Midrasch zu Bereschit 46:27

These are the accountings of the children of Israel according to their fathers' house etc (Numbers 2:32). On ten occasions were Israel counted: Once when they went down to Egypt "all the persons of Yaakov’s household who came to Egypt: seventy" (Genesis 46:27). A second time when they came out" The Children of Israel moved on from Ra’amses to Sukkot, about six hundred thousand on foot, menfolk apart from little-ones" (Exodus 12:37). A third time after the incident of the Golden Calf: "when you take up the head-count of the Children of Israel, in counting them, they are to give, each-man, a ransom for his life, for Ad-nai, when they count them, that there be no plague on them, when they count them. (Exodus 30:12). Twice in the Book of Numbers [chumash hapekudim]: once in connection with the formation of the camps (Numbers 1:2) and once in connection with the division of the land (Numbers 26:2). Twice in the days of Shaul "[Shaul] mustered them in Bezek, and the Israelites numbered 300,000, the men of Yehudah 30,000" and "Shaul mustered the troops and enrolled them at Telaim: 200,000 men on foot, and 10,000 men of Yehudah" (1 Samuel 11:8, 15:4). The eighth time in the days of David "Yoav reported to the king the number of the people that had been recorded: in Israel there were 800,000 soldiers ready to draw the sword, and the men of Yehudah numbered 500,000" (2 Samuel 24:9). The ninth time in the days of Ezra "The sum of the entire community was 42,360" (Ezra 2:64; see also Nehemiah 7:66). The tenth time will be in the future era, when, "the sheep shall pass again under the hands of One who counts them [said Ad-nai]" (Jeremiah 33:13).

Another interpretation (of Gen. 18:25): FAR BE IT FROM YOU! Abraham said: Sovereign of the World, I see through the Holy Spirit that a certain woman is going to deliver an entire town.⁴⁶See Gen. R. 94:9; Eccl.. R. 9:18:2; M. Sam. 32. So am I not worthy to deliver these five cities? Which woman was that? That was Serah bat Asher, in the time that Sheba ben Bichri rebelled against David and came to Abel, as stated (in II Sam. 20:15): [THEN THEY CAME AND BESIEGED HIM IN ABEL] … AND ALL THE PEOPLE WHO WERE WITH JOAB WERE DESTROYING THE WALL TO THROW IT DOWN. When Serah perceived the situation, she began to cry out < for Joab >. They called Joab to her. When Joab came, she said (in vs. 17): ARE YOU JOAB? AND HE SAID: YES. You are a sage, since the Scripture praises you (in II Sam. 23:8) as ONE WHO SITS IN THE SEAT OF WISDOM (i.e., in the academy)…. ⁴⁷These words are commonly understood as the proper name, JOSHEB-BASSHEBETH, A TAHCHEMONITE; but this midrash, along with Numb. R. 23:13 and PR 11:3, understands the passage as translated here. The attribution of the verse to Joab, the head of David’s army, is assumed because the person depicted here comes first in a listing of David’s mighty men and is identified as the chief of David’s captains. Moreover, although the listing contains no specific mention of Joab, it does contain the names of Joab’s brothers (in vss. 18 & 24) and even his armor bearer (in vs. 37). Have you not read in the Torah (in Deut. 20:10): WHEN YOU DRAW NEAR UNTO A CITY < TO FIGHT AGAINST IT, YOU SHALL OFFER TERMS OF PEACE UNTO IT > ? Thus, was it not up to you to do so? (II Sam. 20:18:) {YOU} [THEY] USED TO SPEAK IN EARLY TIMES, SAYING: LET THEM SURELY ASK IN ABEL. (Deut. 20:10f.:) YOU SHALL OFFER TERMS OF PEACE UNTO IT (a hostile city). < THEN IT SHALL BE, IF IT MAKES YOU AN ANSWER OF PEACE >…. (II Sam. 20:18f.:) < LET THEM SURELY ASK > IN ABEL; AND THAT WAS THE END OF THE MATTER…. SO WHY WOULD