🔢WEB · Numbers 26:27
What does Numbers 26:27 mean?
"These are the families of the Zebulunites according to those who were counted of them, sixty thousand five hundred."
— Numbers 26:27 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
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.
These are the families of the Zebulunites according to those who were counted of them, sixty thousand five hundred.
The sons of Joseph after their families: Manasseh and Ephraim.
The sons of Manasseh: of Machir, the family of the Machirites; and Machir became the father of Gilead; of Gilead, the family of the Gileadites.
These are the sons of Gilead: of Iezer, the family of the Iezerites; of Helek, the family of the Helekites;
Explanation
Numbers 26:27 states plainly that the tribe of Zebulun, when counted in this particular census, numbered sixty thousand five hundred men. This is a summary statement that closes out the listing of Zebulun's clans, following the pattern used throughout Numbers 26 for each of Israel's twelve tribes: the clans are named, and then a total count is given.
The context is the second wilderness census, taken near the end of Israel's forty years of wandering, just before the nation entered the Promised Land. Moses, along with Eleazar the priest, conducted this count at God's command (Numbers 26:1-4) to determine how the land of Canaan would be divided among the tribes—land was to be apportioned according to family size and clan, as verse 53-56 later explains. This census is distinct from the earlier one in Numbers 1, taken at the start of the wilderness journey. Comparing the two shows how the generation that left Egypt had died off due to unbelief and judgment (Numbers 26:64-65), while a new generation, born and raised in the wilderness, stood ready to inherit the land. Zebulun's number here (60,500) is actually a slight increase from the earlier census (57,400 in Numbers 1:31), a small but notable exception to the general decline experienced by several tribes.
Theologically, this verse—though it reads like a bare statistic—testifies to God's faithfulness in preserving and even growing a specific tribe through decades of desert hardship, wandering,
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.