21 And the sons of Perez were: of Hezron, the family of the Hez'ronites; of Hamul, the family of the Hamu'lites.
22 These are the families of Judah according to their number, seventy-six thousand five hundred.
The number 76,500 reduces to 9. And again, the number nine represents the spiritualized use of the thought of praise represented by Judah.
23 The sons of Is'sachar according to their families: of Tola, the family of the To'laites; of Puvah, the family of the Punites;
24 of Jashub, the family of the Jash'ubites; of Shimron, the family of the Shim'ronites.
Issachar is translated as he will bring reward or compensation. Tola means a worm. Pua means blast or utterance. Jashub means turning back and Shimron means extreme vigilance. The level of consciousness being described here is that which will be rewarded by raising oneself from the dust of the ordinary, the worm; uttering truth aloud; turning back to truth each time we are led astray; and always being extremely vigilant.
25 These are the families of Is'sachar according to their number, sixty-four thousand three hundred.
The number 64,300 reduces to 4. The number four symbolizes the four points of the compass and the four forces of nature. It has to do with overcoming the cross of matter.
26 The sons of Zeb'ulun, according to their families: of Sered, the family of the Ser'edites; of Elon, the family of the E'lonites; of Jahleel, the family of the Jah'leelites.
Zebulun is translated as habitation or dwelling. Sered means fear and trembling. Elon means a strong man. And Jahleel means waiting on God or hope of God. This is the consciousness of order and stability. It may be fearful in this insecure world, but order eventually results in strength and brings one closer to God.
27 These are the families of the Zeb'ulunites according to their number, sixty thousand five hundred.
The number 60,500 reduces to 2. The number two symbolizes the world of duality and the challenge of balancing the opposites.
28 The sons of Joseph according to their families: Manas'seh and E'phraim.
29 The sons of Manas'seh: of Machir, the family of the Ma'chirites; and Machir was the father of Gilead; of Gilead, the family of the Gileadites.
30 These are the sons of Gilead: of Ie'zer, the family of the Ie'zerites; of Helek, the family of the He'lekites;
31 and of As'riel, the family of the As'rielites; and of Shechem, the family of the She'chemites;
32 and of Shemi'da, the family of the Shemi'daites; and of Hepher, the family of the He'pherites.
Manasseh in Aramaic means understanding. Machir means enslaved. Gilead means discerning. Jeezer means Imagination. Helek means a portion. Asriel means joining of God. Shechem means burdened. Shemida means righteous perception. Hepher means a search. Zelophehad means first-born. He died earlier of unstated causes.
33 Now Zeloph'ehad the son of Hepher had no sons, but daughters: and the names of the daughters of Zeloph'ehad were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.
Zelophehad means first-born. He died earlier of unstated causes. The daughters names mean sweetness and mildness, balance, hopping bird, counsel or queen and delight, respectively. These descendants of Manasseh are the fruits of the understanding of the consciousness. At this level of consciousness the understanding is still caught up in or enslaved with problems of discernment or judgment. Through the use of the Imagination, the consciousness expands to realize that it deserves a portion or share in its divine inheritance. But until more fully developed, it is still burdened by the material. Yet, with righteous perception, the ability to see truth, one is able to search out the correct path. Zelophehad, the first-born consciousness, is dead or no longer in evidence since we have now raised our consciousness above the material level of the first-born consciousness. This consciousness has been replaced by the feminine or spiritual aspects of sweetness and mildness; equilibrium; unsteady but forward progress, here signified by the hopping bird; royalty (the queen) and delight.
34 These are the families of Manas'seh; and their number was fifty-two thousand seven hundred.
The number 52,700 reduces to the number five. The number five symbolizes man. It indicates the emancipation of man from the material. It represents the ego as it begins to emerge from its tomb of matter.
35 These are the sons of E'phraim according to their families: of Shuthe'lah, the family of the Shuthe'lahites; of Becher, the family of the Bech'erites; of Tahan, the family of the Ta'hanites.
Ephraim means fruitfulness in Aramaic. His oldest son, Shuthelah means tumult. Becher, Ephraim's second born means first-born. Tahan means prayer or supplication. Ephraim symbolizes the Will. It is through the efforts of the Will that the fruits of a more Spiritual Consciousness are realized. In the beginning, the efforts of the Will may prove tumultuous or confusing, but this is the first-born consciousness and will be replaced by the second. The second son, Becher is indicated as the first-born, to tell us that this second level of consciousness is the one which can aspire to inherit the Kingdom of God.
36 And these are the sons of Shuthe'lah: of Eran, the family of the E'ranites.
Eran, the son of Shuthelah means vigilant. The son of the confusing consciousness, Eran, is watchful and vigilant. Finally, the consciousness becomes prayerful and gracious. Ephraim or the Will, when combined with Manasseh which symbolizes understanding, will gradually achieve spiritual enlightenment.
37 These are the families of the sons of E'phraim according to their number, thirty-two thousand five hundred. These are the sons of Joseph according to their families.
The total of this tribe reduces to one. The number one symbolizes the Will and individuality. It reinforces the concepts given by the names.
38 The sons of Benjamin according to their families: of Bela, the family of the Be'la-ites; of Ashbel, the family of the Ash'belites; of Ahi'ram, the family of the Ahi'ramites;
39 of Shephu'pham, the family of the Shu'phamites; of Hupham, the family of the Hu'phamites.
40 And the sons of Bela were Ard and Na'aman: of Ard, the family of the Ard'ites; of Na'aman, the family of the Na'amites.
Benjamin symbolizes faith. Bela means destruction. Ashbel means reproof of God. Ahiram means lofty. Shuphupham means serpent. Hupham means coast man. Ard means to flee. And Naaman means pleasant and good. The growth of faith begins in the materiality which is destructive of the spiritual self. We are admonished by God or our conscience to turn away from materiality. We begin to follow lofty ideals. And as a dweller of the coast, we fish in the seas for ideas which will support our goal. And yet, there is still a part of our consciousness which is fearful and wants to flee from the unknown. If we persist, we finally come to the pleasant and good level of consciousness, which Yeshua (Jesus) called the ‘peace which passeth all understanding.'