An Overview of Numbers Chapters 1-6 Questions

1. Where was Moses when the instructions were given to take a census [sum] of Israel?

• In the wilderness of Sinai, in the tabernacle of the congregation (Numbers 1:1-2).

2. Specifically, who would be counted?

• Every male by their polls; from twenty years old and upward, all that are able to go forth to war in Israel

(Numbers 1:2-3; 20).

3. What was the final number of the census?

• Six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty [603,550] (Numbers 1:46).

4. Were the Levites included in the census of all the children of Israel?

• No, (Leviticus 1:47; 49; 2:33).

5. What work were the Levites expected to carry out?

• “Only thou shalt not number the tribe of Levi, neither take the sum of them among the children of Israel:

But thou shalt appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of testimony, and over all the vessels thereof, and over

all things that belong to it: they shall bear the tabernacle, and all the vessels thereof; and they shall minister

unto it, and shall encamp round about the tabernacle. And when the tabernacle setteth forward, the Levites

shall take it down: and when the tabernacle is to be pitched, the Levites shall set it up: and the stranger that

cometh nigh shall be put to death. And the children of Israel shall pitch their tents, every man by his own

camp, and every man by his own standard, throughout their hosts. But the Levites shall pitch round about the

tabernacle of testimony, that there be no wrath upon the congregation of the children of Israel: and the

Levites shall keep the charge of the tabernacle of testimony” (Numbers 1:49-53).

6. What tribes would be posted on the east side of the tabernacle of the congregation?

• The tribes of Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun (Numbers 2:1-9).

7. What tribes would be posted on the south side of the tabernacle of the congregation?

• Reuben, Simeon, and Gad (Numbers 2:10-16).

8. What tribes would be posted on the west side of the tabernacle of the congregation?

• Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin (Numbers 2:18-24).

9. What tribes would be posted on the north side of the tabernacle of the congregation?

• Dan, Asher, and Naphtali (Numbers 2:25-31).

10. Explain the origin of the names of the tribes listed above (note: the answer is from our previous studies in the
book of Genesis).

• These tribes bear the names of the sons of Jacob (Genesis 35:28-29) with Joseph sons accounting for

Joseph’s one portion above his brother’s (Genesis 41:51-52; 48:17-22).

• As noted above, Levi would not be a numbered tribe. They had a specific duty with the tabernacle.

11. Who was given to minister unto Aaron and his sons?

• The Levites (Numbers 3:6-10).

12. Was the numbering of the Levites different from the numbering of the rest of the tribes?

• Yes, the numbering was of every male from a month upward instead of twenty year old males able for

war and at a different time (Numbers 3:15).

13. Who was to encamp before the tabernacle toward the east, even before the tabernacle of the congregation
eastward?

• Moses, and Aaron and his sons, keeping the charge of the sanctuary for the charge of the children of

Israel; and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death (Numbers 3:38).

14. Who were the Levites taken as a substitution for?

• The firstborn in Israel (Numbers 3:40-41).

15. Who of the sons of Levi were given the duty concerning the most holy things?

• Kohath (Numbers 4:2-4).

16. What should the Kohathites not have looked upon lest they’d die?

• The holy things when they were covered (Numbers 4:18-20).

17. Who of the children of Levi would take care of the curtains of the tabernacle?

• The sons of Gershon (Numbers 4:24-25).

18. What was the total number of those thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that came to
do the service of the ministry, and the service of the burden in the tabernacle of the congregation?

• Eight thousand and five hundred and fourscore [8,580] (Numbers 4:48).

19. What was done with every leper and every one that had been defiled by the dead?

• They were put out of the camp so that the camp was not defiled (Numbers 5:1-4).

20. Was confessing a sin significant under the Law of Moses?

• Yes, (Numbers 5:6-7).

• The same is true today for God’s people (James 5:16 and I John 1:9).

21. If a woman was suspected of committing adultery against her husband, what was to be done to find out, if there
was no clear evidence, if his jealously was just?

• Read Numbers 5:11-27 and see how God would reveal this woman’s transgression.

22. What would occur if the woman did not lie carnally with another man?

• She shall be free, and shall conceive seed (Numbers 5:28).

23. What was the purpose of the Nazarite vow?

• To separate one’s self unto the Lord (Numbers 6:2).

24. Could one have a haircut during the time of separation under the Nazarite vow?

• No, (Numbers 6:5).

25. Where was a man who was under a Nazarite vow to shave his head and what was to be done with the hair?

• The Nazarite shall shave the head of his separation at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation,

and shall take the hair of the head of his separation, and put it in the fire which is under the sacrifice of the

peace offerings (Numbers 6:18; cf. Acts 18:18; 21:23-24).

Having A Basic Understanding of Some Old Testament Truths
Part 18 – The Census Of Israel Through The Nazarite Vow (Numbers 1-6)

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