1:4-19
The one person from each tribe was to assist Moses in the task. This person would have a more intimate knowledge of his tribe than Moses would have. We then get a list of the twelve people who were to assist Moses. God gives Moses the names of the twelve people. So Moses and Aaron begin the task and the census begins.
1:20-43
We now get the lists, with essentially the same being said for each tribe, giving the name of the tribe and the number of men counted. As indicated in the introduction, there are questions about the numbers. The numbers are all, with one exception, rounded to the nearest 100 (Gad to the nearest fifty). The problem that most people raise is that the total comes to just under six hundred thousand, which would imply a total size of two million. Deut 7:1 then says there were seven nations larger than Israel. So the total population for the region would be 15-20 million, which exceeds the current population. So the numbers are thought to be unreasonable, if taken at face value. Several explanations have been offered, including:
The figures are an exaggeration
The Hebrew word translated “thousand” means “military unit”
Numbers were used for their narrative value rather than being intended to be taken literally, and the readers of the time would recognise this.
[The above information is based on the Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible, Walton and Keener.]
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