Encampment Orders

2 Later, the Lord told Moses and Aaron, ² “Every single Israeli^[a] is to encamp beneath his standard with the emblem of his ancestral house. The Israelis are to encamp in front of and surrounding the Tent of Meeting.”

Eastern Encampment Order

³ “The encampment of Judah is to settle east toward the sunrise^[b] under their standard. The leader of Judah is to be Amminadab’s son Nahshon. ⁴ Those in his division number 74,600.^[c]

⁵ “The tribe of Issachar is to encamp beside Judah.^[d] The leader of Issachar is to be Zuar’s son Nethanel. ⁶ Those in his division number 54,400.^[e]

⁷ “Next is to be^[f] the tribe of Zebulun. The leader of Zebulun is to be Helon’s son Eliab. ⁸ Those in his division number 57,400. ⁹ All those numbered by division in the camp of Judah total 186,400. They are to be the first to travel.”

Southern Encampment Order

¹⁰ “Toward the south is to be the division of the camp of Reuben under their standard. The leader of Reuben is to be Shedeur’s son Elizur. ¹¹ Those in his division number 46,500.

¹² “The tribe of Simeon is to camp beside Reuben.^[g] The leader of Simeon is to be Zurishaddai’s son Shelumiel. ¹³ Those in his division number 59,300.

¹⁴ “Next is to be^[h] the tribe of Gad. The leader of Gad is to be Deuel’s son Eliasaph. ¹⁵ Those in his division number 45,650. ¹⁶ All those numbered by division in the camp of Reuben total 151,450. They are to be the second to travel.”

Tribe at the Center

¹⁷ “Then the Tent of Meeting is to travel with the camp of the descendants of Levi in the middle of the camps. They are to travel just as they have camped, each as designated^[i] under his standard.”

Western Encampment Order

¹⁸ “Toward the west^[j] is to be the division of the camp of Ephraim under their standard. The leader of Ephraim is to be Ammihud’s son Elishama. ¹⁹ Those in his division number 40,500.

²⁰ “The tribe of Manasseh is to encamp beside them.^[k] The leader of Manasseh is to be Pedahzur’s son Gamaliel. ²¹ Those in his division number 32,200.

²² “Next is to be^[l] the tribe of Benjamin. The leader of Benjamin is to be Gideoni’s son Abidan. ²³ Those in his division number 35,400. ²⁴ All those numbered by division in the camp Ephraim total 108,100. They are to be the third to travel.”

Northern Encampment Order

²⁵ “Toward the north is to be the division of the camp of Dan under their standard. The leader of Dan is to be Ammishaddai’s son Ahiezer. ²⁶ Those in his division number 62,700.

²⁷ “The tribe of Asher is to encamp beside them.^[m] The leader of Asher is to be Ochran’s son Pagiel. ²⁸ Those in his division number 41,500.

²⁹ “Next is to be^[n] the tribe of Naphtali. The leader of Naphtali is to be Enan’s son Ahira. ³⁰ Those in his division number 53,400. ³¹ All those numbered by division in the camp of Dan total 157,600. They are to be the last to travel under their standards.”

Summary of the Encampment

³² Here is a summary of the census of the Israelis according to the tribes of their ancestral houses: All the divisions in the camps numbered 603,550, ³³ but the descendants of Levi were not numbered along with the other Israelis, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. ³⁴ So the Israelis did everything just as the Lord had commanded Moses; that is, they encamped under their standard as each person traveled with his own tribe and ancestral house.