Num 2 | EE | STEP | The LORD said to Moses and Aaron,

Numbers 2

The camps

1 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, 2 ‘The Israelites must camp on each side of the Tent of Meeting. They must not be near to it but they should be looking towards it. They must camp in tribes. Each person must be with his own tribe. Each tribe must have its own flag. ^{▼▼2:2 The tribes camped in a square with God’s tent in the middle.}

3 The people in Judah’s tribe must be on the east side of the Tent. They must have their flag with them and they must camp in groups. The leader of the tribe of Judah is Nahshon, the son of Amminadab. 4 There will be 74 600 soldiers in his army.

5 The tribe of Issachar will camp next to them. The leader of the tribe of Issachar is Nethanel, the son of Zuar. 6 There will be 54 400 soldiers in his army.

7 The tribe of Zebulun will be next. The leader of the tribe of Zebulun is Eliab, the son of Helon. 8 There will be 57 400 soldiers in his army.

9 So there will be 186 400 soldiers in the three groups in Judah’s camp. They will march first.

10 The tribe of Reuben must be on the south side of the Tent. They must have their flag with them and they must camp in groups. The leader of the tribe of Reuben is Elizur, the son of Shedeur. 11 There will be 46 500 soldiers in his army.

12 The tribe of Simeon will camp next to them. The leader of the tribe of Simeon is Shelumiel, the son of Zurishaddai. 13 There will be 59 300 soldiers in his army.

14 The tribe of Gad will be next. The leader of the tribe of Gad is Eliasaph, the son of Reuel. 15 There will be 45 650 soldiers in his army.

16 So there will be 151 450 soldiers in the three groups in Reuben’s camp. They will march second.

17 The Levites must march next. The Levites must carry the Tent of Meeting. They must march between the first two groups of tribes and the last two groups of tribes. Each man must be in his own place. They must march with their flag

18 The tribe of Ephraim must be on the west side of the Tent. They must have their flag with them and they must camp in groups. The leader of the tribe of Ephraim is Elishama, the son of Ammihud. 19 There will be 40 500 soldiers in his army.

20 The tribe of Manasseh will camp next to them. The leader of the tribe of Manasseh is Gamaliel, the son of Pedahzur. 21 There will be 32 200 soldiers in his army.

22 The tribe of Benjamin will be next. The leader of the tribe of Benjamin is Abidan, the son of Gideoni. 23 There will be 35 400 soldiers in his army.

24 So there will be 108 100 soldiers in the three groups in Ephraim’s camp. They will march third.

25 The tribe of Dan must be on the north side of the Tent. They must have their flag with them and they must camp in groups. The leader of the tribe of Dan is Ahiezer, the son of Ammishaddai. 26 There will be 62 700 soldiers in his army.

27 The tribe of Asher will camp next to them. The leader of the tribe of Asher is Pagiel, the son of Ochran. 28 There will be 41 500 soldiers in his army.

29 The tribe of Naphtali will be next. The leader of the tribe of Naphtali is Ahira, the son of Enan. 30 There will be 53 400 soldiers in his army.

31 So there will be 157 600 soldiers in the three groups in Dan’s camp. They will march last with their flag.’

32 Moses and his helpers had counted all the Israelite men who were able to fight. They had counted them in groups. There were 603 550 soldiers. 33 They did not count the Levites. The LORD had told Moses that they must not count them among the other Israelites.

34 The Israelites did everything that the LORD had said to Moses. They camped in the way that the LORD wanted. Each tribe camped under its own flag. When they started to travel, each man walked with his own clan and his own family.