YOU DEVOUR THE LORD'S HERITAGE? When he heard that, Joab became afraid and said: There is a requirement here, as stated (in vs. 20): {THEN JOAB SAID:} [THEN JOAB ANSWERED AND SAID: FAR BE IT], FAR BE IT⁴⁸Note that these words return the argument to Gen. 18:25, in which the same expression also occurs. FROM ME < THAT I SHOULD DEVOUR >…. But you, since you are a merciful < God >, is it pleasing for you to destroy these? (Gen. 18:25:) FAR BE IT FROM YOU TO DO SUCH A THING, < TO PUT TO DEATH A RIGHTEOUS PERSON ALONG WITH A WICKED ONE, SO THAT THE RIGHTEOUS ONE FARES LIKE THE WICKED! FAR BE IT FROM YOU > ! Now what did Joab say to her? (II Sam. 20:21:) THE SITUATION IS NOT THE SAME, FOR A MAN FROM THE HILLS OF EPHRAIM NAMED SHEBA BEN BICHRI < HAS RAISED HIS HAND AGAINST KING DAVID >…. Sheba is a man with a blemish, one who serves idols. (II Sam. 20:1:) NOW THERE HAPPENED TO BE THERE A MAN OF BELIAL WHOSE NAME IS SHEBA BEN BICHRI. She said to him (in vs. 19): I AM THE SHELUME (rt.: ShLM) OF THE FAITHFUL IN ISRAEL.⁴⁹Cf. the new JPSA translation here: I AM ONE OF THOSE WHO SEEK THE WELFARE OF THE FAITHFUL IN ISRAEL. I am the one who completed (rt.: ShLM) the number of Israel, as stated (in Numb. 26:46): AND THE NAME OF ASHER'S DAUGHTER WAS SERAH.⁵⁰According to Gen. 46:27, THE TOTAL OF JACOB’S HOUSE WHO CAME INTO EGYPT WAS SEVENTY PERSONS, but those named number only sixty-nine including Joseph, his two sons, and Serah. The extra person comes from counting Serah twice because of her long life. Numb. 26:46 shows that she was still alive at the time of the Exodus. Moreover, it was not too difficult to imagine that so old a woman had lived even longer into the reign of David and identify her with the wise woman of II Sam. 20:16. See the version of this tradition in PRK 11:13. Just stay in your place, and I will make peace (rt.: ShLM). Thus it is stated (in II Sam. 20:21): BEHOLD, HIS HEAD WILL BE THROWN TO YOU OVER THE WALL. And so she had confidence in herself that she would deliver his head to Joab. But see what she did (according to vs. 22)! THEN THE WOMAN CAME UNTO [ALL] THE PEOPLE IN HER WISDOM. What is the meaning of IN HER WISDOM? Simply that she said to them: Understand that Joab and all Israel are standing outside to kill us, our sons, and our daughters. They said to her: Why? She said to them: He would take a hundred people and go. They said to her: Let him take two hundred. She said to them: He only wants fifty people. They said to her: Let him take a hundred. She said to them: He only wants five: They said to her: Let him take ten. She said to them: He only wants one whose name is Sheba ben Bichri. When they heard that, they immediately went and cut off his head. Thus it is stated (in II Sam. 20:22, cont.): SO THEY CUT OFF THE HEAD OF SHEBA BEN BICHRI. Look at the wisdom of this woman! In the same way Abraham came in wisdom before the Holy One. He came < down > from fifty to forty, from forty to thirty, from thirty to twenty, and from twenty to ten. So also with this woman (according to II Sam. 20:22): THEN THE WOMAN CAME UNTO [ALL] THE PEOPLE IN HER WISDOM. Regarding her Solomon gave praise⁵¹Gk.: kalos. (in Eccl. 9:18): WISDOM IS BETTER THAN INSTRUMENTS OF WAR. The wisdom of Serah was better than the instruments of war that were in the hands of Joab. When Joab received the head of Sheba ben Bichri, he immediately went back without touching the city. Abraham said to the Holy One: Sovereign of the World, now if Joab, when he took the head of one person who was guilty, left the city alone, would you, who are merciful, destroy everyone? (Gen. 18:25:) FAR BE IT FROM YOU!

