Numbers 1:18

Num 1:18 And they assembled all the congregation together on the first [day] of the second month, and they declared their pedigrees after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, by their polls.

Ver. 18. And they declared their pedigrees.] Which those that could not do, {Ezr 2:62} were cut out of the roll, capite diminuti, cashiered.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

In showing every man his tribe, and his ancestors.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

by their polls--individually, one by one.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

(18) Declared their pedigrees.—More literally, announced themselves as having been born—i.e., caused themselves to be enrolled. The people appear to have been enrolled by their polls, i.e., individually, under three heads—(1) according to the tribe to which they belonged; (2) according to the mishpahah, or family, which, as it appears from Num_3:22, included in some cases two or three thousand persons; and (3) according to their father’s house. The importance of this enrolment, as affording the means of tracing the genealogy of Christ, must not be overlooked.

According to the number of the names.—The words are the same as in Num_1:2, and should be rendered in the same manner.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And they assembled all the congregation together on the first day of the second month,.... The month Ijar, as the Targum of Jonathan, answering to part of April and May: this was done on the selfsame day the Lord spake unto Moses about this affair, Num 1:1; so expeditious were he and Aaron in doing the will of God:

and they declared their pedigrees; either Moses and Aaron, according to Aben Ezra, who inquired when they were born, because of the computation of twenty years; and then their birth was wrote down, as he says; or rather the people declared their pedigrees, of what tribe, family, and house they were, who their parents, when born, and so, of course, how old they were; Jarchi interprets it, they brought the books of their genealogies, and witnesses to confirm the birth of everyone of them, to show their genealogy according to their tribe; nor is it at all unlikely that every family and house, or master thereof, kept a register of those born to him in it, whereby their age could be ascertained as well as pedigree:

after their famines, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of their names, from twenty years old and upwards, by their poll: that is, every tribe gave an account of the families in it, every family what houses were in it, and every house what number of males were in it, and of what age; and such were numbered who were twenty years old and upward.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

18. Assembled all the congregation — Here literalists like Colenso find a difficulty so insuperable as to impeach the veracity of Moses. The whole congregation, adults and children, male and female, could not have been less than two million four hundred thousand. These could not be assembled in one place for the transaction of business. Nor was there any need of such an assembly. A representative of each group of families already enrolled for the atonement money could carry his register to the census board and make his report. Or there might have been a polling place in each tribe, like city ward balloting places. The journeying of Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem, the city of David, for enrolment, might have been in accordance with the practice begun in the wilderness, of each person gathering to his own tribal centre for registration. The system of appointing a head man in each tribe, charged with the preservation of the pedigrees of the families, corresponds with the practice of the Arabs at the present day.

Assembled on the first — Thus on the very day the order was given the people begin to obey it.

True obedience is always prompt and unquestioning. Pedigrees, families, and house of their fathers indicate more than four generations in Egypt.

According to the number of their names — This oft-recurring phrase in this census implies a previous enumeration. See note on Num_1:2.

By their polls — Hebrew, By their skulls. Septuagint, Head by head. That is, the census is to be individual as well as family and tribal. It was not to be after the manner in which Xerxes counted his army on the plain of Doriscus, where an enclosure was made containing ten thousand men when closely packed, and filled one hundred and seventy times, showing that his army was not three times as large as that with which Moses marched through the wilderness.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

On the first day of the second month. The natural meaning is that the census was completed in one day. If so, the "census papers," the pedigrees and family lists, must have been ready beforehand. Notice had in fact been given more than a month before, and the lists made up, when the poll-tax was paid.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

ויתילדו על משפחותם THEY DECLARED THEIR PEDIGREES AFTER THEIR FAMILIES — They brought the records of their pedigree and witnesses to confirm the prevalent presumption regarding their parentage, so that each might establish his pedigree with regard to the particular tribe (cf. Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 684).

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

AND THEY ASSEMBLED ALL THE CONGREGATION TOGETHER ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE SECOND MONTH. Scripture mentions [the date although it is already stated in Verse 1 above, to indicate] the zeal of our teacher Moses in [fulfilling] the command of G-d for on the very day of the communication [that he was to take a census of the people] he took the princes of the tribes and assembled all the congregation and began to count them. The count, however, was not completed in one day, and therefore He states again, so did he number them in the wilderness of Sinai, in order to inform [us] that the counting was all done in that place, but was not all [finished] on that day.

VA’YITHYALDU’ (AND THEY DECLARED THEIR PEDIGREES) AFTER THEIR FAMILIES. “They brought the documents of their genealogy and witnesses confirming the birth of each of them, so as to prove their descent from their [respective] tribes.” This is Rashi’s language. But it does not appear [correct to say] that they should have to bring genealogical documents and witnesses with regard to belonging to a [particular] tribe. Rather, va’yithyaldu means that they were counted by their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, the sense thereof being to state that the whole congregation assembled, as Moses had commanded them by the order of the Holy One, blessed be He, at the door of the Tent of Meeting, except for the mixed multitude who were not of the children of Israel, for they were recognizable amongst them from the day that they had gone out of Egypt. Thus each man in the congregation brought his [half-] shekel and said to Moses and the princes: “I so-and-so was born to such-and-such a person of such-and-such a family, which is of the tribe of Reuben,” or some other tribe, and Moses put the shekels of each particular tribe in a special place [to be counted later], so that he would know the sum of [each] individual [tribe] and of all the tribes together. And the proof for this means merely that they declared to which family and tribe they belonged, is that etc. is that at the second census [taken when they were about to enter the Land of Israel] where the families [of each tribe] are mentioned, it does not say va’yithyaldu, nor does it mention according to the number of names, by their polls, [as it says here in Verse 19]. This is because ever since the tribes had pitched by their standards, they were separated from each other and it was clearly known to which tribe each family belonged; thus they only had to know how many families there were in each tribe, and each family counted its men by their polls, but not according to the number of names. means, as Rashi explained that they were to produce their genealogical documents, the question arises why was that not required at the second census? According to Ramban, however, who explains that va’yithyaldu means that they each declared to which family and which tribe they belonged, we can understand why va’yithyaldu is not mentioned at the second census. For once they pitched by their standards, each person’s place would indicate to which tribe he belonged, and the families themselves counted their own numbers, whilst Moses counted the numbers of all the families. Hence it was no longer necessary to declare to which family and which tribe one belonged. Therefore the princes of the tribes did not have to be present [with Moses] at that [second] census [as was stipulated at the first census — in Verse 4 — since the princes of the tribes were only needed in order to identify which families belonged to which tribe, and this was already known at the time of the second census]. And Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra explains that va’yithyaldu means that they were asked when they were born, in order to ascertain whether they were [over] twenty years of age.

Ramban (Nachmanides) on the Tanakh — English translation: “Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

And they were registered by family ancestry. Because this counting was so they would be enlisted into an army of war the intention was to guard their lineage, for the merit of their forefathers would assist them in war. The Sages already said about this (Mishnayos, Kiddushin 4:5), “We do not examine someone who was listed in the king’s list.” This is because the Divine Presence only dwells with the families of lineage in the people of Israel, as the Sages said.

Sforno on the Tanakh — English translation: “Yalkut, Sifsei Chachomim Chumash, Metsudah Publications, 2009” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

And they were registered. They were asked about their birth-date to clarify who was twenty years old, and then their lineage was written.

Ibn Ezra on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Yalkut, Sifsei Chachomim Chumash, Metsudah Publications, 2009” (CC BY 4.0); and “Commentary of Ibn Ezra on Isaiah - trans. by M. Friedlander, 1873” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.