disorder in future by obliging each man to attend to his duty and keep in his rank. If by chance it happened that any one man wished to desert or had escaped, it was easy to notice him and inflict on him the punishment he merited. The ensigns being distinguished by their marks, and the company being known, it was easy to find any soldier whatever.
" The armies themselves might have certain marks to distinguish them, and by that means they might at once ascertain the person in question; for example: 8. 2. 7. 3. might signify the eighth soldier ox father of a family, of the second rank, of the seventh company. In the third chiliad; 7. 3. 5. the halberdier of the decurion or sergeant of the seventh line, in the third company, of the fifth chiliad or thousand; 5. 8. the hecatontarchs or captains of the fifth companv, in the 618 "
eighth chiliad; 7. the chiliarchs ox colonels of the seventh rank; 0. finally, the general of the whole army. Farther, by the same means the loss or misplacing of their arms might be prevented. Again, the soldiers might in a very short time be instructed and formed to the exercise of arms, each decad having its sergeant for its master; and the chariots or other carriages might easily be divided amongst several, 10 under the decurion, 100 under the hecatontarch; and by thus following the above method, every thing might be kept in good order.
" We shall finally, in one plate, represent the whole camp of the Israelites, in that order which appears the most proper. For this purpose we must extract the square roots of the preceding spaces, in order that we may be able to assign to each tribe square areas, or rectangular parallelograms. I therefore find for
Reuben 3049 square cubits.
'•'■ The tabernacle, which was 100 cubits long and 50 broad, I place in the centre of the camp, at the distance of 840 feet from the camp of the Levites, which is placed exactly in the same manner as described in the sacred writings. I find therefore that the whole space of the camp is 259,600,000 feet. Now, according to the manner we have just divided the camp for each tribe, the sum total being 125,210,000, it follows that the space between the tents contained 134,390,000. If, with Eisenschmid, we estimate the Roman mile at 766 French fathoms and two feet, (consequently 21,141,604 square feet to a Roman square mile,) the Israelitish camp will contain a little more than 12 such square miles."
The reader will have the goodness to observe that the preceding observations, as well as the following plate or diagram, which was made by Scheuchzer on the exactest proportions, could not be accurately copied here without an engraved plate; and after all, the common reader could have profited no more by the plate than he can by the diagram. It is not even hoped that disquisitions of this kind can give any thing more than a general idea how the thing probably was; for to pretend to minute exactness, in such cases, would be absurd. The sacred text informs us that such and such tribes occupied the east, such the west, &c., &c.; but how they were arranged individually we cannot pretend absolutely to say. Scheuchzer's plan is such as we may suppose judgment and skill would lay down; but still it is very probable that a the plan of the Israelites' castrametation was more perfect than any thing we can well imagine; for as it was the plan which probably God himself laid down, it must be in every respect what it ought to be, for the comfort and safety of this numerous multitude.
As there are some differences between the mode of distributing the command of a large army among the British, and that used on the continent, which is followed by Scheuchzer, I shall lay down the descending scale of British commanders, which some may think applies better to the preceding arrangement of the Israelitish army than the other.
army: (these divisions consist of 2 or 3 brigades each, which, on an average, amount to 5,000 men.)
gades consist of from 2 to 3,000 men [2,500 is perhaps the average] according to the strength of the respective regiments of which the brigade is composed.)
command single regiments; they are assisted in the command of these regiments by the majors of the regiments. [I mention the major, that there may be no break in the descending scale of gradation of ranks, as in the event of the absence of the above two officers, he is the next in command.]
5. Captains who command companies: these companies (on the war establishment) consist of 100 men each, and there are 10 companies in every regiment, consequently a colonel, or lieutenantcolonel, commands 1,000 men.
belonging to each regiment in the service, and are solely employed in the disciplining and com manding the men; these are mounted on horseback, and termed field-officers.
Ascending scale of ranks which every officer must pass through. Ensign, Lieutenant, Captain, Major,
Though I particularly refer the reader to the above diagram of the Israelitish camp, taken from Scheuchzer's plate, which I have thought necessary to be subjoined to his description, yet I think it also proper to introduce that on the following page, as it gives a general and tolerably correct idea of this immense camp, in the description of which the inspired writer has been so very particular; but still I must say these things are to be considered as probable, not as absolutely certain; as comprising a general view of what may be supposed probable, likely, and practicable.
The whole may be said to consist of three camps, viz., 1. The camp of the Lord; 2. The camp of the Levites; and, 3. The camp of the people. These in the grand camp in the wilderness, corresponded with the holy of holies, the holy place, and the outward court of the Temple at Jerusalem. See Ainsworth.
