Numbers 10

The LORD spoke to Moses. He said:

1And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

2"Make two trumpets out of silver. Hammer each one from a single piece of silver. Use them to call the people together and to signal the camps to set out.

2Make thee two trumpets of silver; of a whole piece shalt thou make them: that thou mayest use them for the calling of the assembly, and for the journeying of the camps.

NoteThese are not ram's horns (shofars) but long, straight metal trumpets, hammered from a single ingot rather than assembled from pieces. Roman-era carvings of loot taken from the Jerusalem temple show them as slim tubes about a meter long with a flared bell. They gave a narrow range of notes, so signals were made by rhythm and repetition rather than melody.

3When both trumpets are blown, the whole community must gather to you at the entrance of the tent of meeting, the tent where God meets with his people.

3And when they shall blow with them, all the assembly shall assemble themselves to thee at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

4But if only one trumpet is blown, then the leaders, the heads of the family groups of Israel, must gather to you.

4And if they blow but with one trumpet, then the princes, which are heads of the thousands of Israel, shall gather themselves unto thee.

Note"Thousands" here is not a headcount but the name of a unit of organization: Israel was divided into tribes, then clans, then "thousands," each with its own recognized head. The word is used the way we might say "regiment", a fixed division whose actual size could vary.

5When you sound short, sharp blasts, the camps on the east side must set out.

5When ye blow an alarm, then the camps that lie on the east parts shall go forward.

NoteThe camps are the arrangement described earlier in this book: the tribes pitched in four blocks of three, one to each side of the tabernacle, with Judah's group on the east and Reuben's on the south. The trumpet signals tell each block when its turn to move has come.

6When you sound short blasts a second time, the camps on the south side must set out. Short blasts are the signal for them to march.

6When ye blow an alarm the second time, then the camps that lie on the south side shall take their journey: they shall blow an alarm for their journeys.

7But when you want to gather the community together, blow long, steady blasts instead of short ones.

7But when the congregation is to be gathered together, ye shall blow, but ye shall not sound an alarm.

8The sons of Aaron, who serve as priests, are the ones to blow the trumpets. This is a lasting rule for you and for all your descendants.

8And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow with the trumpets; and they shall be to you for an ordinance for ever throughout your generations.

9When you go to war in your own land against an enemy who attacks you, sound short blasts on the trumpets. Then you will be remembered before the LORD your God, and you will be saved from your enemies.

9And if ye go to war in your land against the enemy that oppresseth you, then ye shall blow an alarm with the trumpets; and ye shall be remembered before the LORD your God, and ye shall be saved from your enemies.

Note"Remembered before the LORD" is a set phrase. It does not suggest God had forgotten; it means a matter has been formally brought to his attention so that he acts on it, like entering a case on a docket.

10Also on your joyful days, on your set festival days, and on the first day of each month, blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and your peace offerings. They will serve as a reminder for you before your God. I am the LORD your God."

10Also in the day of your gladness, and in your solemn days, and in the beginnings of your months, ye shall blow with the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; that they may be to you for a memorial before your God: I am the LORD your God.

NoteA burnt offering was an animal burned whole on the altar, with no part eaten. A peace or fellowship offering was shared: parts burned, parts given to the priests, and the rest eaten by the worshiper and his family as a meal. "The beginnings of your months" are new moons, the Israelite calendar ran by the moon, so each new crescent began a month and was marked as a minor festival.

11On the twentieth day of the second month of the second year, the cloud lifted from over the tabernacle, the tent that held the covenant law.

11And it came to pass on the twentieth day of the second month, in the second year, that the cloud was taken up from off the tabernacle of the testimony.

NoteDates are counted from the departure from Egypt, so this is about eleven months after Israel arrived at Sinai. The tabernacle is the portable tent-shrine; "of the testimony" refers to the stone tablets of the covenant kept inside it. The cloud resting on or lifting from the tent had been established as the signal to stay or to move.

12So the Israelites set out from the Sinai desert and traveled stage by stage, until the cloud settled in the desert of Paran.

12And the children of Israel took their journeys out of the wilderness of Sinai; and the cloud rested in the wilderness of Paran.

NoteParan is the wilderness region south of Canaan, in the central and northern part of what is now the Sinai peninsula and the Negev, the next stage on the route from Mount Sinai toward the promised land.

13This was the first time they set out, and they did it at the LORD's command, given through Moses.

13And they first took their journey according to the commandment of the LORD by the hand of Moses.

