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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 Battle of Kadesh Inscriptions 3:5 and Numbers 2:2

Ancient Near East, Egyptian · Hebrew Bible

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Summary

The carvings of Ramses II's battle at Kadesh show his army camped in a walled rectangle, with four divisions around the royal tent in the center. Numbers 2 lays out Israel's camp the same way, with the tribes in four groups around the tent of meeting.

Passages

Battle of Kadesh Inscriptions 3:5

Ancient Near East, Egyptian · Poem and Bulletin of Ramses II
(The camp, over a prince in a chariot) Fan-bearer on the king’s right hand, ..., king’s-scribe, army commander ... his majesty the ... Son his right hand .... (The camp, over an official in a chariot) Arrival of the ... of Pharaoh, L. P. H., at ... the mother of the royal children, together with the ... of the divine mother ... fleeing to the west [side] of the camp ... before the foe. (The camp, at the top) The first division of Amon (named): “He-Gives-Victory-to-Usermare-Setepnere (Ramses II)-Given-Life,” with which Pharaoh is engaged in making camp.
1274 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Battle of Kadesh Inscriptions

Numbers 2:2

Hebrew Bible
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.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Numbers

References

“... Surprisingly, one of the most remarkable parallels to the Tabernacle and its court has been largely ignored: the military camp of Rameses II at Qedesh. The four reliefs and corresponding written sources of the battle of Qedesh portray a 2:1 rectangular camp, the entrance of which is in the middle of the short wall (Plates 10, 47, 48). [...] Directly in the camp's middle lies the entrance to a 3:1 long-room tent, composed of a 2:1 reception tent leading to the square throne tent of the pharaoh (Plate 49). Furthermore, we learn from the Abu Simbel relief that the height of Rameses's tent corresponds to its width. All of this matches the description of the Tabernacle and its camp in Exodus 25-27 (Figure 5). Moreover, Rameses's tent is oriented eastward. The pharaoh's golden throne is flanked by falcon wings, just as the ark is flanked by winged cherubim. The campaigning Egyptian army is divided into four units, as Israel encamps and marches by four standards according to Numbers 2. In sum, the military tent and camp of Rameses II at Qedesh constitute the best parallel to the Tabernacle known to date. The significance of the parallel is great. Here is a tent shrine for the living Egyptian god from the same time and area in which the events in P purport to take place. The rectangular shape shared by Rameses's camp and the Tabernacle is extraordinary; most military camps are elliptical. ...”
Michael M. Homan, To Your Tents, O Israel!: The Terminology, Function, Form, and Symbolism of Tents in the Hebrew Bible and the Ancient Near East, CHANE 12 (Leiden: Brill, 2002), 111–114.

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Battle of Kadesh Inscriptions 3:5 and Numbers 2:2

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