The generations of Aaron and Moses, 1—4. The tribe of Levi to minister to the Lord under Aaron and his sons, 5— 10. They are taken in the place of the first-born, 11—13. Moses is commanded to number them, 14—16. Gershon, Kohath, and Merari, the names of the three heads of families of the Levites, 17. Of Gershon and his family, 18—21. Their number, 7,500, ver. 22. Their place behind the tabernacle, westward, 23. Their chief, Eliasaph, 24. Their charge, 25, 26. Of Kohath and his family, 27. Their number, 8,600, ver. 28. Their place, beside the tabernacle, southward, 29. Their chief, Elizaphan, 30. Their charge, 31. The chief of the Levites, Eleazar, son o/" Aaron, 32. O/" Merari and his family, 33, Their number, 6,200, ver. 34. Their chief, Zuriel, they shall pitch beside the tabernacle, northward, 35. Their charge, 35—37. Moses and Aaron to encamp before the tabernacle, eastward, 38. The amount of all the males among the Levites from a month old and upwards, 22,000, ver. 39. Moses is commanded to number the first-born, 40; and to take the Levites and their cattle, instead of the first-bom of man and beast among the Israelites, 41. Moses numbers the first-born, who amount to 22,273, ver. 43. At the first-born were 273 more than the Levites, Moses is commanded to take from the people five shekels apiece for them, 44—47, ivhich is to be given to Aaron and his sons, 48. Moses does accordingly, and finds the amount of the money to be 1,365 shekels, 49, 50, which is given to Aaron and his sons, 51.
T^HESE also are the generations of Aaron and Moses in the day that the Lord
Verse 1. The generations of Aaron and Moses] Though Aaron and Moses are both mentioned here, yet the family of Aaron alone appears in the list; a hence some have thought that the word Moses was not originally in the text. Others think that the words nnSn nSxi veelleh toledoth, these are the generations, should be rendered these are the acts, or transactions,
3 These are the names of the sons of Aaron, *' the priests which were anointed, *= whom he consecrated to minister in the priest's office.
4 ** And Nadab and Abihu died before the Lord, when they offered strange fire before the Lord, in the wilderness of Sinai, and ihey had no children: and Eleazar and Ithamar ministered in the priest's office, in the sight of Aaron their father.
6 ^ Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister unto him.
7 And they shall keep his charge, and the charge of the whole congregation before the tabernacle of the congregation, to do ^ the service of the tabernacle.
or the history of the lives, as the same phrase may be understood in Gen. ii. 4; vi. 9. However this may be, it is evident that in this genealogy the family of Aaron are alone mentioned, probably because these belonged to the priesthood. Moses passes by his own family, or immediate descendants; he gave no rank or privilege to them during his life, and left nothing to them at his death. They became incorporated with the Levites, from or amongst whom they are never distinguished. What a strong proof is this of the celestial origin of his religion! Had it been of man, it must have had the gratification of some impure passion for its object; lust, ambition, or avarice: but none of these ever appear during the whole of his administration amongst the Israelites, though he had it constantly in his power to have gratified each. What an essential difference between the religion of the Pentateuch and that of the Koran! The former is God's workmanship; the latter is a motley mixture of all bad crafts, with here and there a portion of heavenly fire, stolen from the Divine altar in the Old and New Testaments, to give some vitality to the otherwise inert mass.
Verse 6. Bring the tribe of Levi near] The original word 3">pn hakreb is properly a sacrificial word, and signifies the presenting of a sacrifice or offering to the Lord. As an offering, the tribe of Levi was given up entirely to the service of the sanctuary, to be no longer their own, but the Lord's property.
Verse 7. The charge of the whole congregation] They shall work for the whole congregation; and intead of the first-born.
8 And they shall keep all the A. M. 2514. instruments of the tabernacle of An. Exod. Isr. 2. the congregation, and the charge ijar or Zif. of the children of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle.
9 And ^ thou shalt give thr Levites unto Aaron and to his sons: they ure wholly given unto him out of the children of Israel.
10 And thou shalt appoint Aaron and his sons, ^ and they shall wait on their priest's office: ' and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.
1 2 And I, behold, ^ I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of all the first-born that openeth the matrix among the children of Israel: therefore the Levites shall be mine:
1 3 Because ^ all the first-born are mine: '^for on the day that I smote all the first-bom
itself and all its contents: see all described, ver. 25, 26, 31, 36, 37. The Levites were to perform the most common and laborious offices. It was their business to take down, put up, and carry the tabernacle and its utensils; for it was the object of their peculiar care. In a word, they were the servants of the priests.
Verse 10. Aaron and his sons — shall ivait on their priesCs office] It was the business of the priests to offer the different sacrifices to God; to consecrate the shewbread, pour out the libations, burn the incense, sprinkle the blood of the victims, and bless the people. In a word, they were the servants of God alone.
