Numbers 2:1-3

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.

[2:1]  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.”