The tribes are mentioned in the same order as in the earlier census (Numbers 1), except that Manasseh here precedes Ephraim, probably b…

Take the sum of the people ... — The verses may be rendered as follows: From twenty years old and upward, as the Lord commande…

Reuben, the eldest son of Israel
the number of his tribe is taken first on that account; there were four families th…

Moses did not number the people except when God commanded him. Here, the families are registered, as well as the tribes. The total was nearly the s…