Numbers 1:19

19 just as God commanded Moses. He numbered them in the Wilderness of Sinai.

Numbers 1:19 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 1:19

As the Lord commanded Moses
In this Moses and David differed in numbering the people of Israel; the one did it by an express command from God, and in obedience to it; the other without one, and against his will, ( 1 Chronicles 21:17 ) ;

so he numbered them in the wilderness of Sinai;
where they now were when this order was given, ( Numbers 1:1 ) ; and from whence they removed the twentieth day of this month, ( Numbers 10:11 Numbers 10:12 ) ; so that in less than three weeks time, perhaps much sooner, this affair was finished; and it may be, that the place of numbering them at this time is expressly observed, to distinguish it from another numbering of them, recorded in this book, which was done in the plains of Moab, ( Numbers 26:2 Numbers 26:3 ) .

Numbers 1:19 In-Context

17 Moses and Aaron took these men who had been named to help

18 and gathered the whole congregation together on the first day of the second month. The people registered themselves in their tribes according to their ancestral families, putting down the names of those who were twenty years old and older,

19 just as God commanded Moses. He numbered them in the Wilderness of Sinai.

20 The line of Reuben, Israel's firstborn: The men were counted off head by head, every male twenty years and older who was able to fight in the army, registered by tribes according to their ancestral families.

21 The tribe of Reuben numbered 46,500.