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The Camp Arrangement

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: “The Israelites should make their camps around the Meeting Tent. But they should not camp too close to it. Each person should camp under the flag of his division near the banner of his family group.”

The camp of Judah will be on the east side, where the sun rises. They will camp by divisions there under their flag. The leader of the people of Judah is Nahshon son of Amminadab. There are 74,600 men in his division.

Next to them the tribe of Issachar will camp. The leader of the people of Issachar is Nethanel son of Zuar. There are 54,400 men in his division.

Next is the tribe of Zebulun. The leader of the people of Zebulun is Eliab son of Helon. There are 57,400 men in his division.

There are a total of 186,400 men in the camp of Judah. They are in their divisions. They will be the first to march out of camp.

10 The divisions of the camp of Reuben will be south of the Holy Tent. They will camp under their flag. The leader of the people 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 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 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 camp of Reuben. They are in their divisions. They will be the second group to march out of camp.

17 When the Levites move the Meeting Tent, they will be in between the other camps. The tribes will move in the same order as they camp. Each person will be with his family flag.

18 The divisions of the camp of Ephraim will be on the west side. They will camp under their flag. The leader of the people 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 of Manasseh is Gamaliel son of Pedahzur. 21 There are 32,200 men in his division.

22 Next to them the tribe of Benjamin will camp. The leader of the people 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 camp of Ephraim. They are in 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. They will camp under their flag. The leader of the people 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 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 of Naphtali is Ahira son of Enan. 30 There are 53,400 men in his division.

31 There are 157,600 men in the camp of Dan. They will be the last to march out of camp. They will travel under their own flag.

32 These are the Israelites who were counted by families. The total number of Israelites in the camps, counted by divisions, is 603,550. 33 Moses did not count the Levites among the other people of Israel. This is what the Lord had commanded.

34 So the Israelites obeyed everything the Lord commanded Moses. They camped under their flags. Each person traveled with his family and family group.

Chapter 2

Arrangement of the Tribes. The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: The Israelites shall camp, each in their own divisions, under the ensigns of their ancestral houses.(A) They shall camp at some distance all around the tent of meeting.

[a]Encamped on the east side, toward the sunrise, shall be the divisional camp of Judah, arranged in companies. The leader of the Judahites is Nahshon, son of Amminadab, and the enrollment of his company is seventy-four thousand six hundred. Encamped beside it is the tribe of Issachar. The leader of the Issacharites is Nethanel, son of Zuar, and the enrollment of his company is fifty-four thousand four hundred. Also the tribe of Zebulun. The leader of the Zebulunites is Eliab, son of Helon, and the enrollment of his company is fifty-seven thousand four hundred. The total enrollment of the camp of Judah by companies is one hundred and eighty-six thousand four hundred. They shall be first on the march.

10 The divisional camp of Reuben shall be on the south side, by companies. The leader of the Reubenites is Elizur, son of Shedeur, 11 and the enrollment of his company is forty-six thousand five hundred. 12 Encamped beside it is the tribe of Simeon. The leader of the Simeonites is Shelumiel, son of Zurishaddai, 13 and the enrollment of his company is fifty-nine thousand three hundred. 14 Next is the tribe of Gad. The leader of the Gadites is Eliasaph, son of Reuel, 15 and the enrollment of his company is forty-five thousand six hundred and fifty. 16 The total enrollment of the camp of Reuben by companies is one hundred and fifty-one thousand four hundred and fifty. They shall be second on the march.

17 Then the tent of meeting and the camp of the Levites shall set out in the midst of the divisions. As they camp, so also they will march, each in place, by their divisions.

18 The divisional camp of Ephraim shall be on the west side, by companies. The leader of the Ephraimites is Elishama, son of Ammihud, 19 and the enrollment of his company is forty thousand five hundred. 20 Beside it shall be the tribe of Manasseh. The leader of the Manassites is Gamaliel, son of Pedahzur, 21 and the enrollment of his company is thirty-two thousand two hundred. 22 Also the tribe of Benjamin. The leader of the Benjaminites is Abidan, son of Gideoni, 23 and the enrollment of his company is thirty-five thousand four hundred. 24 The total enrollment of the camp of Ephraim by companies is one hundred and eight thousand one hundred. They shall be third on the march.

25 The divisional camp of Dan shall be on the north side, by companies. The leader of the Danites is Ahiezer, son of Ammishaddai, 26 and the enrollment of his company is sixty-two thousand seven hundred. 27 Encamped beside it shall be the tribe of Asher. The leader of the Asherites is Pagiel, son of Ochran, 28 and the enrollment of his company is forty-one thousand five hundred. 29 Also the tribe of Naphtali. The leader of the Naphtalites is Ahira, son of Enan, 30 and the enrollment of his company is fifty-three thousand four hundred. 31 The total enrollment of the camp of Dan is one hundred and fifty-seven thousand six hundred. They shall be the last on the march, by divisions.

