1) Ch. 1, v. 2: B'mispar sheimos" – With a count of names – We are pursuing a census, a population count. Numerous explanations abound for the addition of the word "sheimos." What insight do you have into "sheimos" which makes it an integral part of the actual population count?
2) Ch. 1, v. 4: "Ish rosh l’veis avosov" – A man who is head to the household of his ancestors – What information does this add to the previous words "ish ish lama'teh?"
3) Ch. 1, v. 37: "L'ma'tei Vinyomin chamishoh ushloshim elef v'arba mei'os" – To the tribe of Binyomin thirty-five-thousand and four-hundred – Compare this with the census of the tribe of Don in verse 39, 62,700. This is most unusual, as Binyomin had ten sons, while Don had but one.
4) Ch. 1, v. 45,46: "Va'[yi'h'yu kol p'kudei vnei Yisroel, Va'yi'h'yu kol hapkudim" – And the total of the count of the bnei Yisroel was, And the total of the count was – These words seem repetitive, as the verse could have combined this and simply said that the total count of the bnei Yisroel to their families from the age of 20 years and above was 603,550.
5) Ch. 3, v. 39: "Shna'yim v'esrim o'lef" – Twenty-two thousand – Rashi (gemara B'choros 5a) asks that when we add the totals of the Levite families we have 22,300, not 22,000. He answers that since the Torah discusses the Levites being a redemption for the first-born, we must say that there were 300 Levite first-born as well, and their ability to redeem a first-born is used up by redeeming themselves.
This seems to not be very conclusive. Why not say that they cannot self-redeem, and that there were only 150 Levite first-born who were redeemed by another 150 regular Levites, and this is how we account for the missing 300 Levites?
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Important Numbers
