INTRODUCTION TO NUMBERS 2 This chapter contains the order of the encampment and march of the tribes of Israel in their proper places about the tabernacle; the general direction for the same is in Numbers 1:1; the particulars follow; on the cast of the tabernacle the camp of Judah was to pitch, and... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THE LORD SPAKE UNTO MOSES, AND UNTO AARON,.... Very probably after the number of the children of Israel was taken, of which in the preceding chapter, and when the congregation of Israel with the tabernacle were about to set forward on their journey; and therefore directions are here given for th... [ Continue Reading ]
EVERY MAN OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL SHALL PITCH BY HIS OWN STANDARD,.... Or banner, of which there were four, as appears from the following account, under each of which were placed three tribes; and so every man of each tribe was to pitch his tent in the tribe he belonged to, and by the standard und... [ Continue Reading ]
AND ON THE EAST SIDE, TOWARDS THE RISING OF THE SUN,.... Which rises in the east; or of all; for, as Jarchi observes, that which is "before" is called "Kedem", the east, as the west is called "behind": SHALL THEY OF THE STANDARD OF THE CAMP OF JUDAH PITCH, THROUGHOUT THEIR ARMIES; the tribes of Jud... [ Continue Reading ]
AND HIS HOST, AND THOSE THAT WERE NUMBERED OF THEM,.... As they had been before; and, supposing these words to be the words of God, there is no necessity of rendering them in the future, as some have observed; though they seem rather to be the words of Moses, who under every tribe repeats the number... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THOSE THAT DO PITCH NEXT UNTO HIM [SHALL BE] THE TRIBE OF ISSACHAR,.... Who with Zebulun, after mentioned, as placed with him under the same standard, were the brethren of Judah, by the same mother Leah, and so fitly put together, as most likely to continue in harmony and love; and being the you... [ Continue Reading ]
AND HIS HOST,.... The host of Issachar; AND THOSE THAT WERE NUMBERED THEREOF, [WERE] FIFTY AND FOUR THOUSAND AND FOUR HUNDRED. 54,400 men. Which had been numbered, for it does not appear that there was a fresh account taken; see Numbers 1:29.... [ Continue Reading ]
[THEN] THE TRIBE OF ZEBULUN,.... He pitched next; though the order of their encampment was not, as it may seem, first Judah, after him Issachar, and below him Zebulun; for Judah lay between these two, the one before him, and the other behind him; and it was Issachar that was behind, and Zebulun befo... [ Continue Reading ]
AND HIS HOST,.... That is, the host of Zebulun; AND THOSE THAT WERE NUMBERED THEREOF, [WERE] FIFTY AND SEVEN THOUSAND AND FOUR HUNDRED. 57,400 men; see Numbers 1:31.... [ Continue Reading ]
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,.... 186,400 men. The sum total of the three tribes, which formed that camp: this was the largest camp of them all, being near 30,000 more than Da... [ Continue Reading ]
ON THE SOUTH SIDE [SHALL BE] THE STANDARD OF THE CAMP OF REUBEN, ACCORDING TO THEIR ARMIES,.... This camp consisted of the tribes of Reuben, Simeon, and Gad, which was divided into lesser bodies, regiments, or companies, called armies; and this was placed to the south of the tabernacle, or to the ri... [ Continue Reading ]
AND HIS HOST,.... That is, the host of Reuben, as distinct from his camp, of which it was only a part, and of which Elizur was captain; AND THOSE THAT WERE NUMBERED THEREOF, [WERE] FORTY AND SIX THOUSAND AND FIVE HUNDRED. 46,500 men; see Numbers 1:21.... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THOSE WHICH PITCH BY HIM [SHALL BE] THE TRIBE OF SIMEON,.... Under his standard, and on one side of it; Reuben and Simeon being brothers by the mother as well as the father's side, might well be thought to agree together; and Reuben being the eldest brother, and the eldest of all Jacob's sons, S... [ Continue Reading ]
AND HIS HOST,.... That is, the host of Simeon: AND THOSE THAT WERE NUMBERED OF THEM, [WERE] FIFTY AND NINE THOUSAND AND THREE HUNDRED. 59,300 men; the same as in Numbers 1:23.... [ Continue Reading ]
THEN THE TRIBE OF GAD,.... Who was placed on the other side of Reuben's standard, and according to the former direction he must be before, and Simeon behind; and Gad being the eldest son of Leah's handmaid Zilpah, is fitly placed under Leah's firstborn, and being the son of an handmaid, could not ob... [ Continue Reading ]
AND HIS HOST,.... That is, the host of Gad, as distinct from those of Reuben and Simeon, which together formed the camp; AND THOSE THAT WERE NUMBERED OF THEM, [WERE] FORTY AND FIVE THOUSAND AND SIX HUNDRED AND FIFTY. 45,650 men; see Numbers 1:25.... [ Continue Reading ]
AND 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,.... 151,450 men. Putting Reuben's host, and the hosts of Simeon and Gad together, Numbers 2:13, which was much lesser than the preceding camp,... [ Continue Reading ]
