🔢WEB · Numbers 26:32
What does Numbers 26:32 mean?
"and Shemida, the family of the Shemidaites; and Hepher, the family of the Hepherites."
— Numbers 26:32 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
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;
and Asriel, the family of the Asrielites; and Shechem, the family of the Shechemites;
and Shemida, the family of the Shemidaites; and Hepher, the family of the Hepherites.
Zelophehad the son of Hepher had no sons, but daughters: and the names of the daughters of Zelophehad were Mahlah, and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.
These are the families of Manasseh. Those who were counted of them were fifty-two thousand seven hundred.
These are the sons of Ephraim after their families: of Shuthelah, the family of the Shuthelahites; of Becher, the family of the Becherites; of Tahan, the family of the Tahanites.
Explanation
Numbers 26:32 is a brief entry in a genealogical census list, naming Shemida and Hepher as sons of Gilead (from the tribe of Manasseh) and identifying the clan groupings, the Shemidaites and the Hepherites, that descended from them. In plain language, the verse is simply recording that these two men each became the head of a distinct family line within the larger tribe of Manasseh, and their descendants were counted as separate clans for the purposes of this census.
The context is important for understanding why such a verse exists at all. Numbers 26 records a second census of Israel, taken near the end of the wilderness wanderings, shortly before the people entered the Promised Land. The first census, in Numbers 1, had counted the generation that left Egypt; nearly all of that generation had died in the wilderness because of their unbelief and disobedience (Numbers 14). This second census counts the new generation, the children and grandchildren of those who had left Egypt, in preparation for the conquest and division of the land of Canaan. Moses, traditionally credited as the author or compiler of Numbers, records these tribal and clan divisions because the land was going to be apportioned according to family and clan size (Numbers 26:52-56). Shemida and Hepher were grandsons of Manasseh through Gilead (see Joshua 17:1-3 and 1 Chronicles 7:14-19 for related genealogical details), and their descendants formed recognized sub-clans within Manasseh's territory.
Theologically, this verse reflects God's careful attention to individuals
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