Bamidbar 9:18

18 At the mouth of Hashem the Bnei Yisroel set out, and at the mouth of Hashem they encamped; as long as the Anan abode upon the Mishkan they encamped.

Bamidbar 9:18 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 9:18

At the commandment of the Lord the children of Israel
journeyed
Or "mouth of the Lord"; not that there was any command in form given, or any audible voice heard, directing when to march; but the removal of the cloud was interpretatively the order and command of God for them to move also:

and at the commandment of the Lord they pitched;
their tents; when the cloud stopped, they understood that as a signal to them, as a token of the will of God that they should stop likewise; it was to them as an authoritative command, which they obeyed:

as long as the cloud abode upon the tabernacle, they rested in their
tents;
whether a longer or a shorter time, as is after expressed.

Bamidbar 9:18 In-Context

16 So it was tamid: the Anan covered it by day, and the appearance of eish by lailah.
17 And when the Anan was lifted up from the Ohel, then after that the Bnei Yisroel set out; and in the place where the Anan abode, there the Bnei Yisroel encamped.
18 At the mouth of Hashem the Bnei Yisroel set out, and at the mouth of Hashem they encamped; as long as the Anan abode upon the Mishkan they encamped.
19 And when the Anan tarried long upon the Mishkan many days, then the Bnei Yisroel obeyed the order of Hashem, and did not set out.
20 And so it was, when the Anan was a few days upon the Mishkan; according to the mouth of Hashem they encamped; according to the mouth of Hashem they set out.
The Orthodox Jewish Bible fourth edition, OJB. Copyright 2002,2003,2008,2010, 2011 by Artists for Israel International. All rights reserved.