Discovery BoxNumbers 1:4-16
Context1:4 And to help you 1 there is to be a man from each 2 tribe, each man 3 the head 4 of his family. 5 1:5 Now these are the names of the men who are to help 6 you:
from 7 Reuben, Elizur son of Shedeur;
1:6 from Simeon, Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai; 8
1:7 from Judah, Nahshon 9 son of Amminadab;
1:8 from Issachar, Nethanel son of Zuar;
1:9 from Zebulun, Eliab son of Helon;
1:10 from the sons of Joseph:
from Ephraim, Elishama son of Ammihud;
from Manasseh, Gamaliel son of Pedahzur;
1:11 from Benjamin, Abidan son of Gideoni;
1:12 from Dan, Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai;
1:13 from Asher, Pagiel son of Ocran;
1:14 from Gad, Eliasaph son of Deuel; 10
1:15 from Naphtali, Ahira son of Enan.”
1:16 These were the ones chosen 11 from the community, leaders 12 of their ancestral tribes. 13 They were the heads of the thousands 14 of Israel.
Numbers 2:1-34
Context2:1 15 The Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron: 2:2 “Every one 16 of the Israelites must camp 17 under his standard with the emblems of his family; 18 they must camp at some distance 19 around the tent of meeting. 20
2:3 “Now those who will be camping 21 on the east, toward the sunrise, 22 are the divisions 23 of the camp of Judah under their standard. The leader of the people of Judah is 24 Nahshon son of Amminadab. 2:4 Those numbered in his division 25 are 74,600. 2:5 Those who will be camping next to them 26 are the tribe of Issachar. The leader of the people of Issachar is Nethanel son of Zuar. 2:6 Those numbered in his division are 54,400. 2:7 Next will be 27 the tribe of Zebulun. The leader of the people of Zebulun is Eliab son of Helon. 2:8 Those numbered in his division are 57,400. 2:9 All those numbered of the camp of Judah, according to their divisions, are 186,400. They will travel 28 at the front.
2:10 “On the south will be the divisions of the camp of Reuben under their standard. 29 The leader of the people of Reuben is Elizur son of Shedeur. 2:11 Those numbered in his division are 46,500. 2:12 Those who will be camping next to them are the tribe of Simeon. The leader of the people of Simeon is Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai. 2:13 Those numbered in his division are 59,300. 2:14 Next will be 30 the tribe of Gad. The leader of the people of Gad is Eliasaph son of Deuel. 31 2:15 Those numbered in his division are 45,650. 2:16 All those numbered of the camp of Reuben, according to their divisions, are 151,450. They will travel second.
2:17 “Then the tent of meeting with the camp of the Levites will travel in the middle of the camps. They will travel in the same order as they camped, each in his own place 32 under his standard.
2:18 “On the west will be the divisions of the camp of Ephraim under their standard. The leader of the people of Ephraim is Elishama son of Amihud. 2:19 Those numbered in his division are 40,500. 2:20 Next to them will be the tribe of Manasseh. The leader of the people of Manasseh is Gamaliel son of Pedahzur. 2:21 Those numbered in his division are 32,200. 2:22 Next will be 33 the tribe of Benjamin. The leader of the people of Benjamin is Abidan son of Gideoni. 2:23 Those numbered in his division are 35,400. 2:24 All those numbered of the camp of Ephraim, according to their divisions, are 108,100. They will travel third.
2:25 “On the north will be the divisions of the camp of Dan, under their standards. The leader of the people of Dan is Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai. 2:26 Those numbered in his division are 62,700. 2:27 Those who will be camping next to them are the tribe of Asher. The leader of the people of Asher is Pagiel son of Ocran. 2:28 Those numbered in his division are 41,500. 2:29 Next will be 34 the tribe of Naphtali. The leader of the people of Naphtali is Ahira son of Enan. 2:30 Those numbered in his division are 53,400. 2:31 All those numbered of the camp of Dan are 157,600. They will travel last, under their standards.”
2:32 These are the Israelites, numbered according to their families. 35 All those numbered in the camps, by their divisions, are 603,550. 2:33 But the Levites were not numbered among the other Israelites, as the Lord commanded Moses.
2:34 So the Israelites did according to all that the Lord commanded Moses; that is the way 36 they camped under their standards, and that is the way they traveled, each with his clan and family.
