במדבר, פרק כ״ו, פסוק נ״א

The completion of the great census in the plains of Moab offers a final numerical summary of the Israelites just before they enter the land. This massive figure represents the combined total of all the tribes [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. However, this exact number does not reflect the true size of the nation. The count only includes men aged twenty and older who are fit for battle. It leaves out anyone under that age, along with the elderly, the sick, and those too weak for military service. Because of these exclusions, the actual total population of the Israelites remains truly unknown and impossible to define [רבנו בחיי].

This inability to count the entire nation illustrates the fulfillment of the divine promise made to the patriarchs, assuring them that their descendants would be as uncountable as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. The transformation of a mere seventy souls who originally went down to Egypt into a vast nation with hundreds of thousands of soldiers is evidence of a continuous divine blessing. According to the prophets, this blessing will expand even further in the end of days with the ingathering of the exiles from all corners of the earth [רבנו בחיי].

Despite this immense growth and blessing, a comparison between this count and the first census taken in the Sinai desert reveals a slight decrease of 1,820 men. This difference is not a coincidence, but rather a deliberate message ahead of the conquest of the land. If the current army were larger, the people might attribute their upcoming military success to a simple advantage in numbers. On the other hand, a drastic drop in population could have sparked despair when facing the inhabitants of Canaan. By maintaining a similar yet slightly smaller army, the count demonstrates that salvation and victory depend exclusively on the will of God, who acts entirely independent of an army's size [חזקוני].