Order of the Encampment and March of the Tribes of Israel, Part 2

Continuing a chronological Bible study, the second chapter of Numbers being continued from:

Order of the Encampment and March of the Tribes of Israel, Part 1

(Numbers 2:18) "On the west side shall be the standard of the camp of Ephraim according to their armies; and the captain of the sons of Ephraim shall be Elishama the son of Ammihud."

In the last post, God began giving instructions to Moses on how the Israelites were to camp and the order in which they would march.  The twelve tribes or armies were grouped in four standards of three tribes each.  In the east was to camp the standard of Judah, with the tribes of Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun under that standard.  In the south was the standard of Reuben, with the tribes of Reuben, Simeon, and Gad making up that squadron.  On the west side was to be the standard of Ephraim, including, of course, the tribe of Ephraim, whose captain was Elishama, the son of Ammihud.

(19) "And his host, and those who were numbered of them, were forty thousand five hundred."

There were 40,500 able-bodied men of war in the army of Ephraim.

(20) "And by him shall be the tribe of Manasseh; and the captain of the children of Manasseh shall be Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur. (21) And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were thirty-two thousand two hundred."

Camped next to Ephraim was to be the tribe of Manasseh, whose captain was Gamaliel, the son of Pedahzur.  The army of Manasseh numbered 32,200.

(22) "Then the tribe of Benjamin; and the captain of the sons of Benjamin shall be Abidan the son of Gideoni. (23) And his host, and those who were numbered of them, were thirty-five thousand four hundred."

The third tribe to be camped under the standard of Ephraim was the tribe of Benjamin; and Abidan, the son of Gideoni, was the captain of the tribe of Benjamin.  The tribe of Benjamin numbered 35,400 men.  It was discussed in the last post how the standards seemed to be made up of the tribes that were nearest of kin to each other.  In the case of the standard of Ephraim, the three tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin, were all descended from Jacob's beloved wife, Rachel.

(24) "All who were numbered of the camp of Ephraim were one hundred and eight thousand one hundred, throughout their armies. And they shall go forward in the third rank."

All the able-bodied men of war who were numbered of the standard of the camp of Ephraim totaled 108,100.  They were to be the third group to move, that is, after the tribe of Levi.  In the last post, we learned that the tribe of Levi made up of the priests who took care of the tabernacle, and the tribe who camped closest to the tabernacle, were to move in the midst of the other tribes when the Israelites were called to move.  First went the standard of Judah, then Reuben, then Levi, and the standard of Ephraim moved third among the standards of armies of war.

(25) "The standard of the camp of Dan shall be on the north side by their armies; and the captain of the children of Dan shall be Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai. (26) And his host, and those who were numbered of them, were sixty-two thousand seven hundred."

The fourth and last standard was the camp of Dan that was to camp on the north side.  The captain of the camp of Dan was Ahiezer, the son of Ammishaddai; and his army totaled 62,700 men.

(27) "And those who encamp by him shall be the tribe of Asher; and the captain of the children of Asher shall be Pagiel the son of Ocran. (28) And his host, and those who were numbered of them, were forty-one thousand five hundred."

The tribe of Asher was to camp next to the tribe of Dan under the standard of Dan.  The captain of the tribe of Asher was Pagiel, the son of Ocran, and his army totaled 41,500.

(29) "Then the tribe of Naphtali; and the captain of the children of Naphtali shall be Ahira the son of Enan. (30) And his host, and those who were numbered of them, were fifty-three thousand four hundred."

Finally, under the standard of Dan, was to camp the tribe of Asher, with 53,400 men, under Ahira, the son of Enan, as captain.

(31) "All they who were numbered in the camp of Dan were one hundred and fifty-seven thousand six hundred. They shall go last with their standards."

The three tribes under the standard of Dan totaled 157,600; they were to move last when marching.

(32) These are those who were numbered of the children of Israel by the house of their fathers; all those who were numbered of the camps throughout their hosts were six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty.

These standards of tribal armies were of those men who had been numbered by Moses and Aaron, assisted by the twelve princes of each tribe.  They had now been assigned to standards and instructed on where to camp.  The total number of able-bodied men of war twenty years and older throughout all the camps was 603,550, which was the same number recorded in Numbers 1:46.

(33) But the Levites were not numbered among the children of Israel, as the LORD commanded Moses.

This number did not include the Levites, as the Lord had instructed Moses not to count them (Numbers 1:47-49).

(34) And the children of Israel did according to all that the LORD commanded Moses; so they pitched by their standards, and so they set forward, every one after their families, according to the house of their fathers.

The children of Israel did exactly what the Lord had commanded Moses they do; they pitched camp by their appointed standards, and that is how they would move forward when instructed to do so, in regular order according to their tribes.

Matthew Henry, in his Commentary on the Whole Bible, summed up the chapter this way:

"They put themselves in the posts assigned them, without murmuring or disputing, and, as it was their safety, so it was their beauty; Balaam was charmed with the sight of it: How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob! Num 24:5. Thus the gospel church, called the camp of saints, ought to be compact according to the scripture model, every one knowing and keeping his place, and then all that wish well to the church rejoice, beholding their order, Col 2:5."