32 (B)These are the enrollments of the Israelites according to their ancestral houses. The total enrollment of the camps by companies is six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty. 33 The Levites, however, were not enrolled with the other Israelites, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 34 The Israelites did just as the Lord had commanded Moses; both in camp and on the march they were in their own divisions, everyone by clan and according to ancestral house.

Footnotes

  1. 2:3–31 A similar arrangement of the tribes around the central sanctuary in the ideal Israel is given in Ez 48.

The Tribes and Leaders by Armies

And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: (A)“Everyone of the children of Israel shall camp by his own [a]standard, beside the emblems of his father’s house; they shall camp (B)some distance from the tabernacle of meeting. On the (C)east side, toward the rising of the sun, those of the standard of the forces with Judah shall camp according to their armies; and (D)Nahshon the son of Amminadab shall be the leader of the children of Judah.” And his army was numbered at seventy-four thousand six hundred.

“Those who camp next to him shall be the tribe of Issachar, and Nethanel the son of Zuar shall be the leader of the children of Issachar.” And his army was numbered at fifty-four thousand four hundred.

“Then comes the tribe of Zebulun, and Eliab the son of Helon shall be the leader of the children of Zebulun.” And his army was numbered at fifty-seven thousand four hundred. “All who were numbered according to their armies of the forces with Judah, one hundred and eighty-six thousand four hundred—(E)these shall [b]break camp first.

10 “On the (F)south side shall be the standard of the forces with Reuben according to their armies, and the leader of the children of Reuben shall be Elizur the son of Shedeur.” 11 And his army was numbered at forty-six thousand five hundred.

12 “Those who camp next to him shall be the tribe of Simeon, and the leader of the children of Simeon shall be Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai.” 13 And his army was numbered at fifty-nine thousand three hundred.

14 “Then comes the tribe of Gad, and the leader of the children of Gad shall be Eliasaph the son of [c]Reuel.” 15 And his army was numbered at forty-five thousand six hundred and fifty. 16 “All who were numbered according to their armies of the forces with Reuben, one hundred and fifty-one thousand four hundred and fifty—(G)they shall [d]be the second to break camp.

17 (H)“And the tabernacle of meeting shall move out with the [e]camp of the Levites (I)in the middle of the [f]camps; as they camp, so they shall move out, everyone in his place, by their [g]standards.

18 “On the west side shall be the standard of the forces with Ephraim according to their armies, and the leader of the children of Ephraim shall be Elishama the son of Ammihud.” 19 And his army was numbered at forty thousand five hundred.

20 “Next to him comes the tribe of Manasseh, and the leader of the children of Manasseh shall be Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur.” 21 And his army was numbered at thirty-two thousand two hundred.

22 “Then comes the tribe of Benjamin, and the leader of the children of Benjamin shall be Abidan the son of Gideoni.” 23 And his army was numbered at thirty-five thousand four hundred. 24 “All who were numbered according to their armies of the forces with Ephraim, one hundred and eight thousand one hundred—(J)they shall [h]be the third to break camp.

25 “The [i]standard of the forces with Dan shall be on the north side according to their armies, and the leader of the children of Dan shall be Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.” 26 And his army was numbered at sixty-two thousand seven hundred.

27 “Those who camp next to him shall be the tribe of Asher, and the leader of the children of Asher shall be Pagiel the son of Ocran.” 28 And his army was numbered at forty-one thousand five hundred.

29 “Then comes the tribe of Naphtali, and the leader of the children of Naphtali shall be Ahira the son of Enan.” 30 And his army was numbered at fifty-three thousand four hundred. 31 “All who were numbered of the forces with Dan, one hundred and fifty-seven thousand six hundred—(K)they shall [j]break camp last, with their [k]standards.”

32 These are the ones who were numbered of the children of Israel by their fathers’ houses. (L)All who were numbered according to their armies of the forces were six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty. 33 But (M)the Levites were not numbered among the children of Israel, just as the Lord commanded Moses.

34 Thus the children of Israel (N)did according to all that the Lord commanded Moses; (O)so they camped by their [l]standards and so they broke camp, each one by his family, according to their fathers’ houses.

Footnotes

  1. Numbers 2:2 banner
  2. Numbers 2:9 Lit. set forth
  3. Numbers 2:14 Deuel, Num. 1:14; 7:42
  4. Numbers 2:16 Lit. set forth second
  5. Numbers 2:17 company
  6. Numbers 2:17 whole company
  7. Numbers 2:17 banners
  8. Numbers 2:24 Lit. set forth third
  9. Numbers 2:25 banner
  10. Numbers 2:31 Lit. set forth last
  11. Numbers 2:31 banners
  12. Numbers 2:34 banners