Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible
Numbers 26:52-54
The Land To Be Divided Up Between Them Tribes As An Inheritance According To Their Number Depending On Whether More or Fewer (Numbers 26:52).
Having numbered the men for war, the encouragement was now given by describing the future division of what they were fighting for, and in such a way as to establish it as a certainty.
‘And Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,'
Again we are reminded that what we read are the words of Yahweh as given to Moses. While Eleazar was involved in the preparing of men for war, the division of the land was in the hands of the supreme leader.
‘To these the land shall be divided for an inheritance according to the number of names.'
To those tribes and clans now numbered the land was to be divided up for an inheritance in accordance with the number of names. This may signify the names of the clans as given above.
‘To the more you shall give the more inheritance, and to the fewer you shall give the less inheritance: to every one according to those that were numbered of him shall his inheritance be given.
The more numerous tribes would receive the larger inheritance, the less numerous the lesser inheritance. The inheritance would depend on the size of each tribe, sub-tribe and clan. Thus the numbering was not only so as to prepare the men for war, but also in order later to assist in the dividing of the land.