Numbers 26:54
in Numbers 26Increase the inheritance for a large tribe and decrease it for a small one; each tribe is to receive its inheritance according to the number of those registered.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
To the more thou shalt give the more inheritance, and to the fewer thou shalt give the less inheritance: to every one according to those that were numbered of him shall his inheritance be given.
KJV
To many thou shalt give the more inheritance, and to few thou shalt give the less inheritance: to every one shall his inheritance be given according to those that were numbered of him.
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This verse in Numbers 26
Commentary
3 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying
on Numbers 26:52-56
Here the chapter says what the counting was for. The land is divided according to the number of names, more to the many and less to the few, and it is also divided by lot. Two rules govern one act, the size of a tribe fixing how much ground it holds and the lot fixing which ground. Joshua 14 to 19 is where this is carried out, and Proverbs 16:33 gives the ground the lot stands on.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
); yet, alas! he was so far from giving any to others that he must not have any himself, but this direction given to him was intended for Joshua his successor. The application of this general rule was to be determined by lot (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
To many thou shalt give the more inheritance, and to few thou shalt give the less inheritance,....
The words behind it
11 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לָרַ֗ב | larav | for the many | H7227 → | 454 times |
| תַּרְבֶּה֙ | tarbeh | you will make great | H7235 → | 227 times |
| נַחֲלָת֔וֹ | nachalato | inheritance its | H5159 → | 222 times |
| וְלַמְעַ֕ט | velamat | and for the few | H4592 → | 101 times |
| תַּמְעִ֖יט | tamit | you will make small | H4591 → | 22 times |
| נַחֲלָת֑וֹ | nachalato | inheritance its | H5159 → | 222 times |
| אִ֚ישׁ | ʾish | each | H376 → | 1663 times |
| לְפִ֣י | lefi | to [the] mouth of | H6310 → | 498 times |
| פְקֻדָ֔יו | fekudav | enrolled [men] his | H6485 → | 303 times |
| יֻתַּ֖ן | yutan | it will be given | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| נַחֲלָתֽוֹ׃ | nachalato | inheritance its | H5159 → | 222 times |
לָרַ֗בfor the many
laravH7227 →454 times
תַּרְבֶּה֙you will make great
tarbehH7235 →227 times
נַחֲלָת֔וֹinheritance its
nachalatoH5159 →222 times
וְלַמְעַ֕טand for the few
velamatH4592 →101 times
תַּמְעִ֖יטyou will make small
tamitH4591 →22 times
נַחֲלָת֑וֹinheritance its
nachalatoH5159 →222 times
אִ֚ישׁeach
ʾishH376 →1663 times
לְפִ֣יto [the] mouth of
lefiH6310 →498 times
פְקֻדָ֔יוenrolled [men] his
fekudavH6485 →303 times
יֻתַּ֖ןit will be given
yutanH5414 →2011 times
נַחֲלָתֽוֹ׃inheritance its
nachalatoH5159 →222 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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
Joshua 17:14Then the sons of Joseph said to Joshua, “Why have you given us only one portion as an inheritance? We have many people, because the LORD has blessed us abundantly.”
it leads to
- Genesis 48:22
And to you, as one who is above your brothers, I give the ridge of land that I took from the Amorites with my sword and bow.”
- Numbers 26:34–37
These were the clans of Manasseh, and their registration numbered 52,700.
- Genesis 48:19
But his father refused. “I know, my son, I know!” he said. “He too shall become a people, and he too shall be great; nevertheless, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and…
- Genesis 48:22
Through
Numbers 32:3“Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon,
it leads to
- Jeremiah 48:34
There is a cry from Heshbon to Elealeh; they raise their voices to Jahaz, from Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah; for even the waters of Nimrim have dried up.
- Isaiah 16:8–9
For the fields of Heshbon have withered, along with the grapevines of Sibmah. The rulers of the nations have trampled its choicest vines, which had reached as far as Jazer and spread toward the…
- Joshua 13:17
to Heshbon and all its cities on the plateau, including Dibon, Bamoth-baal, Beth-baal-meon,
- Numbers 32:34–38
And the Gadites built up Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer,
- Jeremiah 48:34
Through
Numbers 33:54And you are to divide the land by lot according to your clans. Give a larger inheritance to a larger clan and a smaller inheritance to a smaller one. Whatever falls to each one…
it leads to
- Numbers 26:53–56
“The land is to be divided among the tribes as an inheritance, according to the number of names.
- Numbers 26:53–56
About Numbers
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.