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Numbers

About this book
Chapter 2

1 The Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron: 2 “Every one of the Israelites must camp under his standard with the emblems of his family; they must camp at some distance around the tent of meeting.⁠ 3 “Now those who will be camping on the east, toward the sunrise, are the divisions of the camp of Judah under their standard. The leader of the people of Judah is Nahshon son of Amminadab. 4 Those numbered in his division are 74,600. 5 Those who will be camping next to them are the tribe of Issachar. The leader of the people of Issachar is Nethanel son of Zuar. 6 Those numbered in his division are 54,400. 7 Next will be the tribe of Zebulun. The leader of the people of Zebulun is Eliab son of Helon. 8 Those numbered in his division are 57,400. 9 All those numbered of the camp of Judah, according to their divisions, are 186,400. They will travel at the front. 10 “On the south will be the divisions of the camp of Reuben under their standard. The leader of the people of Reuben is Elizur son of Shedeur. 11 Those numbered in his division are 46,500. 12 Those who will be camping next to them are the tribe of Simeon. The leader of the people of Simeon is Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai. 13 Those numbered in his division are 59,300. 14 Next will be the tribe of Gad. The leader of the people of Gad is Eliasaph son of Deuel. 15 Those numbered in his division are 45,650. 16 All those numbered of the camp of Reuben, according to their divisions, are 151,450. They will travel second. 17 “Then the tent of meeting with the camp of the Levites will travel in the middle of the camps. They will travel in the same order as they camped, each in his own place under his standard.⁠ 18 “On the west will be the divisions of the camp of Ephraim under their standard. The leader of the people of Ephraim is Elishama son of Ammihud. 19 Those numbered in his division are 40,500. 20 Next to them will be the tribe of Manasseh. The leader of the people of Manasseh is Gamaliel son of Pedahzur. 21 Those numbered in his division are 32,200. 22 Next will be the tribe of Benjamin. The leader of the people of Benjamin is Abidan son of Gideoni. 23 Those numbered in his division are 35,400. 24 All those numbered of the camp of Ephraim, according to their divisions, are 108,100. They will travel third. 25 “On the north will be the divisions of the camp of Dan, under their standards. The leader of the people of Dan is Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai. 26 Those numbered in his division are 62,700. 27 Those who will be camping next to them are the tribe of Asher. The leader of the people of Asher is Pagiel son of Ocran. 28 Those numbered in his division are 41,500. 29 Next will be the tribe of Naphtali. The leader of the people of Naphtali is Ahira son of Enan. 30 Those numbered in his division are 53,400. 31 All those numbered of the camp of Dan are 157,600. They will travel last, under their standards.” 32 These are the Israelites, numbered according to their families. All those numbered in the camps, by their divisions, are 603,550.⁠ 33 But the Levites were not numbered among the other Israelites, as the Lord commanded Moses. 34 So the Israelites did according to all that the Lord commanded Moses; that is the way they camped under their standards, and that is the way they traveled, each with his clan and family.

Texts in conversation

Compare Numbers 2:2 and 3 Enoch 36:1

Hebrew Bible · Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses

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Summary

In Numbers, Israel's tribes camp around the meeting tent, organized by their tribal name. In 3 Enoch, angels stand in four rows facing God's throne, organized and arranged similarly to Israel's tribes.

Passages

Numbers 2:2

Hebrew Bible
2 “Every one of the Israelites must camp under his standard with the emblems of his family; they must camp at some distance around the tent of meeting. 3 “Now those who will be camping on the east, toward the sunrise, are the divisions of the camp of Judah under their standard. The leader of the people of Judah is Nahshon son of Amminadab. 4 Those numbered in his division are 74,600. 5 Those who will be camping next to them are the tribe of Issachar. The leader of the people of Issachar is Nethanel son of Zuar. 6 Those numbered in his division are 54,400.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Numbers

3 Enoch 36:1

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · Hebrew Book of Enoch
1 R. Ishmael said: Metatron, the Angel, the Prince of the Presence, said to me: At the time when the ministering angels desire to say (the) Song, (then) Nehar di-Nur (the fiery stream) rises with many thousand thousands and myriads of myriads (of angels) of power and strength of fire and it runs and passes under the Throne of Glory, between the camps of the ministering angels and the troops of Araboth. 2 And all the ministering angels first go down into Nehar di-Nur, and they dip themselves in the fire and dip their tongue and their mouth seven times; and after that they go up and put on the garment of 'Machaqe Samal' and cover themselves with cloaks of chashmal and stand in four rows over against the Throne of Glory, in all the heavens.
400–600 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 3 Enoch

References

“... But mah˙anaîm in the next line suggests that the primary link is with the Genesis verse, which in turn links with Gen. 32: 3, where Jacob again encounters angels of God: ‘This is God’s camp’, he says, and he calls the name of the place Mahanaim. This word is widely thought on the one hand to be a dual form meaning ‘two camps’, and on the other a dual form with singular meaning. Against the latter are the occurrences of forms of mah˙aneh meaning ‘camps’ in the Merkava texts. Philip Alexander, in his book on the mystical texts of Qumran, writes: The ordinary angels are designated ‘the camps of ‘Elohim’ . . . The language is suggest- ive and once again hints at a parallelism between earth and heaven, between Israel and the angels. Tradition linked the origin of the idea that the angels were marshalled in camps with the name Mahanaim (‘Two Camps’), which Jacob gave to the place where he met the ‘angels of God (’Elohim)’ in Gen. 32.2. Later Jewish mystical literature often refers to the ‘camps’ of angels (3 Enoch 36.1; Heikhalot Rabbati 28.2, Synopse §277; Sefer ha-Razim 1.5; 4.23; 6.30). But the term forges another link––with Israel in the wilderness where the tribes were organized in camps around the tabernacle (see Num. 2).22 ...”
Edmée Kingsmill, The Song of Songs and the Eros of God: A Study in Biblical Intertextuality (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009), 132.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Numbers 2:2 and 3 Enoch 36:1

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