The number 46,500 appears in Numbers as the counted number of fighting men from the tribe of Reuben at the first census.
In Numbers 1:21, the number of fighting men from the tribe of Reuben is counted as 46,500 during the first census at Mount Sinai. Reuben was Jacob's eldest son, and the size of the tribe had significance for Israel's military and social organization in the wilderness. The number serves as a concrete census figure in the biblical narrative and has no known independent symbolic value beyond this role. At the second census in Numbers 26:7, the tribe of Reuben numbers 43,730, a decrease of 2,770. This reduction can be seen in light of events in the wilderness, including the rebellion of Dathan and Abiram (Num 16), both of whom belonged to the tribe of Reuben. Reuben lost his birthright according to Genesis 49:3–4 because of his transgression, and rabbinic tradition views the gradual weakening of the tribe as a reflection of this loss.*