Numbers 2:14-24

14 "Then comes the tribe of Gad, and the leader of the sons of Gad: ¹Eliasaph the son of Deuel,

15 and his army, even their numbered men, 45,650 * * * *.

16 "The total of the numbered men of the camp of Reuben: 151,450 * * * * * * * by their armies. And ²they shall set out second.

17 "³Then the tent of meeting shall set out with the camp of the Levites in the midst of the camps; just as they camp, so they shall set out, every man in his place by their standards.

18 "On the west side shall be the standard of the camp of ⁴Ephraim by their armies, and the leader of the sons of Ephraim shall be ⁵Elishama the son of Ammihud,

19 and his army, even their numbered men, 40,500 * * *.

20 "Next to him shall be the tribe of Manasseh, and the leader of the sons of Manasseh: ⁶Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur,

21 and his army, even their numbered men, 32,200 * * *.

22 "Then comes the tribe of ⁷Benjamin, and the leader of the sons of Benjamin: ⁸Abidan the son of Gideoni,

23 and his army, even their numbered men, 35,400 * * * *.

24 "The total of the numbered men of the camp of Ephraim: 108,100 * * * *, by their armies. And ⁹they shall set out third.

Numbers 2:14-24 Meaning and Commentary

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 Nu 1:1,2; the particulars follow; on the cast of the tabernacle the camp of Judah was to pitch, and under his standard the tribes of Issachar and Zebulun, Nu 1:3-9; on the south side of it the camp of Reuben, and under his standard the tribes of Simeon and Gad, Nu 1:10-16; then the tabernacle, with the camp of the Levites round it, were next, to stand or set forward, Nu 1:17; and on the west side the camp of Ephraim, and under his standard the tribes of Manasseh and Benjamin, Nu 1:18-24; and on the north side the camp of Dan, and under his standard the tribes of Asher and Naphtali, Nu 1:25-31; the sum total of the numbers of which camps are given, exclusive of the camp of Levi, Nu 1:32,33; and the chapter is concluded with observing, that all was done according to the commandment of God, Nu 1:34.

Cross References

• 1. Numbers 1:14; Numbers 7:42
• 2. Numbers 10:18
• 3. Numbers 1:53
• 4. Genesis 48:14-20; Jer 31:9, 18-20
• 5. Numbers 1:10
• 6. Numbers 1:10
• 7. Psalms 68:27
• 8. Numbers 1:11
• 9. Numbers 10:22

Footnotes

• [a] Many mss read "Reuel"