Numbers 10:1-36
Context10:1 37 The Lord spoke to Moses: 10:2 “Make 38 two trumpets of silver; you are to make 39 them from a single hammered piece. 40 You will use them 41 for assembling the community and for directing the traveling of the camps. 10:3 When 42 they blow 43 them both, all the community must come 44 to you to the entrance of the tent of meeting.
10:4 “But if they blow with one trumpet, then the leaders, the heads of the thousands of Israel, must come to you. 45 10:5 When you blow an alarm, 46 then the camps that are located 47 on the east side must begin to travel. 48 10:6 And when you blow an alarm the second time, then the camps that are located on the south side must begin to travel. 49 An alarm must be sounded 50 for their journeys. 10:7 But when you assemble the community, 51 you must blow, but you must not sound an alarm. 52 10:8 The sons of Aaron, the priests, must blow the trumpets; and they will be to you for an eternal ordinance throughout your generations. 10:9 If you go to war in your land against an adversary who opposes 53 you, then you must sound an alarm with the trumpets, and you will be remembered before the Lord your God, and you will be saved 54 from your enemies.
10:10 “Also in the time when you rejoice, such as 55 on your appointed festivals or 56 at the beginnings of your months, you must blow with your trumpets over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings, so that they may 57 become 58 a memorial for you before your God: I am the Lord your God.”
10:11 59 On the twentieth day of the second month, in the second year, the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle of the testimony. 60 10:12 So the Israelites set out 61 on their journeys from the wilderness of Sinai; and the cloud settled in the wilderness of Paran.
10:13 This was the first time they set out on their journey according to the commandment 62 of the Lord, by the authority 63 of Moses.
10:14 The standard 64 of the camp of the Judahites set out first according to their companies, and over his company was Nahshon son of Amminadab.
10:15 Over the company of the tribe of Issacharites was Nathanel son of Zuar, 10:16 and over the company of the tribe of the Zebulunites was Elion son of Helon. 10:17 Then the tabernacle was dismantled, and the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari set out, carrying the tabernacle.
10:18 The standard of the camp of Reuben set out according to their companies; over his company was Elizur son of Shedeur. 10:19 Over the company of the tribe of the Simeonites was Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai, 10:20 and over the company of the tribe of the Gadites was Eliasaph son of Deuel. 10:21 And the Kohathites set out, carrying the articles for the sanctuary; 65 the tabernacle was to be set up 66 before they arrived. 67 10:22 And the standard of the camp of the Ephraimites set out according to their companies; over his company was Elishama son of Ammihud. 10:23 Over the company of the tribe of the Manassehites was Gamaliel son of Pedahzur, 10:24 and over the company of the tribe of Benjaminites was Abidan son of Gideoni.
10:25 The standard of the camp of the Danites set out, which was the rear guard 68 of all the camps by their companies; over his company was Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai. 10:26 Over the company of the tribe of the Asherites was Pagiel son of Ocran, 10:27 and over the company of the tribe of the Naphtalites was Ahira son of Enan. 10:28 These were the traveling arrangements 69 of the Israelites according to their companies when they traveled. 70
10:29 71 Moses said to Hobab son of Reuel, the Midianite, Moses’ father-in-law, 72 “We are journeying to the place about which the Lord said, ‘I will give it to you.’ Come with us and we will treat you well, 73 for the Lord has promised good things 74 for Israel.” 10:30 But Hobab 75 said to him, “I will not go, but I will go instead to my own land and to my kindred.” 10:31 Moses 76 said, “Do not leave us, 77 because you know places for us to camp in the wilderness, and you could be our guide. 78 10:32 And if you come with us, it is certain 79 that whatever good things the Lord will favor us with, we will share with you as well.”
10:33 So they traveled from the mountain of the Lord three days’ journey; 80 and the ark of the covenant of the Lord was traveling before them during the three days’ journey, to find a resting place for them. 10:34 81 And the cloud of the Lord was over them by day, when they traveled 82 from the camp. 10:35 And when the ark traveled, Moses would say, “Rise up, O Lord! May your enemies be scattered, and may those who hate you flee before you!” 10:36 And when it came to rest he would say, “Return, O Lord, to the many thousands of Israel!” 83
[1:4] 1 tn Heb “and with you.”
[1:4] 2 tn The construction uses the noun in a distributive sense: “a man, a man for a tribe,” meaning a man for each tribe.
[1:4] 3 tn The clause expresses a distributive function, “a man” means “each man.”
[1:4] 4 sn See J. R. Bartlett, “The Use of the Word ראשׁ as a Title in the Old Testament,” VT 19 (1969): 1-10.
