Numbers 2
1 Then Yahweh said this to Aaron and Moses/me:
And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying:
2 “When the Israelis set up their tents, they should set them up in areas that surround the Sacred Tent, but not close to it. The people of each tribe must set up their tents in a different area. Each tribe must erect in that area a banner of their own clan and a flag that represents their tribe.
“Each one shall make camp, by their troops, as well as by their insignia and standards, and by the houses of their kinships, all around the tabernacle of the covenant.”
3 The people of the tribes of Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun must set up their tents on the east side of the Sacred Tent, close to their tribal flags. These are the names of the leaders of those tribes and the number of soldiers whom they will lead: Nahshon, the son of Amminadab, will be the leader of the 74,600 men of the tribe of Judah.
To the east, Judah shall fix his tents, by the companies of his army. And the leader of his sons shall be Nahshon the son of Amminadab.
And the entire total of the fighting men from his stock was seventy-four thousand six hundred.
5 Nethanel, the son of Zuar, will be the leader of the 54,500 men of the tribe of Issachar.
Beside him, those of the tribe of Issachar were encamped, whose leader was Nathanael the son of Zuar.
And the entire number of his fighting men was fifty-four thousand four hundred.
7 Eliab, the son of Helon, will be the leader of the 57,400 men of the tribe of Zebulun.
In the tribe of Zebulon, the leader was Eliab the son of Helon.
All the army of fighting men from his stock were fifty-seven thousand four hundred.
9 So there will be 86,400 troops on the east side [of the Sacred Tent]. Whenever the Israelis move to a new location, those three tribes must go in front of the others.
All who were numbered in the camp of Judah were one hundred eighty-six thousand four hundred. And these, by their companies, shall go forth first.
10 The tribes of Reuben, Simeon, and Gad must set up their tents on the south side of the Sacred Tent, close to their tribal flags. These are the names of the leaders of those tribes and the number of men whom they will lead: Elizur, the son of Shedeur, will be the leader of the 46,500 men of the tribe of Reuben.
In the camp of the sons of Ruben, toward the south side, the leader shall be Elizur the son of Shedeur.
And the entire army of his fighting men, who were numbered, were forty-six thousand five hundred.
12 Shelumiel, the son of Zurishaddai, will be the leader of the 59,300 men of the tribe of Simeon.
Beside him, those of the tribe of Simeon were encamped, whose leader was Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai.
And the entire army of his fighting men, who were numbered, were fifty-nine thousand three hundred.
14 Eliasaph, the son of Deuel, will be the leader of the 45,650 men of the tribe of Gad.
In the tribe of Gad, the leader was Eliasaph the son of Reuel.
And the entire army of his fighting men, who were numbered, were forty-five thousand six hundred fifty.
16 So there will be 151,450 troops on the south side of the Sacred Tent. Those three tribes will follow the first group [when the Israelis travel].
All who were counted in the camp of Ruben were one hundred fifty thousand and one thousand four hundred fifty, by their companies. These shall advance in the second place.
17 Behind that group will walk the descendants of Levi, who will carry the Sacred Tent. The Israelis will march in the same order that they always set up their tents. Each tribe will carry its own flag.
But the tabernacle of the testimony shall be lifted up by the officers of the Levites and their companies. In the manner in which it is set up, so also shall it be taken down. Each one shall advance according to their places and ranks.
18 The tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin must set up their tents on the west side of the Sacred Tent, close to their tribal flags. These are the names of the leaders of those tribes and number of men whom they will lead: Elishama, the son of Ammihud, will be the leader of the 40,500 men of the tribe of Ephraim.
On the west side, there shall be the camp of the sons of Ephraim, whose leader was Elishama the son of Ammihud.
The entire army of his fighting men, who were numbered, were forty thousand five hundred.
20 Gamaliel, the son of Pedahzur, will be the leader of the 32,200 men of the tribe of Manasseh.
And with them was the tribe of the sons of Manasseh, whose leader was Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur.
And the entire army of his fighting men, who were numbered, were thirty-two thousand two hundred.
22 Abidan, the son of Gideoni, will be the leader of the 35,400 men of the tribe of Benjamin.
In the tribe of the sons of Benjamin, the leader was Abidan the son of Gideoni.
And the entire army of his fighting men, who were counted, were thirty-five thousand four hundred.
24 So there will be 108,100 troops on the west side of the Sacred Tent. Those three tribes will follow the second group, [behind the descendants of Levi].
All who were numbered in the camp of Ephraim were one hundred eight thousand one hundred, by their companies. These shall advance third.
25 The tribes of Dan, Asher, and Naphtali must set up their tents on the north side of the Sacred Tent, close to their tribal flags. These are the names of the leaders of those tribes and the number of men whom they will lead: Ahiezer, the son of Ammishaddai, will be the leader of the 62,700 men of the tribe of Dan.
Toward the north side, the sons of Dan were encamped, whose leader was Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.
The entire army of his fighting men, who were numbered, were sixty-two thousand seven hundred.
27 Pagiel, the son of Ocran, will be the leader of the 41,500 men of the tribe of Asher.
Beside him, those of the tribe of Asher fixed their tents, whose leader was Pagiel the son of Ochran.
The entire army of his fighting men, who were numbered, were forty thousand and one thousand five hundred.
29 Ahira, the son of Enan, will be the leader of the 53,400 men of the tribe of Naphtali.
From the tribe of the sons of Naphtali, the leader was Ahira the son of Enan.
The entire army of his fighting men were fifty-three thousand four hundred.
31 So there will be 157,600 troops on the north side of the Sacred Tent. Those three tribes will be last. They must carry their own flags when the Israelis travel.”
All who were numbered in the camp of Dan were one hundred fifty-seven thousand six hundred; and these shall advance at the very end.
32 So there were 603,550 Israeli men who were able to fight who were listed according to their families’ ancestors.
This is the number of the sons of Israel, of their army divided by the houses of their kinships and their companies: six hundred three thousand five hundred fifty.
33 But just as Yahweh had commanded, the names of the descendants of Levi were not included.
But the Levites were not numbered among the sons of Israel. For so the Lord had instructed Moses.
34 The Israelis did everything that Yahweh had told Moses/me. They set up their tents close to their tribal flags, and when they traveled [to a new location, they walked] with their own clans and family groups.
And the sons of Israel acted according to all the things that the Lord had commanded. They were encamped by their companies, and they advanced by the families and houses of their fathers.
