Section 17 of 1474:34–49Numbers

Go to another section

Jump to a verse

King James VersionNumbers 4:34–49

And Moses and Aaron and the chief of the congregation numbered the sons of the Kohathites after their families, and after the house of their fathers,

From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that entereth into the service, for the work in the tabernacle of the congregation:

And those that were numbered of them by their families were two thousand seven hundred and fifty.

These were they that were numbered of the families of the Kohathites, all that might do service in the tabernacle of the congregation, which Moses and Aaron did number according to the commandment of the LORD by the hand of Moses.

And those that were numbered of the sons of Gershon, throughout their families, and by the house of their fathers,

From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that entereth into the service, for the work in the tabernacle of the congregation,

Even those that were numbered of them, throughout their families, by the house of their fathers, were two thousand and six hundred and thirty.

These are they that were numbered of the families of the sons of Gershon, of all that might do service in the tabernacle of the congregation, whom Moses and Aaron did number according to the commandment of the LORD.

And those that were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, throughout their families, by the house of their fathers,

From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that entereth into the service, for the work in the tabernacle of the congregation,

Even those that were numbered of them after their families, were three thousand and two hundred.

These be those that were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses.

All those that were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the chief of Israel numbered, after their families, and after the house of their fathers,

From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that came to do the service of the ministry, and the service of the burden in the tabernacle of the congregation,

Even those that were numbered of them, were eight thousand and five hundred and fourscore.

According to the commandment of the LORD they were numbered by the hand of Moses, every one according to his service, and according to his burden: thus were they numbered of him, as the LORD commanded Moses.

Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.

Scripture text: King James Version, Standardized 1769 text. Public domain in the United States.About this Bible text

Numbers 4:34–49

The Three Service Clans Total 8,580

Three service totals, then 8,580

Moses, Aaron, and the princes of the congregation number Kohath, Gershon, and Merari by their families, every man from thirty to fifty who came to do the service of the ministry and the service of the burden. Kohath: 2,750. Gershon: 2,630. Merari: 3,200. All numbered were 8,580.

The closing lines insist they were numbered by the LORD's commandment, every one according to his service and according to his burden. The figure is a workforce total for a defined age and task. It does not prove that a later historian can reconstruct wilderness logistics, and it does not turn men into capacity units.

A complete roll still leaves human limits unnamed

Thirty to fifty already admits aging. Injury, family need, and consent are not items in this tally, which is why leaders cannot hide behind the sum. Counting workers is not the same as caring for them.

People younger or older than the window, and people never eligible for this labor, are not thereby less members of Israel. They were not what this service census asked for.

How this should shape us

When you publish a staff number, publish the job, the age or skill rule, and the burden each group carries. Then ask about injury, aging, families, and whether anyone could refuse. A total is not permission to treat people as throughput.

Teach it back

Explain Numbers 4:34–49 in your own words. Include its place in Numbers' movement from Sinai to Moab, both movements within this thought unit, one material uncertainty, one affected person or group, and one use the complete context rules out.

Explain the section in your own words

Your explanation stays in this browser. It is not sent or saved.

Go deeper

The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.

Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties

Where do careful interpreters disagree?

Best judgment: Interpreters disagree about the figures' demographic force, the sense of eleph, military and household categories, compositional setting, archival memory, symbolism, and historical scale. The received totals are explicit; a modern headcount reconstruction is not. For “The Three Service Clans Total 8,580,” confidence is strongest in the received unit's stated sequence and literary function; source, date, demography, geography, mechanism, archaeology, and historical reconstruction remain probable, plausible, or uncertain as the evidence warrants.

How certain? probable

Research trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section

King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.

Numbers 4:34–49, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Numbers

Supports: Hebrew wording, morphology, names, numbers, speeches, poems, legal clauses, older-English controls, and translation limits.

Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Num.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 4:34–49

NET Bible: Numbers with translators' notes

Supports: Unit-bounded translation, syntax, lexical, ritual, legal, number, name, poetic, and selected textual notes; silence is not evidence.