[1:4] 5 tn Heb “the house of his fathers.”
[1:5] 6 tn The verb is עָמַד (’amad, “to stand”). It literally then is, “who will stand with you.” They will help in the count, but they will also serve as leaders as the camp moves from place to place.
[1:5] 7 tn The preposition lamed (ל) prefixed to the name could be taken in the sense of “from,” but could also be “with regard to” (specification).
[1:6] 8 sn This name and the name Ammishaddai below have the theophoric element (שַׁדַּי, shadday, “the Almighty”). It would mean “the Almighty is my rock”; the later name means “the Almighty is my kinsman.” Other theophoric elements in the passage are “father,” “brother,” and “God.”
[1:7] 9 sn Nahshon was an ancestor of Boaz and David, and therefore of Christ (Luke 3:32-33).
[1:14] 10 tc There is a textual difficulty with this verb. The Greek form uses r and not d, giving the name Ra‘oul. There is even some variation in the Hebrew traditions, but BHS (following the Leningrad codex of
[1:16] 11 tc The form has a Kethib-Qere problem, but the sentence calls for the Qere, the passive participle in the construct – “the called of….” These men were God’s choice, and not Moses’, or their own choice. He announced who they would be, and then named them. So they were truly “called” (קָרָא, qara’). The other reading is probably due to a copyist’s error.
[1:16] 12 tn The word is נָשִׂיא (nasi’, “exalted one, prince, leader”). Cf. KJV, ASV, NAB “princes.” These were men apparently revered or respected in their tribes, and so the clear choice to assist Moses with the leadership. See further, E. A. Speiser, “Background and Function of the Biblical na„sÃþá,” CBQ 25 (1963): 111-17.
[1:16] 13 tn Heb “exalted ones of the tribes of their fathers.” The earlier group of elders was chosen by Moses at the advice of his father-in-law. This group represents the few leaders of the tribes that were chosen by God, a more literate group apparently, who were the forerunners of the שֹׁטְּרִים (shottÿrim).
[1:16] 14 tc The Hebrew text has אַלְפֵי (’alfey, “thousands of”). There is some question over this reading in the MT, however. The community groups that have these leaders were larger tribes, but there is little certainty about the size of the divisions.
[2:1] 15 sn For this chapter, see C. E. Douglas, “The Twelve Houses of Israel,” JTS 37 (1936): 49-56; C. C. Roach, “The Camp in the Wilderness: A Sermon on Numbers 2:2,” Int 13 (1959): 49-54; and G. St. Clair, “Israel in Camp: A Study,” JTS 8 (1907): 185-217.
[2:2] 16 tn Heb “a man by his own standard.”
[2:2] 17 tn The imperfect tense is to be taken in the nuance of instruction.
[2:2] 18 tn Heb “of/for the house of their fathers.”
[2:2] 19 tn The Hebrew expression מִנֶּגֶד (minneged) means “from before” or “opposite; facing” and “at some distance” or “away from the front of” (see BDB 617 s.v. נֶגֶד 2.c.a; DCH 5:603-4 s.v. 3.b).
[2:2] 20 sn The Israelites were camping as a military camp, each tribe with the standards and emblems of the family. The standard was the symbol fastened to the end of a pole and carried to battle. It served to rally the tribe to the battle. The Bible nowhere describes these, although the serpent emblem of Numbers 21:8-9 may give a clue. But they probably did not have shapes of animals in view of the prohibition in the Decalogue. The standards may have been smaller for the families than the ones for the tribes. See further K. A. Kitchen, “Some Egyptian Background to the Old Testament,” TynBul 5 (1960): 11; and T. W. Mann, Divine Presence and Guidance in Israelite Tradition, 169-73.
[2:3] 21 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.”
[2:3] 22 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.).
[2:3] 23 tn The sentence actually has “[those camping…are] the standard of the camp of Judah according to their divisions.”
[2:4] 25 tc The expression “and his divisions and those numbered of them” is somewhat tautological. The words are synonyms used for statistical purposes, and so neither should be simply deleted.
[2:5] 26 tn Heb “by him” [i.e., Judah].
[2:7] 27 tn This part has been supplied; the text simply has “the tribe of Zebulun.”
[2:9] 28 tn The verb is נָסָע (nasa’): “to journey, travel, set out,” and here, “to move camp.” Judah will go first, or, literally, at the head of the nation, when they begin to travel.
