Q. How come the numbers of the tribes in this week’s Parsha always finish in zeros, were they round up? That they are the exact number is statistically very unlikely.

A. Horav Yakov Kamenetzki ZT”l (Emes L’Yaakov, Pinchas) addresses this question and proposes that the counting was done by the leaders of the tribes placed into service by Moshe Rabenu (parshas Pinchas). He offers that it was done up to only the Leaders of Fifty and smaller numbers were indeed rounded to fifty. He quotes as support a similar explanation given by Meshech Chochmo (Bamidvor).

Horav Shlomo Miller Shlit”a finds great difficulty with this proposal, as they used actual silver coins of a half Shekel for the counting, and since monies were involved the counting had to be totally accurate. The fact that the numbers resulted in such an unlikely rounded count would be added to the many miracles that occurred at the time.

Rabbi A. Bartfeld as revised by Horav Shlomo Miller Shlit”a