Numbers 2

Numbers 2 is the second chapter of the book of Numbers. Building on the census completed in Numbers 1, it assigns each tribe its place in the camp and its position in the order of march.

Outline

• Verses 1–2 The LORD commands Moses and Aaron that each tribe is to camp by its own standard and the ensign of its father's house, facing the tent of meeting on every side.
• Verses 3–9 On the east is the camp of Judah, made up of the tribes of Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun, totaling 186,400 men. It marches first.
• Verses 10–16 On the south is the camp of Reuben, made up of the tribes of Reuben, Simeon, and Gad, totaling 151,450 men. It marches second.
• Verse 17 The tent of meeting and the camp of the Levites march in the middle of all the camps.
• Verses 18–24 On the west is the camp of Ephraim, made up of the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin, totaling 108,100 men. It marches third.
• Verses 25–31 On the north is the camp of Dan, made up of the tribes of Dan, Asher, and Naphtali, totaling 157,600 men. It marches last.
• Verses 32–34 The grand total is 603,550 men. The Levites were not included in this count. The people camped and marched as they had been commanded.

Key Verses

• Numbers 2:2 "Far off about the tabernacle of the congregation shall they pitch." This shows that God's dwelling stands at the center of the camp's arrangement.
• Numbers 2:17 "Then the tabernacle of the congregation shall set forward with the camp of the Levites in the midst of the camp." Even on the march, the tent of meeting remains at the center.
• Numbers 2:34 "And the children of Israel did according to all that the LORD commanded Moses." This verse forms the chapter's conclusion.

People and Places

• Moses and Aaron: The leaders who receive the command.
• The tribal leaders: The list of the twelve leaders is the same as in chapter 1. Among them, Nahshon, the leader of Judah, is the son of Amminadab. Gamaliel, the leader of Manasseh, is a different person from Gamaliel of the New Testament. The father of Eliasaph, the leader of Gad, is called "Deuel" in 1:14 but "Reuel" in this chapter.
• Tent of meeting: The tent where God meets with His people. It refers to the same structure as the tabernacle.

Points for Reflection

• The total of 603,550 matches the figures in chapter 1 and in Exodus 38. Some scholars have also discussed the view that the Hebrew word translated "thousand" should be understood as a "military unit" or "clan unit," which would make the actual numbers smaller.
• The text does not describe the appearance of the standards. Later Jewish tradition and some Christian interpreters, however, identify the standards of the four camps as a lion, a man, an ox, and an eagle, sometimes linking them to the four living creatures of Ezekiel 1 or Revelation 4. Some interpreters also see the overall layout of the camp as forming the shape of a cross. Such ideas are additions that go beyond the text itself.
• Some interpreters connect Judah's position at the head of the camp with the king who would come from the tribe of Judah. Nahshon's name also appears in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1.