🔢WEB · Numbers 26:14
What does Numbers 26:14 mean?
"These are the families of the Simeonites, twenty-two thousand two hundred."
— Numbers 26:14 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
Notwithstanding, the sons of Korah didn’t die.
The sons of Simeon after their families: of Nemuel, the family of the Nemuelites; of Jamin, the family of the Jaminites; of Jachin, the family of the Jachinites;
of Zerah, the family of the Zerahites; of Shaul, the family of the Shaulites.
These are the families of the Simeonites, twenty-two thousand two hundred.
The sons of Gad after their families: of Zephon, the family of the Zephonites; of Haggi, the family of the Haggites; of Shuni, the family of the Shunites;
of Ozni, the family of the Oznites; of Eri, the family of the Erites;
of Arod, the family of the Arodites; of Areli, the family of the Arelites.
Explanation
Numbers 26:14 is a summary statement closing out the census tally for the tribe of Simeon during Israel's wilderness wanderings. In plain language, it simply reports the total headcount of fighting-age men from the various clans (families) descended from Simeon: 22,200. The verse itself contains no narrative, command, or poetic language—it is a numerical record, one line in a longer list that goes tribe by tribe through the twelve sons of Jacob.
The context is the second wilderness census, taken by Moses and Eleazar the priest on the plains of Moab, just before Israel entered the Promised Land (Numbers 26:1-4). This census differed from the first one taken at Sinai (Numbers 1) because an entire generation had died in the wilderness due to unbelief and rebellion, particularly after the incident at Baal Peor and the plague that followed the sin with Midianite women (Numbers 25). The new count served a practical purpose: to organize the tribes for the conquest of Canaan and to determine how the land would be divided among them, since inheritance was to be apportioned according to tribal size (Numbers 26:52-56). Simeon's specific families listed just before verse 14—Nemuel, Jamin, Jachin, Zerah, and Shaul—represent the clans through which this total was reached.
Theologically, this verse is part of a larger pattern in Scripture
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