Numbers 3:40
in Numbers 3Then the LORD said to Moses, “Number every firstborn male of the Israelites a month old or more, and list their names.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jehovah said unto Moses, Number all the first-born males of the children of Israel from a month old and upward, and take the number of their names.
KJV
And the Lord said unto Moses, Number all the firstborn of the males of the children of Israel from a month old and upward, and take the number of their names.
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This verse in Numbers 3
Commentary
3 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The excess of the general over the Levitical first-born is so small, that the only way of accounting for it is, by supposing those first-born only were counted as were males remaining in their parents' household, or that those first-born only were numbered which had been born since the departure from Egypt, when God claimed all the first-born as his special property.
This site's exposition
Number all the firstborn of the males
on Numbers 3:40-41
A second census follows at once and it counts a class rather than a tribe, every firstborn male from a month old and upward. The cattle are counted with them, so the exchange runs through beasts as well as men, which is what Exodus 13:12-13 had required of every firstling of the herd. Two rolls are being set side by side and the whole point of the exercise is the difference between them.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And the Lord said unto Moses,.... After he had taken the number of the Levites: number all the firstborn of the children of Israel, from a month old and upward, and take the number of their names; that they might be compared with the number of the Levites, and the difference between them observed.
The words behind it
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֨אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָ֜ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מֹשֶׁ֗ה | mosheh | Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
| פְּקֹ֨ד | pekod | enroll | H6485 → | 303 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| בְּכֹ֤ר | bekhor | firstborn | H1060 → | 122 times |
| זָכָר֙ | zakhar | male | H2145 → | 82 times |
| לִבְנֵ֣י | livnei | of [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| מִבֶּן־ | miben- | from a son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| חֹ֖דֶשׁ | chodesh | a month | H2320 → | 284 times |
| וָמָ֑עְלָה | vamaelah | and up -wards | H4605 → | 140 times |
| וְשָׂ֕א | vesa' | and take | H5375 → | 656 times |
| אֵ֖ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מִסְפַּ֥ר | mispar | [the] number of | H4557 → | 134 times |
| שְׁמֹתָֽם׃ | shemotam | names their | H8034 → | 864 times |
וַיֹּ֨אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
יְהוָ֜הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
מֹשֶׁ֗הMoses
moshehH4872 →765 times
פְּקֹ֨דenroll
pekodH6485 →303 times
כָּל־every
kol-H3605 →5413 times
בְּכֹ֤רfirstborn
bekhorH1060 →122 times
זָכָר֙male
zakharH2145 →82 times
לִבְנֵ֣יof [the] people of
livneiH1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
מִבֶּן־from a son of
miben-H1121 →4930 times
חֹ֖דֶשׁa month
chodeshH2320 →284 times
וָמָ֑עְלָהand up -wards
vamaelahH4605 →140 times
וְשָׂ֕אand take
vesa'H5375 →656 times
אֵ֖ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
מִסְפַּ֥ר[the] number of
misparH4557 →134 times
שְׁמֹתָֽם׃names their
shemotamH8034 →864 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
Revelation 3:5Like them, he who overcomes will be dressed in white. And I will never blot out his name from the Book of Life, but I will confess his name before My Father and His…
it leads to
- Revelation 20:15
And if anyone was found whose name was not written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Matthew 10:32
Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father in heaven.
- Revelation 21:27
But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who practices an abomination or a lie, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
- Luke 12:8
I tell you, everyone who confesses Me before men, the Son of Man will also confess him before the angels of God.
- Revelation 20:12
And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne. And there were open books, and one of them was the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their…
- Revelation 20:15
Through
Hebrews 12:23in joyful assembly, to the congregation of the firstborn, enrolled in heaven. You have come to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,
it leads to
- James 1:18
He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we would be a kind of firstfruits of His creation.
- Hebrews 11:40
God had planned something better for us, so that together with us they would be made perfect.
- Luke 10:20
Nevertheless, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
- James 1:18
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Numbers

Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch.
