Censuses in the Wilderness/1/he

מפקדים בני ישראל במדבר

הקדמה

"חומש הפקודים"

ספר במדבר¹ opens with a command to count the Children of Israel, specifically all males above the age of twenty:

(ב) שְׂאוּ אֶת רֹאשׁ כׇּל עֲדַת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָם לְבֵית אֲבֹתָם בְּמִסְפַּר שֵׁמוֹת כׇּל זָכָר לְגֻלְגְּלֹתָם. (ג) מִבֶּן עֶשְׂרִים שָׁנָה וָמַעְלָה כׇּל יֹצֵא צָבָא בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל תִּפְקְדוּ אֹתָם לְצִבְאֹתָם אַתָּה וְאַהֲרֹן. (במדבר א':ב'-ג')

The Torah proceeds to record, in meticulous detail, the populations of each and every individual tribe as well as the nation as a whole. It does not, however, explain the need for this census.² What was the purpose of this census, and why was it limited to a particular gender and age?

Two Censuses in Less than a Year?

Moreover, while the census in the beginning of Bemidbar took place in the second month of the second year after the Exodus, just a few short months before this, there had already been a command in שמות ל׳ (implemented in שמות ל״ח) to count the nation through donations made toward the building of the Mishkan:³

(יב) כִּי תִשָּׂא אֶת רֹאשׁ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לִפְקֻדֵיהֶם וְנָתְנוּ אִישׁ כֹּפֶר נַפְשׁוֹ לַה' בִּפְקֹד אֹתָם וְלֹא יִהְיֶה בָהֶם נֶגֶף בִּפְקֹד אֹתָם. (יג) זֶה יִתְּנוּ כָּל הָעֹבֵר עַל הַפְּקֻדִים מַחֲצִית הַשֶּׁקֶל בְּשֶׁקֶל הַקֹּדֶשׁ עֶשְׂרִים גֵּרָה הַשֶּׁקֶל מַחֲצִית הַשֶּׁקֶל תְּרוּמָה לַה'. (יד) כֹּל הָעֹבֵר עַל הַפְּקֻדִים מִבֶּן עֶשְׂרִים שָׁנָה וָמָעְלָה יִתֵּן תְּרוּמַת ה'.

If the half-shekel donations to the Mishkan had already been utilized to tally the nation, what benefit could there possibly have been in counting the people again so soon afterwards?

Identical Tallies

Finally, a juxtaposition of the verses from שמות ל״ח and במדבר פרק א׳ yields an astonishing correspondence:

בֶּקַע לַגֻּלְגֹּלֶת מַחֲצִית הַשֶּׁקֶל בְּשֶׁקֶל הַקֹּדֶשׁ לְכֹל הָעֹבֵר עַל הַפְּקֻדִים מִבֶּן עֶשְׂרִים שָׁנָה וָמַעְלָה לְשֵׁשׁ מֵאוֹת אֶלֶף וּשְׁלֹשֶׁת אֲלָפִים וַחֲמֵשׁ מֵאוֹת וַחֲמִשִּׁים. (שמות ל"ח:כ"ו)

וַיִּהְיוּ כָּל הַפְּקֻדִים שֵׁשׁ מֵאוֹת אֶלֶף וּשְׁלֹשֶׁת אֲלָפִים וַחֲמֵשׁ מֵאוֹת וַחֲמִשִּׁים. (במדבר א':מ"ו)

 

The nation's total population in the second year of the wilderness provided in במדבר פרק א׳ precisely matches the earlier recorded headcount from the first year of שמות ל״ח, with both totaling exactly 603,550 men! How could this have happened? Were there no births and deaths in the interim, or did these coincidentally or miraculously cancel each other out?⁴ What might this indicate about the relationship between these two censuses?

In גישות פרשניות, we will explore the purpose of the census in במדבר פרק א׳ and its relationship to שמות ל׳ while trying to understand whether and why there was a need for both.

¹ Chazal coined the name "חומש הפקודים" to refer to the Book of Bemidbar because of the two censuses that are detailed in במדבר א'-ד' ובמדבר כ"ו. The former took place in the second year in the desert, while the latter occurred in the fortieth year.

² השוו לפסוק "לָאֵלֶּה תֵּחָלֵק הָאָרֶץ בְּנַחֲלָה בְּמִסְפַּר שֵׁמוֹת" בבמדבר כ"ו:נ"ג which suggests that the census of the fortieth year was integrally related to the inheritance of the land.

³ For a full analysis of these verses, see מחצית השקל – למניין או למשכן?.

⁴ בנוסף, מספר במדבר א'-ד' we know that the 22,000 Levites were not included in the second count. To nonetheless come up with an identical total would have necessitated a miraculous multiplication of the rest of the Israelites!