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Tribes and Leaders by Armies

And the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying: Every man of the children of Israel will camp by his own standard, with the ensign of his father’s house. Facing the tent of meeting they will camp.

On the east side toward the rising of the sun the standard of the camp of Judah will camp throughout their armies, and Nahshon the son of Amminadab will be captain of the children of Judah. His host, and those who were numbered of them, were seventy-four thousand six hundred.

Those who camp next to him will be the tribe of Issachar, and Nethanel the son of Zuar will be captain of the children of Issachar. His host, and those who were numbered of them, were fifty-four thousand four hundred.

Then comes the tribe of Zebulun, and Eliab the son of Helon will be captain of the children of Zebulun. His host, and those who were numbered of them, were fifty-seven thousand four hundred.

All who were numbered throughout the armies in the camp of Judah were one hundred and eighty-six thousand four hundred. They will march out first.

10 On the south side will be the standard of the camp of Reuben according to their armies, and the captain of the children of Reuben will be Elizur the son of Shedeur. 11 His host, and those who were numbered of them, were forty-six thousand five hundred.

12 Those who camp by him will be the tribe of Simeon, and the captain of the children of Simeon will be Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai. 13 His host, and those who were numbered of them, were fifty-nine thousand three hundred.

14 Then comes the tribe of Gad, and the captain of the sons of Gad will be Eliasaph the son of Reuel. 15 His host, and those who were numbered of them, were forty-five thousand six hundred and fifty.

16 All who were numbered in the camp of Reuben were one hundred and fifty-one thousand four hundred and fifty, throughout their armies. And they will set out in the second rank.

17 Then the tent of meeting will set out with the camp of the Levites in the middle of the camp. As they camp, so they will set out, every man in his place by their standards.

18 On the west side will be the standard of the camp of Ephraim according to their armies, and the captain of the sons of Ephraim will be Elishama the son of Ammihud. 19 His host, and those who were numbered of them, were forty thousand five hundred.

20 By him will be the tribe of Manasseh, and the captain of the children of Manasseh will be Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur. 21 His host, and those who were numbered of them, were thirty-two thousand two hundred.

22 Then comes the tribe of Benjamin, and the captain of the sons of Benjamin will be Abidan the son of Gideoni. 23 His host, and those who were numbered of them, were thirty-five thousand four hundred.

24 All who were numbered of the camp of Ephraim were one hundred and eight thousand one hundred, throughout their armies. And they will go out in the third rank.

25 The standard of the camp of Dan will be on the north side by their armies, and the captain of the children of Dan will be Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai. 26 His host, and those who were numbered of them, were sixty-two thousand seven hundred.

27 Those who camp by him will be the tribe of Asher, and the captain of the children of Asher will be Pagiel the son of Okran. 28 His host, and those who were numbered of them, were forty-one thousand five hundred.

29 Then the tribe of Naphtali, and the captain of the children of Naphtali will be Ahira the son of Enan. 30 His host, and those who were numbered of them, were fifty-three thousand four hundred.

31 All they who were numbered in the camp of Dan were one hundred and fifty-seven thousand six hundred. They will set out in the back with their standards.

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

34 The children of Israel did according to all that the Lord commanded Moses. So they camped by their standards, and so they set out, each one after his family, according to their fathers’ houses.

The Arrangement of the Tribal Camps

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: “The Israelites are to camp around the tent of meeting some distance from it, each of them under their standard(A) and holding the banners of their family.”

On the east, toward the sunrise, the divisions of the camp of Judah are to encamp under their standard. The leader of the people of Judah is Nahshon son of Amminadab.(B) His division numbers 74,600.

The tribe of Issachar(C) will camp next to them. The leader of the people of Issachar is Nethanel son of Zuar.(D) His division numbers 54,400.

The tribe of Zebulun will be next. The leader of the people of Zebulun is Eliab son of Helon.(E) His division numbers 57,400.

All the men assigned to the camp of Judah, according to their divisions, number 186,400. They will set out first.(F)

10 On the south(G) will be the divisions of the camp of Reuben under their standard. The leader of the people of Reuben is Elizur son of Shedeur.(H) 11 His division numbers 46,500.

12 The tribe of Simeon(I) will camp next to them. The leader of the people of Simeon is Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai.(J) 13 His division numbers 59,300.

14 The tribe of Gad(K) will be next. The leader of the people of Gad is Eliasaph son of Deuel.[a](L) 15 His division numbers 45,650.

16 All the men assigned to the camp of Reuben,(M) according to their divisions, number 151,450. They will set out second.

17 Then the tent of meeting and the camp of the Levites(N) will set out in the middle of the camps. They will set out in the same order as they encamp, each in their own place under their standard.

18 On the west(O) will be the divisions of the camp of Ephraim(P) under their standard. The leader of the people of Ephraim is Elishama son of Ammihud.(Q) 19 His division numbers 40,500.

20 The tribe of Manasseh(R) will be next to them. The leader of the people of Manasseh is Gamaliel son of Pedahzur.(S) 21 His division numbers 32,200.

22 The tribe of Benjamin(T) will be next. The leader of the people of Benjamin is Abidan son of Gideoni.(U) 23 His division numbers 35,400.

24 All the men assigned to the camp of Ephraim,(V) according to their divisions, number 108,100. They will set out third.(W)

25 On the north(X) will be the divisions of the camp of Dan under their standard.(Y) The leader of the people of Dan is Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai.(Z) 26 His division numbers 62,700.

27 The tribe of Asher will camp next to them. The leader of the people of Asher is Pagiel son of Okran.(AA) 28 His division numbers 41,500.

29 The tribe of Naphtali(AB) will be next. The leader of the people of Naphtali is Ahira son of Enan.(AC) 30 His division numbers 53,400.

31 All the men assigned to the camp of Dan number 157,600. They will set out last,(AD) under their standards.

32 These are the Israelites, counted according to their families.(AE) All the men in the camps, by their divisions, number 603,550.(AF) 33 The Levites, however, were not counted(AG) along with the other Israelites, as the Lord commanded Moses.

34 So the Israelites did everything the Lord commanded Moses; that is the way they encamped under their standards, and that is the way they set out, each of them with their clan and family.

Footnotes

  1. Numbers 2:14 Many manuscripts of the Masoretic Text, Samaritan Pentateuch and Vulgate (see also 1:14); most manuscripts of the Masoretic Text Reuel