Numbers 2:5-15

5 And those encamping by him [are of] the tribe of Issachar; and the prince of the sons of Issachar [is] Nethaneel son of Zuar;

6 and his host, and its numbered ones, [are] four and fifty thousand and four hundred.

7 The tribe of Zebulun; and the prince of the sons of Zebulun [is] Eliab son of Helon;

8 and his host, and its numbered ones, [are] seven and fifty thousand and four hundred;

9 all those numbered of the camp of Judah [are] a hundred thousand, and eighty thousand, and six thousand, and four hundred, by their hosts; they journey first.

10 The standard of the camp of Reuben [is] southward, by their hosts; and the prince of the sons of Reuben [is] Elizur son of Shedeur;

11 and his host, and its numbered ones, [are] six and forty thousand and five hundred.

12 And those encamping by him [are of] the tribe of Simeon; and the prince of the sons of Simeon [is] Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai;

13 and his host, and their numbered ones, [are] nine and fifty thousand and three hundred.

14 And the tribe of Gad; and the prince of the sons of Gad [is] Eliasaph son of Reuel;

15 and his host, and their numbered ones, [are] five and forty thousand and six hundred and fifty.

Numbers 2:5-15 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.