American King James Version - AKJV - 1999
Numbers 2
1
And the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,
2
Every man of the children of Israel shall pitch by his own standard, with the ensign of their father's house: far off about the tabernacle of the congregation shall they pitch.
Reference
Parallel theme
1 Corinthians 14:40
1 Corinthians 14:33
Joshua 3:4
Numbers 10:25
Numbers 10:22
Temple
Numbers 1:50
3
And on the east side toward the rising of the sun shall they of the standard of the camp of Judah pitch throughout their armies: and Nahshon the son of Amminadab shall be captain of the children of Judah.
Reference
4
And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were three score and fourteen thousand and six hundred.
5
And those that do pitch next to him shall be the tribe of Issachar: and Nethaneel the son of Zuar shall be captain of the children of Issachar.
Reference
6
And his host, and those that were numbered thereof, were fifty and four thousand and four hundred.
7
Then the tribe of Zebulun: and Eliab the son of Helon shall be captain of the children of Zebulun.
Reference
Parallel theme
Numbers 1:9
8
And his host, and those that were numbered thereof, were fifty and seven thousand and four hundred.
9
All that were numbered in the camp of Judah were an hundred thousand and fourscore thousand and six thousand and four hundred, throughout their armies. These shall first set forth.
Reference
Parallel theme
Numbers 10:14
10
On the south side shall be the standard of the camp of Reuben according to their armies: and the captain of the children of Reuben shall be Elizur the son of Shedeur.
Reference
Parallel theme
Numbers 1:5
11
And his host, and those that were numbered thereof, were forty and six thousand and five hundred.
12
And those which pitch by him shall be the tribe of Simeon: and the captain of the children of Simeon shall be Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai.
Reference
Parallel theme
Numbers 1:6
13
And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were fifty and nine thousand and three hundred.
14
Then the tribe of Gad: and the captain of the sons of Gad shall be Eliasaph the son of Reuel.
Reference
15
And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were forty and five thousand and six hundred and fifty.
16
All that were numbered in the camp of Reuben were an hundred thousand and fifty and one thousand and four hundred and fifty, throughout their armies. And they shall set forth in the second rank.
Reference
Parallel theme
Numbers 10:18
17
Then the tabernacle of the congregation shall set forward with the camp of the Levites in the middle of the camp: as they encamp, so shall they set forward, every man in his place by their standards.
Reference
18
On the west side shall be the standard of the camp of Ephraim according to their armies: and the captain of the sons of Ephraim shall be Elishama the son of Ammihud.
Reference
19
And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were forty thousand and five hundred.
20
And by him shall be the tribe of Manasseh: and the captain of the children of Manasseh shall be Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur.
Reference
Parallel theme
Numbers 1:10
21
And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were thirty and two thousand and two hundred.
22
Then the tribe of Benjamin: and the captain of the sons of Benjamin shall be Abidan the son of Gideoni.
Reference
Parallel theme
Numbers 1:11
23
And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were thirty and five thousand and four hundred.
24
All that were numbered of the camp of Ephraim were an hundred thousand and eight thousand and an hundred, throughout their armies. And they shall go forward in the third rank.
Reference
Parallel theme
Numbers 10:22
25
The standard of the camp of Dan shall be on the north side by their armies: and the captain of the children of Dan shall be Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.
Reference
Parallel theme
Numbers 1:12
26
And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were three score and two thousand and seven hundred.
27
And those that encamp by him shall be the tribe of Asher: and the captain of the children of Asher shall be Pagiel the son of Ocran.
Reference
Parallel theme
Numbers 1:13
28
And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were forty and one thousand and five hundred.
29
Then the tribe of Naphtali: and the captain of the children of Naphtali shall be Ahira the son of Enan.
Reference
Parallel theme
Numbers 1:15
30
And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were fifty and three thousand and four hundred.
31
All they that were numbered in the camp of Dan were an hundred thousand and fifty and seven thousand and six hundred. They shall go hindmost with their standards.
Reference
Parallel theme
Numbers 10:25
32
These are those which were numbered of the children of Israel by the house of their fathers: all those that were numbered of the camps throughout their hosts were six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty.
Reference
33
But the Levites were not numbered among the children of Israel; as the LORD commanded Moses.
