Biography of Nahshon

Numbers 1

1 And the LORD spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tabernacle of the congregation, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they were come out of the land of Egypt, saying,

2 Take ye the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, after their families, by the house of their fathers, with the number of their names, every male by their polls;

3 From twenty years old and upward, all that are able to go forth to war in Israel: thou and Aaron shall number them by their armies.

4 And with you there shall be a man of every tribe; every one head of the house of his fathers.

5 And these are the names of the men that shall stand with you: of the tribe of Reuben; Elizur the son of Shedeur.

6 Of Simeon; Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai.

7 Of Judah; Nahshon the son of Amminadab.

8 Of Issachar; Nethaneel the son of Zuar.

Numbers 2

1 And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,

2 Every man of the children of Israel shall pitch by his own standard, with the ensign of their father's house: far off about the tabernacle of the congregation shall they pitch.

3 And on the east side toward the rising of the sun shall they of the standard of the camp of Judah pitch throughout their armies: and Nahshon the son of Amminadab shall be captain of the children of Judah.

4 And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were threescore and fourteen thousand and six hundred

Remark

We rely on a widespread tradition that Nahshon had four sons (Elimelech, Salmon, Naomi's father, and Tob), see Tan. B. III, 107; Tan. Behar 3; Baba Batra 91a; Seder 'Olam 12.

From Wikipedia

Nahshon (Hebrew: נחשון‎) or Nachshon ben Aminadav (נחשון בן עמינדב; "Nahshon son of Aminadav") was, according to the Book of Exodus, the son of Amminadab; descendant in the fifth generation of Judah, brother-in-law of Aaron and an important figure in the Hebrew's Passage of the Red Sea which according to the Jewish Midrash he initiated by walking in head deep until the sea split. The popular Yiddish saying "to be a Nachshon" means to be an "initiator."

Biblical data

According to Num i. 7, he is at least 20 years old during the census in the Sinai, at the beginning of The Exodus. By the same account of The Exodus then, Nahshon did not survive the forty year sojourn in the wilderness to enter the Promised Land.

Nahshon was appointed by Moses, upon God's command, as prince of the Tribe of Judah, and though his tribe was fourth in the order of the Patriarchs, yet at the dedication of the Tabernacle he was the first to bring his dedicatory offering. Nahshon was, through Boaz, the ancestor of David.

In rabbinical literature

Owing to his direct descent from Judah and to his being the progenitor of so many kings, Nahshon is extolled by the rabbis as a most noble man. Nahshon's sister Elisheba married Aaron, and this is especially mentioned as a hint that one should take care to select a wife whose brothers are noble. The Midrash relates that during the Exodus, when the Israelites reached the Red Sea, it did not automatically part. The Israelites stood at the banks of the sea and wailed with despair, but Nahshon entered the waters. Once he was up to his nose in the water, the sea parted. This is the origin of his name "Nahshol" = "stormy sea-waves". It is in virtue of action that he was chosen to be the first to bring the dedicatory offering. Nahshon was a model prince, and was called "king". When the princes of the different tribes were required to bring their offerings, each on a separate day, Moses was embarrassed, not knowing who should be the first; but all Israel pointed at Nahshon, saying, "He sanctified the name of God by springing first into the Red Sea; he is worthy to bring down the Shekhinah; therefore he shall be the first to bring the offering." The offering brought by Nahshon is pointed out as having been his own and not that of his tribe. In the account of the offering the words Va'korbano ("and his sacrifice") and Etodim each have a ו, while the same words in the accounts of the other princes' offerings have no ו. This letter, the numerical value of which is six, indicates that Nahshon was the ancestor of six men — David, the Messiah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah — each of whom was distinguished for six praiseworthy qualities.

From Jewish Encyclopedia:

—Biblical Data:

Son of Amminadab; descendant in the fifth generation from Judah and brother-in-law of Aaron (Ex. vi. 23; I Chron. ii. 4-10). Nahshon was appointed by Moses, upon God's command, as prince of the tribe of Judah, and though his tribe was fourth in the order of the Patriarchs, yet at the dedication of the Tabernacle he was the first to bring his dedicatory offering (Num. i. 7; ii. 3; vii. 12, 17; x. 14). Nahshon was, through Boaz, the ancestor of David (Ruth iv. 20-22; I Chron. ii. 10 et seq.).

—In Rabbinical Literature:

Owing to his direct descent from Judah and to his being the progenitor of so many kings, Nahshon is extolled by the Rabbis as a most noble man. Nahshon's sister Elisheba married Aaron (Ex. vi. 23), and this is especially mentioned as a hint that one should take care to select a wife whose brothers are noble (B. B. 110a). At the crossing of the Red Sea Nahshon was the first to spring into the water (whence his name = "stormy sea-waves"), and it is in virtue of this that he was chosen to be the first to bring the dedicatory offering (Soṭah 37a; Num. R. xiii. 9), Nahshon was a model prince (Hor. 11a; Zeb. 9b, 101b), and was called "king" (Sifre, Num. 47). When the princes of the different tribes were required to bring their offerings, each on a separate day, Moses was embarrassed, not knowing who should be the first; but all Israel pointed at Nahshon, saying, "He sanctified the name of God by springing first into the Red Sea; he is worthy to bring down the Shekinah; therefore he shall be the first to bring the offering" (Num. R. xii. 26). The offering brought by Nahshon is pointed out as having been his own and not that of his tribe (Sifre, Num. 48). In the account of the offering the words and each have a ו, while the same words in the accounts of the other princes' offerings have no ו. This letter, the numerical value of which is six, indicates that Nahshon was the ancestor of six men—David, the Messiah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah—each of whom was distinguished for six praiseworthy qualities (Num. R. xiii. 11).

by Emil G. Hirsch, M. Seligsohn, and Wilhelm Bacher