🔢WEB · Numbers 26:23
What does Numbers 26:23 mean?
"The sons of Issachar after their families: of Tola, the family of the Tolaites; of Puvah, the family of the Punites;"
— Numbers 26:23 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
The sons of Judah after their families were: of Shelah, the family of the Shelanites; of Perez, the family of the Perezites; of Zerah, the family of the Zerahites.
The sons of Perez were: of Hezron, the family of the Hezronites; of Hamul, the family of the Hamulites.
These are the families of Judah according to those who were counted of them, seventy-six thousand five hundred.
The sons of Issachar after their families: of Tola, the family of the Tolaites; of Puvah, the family of the Punites;
of Jashub, the family of the Jashubites; of Shimron, the family of the Shimronites.
These are the families of Issachar according to those who were counted of them, sixty-four thousand three hundred.
The sons of Zebulun after their families: of Sered, the family of the Seredites; of Elon, the family of the Elonites; of Jahleel, the family of the Jahleelites.
Explanation
Numbers 26:23 simply records part of a census list. It identifies two clans within the tribe of Issachar: the Tolaites, descended from a man named Tola, and the Punites, descended from a man named Puvah. In plain language, the verse is saying, "Here are the family groups that made up the tribe of Issachar at this point in Israel's history." It is a genealogical bookkeeping entry, not a narrative or teaching passage.
The context is important for understanding why such a verse exists at all. Numbers 26 records the second census of Israel, taken under Moses and Eleazar the priest on the plains of Moab, just before Israel entered the Promised Land. The first census, in Numbers 1, had counted the generation that left Egypt — a generation that, because of unbelief and rebellion, was condemned to die in the wilderness (Numbers 14). Nearly forty years later, that generation has passed away, and this new census counts their children, the generation about to inherit Canaan. The tribe-by-tribe, clan-by-clan listing (of which Issachar's Tolaites and Punites are one small piece) served a very
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