Summary of Numbers 2
Numbers 2 describes how the Israelites should organize their camp around the tabernacle. Following the census taken in chapter 1, people were gathered in tribes and families to encamp and travel in order. God instructed Moses and Aaron regarding the organization of the tribes. The Israelites had the tabernacle at the heart of their camps to signify that worship and His presence were most important to them.
The Israelites were divided into four groups with three tribes in each group. Each group had a leading tribe and the other two tribes camped on either side of it. Moreover, every tribe had their places and banners. Additionally, the people could not decide where to camp on their own. They had to obey the orders of Moses which God had given to him.
Around the eastern side of the tabernacle, the group of Judah led the others. The tribe of Judah had 74600 warriors according to the census, making it the largest tribe among the three. Issachar was the second-largest tribe with 54400 men, and the third was Zebulun with 57400. Altogether, three tribes had 186400 fighting-age men. They formed the first division of the Israelites and were the first to set camp and march.
Judah’s division was the most important one as it was in the front line during their travels. The tribe of Issachar and Zebulun went with Judah, and altogether, these tribes formed a large division. Whenever the Israelites had to travel from one place to another, the division of the tribe of Judah was the first to move.
On the south side of the tabernacle, the second division of Israelites led by the tribe of Reuben had to camp. The tribes of Simeon and Gad were on the sides of Reuben. The tribe of Reuben had 46500 warriors, Simeon had 59300, and Gad had 45650. Altogether, there were 151450 fighting men in this division. It was the second to start marching when the Israelites had to move.
Levi’s family and the tabernacle were in the middle of the camp of Israelites. The Levites had the responsibility for the maintenance of the tent of meeting and all the furniture in it. The place of the tabernacle was most sacred as it symbolized the center of Israel. The people of Israel surrounded it, but the Levites had their own duty to serve the tabernacle.
On the west side of the tabernacle, the third division of Israelites set up their camp led by Ephraim. The tribes of Manasseh and Benjamin were on the sides of Ephraim. The tribe of Ephraim had 40500 warriors, the tribe of Manasseh had 32200, and the tribe of Benjamin had 35400. Altogether, these tribes had 108100 fighting men and formed the third division. This division was the third to leave their places when the Israelites had to travel somewhere.
On the north side of the tabernacle, the last division of the Israelites led by the tribe of Dan had to camp. The tribes of Asher and Naphtali were on the sides of Dan. The tribe of Dan had 62700 warriors, the tribe of Asher had 41500, and the tribe of Naphtali had 53400. Altogether, these tribes had 157600 fighting men. They formed the fourth division of Israelites and were the last ones to march.
Judah’s division was the first to travel, followed by Reuben’s division. Then, Levitical and the tabernacle’s tents moved, followed by Ephraim’s division. Finally, the division of Dan brought up the rear, and all the tribes knew their places and the order in which they had to set up their camps.
The chapter 2 of Numbers contains a great amount of information similar to that in chapter 1. It describes the Israelites’ camping and marching order. Although it seems that Numbers 2 provides too many details similar to those in Numbers 1, this is not the case.
The Israelites had a well-defined order in which they had to camp and march. They were not a wild nation wandering aimlessly in the desert. They had their leaders, tribes, families, responsibilities, places in the camps, banners, etc. This was because of the great importance of the tabernacle.
It served as the heart of the Israelite camp. Consequently, the Levites had their order concerning the responsibilities of maintaining the tabernacle. It was especially important to keep everything around the tent of meeting in order so that nothing would disrupt the services.
Numbers 2 also shows a great number of warriors Israel had to march. According to the census, there were more than 600000 fighting men, not counting women, children, elderly people, and Levites. The whole nation must have been incredibly large, and it needed a special order to keep everyone together.
This order helped them maintain the separation between the Israelite tribes and the Levites. This distinction was necessary as the Levites had exclusive rights to serve the tabernacle. The Israelites needed it to serve as a reminder that God’s presence dwelled exclusively in the tabernacle.
The last part of the chapter mentions that the Israelites obeyed the commands of God concerning the order of their camps and marching. Every tribe knew its place and followed the instructions of Moses. Therefore, they never wandered without a clear goal in the desert.
