Numbers 2 Footnotes

2:1-31 The subject of chap. 2 is the symmetrical organization of the tribes around the tabernacle. The priests and the three Levite clans formed the first circle of encampment around the rectangular sanctuary, and then three Israelite tribes were positioned on each of the four sides. This arrangement served several purposes. The priests were positioned at the entrance to the tabernacle, where they would receive people bringing sacrifices and special offerings. The priests and Levites together made up the first ring of protection for the sacred place against potential violation or contamination. This arrangement was a pattern for assigning property to the Levites on the immediate perimeter of certain key cities throughout the promised land (35:1-8). The symmetrical array of tribes also presents a unified picture of the Israelite people in this holy setting of the Sinai wilderness, a key theme of chaps. 1–10. Beyond the twelve-tribe encampment was the area to which the unclean, such as those with various diseases and impurities, were relegated. While not totally excluded from the community, they were placed outside the boundaries of the ritually pure encampment.