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The Order of Encampment and Marching

The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, “The Israelites shall camp each in their respective regiments, under ensigns by their ancestral houses; they shall camp facing the tent of meeting on every side.(A) Those to camp on the east side toward the sunrise shall be of the regimental encampment of Judah by companies. The leader of the people of Judah shall be Nahshon son of Amminadab,(B) with a company as enrolled of seventy-four thousand six hundred. Those to camp next to him shall be the tribe of Issachar. The leader of the Issacharites shall be Nethanel son of Zuar,(C) with a company as enrolled of fifty-four thousand four hundred. Then the tribe of Zebulun. The leader of the Zebulunites shall be Eliab son of Helon, with a company as enrolled of fifty-seven thousand four hundred. The total enrollment of the camp of Judah, by companies, is one hundred eighty-six thousand four hundred. They shall set out first.(D)

10 “On the south side shall be the regimental encampment of Reuben by companies. The leader of the Reubenites shall be Elizur son of Shedeur,(E) 11 with a company as enrolled of forty-six thousand five hundred. 12 And those to camp next to him shall be the tribe of Simeon. The leader of the Simeonites shall be Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai,(F) 13 with a company as enrolled of fifty-nine thousand three hundred. 14 Then the tribe of Gad. The leader of the Gadites shall be Eliasaph son of Deuel,[a](G) 15 with a company as enrolled of forty-five thousand six hundred fifty. 16 The total enrollment of the camp of Reuben, by companies, is one hundred fifty-one thousand four hundred fifty. They shall set out second.

17 “The tent of meeting, with the camp of the Levites, shall set out in the center of the camps; they shall set out just as they camp, each in position, by their regiments.(H)

18 “On the west side shall be the regimental encampment of Ephraim by companies. The leader of the people of Ephraim shall be Elishama son of Ammihud, 19 with a company as enrolled of forty thousand five hundred. 20 Next to him shall be the tribe of Manasseh. The leader of the people of Manasseh shall be Gamaliel son of Pedahzur,(I) 21 with a company as enrolled of thirty-two thousand two hundred. 22 Then the tribe of Benjamin. The leader of the Benjaminites shall be Abidan son of Gideoni, 23 with a company as enrolled of thirty-five thousand four hundred. 24 The total enrollment of the camp of Ephraim, by companies, is one hundred eight thousand one hundred. They shall set out third.(J)

25 “On the north side shall be the regimental encampment of Dan by companies. The leader of the Danites shall be Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai,(K) 26 with a company as enrolled of sixty-two thousand seven hundred. 27 Those to camp next to him shall be the tribe of Asher. The leader of the Asherites shall be Pagiel son of Ochran,(L) 28 with a company as enrolled of forty-one thousand five hundred. 29 Then the tribe of Naphtali. The leader of the Naphtalites shall be Ahira son of Enan, 30 with a company as enrolled of fifty-three thousand four hundred. 31 The total enrollment of the camp of Dan is one hundred fifty-seven thousand six hundred. They shall set out last, by their regiments.”(M)

32 This was the enrollment of the Israelites by their ancestral houses; the total enrollment in the camps by their companies was six hundred three thousand five hundred fifty.(N) 33 Just as the Lord had commanded Moses, the Levites were not enrolled among the other Israelites.(O)

34 The Israelites did just as the Lord had commanded Moses: they camped by regiments, and they set out the same way, everyone by clans, according to ancestral houses.

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Footnotes

  1. 2.14 Heb mss Sam Vg: MT Reuel

Encampment Orders

Later, the Lord told Moses and Aaron, “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

“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. Those in his division number 74,600.[c]

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

“Next is to be[f] the tribe of Zebulun. The leader of Zebulun is to be Helon’s son Eliab. Those in his division number 57,400. 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.

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Footnotes

  1. Numbers 2:2 Lit. Each man of the Israelis
  2. Numbers 2:3 Lit. east
  3. Numbers 2:4 Cf. Num 1:27
  4. Numbers 2:5 Lit. him
  5. Numbers 2:6 Cf. Num 1:29
  6. Numbers 2:7 Lit. Then
  7. Numbers 2:12 Lit. him
  8. Numbers 2:14 Lit. Then
  9. Numbers 2:17 Lit. each upon his hand
  10. Numbers 2:18 Lit. the sea
  11. Numbers 2:20 Lit. him
  12. Numbers 2:22 Lit. Then
  13. Numbers 2:27 Lit. him
  14. Numbers 2:29 Lit. Then