Numbers chapter 2 teaches the Israelites an important lesson about the organization and order of their nation. Every tribe had its own place and responsibilities. The tabernacle was the most important object in the camp. The Israelites had to keep everything well-defined and special. This way, God’s presence was in the center of the nation.
The Israelites were divided into four groups with three tribes in each group. Each group had a leading tribe and the other two tribes camped on either side of it. Moreover, every tribe had their places and banners. Additionally, the people could not decide where to camp on their own. They had to obey the orders of Moses which God had given to him.
Around the eastern side of the tabernacle, the group of Judah led the others. The tribe of Judah had 74600 warriors according to the census, making it the largest tribe among the three. Issachar was the second-largest tribe with 54400 men, and the third was Zebulun with 57400. Altogether, three tribes had 186400 fighting-age men. They formed the first division of the Israelites and were the first to set camp and march.
Judah’s division was the most important one as it was in the front line during their travels. The tribe of Issachar and Zebulun went with Judah, and altogether, these tribes formed a large division. Whenever the Israelites had to travel from one place to another, the division of the tribe of Judah was the first to move.
On the south side of the tabernacle, the second division of Israelites led by the tribe of Reuben had to camp. The tribes of Simeon and Gad were on the sides of Reuben. The tribe of Reuben had 46500 warriors, Simeon had 59300, and Gad had 45650. Altogether, there were 151450 fighting men in this division. It was the second to start marching when the Israelites had to move.
Levi’s family and the tabernacle were in the middle of the camp of Israelites. The Levites had the responsibility for the maintenance of the tent of meeting and all the furniture in it. The place of the tabernacle was most sacred as it symbolized the center of Israel. The people of Israel surrounded it, but the Levites had their own duty to serve the tabernacle.
On the west side of the tabernacle, the third division of Israelites set up their camp led by Ephraim. The tribes of Manasseh and Benjamin were on the sides of Ephraim. The tribe of Ephraim had 40500 warriors, the tribe of Manasseh had 32200, and the tribe of Benjamin had 35400. Altogether, these tribes had 108100 fighting men and formed the third division. This division was the third to leave their places when the Israelites had to travel somewhere.
On the north side of the tabernacle, the last division of the Israelites led by the tribe of Dan had to camp. The tribes of Asher and Naphtali were on the sides of Dan. The tribe of Dan had 62700 warriors, the tribe of Asher had 41500, and the tribe of Naphtali had 53400. Altogether, these tribes had 157600 fighting men. They formed the fourth division of Israelites and were the last ones to march.
Judah’s division was the first to travel, followed by Reuben’s division. Then, Levitical and the tabernacle’s tents moved, followed by Ephraim’s division. Finally, the division of Dan brought up the rear, and all the tribes knew their places and the order in which they had to set up their camps.
The chapter 2 of Numbers contains a great amount of information similar to that in chapter 1. It describes the Israelites’ camping and marching order. Although it seems that Numbers 2 provides too many details similar to those in Numbers 1, this is not the case.
The Israelites had a well-defined order in which they had to camp and march. They were not a wild nation wandering aimlessly in the desert. They had their leaders, tribes, families, responsibilities, places in the camps, banners, etc. This was because of the great importance of the tabernacle.
It served as the heart of the Israelite camp. Consequently, the Levites had their order concerning the responsibilities of maintaining the tabernacle. It was especially important to keep everything around the tent of meeting in order so that nothing would disrupt the services.
Numbers 2 also shows a great number of warriors Israel had to march. According to the census, there were more than 600000 fighting men, not counting women, children, elderly people, and Levites. The whole nation must have been incredibly large, and it needed a special order to keep everyone together.
This order helped them maintain the separation between the Israelite tribes and the Levites. This distinction was necessary as the Levites had exclusive rights to serve the tabernacle. The Israelites needed it to serve as a reminder that God’s presence dwelled exclusively in the tabernacle.
The last part of the chapter mentions that the Israelites obeyed the commands of God concerning the order of their camps and marching. Every tribe knew its place and followed the instructions of Moses. Therefore, they never wandered without a clear goal in the desert.
Numbers chapter 2 teaches the Israelites an important lesson about the organization and order of their nation. Every tribe had its own place and responsibilities. The tabernacle was the most important object in the camp. The Israelites had to keep everything well-defined and special. This way, God’s presence was in the center of the nation.