Verse 12. / have taken the Levites — instead of all the first-born] The Levites are taken for the service of the sanctuary in place of the first-born. The firstborn were dedicated to God in commemoration of his slaying the _^r5<-5or?i of the Egyptians, and preserving those of the Israelites. Even the cattle of the Levites were taken in place of i\ve first-born of the cattle of the rest of the tribes. See ver. 45.
Several reasons have been assigned why God should give this honour to the tribe of Levi in preference to all the others, but they do not seem to me to be conclusive. Their zeal in destroying those who had corrupted the worship of God in the business of the golden calf, Exod. xxxii. 28, has been thought a sufficient reason. A better reason is, that this was the smallest tribe, and they were quite enough for the service. To have had a more numerous tribe at this time would have been very inconvenient.
Aaron, says Mr. Ainsworth, being in his priesthood a type of Christ, all these rites are fulfilled in him For unto Christ God gave children, Heb. ii. 13. And they are a congregation of first-born, whose names
in the land of Egypt, I hallowed unto me all the first-born in Israel, both man and beast: mine shall
^ every male, from a month old and upward,
16 And Moses numbered them according to the ° word of the Lord, as he was com-
17 P And these were the sons of Levi by their names; Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari.
18 And these are the names of the sons of Gershon by their families; ^ Libni, and Shimei.
1 9 And the sons of Kohath by their families; ^ Amram, and Izehar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
20 ^ And the sons of Merari by their families; Mahli, and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites, according to the house of their fathers.
21 Of Gershon was the family of the Libnites, and the family of the Shimites: these are the families of the Gershonites.
22 Those that were numbered of them, according to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, even those that were numbered of them were seven thousand and five hundred.
23 ^ The families of the Gershonites shall pitch behind the tabernacle westward.
are written in heaven, Heb. xii. 23, being of God's own will begotten by the loord of truth, that they should be a kind of first-fruits of his creatures, James i. 18, to whom he also gives the first-fruits of his Spirit, Rom. viii. 23. These luait on a.nd follow the Lamb, being first-fruits unto God and to the Lamb, Rev. xiv. 4; and Christ hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father, that we may 5e?-ue him day and night in his temple. Rev. i. 6; vii. 15.
Verse 15. A month old and upward] The males of all the other tribes were numbered, from tiventy years and upward; had the Levites been numbered in this way, they would not have been nearly equal in number to the first-born of the twelve tribes. Add to this, that as there must have been first-born ofail ao^es in the other tribes, it was necessary that the Levites,
24 And the chief of the house a. m. 2514. of the father of the Gershonites An. Exod. isr'. 2. shall be Eliasaph the son of ^J""*^^^^- Lael.
25 And "^ the charge of the sons of Gershon in the tabernacle of the congregation shall be " the tabernacle, and ^ the tent, ^ the covering thereof, and y the hanging for the door of the tabernacle of the congregation,
26 And ^ the hangings of the court, and * the curtain for the door o.f the court, which is by the tabernacle, and by the altar round about, and ^ the cords of it for all the service thereof
27 " And of Kohath ivas the family of the Amramites, and the family of the Izeharites, and the family of the Hebronites, and the family of the Uzzielites: these are the families of the Kohathites.
28 In the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, were eight thousand and six hundred, keeping the charge of the sanctuary.
29 '^ The families of the sons of Kohath shall pitch on the side of the tabernacle southward.
30 And the chief of the house of the father of the families of the Kohathites shall be Elizaphan the son of Uzziel.
3 1 And ^ their charge shall be ^ the ark, and ^ the table, and ^ the candlestick, and » the altars, and the vessels of the sanctuary wherewith they minister, and ^ the hanging, and all the service thereof.
32 And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be chief over the chief of the Levites,
who were to be their substitutes, should be also of all ages; and it appears to have been on this ground, at least partly, that the Levites were numbered from /our weeks old and upward.
Verse 16. Moses numbered them] Though Moses and Aaron conjointly numbered the twelve tribes, yet Moses alone numbered the Levites; " for as the money with which the first-born of Israel, who exceeded the number of Levites, were redeemed, was to be paid to Aaron and his sons, ver. 48, it was decent that he, whose advantage it was that the number of the first-born of Israel should exceed, should not be authorized to take that number himself" — Dodd, from Bishop Kidder.
Verse 22. Seven thousand and five hundred] Perhaps originally 1 resh, 200, instead of "] caph, 500; see the following note.
33 Of Merari was the family of the Mahlites, and the family of the Mushites: these are the families of Merari.
34 And those that were numbered of them, according to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, were six thousand and two hundred.
35 And the chief of the house of the father of the families of Merari, was Zuriel the son of Abihail: ^ these shall pitch on the side of the tabernacle northward.
