Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible
Numbers 26:42-51
‘These are the sons of Dan after their families: of Shuham, the family of the Shuhamites. These are the families of Dan after their families. All the families of the Shuhamites, according to those that were numbered of them, were threescore and four thousand and four hundred.'
Dan was not split into sub-tribes, the only tribe being named from a son of Dan, who is called Shuham here, but Hushim in Genesis 46:23. This reversing of consonants in names occurs so often that it must be deliberate. There would, of course, be smaller sub-clans. In this tribe there were sixty four leaders/champions and four hundreds of men.
‘The sons of Asher after their families: of Imnah, the family of the Imnites; of Ishvi, the family of the Ishvites; of Beriah, the family of the Berites. Of the sons of Beriah: of Heber, the family of the Heberites; of Malchiel, the family of the Malchielites. And the name of the daughter of Asher was Serah. These are the families of the sons of Asher according to those that were numbered of them, fifty and three thousand and four hundred.'
The tribe of Asher was listed by its five sub-tribes, the Imnites, the Ishvites, the Berites, the Heberites, and the Malchielites. Asher had a daughter named Serah who must have been of some importance to be mentioned. Possibly she was in line to inherit because she had no brothers (see Numbers 27:1). As we have seen this ‘numbering' could signify fifty three leaders/champions, and four ‘hundreds'. (Or fifty three wider families).
‘The sons of Naphtali after their families; of Jahzeel, the family of the Jahzeelites; of Guni, the family of the Gunites; of Jezer, the family of the Jezerites; of Shillem, the family of the Shillemites. These are the families of Naphtali according to their families; and they that were numbered of them were forty and five thousand and four hundred.'
The tribe of Naphtali was listed by its four sub-tribes, the Jahzeelites, the Gunites, the Jezerites, and the Shillemites. As we have seen this ‘numbering' could signify forty five leaders/champions, and four ‘hundreds'. (Or forty five wider families).
‘These are they that were numbered of the children of Israel, six hundred thousand and a thousand seven hundred and thirty.'
So the total ‘numbered' for war amounted to 596 leaders/champions and five large units, seven smaller units and a thirty, a reduction in leaders but a slight increase in total establishment. (See introduction).