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.
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.
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.
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.
10 On the south side H8486 shall be the standard H1714 of the camp H4264 of Reuben H7205 according to their armies: H6635 and the captain H5387 of the children H1121 of Reuben H7205 shall be Elizur H468 the son H1121 of Shedeur. H7707
11 And his host, H6635 and those that were numbered H6485 thereof, were forty H705 and six H8337 thousand H505 and five H2568 hundred. H3967
12 And those which pitch H2583 by him shall be the tribe H4294 of Simeon: H8095 and the captain H5387 of the children H1121 of Simeon H8095 shall be Shelumiel H8017 the son H1121 of Zurishaddai. H6701
13 And his host, H6635 and those that were numbered H6485 of them, were fifty H2572 and nine H8672 thousand H505 and three H7969 hundred. H3967
14 Then the tribe H4294 of Gad: H1410 and the captain H5387 of the sons H1121 of Gad H1410 shall be Eliasaph H460 the son H1121 of Reuel. H7467
15 And his host, H6635 and those that were numbered H6485 of them, were forty H705 and five H2568 thousand H505 and six H8337 hundred H3967 and fifty. H2572
16 All that were numbered H6485 in the camp H4264 of Reuben H7205 were an hundred H3967 thousand H505 and fifty H2572 and one H259 thousand H505 and four H702 hundred H3967 and fifty, H2572 throughout their armies. H6635 And they shall set forth H5265 in the second rank. H8145
10 On the south side shall be the standard of the camp of Reuben according to their hosts: and the prince of the children of Reuben shall be Elizur the son of Shedeur.
11 And his host, and those that were numbered thereof, were forty and six thousand and five hundred.
12 And those that encamp next unto him shall be the tribe of Simeon: and the prince of the children of Simeon shall be Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai.
13 And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were fifty and nine thousand and three hundred.
14 And the tribe of Gad: and the prince of the children of Gad shall be Eliasaph the son of Reuel.
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 of the camp of Reuben were a hundred thousand and fifty and one thousand and four hundred and fifty, according to their hosts. And they shall set forth second.
10 The standard of the camp of Reuben `is' southward, by their hosts; and the prince of the sons of Reuben `is' Elizur son of Shedeur;
11 and his host, and its numbered ones, `are' six and forty thousand and five hundred.
12 And those encamping by him `are of' the tribe of Simeon; and the prince of the sons of Simeon `is' Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai;
13 and his host, and their numbered ones, `are' nine and fifty thousand and three hundred.
14 And the tribe of Gad; and the prince of the sons of Gad `is' Eliasaph son of Reuel;
15 and his host, and their numbered ones, `are' five and forty thousand and six hundred and fifty.
16 All those numbered of the camp of Reuben `are' a hundred thousand, and one and fifty thousand, and four hundred and fifty, by their hosts; and they journey second.
10 The standard of the camp of Reuben shall be southward according to their hosts; and the prince of the sons of Reuben shall be Elizur the son of Shedeur;
11 and his host, even those that were numbered thereof, forty-six thousand five hundred.
12 And those that encamp by him shall be the tribe of Simeon; and the prince of the sons of Simeon shall be Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai;
13 and his host, even those that were numbered of them, fifty-nine thousand three hundred.
14 And [with them shall be] the tribe of Gad; and the prince of the sons of Gad shall be Eliasaph the son of Reuel;
15 and his host, even those that were numbered of them, forty-five thousand six hundred and fifty.
16 All that were numbered of the camp of Reuben were a hundred and fifty-one thousand four hundred and fifty, according to their hosts. And they shall set forth second.
10 "On the south side shall be the standard of the camp of Reuben according to their divisions. The prince of the children of Reuben shall be Elizur the son of Shedeur.
11 His division, and those who were numbered of it, were forty-six thousand five hundred.
12 "Those who encamp next to him shall be the tribe of Simeon. The prince of the children of Simeon shall be Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai.
13 His division, and those who were numbered of them, were fifty-nine thousand three hundred.
14 "The tribe of Gad: and the prince of the children of Gad shall be Eliasaph the son of Reuel.
15 His division, and those who were numbered of them, were forty-five thousand six hundred fifty.
16 "All who were numbered of the camp of Reuben were one hundred fifty-one thousand four hundred fifty, according to their hosts. They shall set out second.
10 On the south side is the flag of the children of Reuben, in the order of their armies, with Elizur, the son of Shedeur, as their chief.