[2:10] 29 tn Here and throughout the line is literally “[under] the standard of the camp of Reuben…according to their divisions.”
[2:14] 30 tn The Hebrew text simply has “and the tribe of Gad.”
[2:14] 31 tc The Leningrad codex, upon which BHS is based, has “Reuel” here. In reading “Deuel” the translation presented above follows many medieval Hebrew manuscripts, Smr, and the Latin Vulgate. Cf. Num 1:14.
[2:17] 32 tn The Hebrew expression is עַל־יָדוֹ (’al-yado, “upon his hand”). This clearly refers to a specifically designated place for each man.
[2:22] 33 tn Here too the Hebrew text simply has “and the tribe of Benjamin.”
[2:29] 34 tn The Hebrew text has “and the tribe of Naphtali.”
[2:32] 35 tn Heb “the house of their fathers.” So also in v. 34.
[2:34] 36 tn The Hebrew word is כֵּן (ken, “thus, so”).
[10:1] 37 sn Here we have a short section (10:1-10) dealing with the regulations for blowing trumpets in times of war or in times of peace.
[10:2] 38 tn The Hebrew text uses what is called the “ethical dative” – “make [for] you two trumpets.” It need not be translated, but can simply be taken to underscore the direct imperative.
[10:2] 39 tn The imperfect tense is again instruction or legislation.
[10:2] 40 sn The instructions are not clearly spelled out here. But the trumpets were to be made of silver ingots beaten out into a sheet of silver and then bent to form a trumpet. There is archaeological evidence of silver smelting as early as 3000
[10:2] 41 tn Heb “and they shall be for you for assembling,” which is the way of expressing possession. Here the intent concerns how Moses was to use them.
[10:3] 42 tn The perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive is here subordinated as a temporal clause to the following similar verbal construction.
[10:3] 43 tn The verb תָקַע (taqa’) means “to strike, drive, blow a trumpet.”
[10:3] 44 tn Heb “the assembly shall assemble themselves.”
[10:4] 45 tn Heb “they shall assemble themselves.”
[10:5] 46 tn The word for an alarm is תְּרוּעָה (tÿru’ah). The root verb of this word means “to give a blast on the trumpet.” It may also on occasion mean “give a shout” in battle (Josh 6:10). In this passage it must refer to the sound of the trumpet.
[10:5] 47 tn Heb “the camps that are camping.”
[10:5] 48 tn The perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive functions as the equivalent of the imperfect tense. Here the emphasis is on the start of the journey.
[10:6] 49 tc The MT does not mention the departures of the northerly and westerly tribes. The Greek text completes the description by adding them, making a full schedule of the departure of the groups of tribes. The Greek is not likely to be original, however, since it carries all the signs of addition to complete the text, making a smooth, full reading. The MT is to be preferred; it apparently used two of the groups to give the idea.
[10:6] 50 tn The Hebrew text has “they shall blow an alarm”; the sentence without a formal subject should be taken as a passive idea.
[10:7] 51 tn There is no expressed subject in the initial temporal clause. It simply says, “and in the assembling the assembly.” But since the next verb is the second person of the verb, that may be taken as the intended subject here.
[10:7] 52 sn The signal for moving camp was apparently different in tone and may have been sharper notes or a different sequence. It was in some way distinguishable.
[10:9] 53 tn Both the “adversary” and “opposes” come from the same root: צָרַר (tsarar), “to hem in, oppress, harass,” or basically, “be an adversary.”
[10:9] 54 tn The Niphal perfect in this passage has the passive nuance and not a reflexive idea – the Israelites would be spared because God remembered them.
[10:10] 55 tn The conjunction may be taken as explicative or epexegetical, and so rendered “namely; even; that is,” or it may be taken as emphatic conjunction, and translated “especially.”
[10:10] 56 tn The vav (ו) is taken here in its alternative use and translated “or.”
[10:10] 57 tn The form is the perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive. After the instruction imperfects, this form could be given the same nuance, or more likely, subordinated as a purpose or result clause.
[10:10] 58 tn The verb “to be” (הָיָה, hayah) has the meaning “to become” when followed by the preposition lamed (ל).
[10:11] 59 sn This section is somewhat mechanical: It begins with an introduction (vv. 11, 12), and then begins with Judah (vv. 13-17), followed by the rest of the tribes (vv. 18-27), and finally closes with a summary (v. 28). The last few verses (vv. 29-36) treat the departure of Hobab.
