John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Numbers 1:4
And with you there shall be a man of every tribe ,.... Excepting Levi, of which Moses and Aaron were, to assist in taking the account, and to see that it was an exact and perfect one: everyone head of the house of his fathers ; and prince of the tribe he belonged to, as appears from Numbers 1:16 and Numbers 7:2 , where an account is given of the same persons as princes of the tribes that offered at the dedication of the altar, who here assisted in the taking this account; the Targum... read more
Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Numbers 1:1-16
I. We have here a commission issued out for the numbering of the people of Israel; and David, long after, paid dearly for doing it without a commission. Here is, 1. The date of this commission, Num. 1:1. (1.) The place: it is given at God's court in the wilderness of Sinai, from his royal palace, the tabernacle of the congregation. (2.) The time: In the second year after they came up out of Egypt; we may call it the second year of that reign. The laws in Leviticus were given in the first month... read more