THEN THE TABERNACLE OF THE CONGREGATION SHALL SET FORWARD WITH THE CAMP OF THE LEVITES,.... Which reached four miles, according to the Targum of Jonathan, as did Judah's. Levi's stone, as the Jews say i, was the carbuncle, and his flag was coloured, a third part white, and a third part black, and a... [ Continue Reading ]
ON THE WEST SIDE [SHALL BE] THE STANDARD OF THE CAMP OF EPHRAIM, ACCORDING TO THEIR ARMIES,.... It was in the rear or behind, consisting of his tribe, and of the tribes of Manasseh and Benjamin, divided into several companies, and extended four miles, as the above Targum. The Jewish writers say l, t... [ Continue Reading ]
AND HIS HOST,.... That is, the host of Ephraim; AND THOSE THAT WERE NUMBERED OF THEM, [WERE] FORTY THOUSAND AND FIVE HUNDRED. 40,500 men. Not his camp, but his host, or the army, which consisted only of his own tribe see Numbers 1:33.... [ Continue Reading ]
AND BY HIM [SHALL BE] THE TRIBE OF MANASSEH,.... Who though the elder brother to Ephraim, yet Ephraim was preferred to him, and had a standard given him, and his elder brother was directed to pitch by it; and this being agreeably to the prophecy of Jacob, could not well be objected to; and Benjamin,... [ Continue Reading ]
AND HIS HOST,.... That is, the host of Manasseh; AND THOSE THAT WERE NUMBERED OF THEM, [WERE] THIRTY AND TWO THOUSAND AND TWO HUNDRED. 32,200 men; see Numbers 1:35.... [ Continue Reading ]
THEN THE TRIBE OF BENJAMIN,.... He was to pitch under the same standard of Ephraim, and the other side of it from that of Manasseh; the one being before, and the other behind, and the standard in the middle; Numbers 2:7; AND THE CAPTAINS OF THE SONS OF BENJAMIN [SHALL BE] ABIDAN THE SON OF GIDEONI;... [ Continue Reading ]
AND HIS HOST, c. That is, the host of Benjamin AND THOSE THAT WERE NUMBERED OF THEM, [WERE] THIRTY AND FIVE THOUSAND AND FOUR HUNDRED. 35,400 men. The least number of all the tribes, excepting the tribe of Manasseh, Numbers 2:21; see Numbers 1:37.... [ Continue Reading ]
ALL THAT WERE NUMBERED OF THE CAMP OF EPHRAIM [WERE] AN HUNDRED THOUSAND AND EIGHT THOUSAND AND AN HUNDRED, THROUGHOUT THEIR ARMIES,.... 108,100 men. Which was the smallest of all the camps, and near eighty thousand fewer than the camp of Judah, Numbers 2:9: AND THEY SHALL GO FORWARD IN THE THIRD R... [ Continue Reading ]
THE STANDARD OF THE CAMP OF DAN [SHALL BE] ON THE NORTH SIDE BY THEIR ARMIES,.... To the left of the tabernacle as encamped, and so was the left wing of the grand army; it consisted of the tribes of Dan, Asher, and Naphtali, in which were several divisions and companies, whose camp also the Targum o... [ Continue Reading ]
AND HIS HOST,.... That is, the host of Dan; AND THOSE THAT WERE NUMBERED OF THEM, [WERE] THREESCORE AND TWO THOUSAND AND SEVEN HUNDRED. 62,700 men, which agrees with the account of this tribe in Numbers 1:39.... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THOSE THAT ENCAMP BY HIM [SHALL BE] THE TRIBE OF ASHER,.... Dan had a standard given him, though the son of an handmaid, being the firstborn of the sons of the handmaids, and his tribe being a warlike tribe, and very numerous; and Asher and Naphtali are placed by him, being the sons of handmaids... [ Continue Reading ]
AND HIS HOST,.... That is, the host of Asher; AND THOSE THAT WERE NUMBERED OF THEM, [WERE] FORTY AND ONE THOUSAND AND FIVE HUNDRED. 41,500 men; as they were numbered Numbers 1:41.... [ Continue Reading ]
THEN THE TRIBE OF NAPHTALI,.... That was to pitch by the same standard of Dan, on the other side of it: AND THE CAPTAIN OF THE CHILDREN OF NAPHTALI [SHALL BE] AHIRA THE SON OF ENAN; who is mentioned Numbers 1:15.... [ Continue Reading ]
AND HIS HOST,.... That is, the host of Naphtali; AND THOSE THAT WERE NUMBERED OF THEM; not that some part of the tribe of Naphtali was numbered, which made up the host Ahira was captain of, but the whole of it, who were all numbered that were of twenty years of age and upwards; and the same is to b... [ Continue Reading ]
ALL THEY THAT WERE NUMBERED IN THE CAMP OF DAN [WERE] AN HUNDRED THOUSAND AND FIFTY AND SEVEN THOUSAND AND SIX HUNDRED,.... 157,600 men. Consisting of his own tribe, and those of Asher and Naphtali, which make the largest camp next to Judah: THEY SHALL GO HINDMOST WITH THEIR STANDARDS; for though,... [ Continue Reading ]
THESE [ARE] THOSE THAT WERE NUMBERED OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL BY THE HOUSE OF THEIR FATHERS,.... As the number was taken by Moses and Aaron, assisted by twelve princes of the tribe, who were now constituted captains over them, as so many hosts or armies: ALL THOSE THAT WERE NUMBERED OF THE CAMP TH... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT THE LEVITES WERE NOT NUMBERED AMONG THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL,.... At this time, not among the Israelites, but by themselves, they being a camp of themselves: AS THE LORD COMMANDED MOSES; Numbers 1:48.... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL DID ACCORDING TO ALL THAT THE LORD COMMANDED MOSES,.... Formed themselves into camps, so many tribes to a camp, and over each tribe or host appointed a captain, and erected a standard to each camp, by which they pitched as directed, which is next particularly observed: SO... [ Continue Reading ]