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Numbers 1:4

in Numbers 1

And one man from each tribe, the head of each family, must be there with you.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And with you there shall be a man of every tribe; every one head of his fathers’ house.

KJV

And with you there shall be a man of every tribe; every one head of the house of his fathers.

This verse in Numbers 1

Commentary

4 notes on this verse

This site's exposition

the LORD spoke to Moses in the Tent of Meeting

on Numbers 1:1-4

The census falls one month after the tabernacle was set up at Exodus 40:17. Verse 3 counts those “twenty years of age or older” who can serve in the army, so this is a muster roll of fighting men. Exodus 30:12 had tied a ransom to any census so that “no plague will come upon them”, and 2 Samuel 24 records what a count without it cost David.

This site's exposition

the head of each family

Each tribe sends one man to stand with Moses and Aaron at the count. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown describe the headship of a tribe as hereditary, held by the eldest son or by the one the birthright passed to. Matthew Henry adds that such a man knew his tribe.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

And with you there shall be a man of every tribe,....

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

The head of the tribe was a hereditary dignity, vested in the oldest son or some other to whom the right of primogeniture was transferred, and under whom were other inferior heads, also hereditary, among the different branches of the tribe.

The words behind it

10 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וְאִתְּכֶ֣םand with you

    veitekhemH854 →929 times

  • יִהְי֔וּthey will be

    yihyuH1961 →3559 times

  • אִ֥ישׁa man

    ʾishH376 →1663 times

  • אִ֖ישׁa man

    ʾishH376 →1663 times

  • לַמַּטֶּ֑הto the tribe

    lamatehH4294 →252 times

  • אִ֛ישׁa man

    ʾishH376 →1663 times

  • רֹ֥אשׁ[is the] head

    roshH7218 →599 times

  • לְבֵית־of [the] house of

    leveit-H1004 →2046 times

  • אֲבֹתָ֖יוancestors his

    ʾavotavH1 →1212 times

  • הֽוּא׃he

    hu'H1931 →1879 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

7 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Numbers 1:16

    These men were appointed from the congregation; they were the leaders of the tribes of their fathers, the heads of the clans of Israel.

    it leads to

    • Exodus 18:21

      Furthermore, select capable men from among the people—God-fearing, trustworthy men who are averse to dishonest gain. Appoint them over the people as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Numbers 7:2

      And the leaders of Israel, the heads of their families, presented an offering. These men were the tribal leaders who had supervised the registration.

    • Exodus 18:25

      So Moses chose capable men from all Israel and made them heads over the people as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.

    • Numbers 26:9

      and the sons of Eliab were Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram. It was Dathan and Abiram, chosen by the congregation, who fought against Moses and Aaron with the followers of Korah who rebelled against the…

    • 1 Chronicles 27:16–22

      These officers were in charge of the tribes of Israel: Over the Reubenites was Eliezer son of Zichri; over the Simeonites was Shephatiah son of Maacah;

  • Through

    Exodus 18:25

    So Moses chose capable men from all Israel and made them heads over the people as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.

    it leads to

    • Deuteronomy 1:15

      So I took the leaders of your tribes, wise and respected men, and appointed them as leaders over you—as commanders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens, and as officers for your…

    • Acts 6:5

      This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, as well as Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to…

Where this verse is studied

On this page

About Numbers

The Brazen Serpent, Anthony van Dyck, 1618 to 1620. Public domain.
The Brazen Serpent, Anthony van Dyck, 1618 to 1620. Public domain.

This page draws on Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.