Komentaryo sa Exodo 30:14: Rashi, Chizkuni, Da'at Zekenim & Siftei Chakhamim

מבן עשרים שנה ומעלה FROM TWENTY YEARS OLD AND ABOVE — Scripture teaches you here that anyone less than twenty years of age does not go forth to the army nor is he to be counted among the “men” (of whom v. 12 speaks).

מבן עשרים שנה ומעלה, “from twenty years and up;” anyone under that ages is not subject to punishment at the hands of heaven, though on earth he is punishable from the age of 13, or 12 in the case of girls. Therefore the people younger than twenty did not need to obtain their forgiveness by means of this ransom payment. The total amount raised by this census amounted to one talent of silver. How do we arrive at that amount? Most people do not live for more than seventy years. The first twenty years they do not need atonement as their sins have not been registered in the celestial ledger. This leaves 50 years during which they may need atonement by means of the holy half shekel which is equivalent to a secular shekel. When you multiply this by 600000, the number of able bodied soldiers amongst the Israelites you get 300000 holy shekels per year, or 100 talents of silver per year. (1 talent is equal to 3000 holy shekels. Seeing that the wicked Haman was familiar with this, he offered the king ten thousand talents of silver to compensate for the king’s loss of taxes from the Jews. 600000 Jews giving 1/2 holy shekels for 50 years would amount to 100000 talents of silver.)

כל העובר,”everyone that passes, etc.;” the verb עבר in this verse is used as in Jeremiah 33,13: “תעבורנה הצאן על המונה” “the sheep shall pass under the hands of the one who counts them;” Sheep are counted by their shepherds when being led to their pens.