Numbers 9:17

17 Whenever the smoke moved from the tent, the Israelites would break camp, and wherever it stopped, the Israelites would set up camp.

Numbers 9:17 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 9:17

And when the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle
Or went up from it, higher than it was before, yet not out of sight, but hung as it were hovering in the air over the tabernacle, but at some distance from it; this was done by the Lord himself:

then after that the children of Israel journeyed;
as soon as they saw the cloud moving upwards, the Levites took down the tabernacle, and each took their post assigned them in the carriage of it, and the priests blew their trumpets mentioned in ( Numbers 10:2 Numbers 10:4 Numbers 10:8-10 ) , and the whole camp moved and marched on in their journey:

and in the place where the cloud abode, there the children of Israel
pitched their tents;
when it stopped and remained without any motion, it was a signal to the children of Israel to stop also, and to set up the tabernacle, and pitch their tents about it by their standards, and according to the order of encampment which had been given them.

Numbers 9:17 In-Context

15 On the day the tent of the words of God's promise was set up, the [column of] smoke covered it. From evening until morning, the smoke over the tent glowed like fire.

16 The smoke always glowed this way. At night the smoke covering the tent glowed like fire.

17 Whenever the smoke moved from the tent, the Israelites would break camp, and wherever it stopped, the Israelites would set up camp.

18 At the LORD's command the Israelites would break camp, and at his command they would set up camp. As long as the [column of] smoke stayed over the tent, they would stay in the same place.

19 When the smoke stayed over the tent for a long time, the Israelites obeyed the LORD's command and wouldn't break camp.