Percentage of firstborns in the tribe of Levi
Hello Rabbi Michael,
Regarding the story of the Desert, I noticed that the percentage of firstborns in the tribe of Levi (1 in 73) is quite low. This calculation stems from the fact that when the sons of Levi are counted, the result is supposed to be 22,300, but the verse says 22,000 for some reason (Numbers 3:39). And the commentators mention the tractate of Bekorot, in which they make the excuse that the 300 are the firstborn of the tribe of Levi, and therefore were not mentioned in the count for the purpose of redeeming the firstborn of Israel. On the other hand, from this interpretation it follows that the percentage of firstborns is illogically low, especially since it is significantly different from the percentage of firstborns in the other tribes (1:27). So I raise two possibilities. This interpretation may not necessarily be correct, and it is possible that there were more firstborns, but then the omission of 300 Levites must be justified by another reason (the question is which). And another possibility, that the percentage of firstborns was indeed really low, due to an extreme birthrate in the tribe of Levi. The problem with the second possibility, which I read about the tribe of Levi, for which the decree of firstborns was not decreed (Lior's projection) and therefore the blessing Yes, it will multiply and it will break forth does not apply to him, and this is also the reason why the tribe of Levi is the smallest tribe (22,000 compared to an average of about 55,000 per tribe in the other tribes – meaning only men aged twenty and over, of course). Therefore, logic says that the percentage of firstborns in the tribe of Levi should be higher than the percentage of firstborns in the other tribes of Israel, but the numbers show the opposite (1 in 73 in the tribe of Levi compared to 1 in 27 in the other tribes). I would love to hear your opinion on this issue.
As for the firstborn, I don't know. The issue of firstborns in the desert in general is fraught with problems. I remember Article by Eliyahu Beller About that in the journal Higion. I don't remember what he claimed there.
I remember 9 years late, but the ratio in the people of Israel is not 1/27. This is a complete mistake. To arrive at 1/27, you have to calculate that there were 22,000 firstborns out of 600,000, but that is not the reality. 600,000 are 20 years old and older, and the firstborns were counted from the age of one month. The Israelites numbered at least 1,600,000 people at that time, and if you do the math, it turns out that there is no difference between the ratio of firstborns in the tribe of Levi and the ratio of firstborns in the other tribes.
I saw a reply to the low percentage of first-borns in the Giphy chat:
If we consider the 22,273 firstborns as “all the firstborns who lived at that moment,” we get a ratio of approximately 1:60-70 to all males, which would require dozens of children per mother – something that is unreasonable even under conditions of maximum fertility in the ancient world.
Where is the error in the calculation?
The minyan is not “all the firstborns from time immemorial”
– Some commentators (as early as the early 19th century, and today in academic research; see for example the Cambridge Bible or a discussion on Hermeneutics.SE) suggest that the command to number the firstborn – “All the firstborn are holy to me” – applies only to firstborn born from that night onwards (the night of the Exodus). That is: only firstborn up to about a year and a half old were counted, not those who were already 10–40 years old at the time of the Exodus.
Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange
https://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/questions/28496/does-numbers-343-refer-to-all-the-firstborn-sons-of-israel?utm_source=chatgpt.com
Bible Hub
https://biblehub.com/commentaries/numbers/3-43.htm?utm_source=chatgpt.com
Once you limit it to ages 0-1, the numbers make sense:
The population of Israel (males + females) in the desert is estimated at ≈ 2 million.
A high natural birth rate in pre-industrial times is 35-45 births per 1000 people per year.
22,273 firstborn males = ≈ 44,500 first births (males+females) per year → 22 births per 1,000 people – a completely reasonable number.
Therefore, there is no need for “60 children per mother”; it is simply the normal annual birth rate.
The meaning regarding Levi
If we count only the firstborns born in the last year, it is understandable why their number (22,273) almost coincides with the number of Levites (22,000): God “replaced” the firstborns of that year with Levites.
The 300 “missing” Levites (firstborn Levites) do not disappear – they are disqualified from serving as a replacement, and therefore Moses skips them (Rashi, Numbers 3:39).
And what about the older firstborns?
They were indeed holy—but they had already been redeemed for five shekels immediately after the command was given (Exodus 13; Rashi ibid.).
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