11 The Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tent of meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, 2 "Take a census of all the congregation of the people of Israel, by families, by fathers' houses, according to the number of names, every male, head by head; 3 from twenty years old and upward, all in Israel who are able to go forth to war, you and Aaron shall number them, company by company. 4 And there shall be with you a man from each tribe, each man being the head of the house of his fathers. 5 And these are the names of the men who shall attend you. From Reuben, Eli'zur the son of Shed'eur; 6 from Simeon, Shelu'mi-el the son of Zurishad'dai; 7 from Judah, Nahshon the son of Ammin'adab; 8 from Is'sachar, Nethan'el the son of Zu'ar; 9 from Zeb'ulun, Eli'ab the son of Helon; 10 from the sons of Joseph, from E'phraim, Eli'shama the son of Ammi'hud, and from Manas'seh, Gama'liel the son of Pedah'zur; 11 from Benjamin, Abi'dan the son of Gideo'ni; 12 from Dan, Ahi-e'zer the son of Ammishad'dai; 13 from Asher, Pa'giel the son of Ochran; 14 from Gad, Eli'asaph the son of Deu'el; 15 from Naph'tali, Ahi'ra the son of Enan." 16 These were the ones chosen from the congregation, the leaders of their ancestral tribes, the heads of the clans of Israel.
17 Moses and Aaron took these men who have been named, 18 and on the first day of the second month, they assembled the whole congregation together, who registered themselves by families, by fathers' houses, according to the number of names from twenty years old and upward, head by head, 19 as the Lord commanded Moses. So he numbered them in the wilderness of Sinai.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Numbers 1:1-19
Commentary on Numbers 1:1-43
(Read Numbers 1:1-43)
The people were numbered to show God's faithfulness in thus increasing the seed of Jacob, that they might be the better trained for the wars and conquest of Canaan, and to ascertain their families in order to the division of the land. It is said of each tribe, that those were numbered who were able to go forth to war; they had wars before them, though now they met with no opposition. Let the believer be prepared to withstand the enemies of his soul, though all may appear to be peace.