Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Sforno · Torah

Sforno on Numbers 26:4/ספורנו על במדבר כ״ו:ד׳

אלֵאמֹר מִבֶּן עֶשְׂרִים שָׁנָה וָמָעְלָה. מֹשֶׁה וְאֶלְעָזָר אָמְרוּ לְיִשְׂרָאֵל שֶׁיֹּאמְרוּ וְיַגִּידוּ כָּל פְּרָטֵיהֶם שֶׁהֵם בְּנֵי עֶשְׂרִים.
1לאמר מבן עשרים שנה ומעלה; Moses and Eleazar told the Israelites to inform them with a list of all the details of the males who had attained the age of 20. This was parallel to what we were told in Numbers chapter 1 at the previous census, hence the words “as G’d had commanded,” etc.; if these words had referred to what occurred now there would have been no need for this phrase. At that time G’d’s instructions had included the words: “according to their families, the houses of their fathers,” i.e. the co-operation of each family in the census had been requested.
בכַּאֲשֶׁר צִוָּה ה׳ אֶת מֹשֶׁה וּבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הַיּוֹצְאִים מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם. שֶׁאָמַר אָז לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָם לְבֵית אֲבֹתָם.