Those that were numbered of them, according to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, even those that were numbered of them were seven thousand and five hundred.

NUMBERS 3:22KJV
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Numbers 3:22 (KJV)

What does Numbers 3:22 mean?

Numbers 3:22 reports that the total number of males from the Gershonite clan, counted from one month old and up, was 7,500. This verse is part of a census of the Levite families, specifically recording the number of eligible males in the Gershonite branch.

In context, Moses is recording God’s instructions to count the Levites by their clans for service in the tabernacle. The Gershonites are one of the three main Levitical families, and this number shows their size and role in Israel’s camp. The census focuses on males because they were assigned specific tabernacle duties.

The Hebrew behind Numbers 3:22

  • "numbered" (פָּקַד, paqad): This word means to count, appoint, or muster. Here, it emphasizes an official, careful counting for a specific purpose, not just a general headcount.
  • "males" (זָכָר, zakhar): This word specifies that only males were included, which matters because Levitical service roles were assigned to men at this time.
  • "from a month old" (חֹדֶשׁ, chodesh): This phrase means the count started with boys as young as one month, not just adults, showing the full potential of the clan’s future service.
  • The numbers "seven" (שֶׁבַע, sheva), "thousand" (אֶלֶף, eleph), "five" (חָמֵשׁ, chamesh), and "hundred" (מֵאָה, me’ah) are all used to give a precise total, highlighting the careful record-keeping.

Why Numbers 3:22 matters

  • This verse clarifies that the Levite census included even infants, not just grown men, which is different from most other biblical censuses that start at age 20.
  • The careful count underscores the importance of every member of the Levite families for their unique role in Israel’s worship life.
  • Understanding the size of the Gershonite clan helps explain later passages about how the Levites were organized and assigned their tabernacle duties.

Where else these words appear

“males” Hebrew H2145 · used in 80 verses

  • Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
  • Leviticus 12:2 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a woman have conceived seed, and born a man child: then she shall be unclean seven days; according to the days of the separation for her infirmity shall she be unclean.
  • Deuteronomy 4:16 Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female,

“number” Hebrew H4557 · used in 129 verses

  • Genesis 34:30 And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, Ye have troubled me to make me to stink among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites: and I being few in number, they shall gather themselves together against me, and slay me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my house.
  • Deuteronomy 33:6 Let Reuben live, and not die; and let not his men be few.
  • Ezra 3:4 They kept also the feast of tabernacles, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings by number, according to the custom, as the duty of every day required;

“upward” Hebrew H4605 · used in 134 verses

  • Genesis 6:16 A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it.
  • Numbers 4:35 From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that entereth into the service, for the work in the tabernacle of the congregation:
  • 2 Chronicles 16:12 And Asa in the thirty and ninth year of his reign was diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceeding great: yet in his disease he sought not to the LORD, but to the physicians.