Numbers 2:1-21

The Arrangement of the Tribes

2:1 ¹ The Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron: 2:2 “Every one ²  of the Israelites must camp ³  under his standard with the emblems of his family; ⁴  they must camp at some distance ⁵  around the tent of meeting. ⁶ 

The Tribes on the East

2:3 “Now those who will be camping ⁷  on the east, toward the sunrise, ⁸  are the divisions ⁹  of the camp of Judah under their standard. The leader of the people of Judah is ¹⁰  Nahshon son of Amminadab. 2:4 Those numbered in his division ¹¹  are 74,600. 2:5 Those who will be camping next to them ¹²  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 ¹³  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 ¹⁴  at the front.

The Tribes on the South

2:10 “On the south will be the divisions of the camp of Reuben under their standard. ¹⁵  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 ¹⁶  the tribe of Gad. The leader of the people of Gad is Eliasaph son of Deuel. ¹⁷  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.

The Tribe in the Center

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 ¹⁸  under his standard.

The Tribes on the West

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.

[2:1]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Heb “a man by his own standard.”

[2:2]  ³ tn The imperfect tense is to be taken in the nuance of instruction.

[2:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “of/for the house of their fathers.”

[2:2]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn The sentence actually has “[those camping…are] the standard of the camp of Judah according to their divisions.”

[2:3]  ¹⁰ tn Or “will be.”

[2:4]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² tn Heb “by him” [i.e., Judah].

[2:7]  ¹³ tn This part has been supplied; the text simply has “the tribe of Zebulun.”

[2:9]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ tn Here and throughout the line is literally “[under] the standard of the camp of Reuben…according to their divisions.”

[2:14]  ¹⁶ tn The Hebrew text simply has “and the tribe of Gad.”

[2:14]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ tn The Hebrew expression is עַל־יָדוֹ (’al-yado, “upon his hand”). This clearly refers to a specifically designated place for each man.