Numbers 26:4
in Numbers 26“Take a census of the men twenty years of age or older, as the LORD has commanded Moses.” And these were the Israelites who came out of the land of Egypt:
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Take the sum of the people, from twenty years old and upward; as Jehovah commanded Moses and the children of Israel, that came forth out of the land of Egypt.
KJV
Take the sum of the people, from twenty years old and upward; as the Lord commanded Moses and the children of Israel, which went forth out of the land of Egypt.
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This verse in Numbers 26
Commentary
3 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
After the plague had ended
on Numbers 26:1-4
Moses and Aaron took the first census at Sinai. Moses and Eleazar take this one "on the plains of Moab", because Aaron died at Mount Hor in 20:28.
This site's exposition
as the LORD has commanded Moses
Matthew Henry notes that Moses numbered the people only when God commanded it. He sets this beside David, who counted without a command and paid dearly for it. John Calvin reads the verse as proof that the rule set at Sinai was followed again.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Take the sum of the people, from twenty years old and upward,....
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| מִבֶּ֛ן | miben | from a son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| עֶשְׂרִ֥ים | ʾesrim | twenty | H6242 → | 315 times |
| שָׁנָ֖ה | shanah | year[s] | H8141 → | 877 times |
| וָמָ֑עְלָה | vamaelah | and up -wards | H4605 → | 140 times |
| כַּאֲשֶׁר֩ | kaasher | just as | H834 → | 5497 times |
| צִוָּ֨ה | tzivah | he commanded | H6680 → | 494 times |
| יְהוָ֤ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מֹשֶׁה֙ | mosheh | Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
| וּבְנֵ֣י | uvenei | and [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| הַיֹּצְאִ֖ים | haiyotzeim | who came out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| מֵאֶ֥רֶץ | meeretz | from [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| מִצְרָֽיִם׃ | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
מִבֶּ֛ןfrom a son of
mibenH1121 →4930 times
עֶשְׂרִ֥יםtwenty
ʾesrimH6242 →315 times
שָׁנָ֖הyear[s]
shanahH8141 →877 times
וָמָ֑עְלָהand up -wards
vamaelahH4605 →140 times
כַּאֲשֶׁר֩just as
kaasherH834 →5497 times
צִוָּ֨הhe commanded
tzivahH6680 →494 times
יְהוָ֤הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
מֹשֶׁה֙Moses
moshehH4872 →765 times
וּבְנֵ֣יand [the] people of
uveneiH1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
הַיֹּצְאִ֖יםwho came out
haiyotzeimH3318 →1067 times
מֵאֶ֥רֶץfrom [the] land of
meeretzH776 →2504 times
מִצְרָֽיִם׃Egypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 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
1 Chronicles 21:1Then Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel.
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 24:1–25
Again the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He stirred up David against them, saying, “Go and take a census of Israel and Judah.”
- Zechariah 3:1
Then the angel showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, with Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him.
- Revelation 12:10
And I heard a loud voice in heaven saying: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Christ. For the accuser of our…
- Job 2:4–6
“Skin for skin!” Satan replied. “A man will give up all he owns in exchange for his life.
- 1 Kings 22:20–22
And the LORD said, ‘Who will entice Ahab to march up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one suggested this, and another that.
- 2 Samuel 24:1–25
Through
Numbers 1:1On the first day of the second month of the second year after the Israelites had come out of the land of Egypt, the LORD spoke to Moses in the Tent of Meeting in…
it leads to
- Exodus 25:22
And I will meet with you there above the mercy seat, between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the Testimony; I will speak with you about all that I command you…
- Numbers 10:11–12
On the twentieth day of the second month of the second year, the cloud was lifted from above the tabernacle of the Testimony,
- Exodus 19:1
In the third month, on the same day of the month that the Israelites had left the land of Egypt, they came to the Wilderness of Sinai.
- Exodus 25:22
Where this verse is studied
About Numbers

Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.
