Numbers 26:5

5 Reuben^[a] was the firstborn of Israel. Reuben's descendants: the Hanochite clan [from] Hanoch; the Palluite clan from Pallu;

Numbers 26:5 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 26:5

Reuben, the eldest son of Israel
the number of his tribe is taken first on that account; there were four families that descended from him, the Hanochite, Palluite, Hesronite, and Carmite, and the number of men from twenty years old and upwards, fit for war, were 43,730; so that, since the last numbering, this tribe was decreased 2770; which may in part be accounted for by the families of Dathan and Abiram being cut off for their rebellion, who were this tribe, and whose affair is briefly related in the following verses, and it may be to point out this unto us.

Numbers 26:5 In-Context

3 So Moses and Eleazar the priest said to them in the plains of Moab by the Jordan [across from] Jericho,

4 "[Take a census of] those 20 years old or more, as the Lord had commanded Moses and the Israelites who came out of the land of Egypt."

5 Reuben was the firstborn of Israel. Reuben's descendants: the Hanochite clan [from] Hanoch; the Palluite clan from Pallu;

6 the Hezronite clan from Hezron; the Carmite clan from Carmi.

7 These were the Reubenite clans, and their registered men numbered 43,730.

Footnotes

• [a]. Gn 46:8-27; Ex 6:14-25