10 2 The use of the silver trumpets. 11 The Israelites depart from Sinai. 14 The captains of the host are numbered. 30 Hobab refuseth to go with Moses his son-in-law.

And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

Make thee two trumpets of silver: of an [a]whole piece shalt thou make them, that thou mayest use them for the assembling of the Congregation, and for the departure of the camp.

And when they shall blow with them, all the Congregation shall assemble to thee, before the door of the Tabernacle of the Congregation.

But if they blow with one, then the Princes, or heads over the thousands of Israel shall come unto thee.

But if ye blow an alarm, then the camp of them that pitch on the [b]East part, shall go forward.

If ye blow an alarm the second time, then the host of them that lie on the [c]South side, shall march: for they shall blow an alarm when they remove.

But in the assembling the Congregation, ye shall blow without an alarm.

And the sons of Aaron the Priest shall [d]blow the trumpets, and ye shall have them as a law forever in your generations.

And when ye go to war in your land against the enemy that vexeth you, ye shall blow an alarm with the trumpets, and ye shall be remembered before the Lord your God, and shall be saved from your enemies.

10 Also in the day of your [e]gladness, and in your feast days, and in the beginning of your months, ye shall also blow the trumpets [f]over your burnt sacrifices, and over your peace offerings, that they may be a remembrance for you before your God: I am the Lord your God.

11 ¶ And in the second year, in the second month, and in the twentieth day of the month, the cloud was taken up from the Tabernacle of the Testimony.

12 And the children of Israel departed on their [g]journeys out of the desert of Sinai, and the cloud rested in the wilderness of Paran.

13 So they [h]first took their journey at the commandment of the Lord by the hand of Moses.

14 (A)In the first place went the standard of the host of the children of Judah according to their armies: and (B)Nahshon the son of Amminadab was over his band.

15 And over the band of the tribe of the children of Issachar was Nethanel the son of Zuar.

16 And over the band of the tribe of the children of Zebulun was Eliab the son of Helon.

17 When the Tabernacle was taken down, then the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari went forward bearing [i]the Tabernacle.

18 ¶ After, departed the standard of the host of Reuben, according to their armies, and over his band was Elizur the son of Shedeur.

19 And over the band of the tribe of the children of Simeon was Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai.

20 And over the band of the tribe of the children of Gad was Eliasaph the son of Deuel.

21 The Kohathites also went forward and [j]bare the (C)Sanctuary, and the [k]former did set up the Tabernacle against they came.

22 ¶ Then the standard of the host of the children of Ephraim went forward according to their armies, and over his band was Elishama the son of Ammihud.

23 And over the band of the tribe of the sons of Manasseh was Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur.

24 And over the band of the tribe of the sons of Benjamin was Abidan the son of Gideoni.

25 ¶ Last, the standard of the host of the children of Dan marched, [l]gathering all the hosts according to their armies: and over his band was Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.

26 And over the band of the tribe of the children of Asher was Pagiel the son of Ocran.

27 And over the band of the tribe of the children of Naphtali was Ahira the son of Enan.

28 [m]These were the removings of the children of Israel according to their armies, when they marched.

29 After, Moses said unto [n]Hobab the son of Reuel the Midianite, the father-in-law of Moses, We go into the place, of which the Lord said, I will give it you. Come thou with us, and we will do thee good: for the Lord hath promised good unto Israel.

30 And he answered him, I will not go: but I will depart to mine own country, and to my kindred.

31 Then he said, I pray thee, leave us not: for thou knowest our camping places in the wilderness: therefore thou mayest be [o]our guide.

32 And if thou go with us, what goodness the Lord shall show unto us, the same will we show unto thee.

33 ¶ So they departed from the [p]mount of the Lord, three days’ journey: and the Ark of the covenant of the Lord went before them in the three days’ journey, to search out a resting place for them.

34 And the cloud of the Lord was upon them by day, when they went out of the camp.

35 And when the Ark went forward, Moses said, (D)[q]Rise up Lord, and let thine enemies be scattered, and let them that hate thee, flee before thee.

