41 These are the sons of Benjamin according to their families; and their number was forty-five thousand six hundred.
The number 45,600 reduces to six. The number six symbolizes a work. The earth was made in six days. In this instance it is the Great Work of the spiritualization of the human consciousness.
42 These are the sons of Dan according to their families: of Shuham, the family of the Shu'hamites. These are the families of Dan according to their families.
Dan means judgment. Shuham means bowing down and humility. Judgement, a necessary attribute of each of us must be bowed down. We must become humble and reluctant to judge others if we are to progress spiritually.
43 All the families of the Shu'hamites, according to their number, were sixty-four thousand four hundred.
The number 64,400 reduces to 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.
44 The sons of Asher according to their families: of Imnah, the family of the Imnites; of Ishvi, the family of the Ishvites; of Beri'ah, the family of the Beri'ites.
45 Of the sons of Beri'ah: of Heber, the family of the He'berites; of Mal'chi-el, the family of the Mal'chi-elites.
46 And the name of the daughter of Asher was Serah.
Asher means straightforward. Jimma means prosperity. Jesui means level or balanced. Beriah means misfortune. Eber means going beyond. Malchiel means God's dominion. And Sarah means princess. This level of consciousness is straightforward and gradually results in prosperity, balance and though it must continue to guard against misfortune, it is growing beyond the limits of physicality, entering God's domain and gradually developing the Princess, the soul.
47 These are the families of the sons of Asher according to their number, fifty-three thousand four hundred.
The number 53,400 reduces to three. The number three symbolizes the balance of the Trinity of body, mind and soul.
48 The sons of Naph'tali according to their families: of Jahzeel, the family of the Jah'zeelites; of Guni, the family of the Gunites;
49 of Jezer, the family of the Je'zerites; of Shillem, the family of the Shil'lemites.
Naphtali means my wrestling. Jahzeel means whom God allots. Guni means colored. Jezer means Imagination. And Shillem means restoration or peace. The wrestling of the consciousness is an ongoing part of the developing Spiritual Consciousness. We come to understand that we will be allotted that which we require as we progress. Our thoughts may yet be colored by materialism, but by use of the Imagination we are able to restore our consciousness to a level of peace.
50 These are the families of Naph'tali according to their families; and their number was forty-five thousand four hundred.
The number 45,400 reduces to four. The number four was called the "Sacred Quaternary" and "the universal number of perfection" by Pythagoras. It encompasses the four directions, the four elements, and the four sides of Man: Body, Mind, Spirit and Soul. It is often represented by the cross.
51 This was the number of the people of Israel, six hundred and one thousand seven hundred and thirty.
The number 601,730 reduces to eight. Eight symbolizes the Female and represents the Perfect Cube with its eight points. It is indicative of the forces of the soul and used here, it tells us that the consciousness has improved to the point of being in touch with this feminine power of the soul and is therefore ready to pass over to the Promised Land.
53 "To these the land shall be divided for inheritance according to the number of names.
54 To a large tribe you shall give a large inheritance, and to a small tribe you shall give a small inheritance; every tribe shall be given its inheritance according to its numbers.
55 But the land shall be divided by lot; according to the names of the tribes of their fathers they shall inherit.
56 Their inheritance shall be divided according to lot between the larger and the smaller."
This "Promised Land" is symbolic for the Kingdom of God which is attainable only by soul Illumination. It is to be divided among the tribes according to their numbers. Since we understand the meaning of them we can begin to understand that this "Promised Land" will be attained only to the extent of the individual's Illumination.
57 These are the Levites as numbered according to their families: of Gershon, the family of the Gershonites; of Kohath, the family of the Ko'hathites; of Merar'i, the family of the Merar'ites.
58 These are the families of Levi: the family of the Libnites, the family of the He'bronites, the family of the Mahlites, the family of the Mushites, the family of the Ko'rahites. And Kohath was the father of Amram.
59 The name of Amram's wife was Joch'ebed, the daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt; and she bore to Amram: Aaron and Moses and Miriam, their sister.
60 And to Aaron were born Nadab, Abi'hu, Elea'zar and Ith'amar.
61 But Nadab and Abi'hu died when they offered unholy fire before YHVH.
62 And those numbered of them were twenty-three thousand, every male from a month old and upward; for they were not numbered among the people of Israel, because there was no inheritance given to them among the people of Israel.
63 These were those numbered by Moses and Elea'zar the priest, who numbered the people of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.
64 But among these there was not a man of those numbered by Moses and Aaron the priest, who had numbered the people of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai.
The original Israelites, who represent the original thinking, have been regenerated to prepare for the journey to the Promised Land.
65 For YHVH had said of them, "They shall die in the wilderness." There was not left a man of them, except Caleb, the son of Jephun'neh and Joshua, the son of Nun.
Jephunneh, translated from the original Aramaic, means appearing or which will be before his face. Metaphysically it means thought of the true, higher consciousness. Caleb, a descendant of this thought, means bold and fearless. You may remember him from the earlier story when he and others were sent to spy on giants and he was one of the two who was not discouraged by them. Metaphysically, this is the fearlessness which each of us must develop if we are to succeed in our spiritual quest. Nun means prolific and prosperity. It signifies the increase of spiritual Truth. Joshua means God is deliverer, savior and whom YHVH makes triumphant. It is the same as the name Jesus in Greek. Clearly it denotes a highly evolved spiritual level of consciousness. Joshua was the other spy who was not discouraged by the giants and urged the Israelites to push forward. But frightened by the reports, they did not.