Numbers 1:39 Meaning and Explanation
“Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Dan, were threescore and two thousand and seven hundred.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Growth on this scale is worth pausing over. Genesis records one son for Dan among the household that went down into Egypt, and the census at Sinai counts more than sixty thousand fighting men from that line. The figure in this verse is a measurable trace of a promise God had made to Abraham and repeated to Jacob.
Dan's muster reaches sixty-two thousand seven hundred, the second largest total in the chapter. A tribe that entered Egypt with a single named son now fields one of Israel's strongest companies.
The Context of Numbers 1:39
Moses and Aaron are numbering Israel at Sinai in the second year after the exodus, tribe by tribe, with a leader from each tribe assisting. Verse 38 has described Dan's men, and verse 39 records their total. Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai represented Dan, according to verse 12. Only Asher and Naphtali remain after this entry before the chapter sums everything in verses 44 through 46 and then turns to the Levites, who are exempted from the count and appointed over the tabernacle in verses 47 through 53.
What Does Numbers 1:39 Mean?
The KJV preserves an older English way of counting here, threescore and two thousand and seven hundred, where a score is twenty and threescore is sixty. Only two totals in the chapter use that form, this one and Judah's threescore and fourteen thousand and six hundred. The wording reflects a translation habit of the period. Once converted, the figure reads sixty-two thousand seven hundred. The phrase immediately before it, 'even of the tribe of Dan,' keeps the tribal name fastened to the number, so the total is filed under the house it belongs to and cannot drift loose in the record.
Only Judah's seventy-four thousand six hundred exceeds this figure. Dan therefore anchors the north side of the camp with the largest force in that division, balancing Judah on the east. Israel's four camp divisions were arranged with real attention to weight, since Judah's group and Dan's group each carried substantial numbers while the tabernacle stood in the middle of them all. In the second census recorded in Numbers 26, Dan grows again to sixty-four thousand four hundred and ranks second once more. Across the whole wilderness period this tribe held a consistently large share of Israel's fighting strength.
One household in this tribe had already given Israel something rare. Exodus 31:6 names Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, appointed alongside Bezaleel and filled with wisdom to make everything the LORD had commanded for the tabernacle. The tent standing at the center of this camp bore his workmanship. A man counted among sixty-two thousand seven hundred fighting men had spent the preceding months cutting, weaving, and setting stones for the place where God met with Israel. A roll of soldiers and a record of craftsmen describe the same people, offering what they had to the God who called them.
Numbers 1:39 in the Original Language
Dan (דָּן), 'Dan' -- Genesis 30:6 gives the naming, where Rachel said that God had judged her and heard her voice. The name comes from a verb for judging or vindicating, a term used for settling a case in someone's favor.
Bible Verses Related to Numbers 1:39
“And the sons of Dan; Hushim.”
- Genesis 46:23
“And I, behold, I have given with him Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan: and in the hearts of all that are wise hearted I have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded thee;”
- Exodus 31:6
“And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were threescore and two thousand and seven hundred.”
- Numbers 2:26
“Gilead abode beyond Jordan: and why did Dan remain in ships? Asher continued on the sea shore, and abode in his breaches.”
- Judges 5:17
Where Numbers 1:39 Echoes in Scripture
Judges 5:17 asks, in the song of Deborah, why Dan remained in ships while others came to the help of the LORD against the mighty. The question assumes a tribe strong enough to have made a difference. A company of sixty-two thousand seven hundred men counted at Sinai had become, by the time of the judges, a seafaring people slow to answer a national emergency. Great numbers create the possibility of great help and the possibility of a conspicuous absence.
How to Apply Numbers 1:39 Today
Strength invites a particular temptation, which is to hold it in reserve. Dan had numbers, coastal trade, and skilled workers, and a later song had to ask where the tribe was when help was needed. Those of us with margin, whether in money, time, health, or influence, can decide now how it will be spent when a call comes. Settling that in advance is a mercy to our future selves. Capacity that never leaves the harbor stops functioning as capacity at all, and the people around us feel the absence.
Reflection & Prayer
What strength are we currently holding in reserve, and what would it take to put it into service this month? A prayer: Lord, you have given us more than we usually admit. Show us the help we are able to give and have been postponing, make us quick to answer when your people need us, and keep our strength from becoming a private comfort.