Numbers 2
Expanded Bible
The Camp Arrangement
2 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: 2 “The ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] should make their camps around the Meeting Tent, but they should not camp too close to it. They should camp under their ·family flag [standard] and ·banners [ensign].”
3 The camp of Judah will ·be [camp] on the east side, where the sun rises, and they will camp by divisions there under their ·flag [banner]. The leader of the ·people [L sons; descendants] of Judah is Nahshon son of Amminadab. 4 There are 74,600 men in his division.
5 Next to them the tribe of Issachar will camp. The leader of the ·people [L sons; descendants] of Issachar is Nethanel son of Zuar. 6 There are 54,400 men in his division.
7 Next is the tribe of Zebulun. The leader of the ·people [L sons; descendants] of Zebulun is Eliab son of Helon. 8 There are 57,400 men in his division.
9 There are a total of 186,400 men in the camps of Judah and its neighbors, in all their divisions. They will be the first to march out of camp.
10 The divisions of the camp of Reuben will be on the south side, where they will camp under their ·flag [banner]. The leader of the ·people [L sons; descendants] of Reuben is Elizur son of Shedeur. 11 There are 46,500 men in his division.
12 Next to them the tribe of Simeon will camp. The leader of the ·people [L sons; descendants] of Simeon is Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai. 13 There are 59,300 men in his division.
14 Next is the tribe of Gad. The leader of the ·people [L sons; descendants] of Gad is Eliasaph son of Deuel. 15 There are 45,650 men in his division.
16 There are a total of 151,450 men in the camps of Reuben and its neighbors, in all their divisions. They will be the second group to march out of camp.
17 When the camp of the Levites march out with the Meeting Tent, they will be in the middle of the other camps. The tribes will march out in the same order as they camp, each in its place under its ·flag [banner].
18 The divisions of the camp of Ephraim will be on the west side, where they will camp under their ·flag [banner]. The leader of the ·people [L sons; descendants] of Ephraim is Elishama son of Ammihud. 19 There are 40,500 men in his division.
20 Next to them the tribe of Manasseh will camp. The leader of the ·people [L sons; descendants] of Manasseh is Gamaliel son of Pedahzur. 21 There are 32,200 men in his division.
22 Next is the tribe of Benjamin. The leader of the ·people [L sons; descendants] of Benjamin is Abidan son of Gideoni. 23 There are 35,400 men in his division.
24 There are a total of 108,100 men in the camps of Ephraim and its neighbors, in all their divisions. They will be the third group to march out of camp.
25 The divisions of the camp of Dan will be on the north side, where they will camp under their ·flag [banner]. The leader of the ·people [L sons; descendants] of Dan is Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai. 26 There are 62,700 men in his division.
27 Next to them the tribe of Asher will camp. The leader of the ·people [L sons; descendants] of Asher is Pagiel son of Ocran. 28 There are 41,500 men in his division.
29 Next is the tribe of Naphtali. The leader of the ·people [L sons; descendants] of Naphtali is Ahira son of Enan. 30 There are 53,400 men in his division.
31 There are 157,600 men in the camps of Dan and its neighbors. They will be the last to march out of camp, and they will travel under their own ·flag [banner].
32 These are the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] who were counted by families groups. The total number in the camps, counted by divisions, is 603,550. 33 Moses obeyed the Lord and did not count the Levites among the other ·people [L sons; T children] of Israel.
34 So the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] obeyed everything the Lord commanded Moses. They camped under their ·flags [banners] and marched out by ·families [clans] and family groups.
Numbers 2
Living Bible
2 1-2 The Lord gave these further instructions to Moses and Aaron: “Each tribe will have its own tent area, with its flagpole and tribal banner; and at the center of these tribal compounds will be the Tabernacle.” 3-31 Here are the tribal locations:[a]
Tribe: | Leader: | Location: | Census: |
Judah | Nahshon (son of Amminadab) | East side of Tabernacle | 74,600 |
Issachar | Nethanel (son of Zuar) | Next to Judah | 54,400 |
Zebulun | Eliab (son of Helon) | Next to Issachar | 57,400 |
So the total of all those on Judah’s side of the camp was 186,400. These three tribes led the way whenever the Israelites traveled to a new campsite.
Tribe: | Leader: | Location: | Census: |
Reuben | Elizur (son of Shedeur) | South side of Tabernacle | 46,500 |
Simeon | Shelumiel (son of Zurishaddai) | Next to Reuben | 59,300 |
Gad | Eliasaph (son of Reuel) | Next to Simeon | 45,650 |
So the total of the Reuben side of the camp was 151,450. These three tribes were next in line whenever the Israelis traveled.
Next in the line of march was the Tabernacle, with the Levites. When traveling, each tribe stayed together under its own flag, just as each was separate from the others in camp.
Tribe: | Leader: | Location: | Census: |
Ephraim | Elishama (son of Ammihud) | West side of Tabernacle | 40,500 |
Manasseh | Gamaliel (son of Pedahzur) | Next to Ephraim | 32,200 |
Benjamin | Abidan (son of Gideoni) | Next to Manasseh | 35,400 |
So the total on the Ephraim side of the camp was 108,100, and they were next in the line of march.
Tribe: | Leader: | Location: | Census: |
Dan | Ahiezer (son of Ammishaddai) | North side of Tabernacle | 62,700 |
Asher | Pagiel (son of Ochran) | Next to Dan | 41,500 |
Naphtali | Ahira (son of Enan) | Next to Asher | 53,400 |
So the total on Dan’s side of the camp was 157,600. They brought up the rear whenever Israel traveled. 32-33 In summary, the armies of Israel totaled 603,550 (not including the Levites, who were exempted by Jehovah’s commandment to Moses). 34 So the people of Israel set up their camps, each tribe under its own banner, in the locations indicated by the Lord to Moses.
Footnotes
- Numbers 2:3 Here are the tribal locations, implied. Reuel. Deuel in ch. 1.
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