36 And when it rested, he said, Return, O Lord, to the [r]many thousands of Israel.

Footnotes

  1. Numbers 10:2 Or, of work beaten out with the hammer.
  2. Numbers 10:5 That is, the host of Judah and they that are under his ensign.
  3. Numbers 10:6 Meaning, the host of Reuben.
  4. Numbers 10:8 So that only the Priests must blow the trumpets, so long as the Priesthood lasted.
  5. Numbers 10:10 When ye rejoice that God hath removed any plague.
  6. Numbers 10:10 Or, when ye offer burnt offerings.
  7. Numbers 10:12 Or, in keeping this order in their journeys.
  8. Numbers 10:13 From Sinai to Paran, Num. 33:1.
  9. Numbers 10:17 With all the appertainances thereof.
  10. Numbers 10:21 Upon their shoulders.
  11. Numbers 10:21 The Merarites and Gershonites.
  12. Numbers 10:25 Leaving none behind, nor any of the former that fainted in the way.
  13. Numbers 10:28 This was the order of their host when they removed.
  14. Numbers 10:29 Some think that Reuel, Jethro, Hobab, and Keni were all one: Kimhi saith, that Reuel was Jethro’s father: so Hobab was Moses’ father-in-law, see Exod. 2:18, 3:1, 4:18, 18:1, and Judg. 4:11.
  15. Numbers 10:31 Hebrew, eyes unto us.
  16. Numbers 10:33 Mount Sinai, or Horeb.
  17. Numbers 10:35 Declare thy might and power.
  18. Numbers 10:36 Hebrew, to the ten thousand thousands.

Two Silver Signal Trumpets

10 The Lord said to Moses, “Make two trumpets out of hammered silver. Use them to call the community together and as a signal to break camp. When you blow both trumpets, the whole community will meet with you at the entrance to the tent of meeting. If only one trumpet blows, the leaders, the heads of the divisions of Israel, will meet with you. When they hear the trumpet fanfare, the tribes that are camped on the east side will break camp first. When the trumpets sound a second fanfare, the tribes that are camped on the south will break camp. The fanfare is the signal to break camp. But when you gather the assembly, the trumpets will blow without sounding a fanfare. The sons of Aaron, the priests, will blow the trumpets. This will be a permanent law for you and your descendants.

“When you go to war in your own country against an enemy who is oppressing you, the trumpets will sound a fanfare. Then the Lord your God will remember you and rescue you from your enemies. 10 Also, on your festival days and on the first day of the month, blow the trumpets when you sacrifice your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. The trumpets will be a reminder for you in God’s presence. I am the Lord your God.”

Israel Leaves Mount Sinai

11 On the twentieth day of the second month of the second year, the ⌞column of⌟ smoke left the tent of the words of God’s promise. 12 So the Israelites moved from the Desert of Sinai and traveled from place to place until the ⌞column of⌟ smoke stopped in the Desert of Paran.

13 This was the first time they moved, following the command that the Lord had given through Moses. 14 With their flag in front, the armies led by Judah’s descendants broke camp first. Nahshon, son of Amminadab, was in command. 15 Nethanel, son of Zuar, commanded the army of Issachar. 16 Eliab, son of Helon, commanded the army of Zebulun. 17 Then the tent ⌞of meeting⌟ was taken down, and the Gershonites and Merarites, who carried it, broke camp.

18 With their flag in front, the armies led by Reuben’s descendants broke camp next. Elizur, son of Shedeur, was in command. 19 Shelumiel, son of Zurishaddai, commanded the army of Simeon. 20 Eliasaph, son of Deuel, commanded the army of Gad. 21 Then the Kohathites, who carried the holy things, broke camp. By the time they arrived, the tent ⌞of meeting⌟ would already be set up.

22 With their flag in front, the armies led by Ephraim’s descendants broke camp next. Elisha, son of Ammihud, was in command. 23 Gamaliel, son of Pedahzur, commanded the army of Manasseh. 24 Abidan, son of Gideoni, commanded the army of Benjamin.

25 As a rear guard for the whole camp, the armies led by Dan’s descendants broke camp last with their flag in front. Ahiezer, son of Ammishaddai, was in command. 26 Pagiel, son of Ochran, commanded the army of Asher. 27 Ahira, son of Enan, commanded the army of Naphtali.

28 This was the order in which the Israelite armies broke camp when they went from place to place.

29 Moses said to his brother-in-law Hobab, son of Reuel the Midianite, “We are going to the place the Lord promised to give us. Come with us. We will be good to you, because the Lord has promised good things to Israel.”

30 Hobab answered, “No, I won’t go. I want to go back to my own country where my relatives are.”

31 But Moses said, “Please don’t leave us. You know where we can set up camp in the desert, and you could be our guide. 32 If you come with us, we will share with you all the good things the Lord gives us.”

33 So they left the mountain of the Lord and traveled for three days. The ark of the Lord’s promise went ahead of them a distance of three days’ journey to find them a place to rest. 34 The Lord’s ⌞column of⌟ smoke was over them by day when they moved the camp.

35 Whenever the ark started to move, Moses would say,

“Arise, O Lord!
Scatter your enemies!
Make those who hate you run away from you!”

36 And whenever it stopped, he would say,

“Return, O Lord, to the countless thousands of Israel!”