And those that were numbered of them, according to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, were six thousand and two hundred.

NUMBERS 3:34KJV
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Numbers 3:34 (KJV)

What does Numbers 3:34 mean?

Numbers 3:34 reports that the total number of males from the Merarite clan, counted from one month old and up, was 6,200. This census was part of a detailed count of the Levite families, who were set apart for special duties related to the tabernacle.

In this verse, Moses is recording the results of a census commanded by God, specifically counting the male descendants of Merari, one of Levi’s sons. The focus on males from one month old and upward shows that even infants were included, highlighting the completeness of the count for those who would serve or be set apart for tabernacle-related responsibilities.

The Hebrew behind Numbers 3:34

  • "numbered" (פָּקַד, pāqad): This word often means to count, appoint, or take note of. Here, it stresses the careful, official nature of the census, not just a rough estimate.
  • "males" (זָכָר, zakhar): This specifies that only males were counted, which was typical for ancient Israelite censuses, especially when related to religious or tribal duties.
  • "month" (חֹדֶשׁ, chodesh): The inclusion of males from "a month old" shows the count started from infancy, not just adults or those able to serve immediately.
  • "six" (שֵׁשׁ, shesh), "thousand" (אֶלֶף, eleph), "hundred" (מֵאָה, me’ah): These words form the total number, showing the precision and importance of each clan’s size.

Why Numbers 3:34 matters

  • Numbers 3:34 clarifies that the Levite census was extremely thorough, including even the youngest males, which sets it apart from other censuses in the Bible that usually count only adult men.
  • The verse emphasizes the organizational care in assigning tabernacle duties, as each Levite clan’s numbers determined their responsibilities.
  • This count connects to the broader passage, where each Levite family’s role and number are listed, showing the structure and order God intended for Israel’s worship and community life.

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.