2:3 “Now those who will be camping 2 on the east, toward the sunrise, 3 are the divisions 4 of the camp of Judah under their standard. The leader of the people of Judah is 5 Nahshon son of Amminadab.
3:38 But those who were to camp in front of the tabernacle on the east, in front of the tent of meeting, were Moses, Aaron, 6 and his sons. They were responsible for the needs 7 of the sanctuary and for the needs of the Israelites, but the unauthorized person who approached was to be put to death.
1 tn Heb “by him” [i.e., Judah].
2 tn The sentence begins with a vav (ו) on a word that is not a finite verb, indicating a new section begins here. The verbal form is a participle with the article used substantivally, with the meaning “and/now those camping.” Many English versions employ a finite verb; cf. KJV “on the east side…shall they of the standard of the camp of Judah pitch.”
3 tc The two synonyms might seem to be tautological, but this is fairly common and therefore acceptable in Hebrew prose (cf. Exod 26:18; 38:13; etc.).
4 tn The sentence actually has “[those camping…are] the standard of the camp of Judah according to their divisions.”
5 tn Or “will be.”
3 tc In some Hebrew
4 tn Here again the verb and its cognate noun are used: keeping the keep, or keeping charge over, or taking responsibility for the care of, or the like.