Book of Numbers


The Book of Numbers is the fourth book of the Holy Bible. The original Hebrew title is “Ba-Midbar”, which means “In the Desert.” In the Greek translationMathworldPlanetmathPlanetmath of the Old Testament, the book was referred to as “Arithmoi”, giving rise to its name in most modern languages. Chapter 1 lists the results of the Census taken after the Jews escaped from Egypt, “every male from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war,” categorized by tribes (but the Levites were excluded from the Census). In the King James Version, the numbers are given rounded off by hundreds.

Reuben 46500
Simeon 59300
Gad 5650
Judah 74600
Issachar 54400
Zebulun 57400
Ephraim 4500
Manasseh 32200
Benjamin 35400
Dan 62700
Asher 41500
Naphtali 53400
Levi not counted

Unlike other uses of numbers in the Bible, the numbers in the Book of Numbers are understood to be actual enumerations and not chosen for their symbolic value because of their mathematical or numerological properties (as is the case with the Book of Revelations).

The title Book of Numbers was used by John Conway and Richard Guy for their book on number theoryMathworldPlanetmathPlanetmath. Title aside, it contains no biblical references.

Title Book of Numbers
Canonical name BookOfNumbers
Date of creation 2013-03-22 16:38:22
Last modified on 2013-03-22 16:38:22
Owner PrimeFan (13766)
Last modified by PrimeFan (13766)
Numerical id 8
Author PrimeFan (13766)
Entry type Definition
Classification msc 01A20