[10:11] 60 tc Smr inserts a lengthy portion from Deut 1:6-8, expressing the command for Israel to take the land from the Amorites.
[10:12] 61 sn The verb is the same as the noun: “they journeyed on their journeyings.” This underscores the point of their continual traveling.
[10:14] 64 sn The “standard” (דֶּגֶל, degel) was apparently some kind of a symbol put up on a pole to signify the tribal hosts. R. de Vaux thought it simply referred to a pole or a mast, but that would not distinguish tribes (Ancient Israel, 226-27).
[10:21] 65 tn Heb “carrying the sanctuary,” a metonymy of whole for parts, representing all the holy objects that were located in the sanctuary.
[10:21] 66 tn The verb is the third person plural form; without an expressed subject it is treated as a passive.
[10:21] 67 tn Heb “against their coming.”
[10:25] 68 tn The MT uses a word that actually means “assembler,” so these three tribes made up a strong rear force recognized as the assembler of all the tribes.
[10:28] 69 tn Or “journeyings of.”
[10:28] 70 tn The verb is the preterite with vav (ו) consecutive. But in this sentence it should be subordinated as a temporal clause to the preceding statement, even though it follows it.
[10:29] 71 sn For additional bibliography for this short section, see W. F. Albright, “Jethro, Hobab, and Reuel in Early Hebrew Tradition,” CBQ 25 (1963): 1-11; G. W. Coats, “Moses in Midian,” JBL 92 (1973): 3-10; B. Mazar, “The Sanctuary of Arad and the Family of Hobab the Kenite,” JNES 24 (1965): 297-303; and T. C. Mitchell, “The Meaning of the Noun h£tn in the Old Testament,” VT 19 (1969): 93-112.
[10:29] 72 sn There is a problem with the identity of Hobab. The MT says that he is the son of Reuel, making him the brother-in-law of Moses. But Judg 4:11 says he is the father-in-law. In Judg 1:16; 4:11 Hobab is traced to the Kenites, but in Exod 3:1 and 18:1 Jethro (Reuel) is priest of Midian. Jethro is identified with Reuel on the basis of Exod 2:18 and 3:1, and so Hobab becomes Moses’ חֹתֵן (khoten), a relative by marriage and perhaps brother-in-law. There is not enough information to decide on the identity and relationships involved here. Some suggest that there is one person with the three names (G. B. Gray, Numbers [ICC], 93); others suggest Hobab is a family name (R. F. Johnson, IDB 2:615), and some suggest that the expression “the son of Reuel the Midianite” had dropped out of the genealogy of Judges, leading to the conflict (J. Crichton, ISBE 2:1055). If Hobab is the same as Jethro, then Exod 18:27 does not make much sense, for Jethro did go home. On this basis many conclude Hobab is a brother-in-law. This would mean that after Jethro returned home, Moses conversed with Hobab, his brother-in-law. For more discussion, see the articles and the commentaries.
[10:29] 73 tn The verb is the Hiphil of the root “to be good” (יָטַב, yatav); it may be translated “treat well, deal favorably, generously with.” Here it is a perfect tense with vav (ו) following the imperative, showing a sequence in the verbal ideas.
[10:29] 74 tn The Hebrew text simply has “has spoken good” for Israel.
[10:30] 75 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Hobab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[10:31] 76 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[10:31] 77 tn The form with אַל־נָא (’al-na’) is a jussive; negated it stresses a more immediate request, as if Hobab is starting to leave, or at least determined to leave.
[10:31] 78 tn In the Hebrew text the expression is more graphic: “you will be for us for eyes.” Hobab was familiar with the entire Sinai region, and he could certainly direct the people where they were to go. The text does not record Hobab’s response. But the fact that Kenites were in Canaan as allies of Judah (Judg 1:16) would indicate that he gave in and came with Moses. The first refusal may simply be the polite Semitic practice of declining first so that the appeal might be made more urgently.
[10:32] 79 tn Heb “and it shall be.”
[10:33] 80 tn The phrase “a journey of three days” is made up of the adverbial accusative qualified with the genitives.
[10:34] 81 tc The scribes sensed that there was a dislocation with vv. 34-36, and so they used the inverted letters nun (נ) as brackets to indicate this.
[10:34] 82 tn The adverbial clause of time is composed of the infinitive construct with a temporal preposition and a suffixed subjective genitive.
[10:36] 83 sn These two formulaic prayers were offered by Moses at the beginning and at the end of the journeys. They prayed for the