(Numb. 3:15:) “Enroll the Children of Levi….” This text is related (to Ps. 68:7), “God causes individuals to dwell in a home.” A certain matron⁷⁸Lat.: matrona. asked R. Jose ben Halafta, “In how many days [did the Holy One, blessed be He, create the world?” He said to her, “In six days, as stated (in Exod. 31:17), ‘for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth.’”⁷⁹Gen. R. 68:4; Lev. R. 8:1; Numb. R. 3:6; PRK 2:4; below, Numb. 9:9; cf. above, Gen. 1:2. She said to him, “Ever since the world was created, what does He do?” “He sits [there] arranging marriages and issuing decrees. So He says, ‘So-and-so shall marry so-and-so.’” (Ps. 68:7), “God causes individuals to dwell in a home.” Who are they? This was Amram and his wife Yochebed, since through their merit the Holy One, blessed be He, brought Israel out of Egypt, where they had been enslaved with clay and bricks.⁸⁰The Exodus theme is suggested by what follows in Ps. 68:7): HE BRINGS OUT THE PRISONERS INTO PROSPERITY, Cf. M. Pss. 68:4. What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do? He married Yochebed to Amram in order to raise up from them a redeemer for Israel and from them to raise up high priests. It is therefore stated (ibid.), “God causes individuals to dwell in a home.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said, “In as much as this tribe is accustomed to be raising up redeemers, go and number them.” (Numb. 3:15:) “Enroll the Children of Levi….” But it is written in another place (i.e., in Numb. 1:49), “However, you shall not enroll the tribe of Levi, nor shall you take a census of them.”⁸¹Cf. Numb. R. 3:7. When Israel had made the calf, what is written there (in Exod. 32:26)? “So Moses stood up in the gate of the camp and said, ‘Whoever is for the Lord, to me!’ And all of the sons of Levi gathered to him.” Hence the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses, (in the words of Numb. 3:15), “Enroll the Children of Levi.” R. Judah bar Shallum said, “The Holy One, blessed be He, is accustomed to numbering [the children of] this tribe in every case while they are young.⁸²Numb. R. 3:8. How is it shown? When the Holy One, blessed be He, told Jacob to go down to Egypt, at that time he numbered Israel and his children; and all of them were found [to number] sixty-six, as stated (in Gen. 46:26), “And all the souls of the House of Jacob that came that came to Egypt… were sixty-six.” [In addition were] Joseph's two sons, plus Joseph, for a total of seventy minus one. But it says (in vs. 27), “all the souls of the House of Jacob, which came to Egypt, were seventy.” R. Levi said that R. Samuel bar Nahman said, “The Holy One, blessed be He, customarily numbers this tribe while they are in their mother's womb.”⁸³Gen. R. 94:9 and M. Pss. 92:12. R. Berekhyah the Priest said, “There is not enough resin to flow out before they collect it.⁸⁴Rt.: SPG; cf. the Gk.: spoggos (“sponges”). So it was in the case of Jochebed. Her mother was pregnant with her; and while she was in her mother's womb, she was numbered together with her.” Resh Laqish said, “While her mother was entering the gate of Egypt, her mother gave birth to her. The statement is therefore made concerning seventy souls (in Gen. 46:27).” And also concerning her children's children, the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses (in Numb. 3:15), “you shall enroll every male from the age of a month and upward.” Moses said to him, “Am I able to persevere and go around into their courtyards and into the midst of their houses to number each and every one of them, when You say (ibid.), ‘every male from the age of a month and upward?’”⁸⁵Numb. R. 1:9. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses, “You do your [part], and I will do my [part].” R. Judah bar Shalom the Levite said, “Moses would go and stand at the gate of the tent [in question]. Then the Divine Presence would draw near and say to him, ‘There are five infants in this tent; there are ten infants in that tent.’” Where is it shown? Where it is stated (in Numb. 3:16), “So Moses enrolled them according to the word (literally, according to the mouth) of the Lord, as he had been commanded,” [i.e.,] just as the Divine Presence told him.

