Numbers 1 — Were there hundreds of thousands or thousands in the army of Israel?

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The book of Numbers immediately starts out with a census, with lots of numbers. The book is named very well. If you just think of numbers for the sake of numbers, this chapter is very easy to skip. However, there are some important lessons we can glean from this chapter. First, notice the names of the heads of these families. Many of them have the name of “El” or “Shaddai” in their own names. This shows us that they know.

Thought Questions

What was the purpose of this census?

What is the Hebrew word for “tribe”? (matteh Strongs 4294)

What is the Hebrew word for “family”? (mishpachah, Strongs 4940)

What was the youngest age counted in the census?

Were women and elderly people counted in this particular census?

Why weren’t the tribe of Levi counted?

Did the people who left Egypt worship pagan gods? What was the sin of the golden calf? What was the golden calf supposed to represent?

What does the title “El” mean?

What does the Hebrew word usually translated “thousand” mean in Numbers 1 (אלף ‘elef, Strong’s Hebrew lexicon No. 505)? Were there hundreds of thousands in the army of Israel or thousands?

Speaker: Richard Agee. Reader: Dave De Fever.