36 And "^ under '^the custody and charge of the sons of Merari shall he the boards of the tabernacle, and the bars thereof, and the pillars thereof, and the sockets thereof, and all the vessels thereof, and all that serveth thereto,
37 And the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords.
38 " But those that encamp before the tabernacle toward the east, even before the tabernacle of the congregation eastward, shall he Moses, and Aaron and his sons, ^ keeping the charge of the sanctuary i for the charge of the children of Israel; and ^ the stranger that Cometh nigh shall be put to death.
39 ^ All that were numbered of the Levites, which^ Moses and Aaron numbered at the comma^idmcnt of the Lord, throughout their families, all the males from a month old and upward, were twenty and two thousand.
40 And the Lord said unto Moses, ^ Number all the first-born of the males of the chil-
Verse 39. Which Moses and Aaron numbered] The word pnsi veaharon, " and Aaron," has a point over each of its letters, probably designed as a mark of spuriousness. The word is wanting in the Samaritan, Syriac, and Coptic; it is wanting also in eight of Dr. Kenntcott''s MSS., and mfour of De Rossi's. Moses alone, as Houbigant observes, is commanded to take the number of the Levites; see ver. 5, 11, 40, 44, and 51.
All the males — were twenty and two thousand.] This total does not a^ee with the particulars; for the Gershonites were 7,500, the Kohathites 8,600, the Merarites 6,200, total 2Q,300. Several methods of solving this difficulty havife been proposed by learned men; Dr. KennicotC s is the most simple Formerly dren of Israel, from a month old A. M. 2514. and upward, and take the num- An. Exod. isr! 2. ber of their names. ijar or Zif.
4 1 "^ And thou shalt take the Levites for me (I am the Lord) instead of all the first-born among the children of Israel; and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstlings among the cattle of the children of Israel
42 And Moses numbered, as the Lord com manded him, all the first-born among the chil dren of Israel.
4 3 And all the first-born males by the number of names, from a month old and upward, of those that were numbered of them, were twenty and two thousand two hundred and threescore and thirteen.
45^ Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle; and the Levites shall be mine: I am th«
4 6 And for those that are to be ''^ redeemed of the two hundred and threescore and thirteen of the first-born of the children of Israel, ^ which are more than the Levites:
47 Thou shalt even take ^five shekels apiece by the poll, after the shekel of the sanctuary shalt thou take them: (^ the shekel is twenty gerahs:)
48 And thou shalt give the money, wherewith the odd number of them is to be redeemed, unto Aaron and to his sons.
49 And Moses took the redemption money of them that were over and above them that were redeemed by the Levites:
the numbers in the Hebrew Bible were expressed by letters, and not by words at full length; and if two nearly similar letters were mistaken for each other, many errors in the numbers must be the consequence. Now it is probable that an error has crept into the number of the Gershonites, ver. 22, where, instead of 7,500, we should read 7,200, as "] caph, 500, might have been easily mistaken for "I resh, 200, especially if the down stroke of the caph had been a little shorter than ordinary, which is often the case in MSS. The extra 300 being taken off, the total is just 22,000, as mentioned in the 39th verse.
Verse 43. All the first-born males — were twenty and ttvo thousand two hundred and threescore and thirteen] Thus we find there were 273 first-bom
50 Of the first-born of the children of Israel took he the money;
beyond the number of the Levites. These are ordered, ver. 46, to be redeemed; and the redemption price is to he Jive shekels each, ver. 47, about 155. And this money, amounting to 1,365 shekels, equal to £204. 155. English, he took of the first-born of Israel, verse 50. But how was this collected among 22,273 persons ■? Rabbi Solomon Jai-chi says, " to prevent contention, Moses took 22,000 slips of parchment, and wrote on each a son of Levi, and 273 others, on which he wrote five shekels; then he mixed them in a basket, and each man took out one; those who drew the slips on which five shekels were written, paid the money; the others went free." This is a most stupid and silly tale, for such a mode of settlement never could have been resorted to by an intelligent people. It would have been much more simple to have paid it out of a general fund; and it is very likely that in this way the expense was defrayed.
5 1 And Moses ^ gave the money of them that were redeemed unto Aaron and to his sons, according to the word of the Lord, as the manded Moses.
This species of redeeming of men is referred to by St. Peter, 1 Epist. i. 18, 19: "Ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation, received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious (tl/iig) aifiaTi, valuable) blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot," &c. And it is not ihe first-born only which are thus redeemed, for he, by the grace of God, tasted death for every man; Heb. ii. 9. Reader, give glory to God that such a ransom has been paid for thy soul, and see that, redeemed from thy vain conversation, thy empty, fruitless, and graceless observances, on which thou hast built thy hopes of salvation, thou walk in newness of life, giving thy whole soul with thankfulness unto the Father who hath translated thee from darkness, and placed thee in the kingdom of his beloved Son. To Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever! Amen.