Another interpretation (of Numb. 3:15): ENROLL THE CHILDREN OF LEVI. But it is written in another place (i.e., in Numb. 1:49): HOWEVER, YOU SHALL NOT ENROLL THE TRIBE OF LEVI, NOR SHALL YOU TAKE A CENSUS OF THEM.¹⁰¹Tanh., Numb., 1:16, cont.; cf. Numb. R. 3:7. It is simply that the Holy One said: In as much as they have given their souls to me, go and number them separately. Now when had they given their souls to the Holy One? When Israel had committed that act (of the golden calf). It is so stated (in Exod. 32:26): SO MOSES STOOD UP IN THE GATE OF THE CAMP [AND SAID: WHOEVER IS FOR THE LORD, <COME> TO ME. THEN ALL THE CHILDREN OF LEVI GATHERED UNTO HIM]. The Holy One said to Moses: In as much as they are standing in their blemishes,¹⁰²Bemumehen. Cf. Buber, n. 154, who notes that the Oxford MS, Michael 577, No. 155 (described on pp. 141-142 of his introduction), reads, betsidqam, i.e., “in their righteousness.” Buber, however, prefers the better-attested reading, bemumehen, which can also mean “by some things of theirs” and which he interprets as the equivalent of “by their vow.” Still the simple translation, “in their blemishes” could mean that the Levites were deficient in not having been enrolled for the Holy One and that their enrollment now made them whole. go and number them. (In the words of Numb. 3:15): ENROLL THE CHILDREN OF LEVI. R. Judah bar Shallum says: The Holy One is accustomed to numbering <the children of> this tribe in every case while they are young.¹⁰³Numb. R. 3:8. How is it shown? When the Holy One told Jacob to go down to Egypt, at that time he numbered Israel and his children; and all of them were found <to number> sixty-six, [as stated (in Gen. 46:26): AND ALL THE SOULS… WERE SIXTY-SIX.] In addition were Joseph's two sons, plus Joseph, for a total of seventy minus one. But it says (in vs. 27): ALL THE SOULS OF THE HOUSE OF JACOB, WHICH CAME TO EGYPT, WERE SEVENTY. R. Levi said: R. Samuel bar Nahman said: The Holy One customarily numbers this tribe while they are in their mother's womb.¹⁰⁴Gen. R. 94:9 and M. Pss. 92:12. R. Berekhyah [the Priest Berabbi] said: There is not enough resin to flow out before they collect it.¹⁰⁵Rt.: SPG; cf. the Gk.: spoggos (“sponges”). So it was in the case of Jochebed. Her mother was pregnant with her; and while she was in her mother's womb, she was numbered together with her. Resh Laqish said: While her mother was entering the gate of Egypt, her mother gave birth to her. The statement is therefore made concerning seventy souls (in Gen. 46:27). And also concerning her children's children, the Holy One said to Moses (in Numb. 3:15): [YOU SHALL ENROLL] EVERY MALE FROM THE AGE OF A MONTH AND UPWARD. Moses said to him: Am I able to persevere and go around into their courtyards and into the midst of their houses to number each and every one of them, when you say (ibid.): EVERY MALE FROM THE AGE OF A MONTH AND UPWARD?¹⁰⁶Numb. R. 1:9. The Holy One said to Moses: You do your <part>, and I will do my <part>. R. Judah bar Shallum the Levite said: Moses would go and stand at the gate of the tent <in question>. Then the Divine Presence would draw near and say to him: There are five infants in this tent; there are ten infants in that tent. Where is it shown? Where it is stated (in Numb. 3:16): SO MOSES ENROLLED THEM ACCORDING TO THE WORD (literally: ACCORDING TO THE MOUTH) OF THE LORD AS HE HAD BEEN COMMANDED, <i.e.,> just as the Divine Presence told him.