Numbers 1:1-19
New International Version
The Census
1 The Lord spoke to Moses in the tent of meeting in the Desert of Sinai on the first day of the second month of the second year after the Israelites came out of Egypt. He said:
2 “Take a census of the whole Israelite community by their clans and families, listing every man by name, one by one.
3 You and Aaron are to count according to their divisions all the men in Israel who are twenty years old or more and able to serve in the army.
4 One man from each tribe, each of them the head of his family, is to help you.
5 These are the names of the men who are to assist you:
이스라엘 백성이 애굽을 나온지 2년 2개월의 첫째 날에 하나님은 모세에게 가족과 종족을 따라 인구조사를 하라고 하셨습니다. 지시하신 내용은 아주 구체적입니다. 남자는 한명 한명 이름을 리스트업하고, 스무 살이 넘어 군대에 입대할 수 있는 남자들을, 모두 각 부대별로 세라고 하십니다. 각 지파에서 한 사람씩, 곧 한 가족에서 지도자가 한 사람씩 나오게 하여 모세와 아론을 도우라고 하셨고, 실제 그 도울 자들의 이름까지 알려주십니다. 이스라엘 백성이 출애굽한 후 시내산에서 하나님의 율법을 받고 이제 가나안을 향해 떠나기 전에 하나님께서는 광야 생활을 하기 위한 준비를 시키십니다. 인구조사를 가족과 종족을 따라 함으로써 전쟁을 준비하고, 각 지파의 진영과 행군의 질서를 세우고, 아브라함과 하신 약속을 지키심을 보여주시고, 레위지파는 구분하여 제사직을 수행하도록 하신 것입니다. 거주하던 애굽을 떠나 시내산, 그리고 광야에서 살아야 하는 것도 어리둥절 할텐데, 그 많은 사람들의 숫자를 어떤 방법으로 세라는 명령을 받았을 때 인간의 머리로는 이해하기가 힘들었을 것입니다.
On the first day of the second month in the second year after the Israelites came out of Egypt, God commanded Moses to take a census of the people according to their clans and families. The instructions were very specific. Each man was to be listed by name, and all the men who were twenty years old or older and able to serve in the army were to be counted according to their military divisions. God also instructed that one leader from each tribe—one from each family—be appointed to assist Moses and Aaron, and He even provided the names of these leaders. After receiving God’s law at Mount Sinai, and before setting out toward Canaan, God prepared the Israelites for their journey through the wilderness. By conducting a census based on clans and families, He was organizing them for war, establishing the camp and marching order for each tribe, demonstrating the fulfillment of His promise to Abraham, and setting apart the tribe of Levi for priestly duties. It must have been overwhelming for the Israelites to leave the land of Egypt where they had lived for generations, only to find themselves now at Mount Sinai and facing life in the wilderness. When God commanded them to count such a vast number of people, it was likely beyond human understanding how such a task could even be carried out.
from Reuben, Elizur son of Shedeur;
6 from Simeon, Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai;
7 from Judah, Nahshon son of Amminadab;
8 from Issachar, Nethanel son of Zuar;
9 from Zebulun, Eliab son of Helon;
10 from the sons of Joseph:
from Ephraim, Elishama son of Ammihud;
from Manasseh, Gamaliel son of Pedahzur;
11 from Benjamin, Abidan son of Gideoni;
12 from Dan, Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai;
13 from Asher, Pagiel son of Okran;
14 from Gad, Eliasaph son of Deuel;
15 from Naphtali, Ahira son of Enan.”
16 These were the men appointed from the community, the leaders of their ancestral tribes. They were the heads of the clans of Israel.
17 Moses and Aaron took these men whose names had been specified,
18 and they called the whole community together on the first day of the second month. The people registered their ancestry by their clans and families, and the men twenty years old or more were listed by name, one by one,
19 as the Lord commanded Moses. And so he counted them in the Desert of Sinai:
모세와 아론은 하나님이 명하신대로 임명받은 이 사람들을 거느리고 둘째 달 초하루에 전체 회중을 불러모았습니다. 회중들은 모두 가문별, 가족별로 등록하고 스무 살이 넘은 남자는, 모두 그 머리 수대로 하나하나 명단에 올렸습니다. 나의 머리로 이해할 수 없을 때는 주님의 명령에 순종하여 그대로 행하는 자세가 중요합니다. 모세는 주님이 명령하신 구체적인 지시사항을 그대로 수행했습니다. 성경이 이해되지 않을 때, 이해를 먼저하려고 애쓰기 보다는 말씀에 순종하는 자세를 가졌을 때 성령의 도우심으로 이해가 되는 주님의 은혜가 있는 줄 믿습니다.
Moses and Aaron, along with the leaders appointed as God had commanded, gathered the whole assembly on the first day of the second month. The people registered themselves by clans and families, and every man twenty years old or older was listed by name, one by one, according to the number of their heads. When we cannot fully understand with our own minds, what matters most is a heart of obedience to the Lord’s command. Moses carried out the Lord’s detailed instructions exactly as he was told. When we find parts of the Bible difficult to understand, rather than trying to grasp it all with our own reasoning first, we should approach with an obedient heart. Then, by the help of the Holy Spirit, we will come to understand it through the grace of God.
