Keluaran 6:14

The Ancestry of the Deliverer

6:14 ¹ These are the heads of their fathers’ households: ² 

The sons ³  of Reuben, the firstborn son of Israel, were Hanoch and Pallu, Hezron and Carmi. These were the clans ⁴  of Reuben.

Bilangan 1:20

1:20 And they were as follows:

The descendants of Reuben, the firstborn son of Israel: According to the records of their clans and families, all the males twenty years old or older who could serve in the army were listed by name individually.

Bilangan 26:7

26:7 These were the families of the Reubenites; and those numbered of them were 43,730. ⁵ 

Bilangan 26:1

A Second Census Required

26:1 ⁶ After the plague the Lord said to Moses and to Eleazar son of Aaron the priest, ⁷ 

1 Tawarikh 5:3

5:3 The sons of Reuben, Israel’s firstborn:

Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.

[6:14]  ¹ sn This list of names shows that Moses and Aaron are in the line of Levi that came to the priesthood. It helps to identify them and authenticate them as spokesmen for God within the larger history of Israel. As N. M. Sarna observes, “Because a genealogy inherently symbolizes vigor and continuity, its presence here also injects a reassuring note into the otherwise despondent mood” (Exodus [JPSTC], 33).

[6:14]  ² tn The expression is literally “the house of their fathers.” This expression means that the household or family descended from a single ancestor. It usually indicates a subdivision of a tribe, that is, a clan, or the subdivision of a clan, that is, a family. Here it refers to a clan (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 46).

[6:14]  ³ tn Or “descendants.”

[6:14]  ⁴ tn Or “families,” and so throughout the genealogy.

[26:7]  ⁵ sn The Reubenites had decreased from 46,500 to 43,730.

[26:1]  ⁶ sn The breakdown of ch. 26 for outlining purposes will be essentially according to the tribes of Israel. The format and structure is similar to the first census, and so less comment is necessary here.

[26:1]  ⁷ tc The MT has also “saying.”