Numbers 2

1 Yahweh spoke again to Moses and Aaron. He said,

Then Yahweh said this to Aaron and Moses/me:

2 “Each one of the Israelites must camp around his standard, with the banners of their fathers' houses. They will camp around the tent of meeting on every side.

“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.

3 Those will be camping on the east of the tent of meeting, where the sun rises, they are the camp of Judah and they are camping under their standard. Nahshon son of Amminadab is the leader of the people of Judah.

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.

4 The number of the people of Judah is 74,600.

5 The tribe of Issachar must camp next to Judah. Nethanel son of Zuar must lead the army of Issachar.

Nethanel, the son of Zuar, will be the leader of the 54,500 men of the tribe of Issachar.

6 The number in his division is 54,400 men.

7 The tribe of Zebulun must camp next to Issachar. Eliab son of Helon must lead the army of Zebulun.

Eliab, the son of Helon, will be the leader of the 57,400 men of the tribe of Zebulun.

8 The number in his division is 57,400.

9 All the number of the camp of Judah is 186,400. They will set out first.

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.

10 On the south side will be the camp of Reuben under their standard. The leader of the camp of Reuben is Elizur son of Shedeur.

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.

11 The number in his division is 46,500.

12 Simeon is camping next to Reuben. The leader of the people of Simeon is Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai.

Shelumiel, the son of Zurishaddai, will be the leader of the 59,300 men of the tribe of Simeon.

13 The number in his division is 59,300.

14 The tribe of Gad is next. The leader of the people of Gad is Eliasaph son of Deuel.

Eliasaph, the son of Deuel, will be the leader of the 45,650 men of the tribe of Gad.

15 The number in his division is 45,650.

16 The number of all the men assigned to the camp of Reuben, according to their divisions, is 151,450. They will set out second.

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].

17 Next, the tent of meeting must go out from the camp with the Levites in the middle of all the camps. They must go out from the camp in the same order as they come into the camp. Every man must be in his place, by his banner.

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.

18 The divisions of the camp of Ephraim under their standard. The leader of the people of Ephraim is Elishama son of Ammihud.

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.

19 The number in his division is 40,500.

20 Next to them is the tribe of Manasseh. The leader of Manasseh is Gamaliel son of Pedahzur.

Gamaliel, the son of Pedahzur, will be the leader of the 32,200 men of the tribe of Manasseh.

21 The number in his division is 32,200.

22 Next will be the tribe of Benjamin. The leader of Benjamin is Abidan son of Gideoni.

Abidan, the son of Gideoni, will be the leader of the 35,400 men of the tribe of Benjamin.

23 The number in his division is 35,400.

24 All those numbered in the camp of Ephraim is 108,100. They will set out third.

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].

25 On the north will be the divisions of the camp of Dan. The leader of the people of Dan is Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai.

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.

26 The number in his division is 62,700.

27 The people of the tribe of Asher camp next to Dan. The leader of Asher is Pagiel son of Okran.

Pagiel, the son of Ocran, will be the leader of the 41,500 men of the tribe of Asher.

28 The number in his division is 41,500.

29 The tribe of Naphtali is next. The leader of Naphthali is Ahira son of Enan.

Ahira, the son of Enan, will be the leader of the 53,400 men of the tribe of Naphtali.

30 The mnumber in his division is 53,400.

31 All those numbered in the camp with Dan is 157,600. They will go out from the camp last, under their banner.”

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.”

32 These are the Israelites, numbered according to their families. All those counted in their camps, by their divisions, are 603,550.

So there were 603,550 Israeli men who were able to fight who were listed according to their families’ ancestors.

33 But Moses and Aaron did not count the Levites among the people of Israel. This was as Yahweh had commanded Moses.

But just as Yahweh had commanded, the names of the descendants of Levi were not included.

34 The people of Israel did everything that Yahweh commanded Moses. They camped by their banners. They went out from the camp by their clans, in the order of their ancestor's families.

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.