11 God spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai at the Tent of Meeting on the first day of the second month in the second year after they had left Egypt. He said, 2 "Number the congregation of the People of Israel by clans and families, writing down the names of every male. 3 You and Aaron are to register, company by company, every man who is twenty years and older who is able to fight in the army. 4 Pick one man from each tribe who is head of his family to help you. 5 These are the names of the men who will help you: from Reuben: Elizur son of Shedeur 6 from Simeon: Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai 7 from Judah: Nahshon son of Amminadab 8 from Issachar: Nethanel son of Zuar 9 from Zebulun: Eliab son of Helon 10 from the sons of Joseph, from Ephraim: Elishama son of Ammihud from Manasseh: Gamaliel son of Pedahzur 11 from Benjamin: Abidan son of Gideoni 12 from Dan: Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai 13 from Asher: Pagiel son of Ocran 14 from Gad: Eliasaph son of Deuel 15 from Naphtali: Ahira son of Enan." 16 These were the men chosen from the congregation, leaders of their ancestral tribes, heads of Israel's military divisions.
17 Moses and Aaron took these men who had been named to help 18 and gathered the whole congregation together on the first day of the second month. The people registered themselves in their tribes according to their ancestral families, putting down the names of those who were twenty years old and older, 19 just as God commanded Moses. 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.