What is the meaning of Numbers 26:36? And • The simple connective positions this statement within the larger census report of Numbers 26, linking it to the flow that began in Numbers 26:1, where “the LORD said to Moses and Eleazar… ‘Take a census.’ ” • Every “and” in this chapter records God’s faithfulness to each family line promised in Genesis 15:5 and reaffirmed in Exodus 1:7. • The continuity from one name to the next underscores that “not one word has failed” of what God spoke (Joshua 21:45). the descendants of Shuthelah • Shuthelah is listed as a son of Ephraim in Numbers 26:35 and 1 Chronicles 7:20–21, anchoring this clan within Joseph’s favored younger son (Genesis 48:19). • By the second wilderness census, Shuthelah’s line has multiplied, confirming God’s blessing first spoken in Genesis 48:16: “may they grow into a multitude.” • Mentioning descendants highlights covenant faithfulness despite earlier rebellion in Numbers 14; God preserved families even when the older generation perished. were the Eranite clan • Scripture states, “These were the descendants of Shuthelah: the Eranite clan” (Numbers 26:36). A distinct clan name meant specific land allotments later assigned in Joshua 16:5–9, ensuring order and justice. • Clan identification also served military organization; earlier censuses such as Numbers 1:32–33 grouped men by clan for marching and warfare. • The Eranites bore a name that would remind every member of personal responsibility within the covenant community, echoing Moses’ call in Deuteronomy 29:10-13 for each family to stand before the LORD. from Eran • Eran himself, a grandson of Ephraim (1 Chronicles 7:25), became the patriarch of this sub-tribe. Individual faithfulness received lasting recognition, paralleling Bezalel “son of Uri” in Exodus 31:2. • “From Eran” signals lineage rooted in a real person, reinforcing the literal historical record advocated in passages like 1 Kings 8:56. • The phrase looks ahead: when territory is apportioned west of the Jordan, Eran’s descendants will know precisely where they belong, fulfilling Numbers 34:13-14. summary Numbers 26:36 affirms that God faithfully preserves and multiplies His people down to each household. The brief line—“These were the descendants of Shuthelah: the Eranite clan from Eran”—cements Eran’s family within the covenant, anticipates their inheritance in Canaan, and illustrates the meticulous accuracy of Scripture’s historical record. |
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