ABSTRACT
The goal of the census was to determine the Israelite military strength. The Roman emperor Augustus orders the most famous biblical census. Although God refers to a census in Exodus 30:11–16, He again tells Moses to "Count the heads of all the community of the Israelites by their clans, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of names, every male by their heads. God tells Moses that he now has six hundred thousand foot soldiers. It seems like time to invade Canaan. But first God orders Moses to establish a council of elders. Moses is now about to invade Canaan, but God tells him to dispatch scouts, "every one of them a chieftain". Moses challenges Korah and his followers. He asks that they prepare fire-pans. Korah and his followers prepare their fire-pans, and Moses and Aaron prepare theirs. The infraction at the waters of Meribah is the reason God refuses to let Moses enter Canaan.