NET Bible Numbers PDF, complete 134-page PDF, translation and translator notes attached to 4:34–49

Numbers Part 1

Supports: Final-form movement, wilderness setting, census and camp, complaint, leadership, composition, and ethical framing.

Yale Bible Study, Numbers Part 1, complete study guide sections “Introduction,” “At Sinai (1:1–10:10),” “From Sinai to Moab (10:11–22:1),” and “Composition,” applied to Numbers 4:34–49

The Message of the Non-Chronological Opening of Numbers

Supports: Nonchronological placement of Numbers 1 and 9, sanctuary-centered opening, and source-critical alternatives.

TheTorah, “The Message of the Non-Chronological Opening of Numbers,” complete sections “Tabernacle Chronology,” “Why Doesn't Numbers Begin with Passover?,” and proposed source-order discussion, applied to Numbers 4:34–49

Recounting the Census: A Military Force of 5,500 (not 603,550) Men

Supports: Received census totals, terminology, scaling proposals, arithmetic limits, and uncertainty about historical demography.

TheTorah, “Recounting the Census: A Military Force of 5,500,” complete census tables and sections on eleph, totals, military counting, and demographic alternatives, applied to Numbers 4:34–49

Sources for This Section

These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.

Biblical text

King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society

USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.

Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.

Exact location: Numbers 4:34–49, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus

Open source ↗

hebrew text and morphology

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Numbers

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible Project

Open Scriptures, release 2.2, 2021

Supports: Hebrew wording, morphology, names, numbers, speeches, poems, legal clauses, older-English controls, and translation limits.

Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Num.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 4:34–49

Open source ↗

translation and translator notes

NET Bible: Numbers with translators' notes

Biblical Studies Press

eBible.org distribution of the NET Bible, source files dated 2026-08-08

Supports: Unit-bounded translation, syntax, lexical, ritual, legal, number, name, poetic, and selected textual notes; silence is not evidence.

Exact location: NET Bible Numbers PDF, complete 134-page PDF, translation and translator notes attached to 4:34–49

Open source ↗

modern critical open study guide

Numbers Part 1

Yale Bible Study

Yale Divinity School, 2023 course edition

Supports: Final-form movement, wilderness setting, census and camp, complaint, leadership, composition, and ethical framing.

Exact location: Yale Bible Study, Numbers Part 1, complete study guide sections “Introduction,” “At Sinai (1:1–10:10),” “From Sinai to Moab (10:11–22:1),” and “Composition,” applied to Numbers 4:34–49

Open source ↗

modern jewish scholarly open literary study

The Message of the Non-Chronological Opening of Numbers

TheTorah.com named scholarly contributor

TheTorah.com, 2017

Supports: Nonchronological placement of Numbers 1 and 9, sanctuary-centered opening, and source-critical alternatives.

Exact location: TheTorah, “The Message of the Non-Chronological Opening of Numbers,” complete sections “Tabernacle Chronology,” “Why Doesn't Numbers Begin with Passover?,” and proposed source-order discussion, applied to Numbers 4:34–49

Open source ↗

modern jewish scholarly open demography and text study

Recounting the Census: A Military Force of 5,500 (not 603,550) Men

TheTorah.com named scholarly contributor

TheTorah.com, 2015

Supports: Received census totals, terminology, scaling proposals, arithmetic limits, and uncertainty about historical demography.

Exact location: TheTorah, “Recounting the Census: A Military Force of 5,500,” complete census tables and sections on eleph, totals, military counting, and demographic alternatives, applied to Numbers 4:34–49

Open source ↗

Numbers 4:34–49, King James Version

Three service totals, then 8,580

A complete roll still leaves human limits unnamed

How this should shape us

Teach it back

Go deeper

Where do careful interpreters disagree?

King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Numbers

NET Bible: Numbers with translators' notes

Numbers Part 1

The Message of the Non-Chronological Opening of Numbers

Recounting the Census: A Military Force of 5,500 (not 603,550) Men