Numbers 1:1

God Commands Moses to Take a Census

1 Yahweh spoke to Moses in the desert of Sinai, in the tent of assembly, on [the] first of the month, in the second year {after they came out}^[a] of the land of Egypt, saying,

Numbers 1:1 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 1:1

And the Lord spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai
Which is different from the wilderness of Sin, ( Exodus 16:1 ) ; and had its name from the mountain so called, on which God gave the law of the decalogue, and where the Israelites had been encamped eleven months, ( Exodus 19:1 Exodus 19:2 ) ;

in the tabernacle of the congregation;
which had now been set up a whole month, and out of which the Lord had delivered to Moses the several laws recorded in the preceding book in that space of time, ( Exodus 40:17 ) ( Leviticus 1:1 ) ;

on the first [day] of the second month;
the month Ijar, as the Targum of Jonathan, which answers to part of our April, and part of May, and was the second month of the ecclesiastical year, which began with Abib or Nisan:

in the second year after they were come out of the land of Egypt;
that is, the children of Israel, who had now been a year and half a month out of it:

saying,
as follows.

Numbers 1:1 In-Context

1 Yahweh spoke to Moses in the desert of Sinai, in the tent of assembly, on [the] first of the month, in the second year {after they came out} of the land of Egypt, saying,

2 "{Take a census of} the entire community of the {Israelites} according to their clans and {their families}, according to [the] number of names, every male individually

3 from {twenty years old} and above, everyone in Israel who [is able] to go to war. You and Aaron must muster them for their wars.

4 A man from each tribe will be with you, each man the head of {his family}.

5 And these [are] the names of the men who will {assist you}: from Reuben, Elizur son of Shedeur;

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "of their coming out"