In case you forgot (like me), the book of Numbers is really about…well, numbers. There are two censuses (censi?) in the book: One in the first chapter, and the other in Numbers 26. They’re located where they are to form bookends around the time in the wilderness.
On the surface, they look depressingly similar: “Here are the numbers for Reuben. Here are the numbers for Simeon. Here are the numbers of Gad.” Unless you have family members lurking in these pages, it’s sooo tempting to count sheep instead of Israelites.
Honestly, what are we supposed to do with this? Why do we need a genealogy of people we’ve literally just read about (Dathan, Abiram, and Korah), with numbers that probably changed ten minutes after they were taken?
As with everything else in Scripture, you have to go to that second level. A surface pass over this chapter will only give you data. A second (and third) pass will give you patterns.
For starters, notice the way in which Numbers 26 enumerates the list itself. If you look in Numbers 1, it simply gives the name of the tribe and the number of people enrolled in that tribe. Now, in Numbers 26, we’re looking at individual clans: “Of Hezron, the family of the Hezronites; of Carmmi, the family of the Carmites” (Numbers 26:6).
Jewish commentaries point out that just as there were seventy people that left Egypt, the number of clans that now exist in Israel are seventy (if you include the Levites in Numbers 26:57-62, and the daughters of Zelophehad in Numbers 26:33). That’s a pretty cool coincidence.
The focus on clans represents a different focus in Numbers 26. While it’s still a military census (Numbers 26:2), it’s also a land census. In Numbers 26:52-56, God speaks about how to divvy up the land once they actually take Canaan—before they actually take Canaan. He’s telling them what to do with the spoils of war before the actual war!
If the distribution is settled via population though, Simeon is in for a shock. They started the book of Numbers with 59,300 people. Per the count in Numbers 26, that number has gone down to 22,200, a decrease of 37,100 people.
On the other hand, Manasseh, Benjamin, and Naphtali have all increased by 20,500, 10,200, and 11,900, respectively. Across all Israel, the total population has decreased by about 2,000 people.
You can explain some fluctuation in numbers simply by environmental factors. A nomadic existence in the wilderness doesn’t exactly lend itself to a healthy family life.
But the best explanation for these numbers lies with the events of Numbers itself. The simple refusal by the previous generation to enter Canaan in Numbers 13 cost everyone over the age of 20 their lives (except for Joshua and Caleb). That accounts for a lot of death.
Then, you have the more-than-halving of Simeon’s tribe, no doubt as a result of their involvement in the plague of Balaam. Zimri, the leader of that debacle, came from Simeon (Numbers 25:14). It’s little wonder why they were hit the hardest. By Joshua 19:1, the tribe of Simeon would be completely absorbed by Judah.
The Text moves to an aside twice in Numbers 26 to explain these numbers. The first happens with the rebellion of Korah in Numbers 26:9-11, and the second is with the daughters of Zelophehad in Numbers 26:29-33. Both times, extra info is given as to these families and/or their land allotment.
This census then, is not just another random “list of people;” rather, it shows the real-world impact of sin and disobedience. What would this number have looked like if the people had gone into Canaan the first time? If Korah hadn’t led the rebellion? If Balaam had not argued with his donkey?
The nation of Israel is still very strong, but nowhere near as strong as they would’ve been if they had stayed true to God’s path all along.