🔢WEB · Numbers 1:30
What does Numbers 1:30 mean?
"Of the children of Zebulun, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go out to war;"
— Numbers 1:30 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
those who were counted of them, of the tribe of Judah, were seventy-four thousand six hundred.
Of the children of Issachar, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go out to war;
those who were counted of them, of the tribe of Issachar, were fifty-four thousand four hundred.
Of the children of Zebulun, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go out to war;
those who were counted of them, of the tribe of Zebulun, were fifty-seven thousand four hundred.
Of the children of Joseph, of the children of Ephraim, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go out to war;
those who were counted of them, of the tribe of Ephraim, were forty thousand five hundred.
Explanation
Numbers 1:30 is one link in a long, repeating chain of verses that make up the first census of Israel, taken shortly after the exodus from Egypt. This particular verse introduces the counting of the tribe of Zebulun, one of the twelve sons of Jacob. In plain language, it says that the descendants of Zebulun were to be counted by their family lines, organized according to their clans and households, and that every man twenty years old or older who was physically able to serve in Israel's army was to be included in that number. The verse itself sets up the criteria; the actual total for Zebulun (57,400 men) follows in verse 31.
The book of Numbers was written by Moses, addressed to the newly freed nation of Israel as they prepared to leave Mount Sinai and journey toward the Promised Land. This census took place about a year after the Exodus from Egypt, at God's direct command (Numbers 1:1-3). The purpose was practical and military: Israel was not yet a settled nation but a traveling community that would face hostile peoples on the way to Canaan, so God instructed Moses to organize the men able to fight, tribe by tribe, so the nation could move and defend itself in an orderly
Compare translations
Go deeper with ScriptureCompanion AI
Ask questions about any verse, follow reading plans, write personal prayers, and track your daily habit — all grounded in verified scripture text.