11 The number of his army was forty-six thousand, five hundred.
12 And nearest to him, the tribe of Simeon, with Shelumiel, the son of Zurishaddai, as their chief.
13 The number of his army was fifty-nine thousand, three hundred.
14 Then the tribe of Gad, with Eliasaph, son of Reuel, as their chief.
15 The number of his army was forty-five thousand, six hundred and fifty.
16 The number of all the armies of Reuben together came to a hundred and fifty-one thousand, four hundred and fifty. They go forward second.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Numbers 2
Commentary on Numbers 2 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
Order of the Twelve Tribes in the Camp and on the March. - Numbers 2:1, Numbers 2:2. The twelve tribes were to encamp each one by his standard, by the signs of their fathers' houses, opposite to the tabernacle (at some distance) round about, and, according to the more precise directions given afterwards, in such order that on every side of the tabernacle three tribes were encamped side by side and united under one banner, so that the twelve tribes formed four large camps or divisions of an army. Between these camps and the court surrounding the tabernacle, the three leading mishpachoth of the Levites were to be encamped on three sides, and Moses and Aaron with the sons of Aaron (i.e., the priests) upon the fourth, i.e., the front or eastern side, before the entrance (Num 3:21-38). דּגל , a standard, banner, or flag, denotes primarily the larger field sign , possessed by every division composed of three tribes, which was also the banner of the tribe at the head of each division; and secondarily, in a derivative signification, it denotes the army united under one standard, like σημεία , or vexillum . It is used thus, for example, in Numbers 2:17, Numbers 2:31, Numbers 2:34, and in combination with מחנה in Numbers 2:3, Numbers 2:10, Numbers 2:18, and Numbers 2:25, where “standard of the camp of Judah, Reuben, Ephraim, and Dan” signifies the hosts of the tribes arranged under these banners. אתת , the signs (ensigns), were the smaller flags or banners which were carried at the head of the different tribes and subdivisions of the tribes (the fathers' houses). Neither the Mosaic law, nor the Old Testament generally, gives us any intimation as to the form or character of the standard (degel). According to rabbinical tradition, the standard of Judah bore the figure of a lion, that of Reuben the likeness of a man or of a man's head, that of Ephraim the figure of an ox, and that of Dan the figure of an eagle; so that the four living creatures united in the cherubic forms described by Ezekiel were represented upon these four standards.
(Note: Jerome Prado, in his commentary upon Ezekiel (ch. 1 p. 44), gives the following minute description according to rabbinical tradition: “The different leaders of the tribes had their own standards, with the crests of their ancestors depicted upon them. On the east, above the tent of Naasson the first-born of Judah , there shone a standard of a green colour, this colour having been adopted by him because it was in a green stone, viz., an emerald, that the name of his forefather Judah was engraved on the breastplate of the high priest (Exodus 25:15.), and on this standard there was depicted a lion, the crest and hieroglyphic of his ancestor Judah, whom Jacob had compared to a lion, saying, 'Judah is a lion's whelp.' Towards the south, above the tent of Elisur the son of Reuben , there floated a red standard, having the colour of the sardus, on which the name of his father, viz., Reuben, was engraved upon the breastplate of the high priest. The symbol depicted upon this standard was a human head, because Reuben was the first-born, and head of the family. On the west, above the tent of Elishamah the son of Ephraim , there was a golden flag, on which the head of a calf was depicted, because it was through the vision of the calves or oxen that his ancestor Joseph had predicted and provided for the famine in Egypt (Gen 41); and hence Moses, when blessing the tribe of Joseph, i.e., Ephraim (Deuteronomy 33:17), said, 'his glory is that of the first-born of a bull.' The golden splendour of the standard of Ephraim resembled that of the chrysolite, in which the name of Ephraim was engraved upon the breastplate. Towards the north, above the tent of Ahiezer the son of Dan , there floated a motley standard of white and red, like the jaspis (or, as some say, a carbuncle), in which the name of Dan was engraved upon the breastplate. The crest upon this was an eagle, the great doe to serpents, which had been chosen by the leader in the place of a serpent, because his forefather Jacob had compared Dan to a serpent, saying, 'Dan is a serpent in the way, an adder ( cerastes , a horned snake) in the path;' but Ahiezer substituted the eagle, the destroyer of serpents as he shrank from carrying an adder upon his flag.”)
Order of the tribes in the camp and on the march . - Numbers 2:3-9. The standard of the tribe of Judah was to encamp in front, namely towards the east, according to its hosts; and by its side the tribes of Issachar and Zebulun, the descendants of Leah, under the command and banner of Judah: an army of 186,400 men, which was to march out first when the camp was broken up (Numbers 2:9), so that Judah led the way as the champion of his brethren ( Genesis 49:10).
Numbers 2:4-9
“ His host, and those that were numbered of them ” (cf. Numbers 2:6, Numbers 2:8, Numbers 2:11, etc.), i.e., the army according to its numbered men.
Numbers 2:10-16
On the south side was the standard of Reuben, with which Simeon and Gad, descendants of Leah and her maid Zilpah, were associated, and to which they were subordinated. In Numbers 2:14, Reuel is a mistake for Reuel (Numbers 1:14; Numbers 7:42; Numbers 10:20), which is the reading given here in 118 MSS cited by Kennicott and De Rossi , in several of the ancient editions, and in the Samaritan , Vulgate , and Jonah Saad ., whereas the lxx, Onk ., Syr ., and Pers . read Reuel . This army of 151,450 men was to break up and march as the second division.
Numbers 2:17
The tabernacle, the camp of the Levites, was to break up after this in the midst of the camps (i.e., of the other tribes). “ As they encamp, so shall they break up, ” that is to say, with Levi in the midst of the tribes, “ every man in his place, according to his banner .” יד , place , as in Deuteronomy 23:13; Isaiah 57:8.
Numbers 2:18-24
On the west the standard of Ephraim, with the tribes of Manasseh and Benjamin, that is to say, the whole of the descendants of Rachel, 108,100 men, as the third division of the army.
Numbers 2:25-30
Lastly, towards the north was the standard of Gad, with Asher and Naphtali, the descendants of the maids Bilhah and Zilpah, 157,600 men, who were to be the last to break up, and formed the rear on the march.
Numbers 2:31
לדגליהם ( according to their standards ) is equivalent to לצבאתם ( according to their hosts ) in Numbers 2:9, Numbers 2:16, and Numbers 2:24, i.e., according to the hosts of which they consisted.
In Numbers 2:32 we have the whole number given, 603,550 men, not including the Levites (Numbers 2:33, see at Numbers 1:49); and in Numbers 2:34 the concluding remark as to the subsequent execution of the divine command-an anticipatory notice, as in Exodus 12:50; Exodus 40:16, etc.