Trouble with Numbers

I have always been interested in and find it easy to remember things which are trivial in nature. In my Bible Study I have to focus in order not to get caught up in the minute details so as to not miss the big picture. I have always loved numbers in the Bible. However, some have problems with numbers in the Bible. In the book of Numbers, many scholars have trouble accepting such large numbers of Jews wandering across the desert. When I read of such a large group of people surviving in the desert, I am simply impressed by the care that God bestows on His people. To me, this is no problem. However, there is a problem with one number in chapter three of the book of Numbers.

Since the tenth plague (death of the firstborn), God had considered all of the firstborn as His (Numbers 3:13). But we know that the Levites were God’s chosen servants. It was the sons of Levi who would serve in the Tabernacle/temple, hold the office of priest, and teach the people. In Numbers 3, God is, in essence, swapping the firstborn for the Levites. The only problem with this plan is that there are more firstborn children than there are priest. For those extra to be “ransomed” they were to take five shekels per extra firstborn child.

Our “numbers” problem comes in the numbering of the priests. There were 7,500 sons of Gershon (v 22). There were 8,600 sons of Kohath (v 28). And there were 6,200 sons of Merari (v 39). This gives a total of 22,300. However, verse 39 states that there were only 22,000.
I believe that the Bible is the infallible word of God. His word is truth and guides us to eternal life. However, the men who have copied and translated the Bible throughout the centuries are not perfect. In copying the scriptures, often times, a group of scribes would write as one would read aloud. This is the reason for our mathematical dilemma in Numbers 3. It was not uncommon for a scribe to confuse one word for another; just as we might confuse the words “one” and “won.”

The problem has to lie in the number of sons of one of the Levite families. The total number has to be 22,000. Verse 39 lists that total and the number of firstborn in verse 43 is 22,273 and verse 46 notes a 273 person difference.

The simplest explanation for our quandary lies in the number of the sons of Kohath. The number is 8,600. The Hebrew word for “six” is sis while the word for “three” is ss – two very similar sounding words. If the number of Kohathites were changed from 8,600 to 8,300, then we arrive at the total mentioned in verse 39.

While not everyone has the quirkiness to notice such a minute issue, everyone can appreciate the beauty, unity, and accuracy of God’s word. Even when some think they have found a mistake, it turns out to be man’s fault – how telling.