14First to march was the flag of the camp of Judah, group by group. Nahshon son of Amminadab was in command of Judah's men.

14In the first place went the standard of the camp of the children of Judah according to their armies: and over his host was Nahshon the son of Amminadab.

NoteThe "standard" was a tribal banner or ensign, the visual rallying point for a division on the march. Each of the four divisions was named after its leading tribe and contained three tribes; the whole nation moved as a single ordered column, not a crowd.

15Nethanel son of Zuar was in command of the men of the tribe of Issachar.

15And over the host of the tribe of the children of Issachar was Nethaneel the son of Zuar.

16Eliab son of Helon was in command of the men of the tribe of Zebulun.

16And over the host of the tribe of the children of Zebulun was Eliab the son of Helon.

17Then the tabernacle was taken down, and the men of Gershon and the men of Merari set out, carrying it.

17And the tabernacle was taken down; and the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari set forward, bearing the tabernacle.

NoteGershon and Merari were two of the three families descended from Levi. Their assigned load was the fabric and framework of the tabernacle (curtains, coverings, boards, bars, pillars and sockets) carried on wagons. They traveled early in the column so the structure could be standing before the most sacred objects arrived.

18Next the flag of the camp of Reuben set out, group by group. Elizur son of Shedeur was in command of Reuben's men.

18And the standard of the camp of Reuben set forward according to their armies: and over his host was Elizur the son of Shedeur.

19Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai was in command of the men of the tribe of Simeon.

19And over the host of the tribe of the children of Simeon was Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai.

20Eliasaph son of Deuel was in command of the men of the tribe of Gad.

20And over the host of the tribe of the children of Gad was Eliasaph the son of Deuel.

21Then the men of Kohath set out, carrying the holy things. The tabernacle itself was set up by the others before the Kohathites arrived.

21And the Kohathites set forward, bearing the sanctuary: and the other did set up the tabernacle against they came.

NoteKohath was the third Levite family, responsible for the sacred furniture itself (the ark, the table, the lampstand and the altars) carried on the shoulder rather than by wagon. Because they marched later, the empty framework of the tabernacle was already reassembled and waiting when they reached the new campsite.

22Next the flag of the camp of Ephraim set out, group by group. Elishama son of Ammihud was in command of Ephraim's men.

22And the standard of the camp of the children of Ephraim set forward according to their armies: and over his host was Elishama the son of Ammihud.

23Gamaliel son of Pedahzur was in command of the men of the tribe of Manasseh.

23And over the host of the tribe of the children of Manasseh was Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur.

24Abidan son of Gideoni was in command of the men of the tribe of Benjamin.

24And over the host of the tribe of the children of Benjamin was Abidan the son of Gideoni.

25Last of all, the flag of the camp of Dan set out, guarding the back of every camp on the march. Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai was in command of Dan's men.

25And the standard of the camp of the children of Dan set forward, which was the rereward of all the camps throughout their hosts: and over his host was Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.

26Pagiel son of Ocran was in command of the men of the tribe of Asher.

26And over the host of the tribe of the children of Asher was Pagiel the son of Ocran.

27Ahira son of Enan was in command of the men of the tribe of Naphtali.

27And over the host of the tribe of the children of Naphtali was Ahira the son of Enan.

28This was the marching order of the Israelites, group by group, whenever they set out.

28Thus were the journeyings of the children of Israel according to their armies, when they set forward.

29Moses spoke to Hobab, the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses' father-in-law. He said, "We are traveling to the place the LORD spoke about when he said, 'I will give it to you.' Come with us, and we will treat you well, because the LORD has promised good things to Israel."

29And Moses said unto Hobab, the son of Raguel the Midianite, Moses’ father in law, We are journeying unto the place of which the LORD said, I will give it you: come thou with us, and we will do thee good: for the LORD hath spoken good concerning Israel.

NoteReuel (spelled Raguel in the King James) is elsewhere called Jethro, the priest of Midian whose daughter Moses married. The Hebrew leaves it genuinely unclear whether "Moses' father-in-law" describes Reuel or Hobab, so Hobab may be Moses' brother-in-law or another name for the father-in-law himself. The Midianites were desert people of the north-west Arabian and Sinai regions, familiar with its wells, pasture and routes.

30But Hobab answered him, "I will not go. I am going back to my own land and my own family."

30And he said unto him, I will not go; but I will depart to mine own land, and to my kindred.

31Moses said, "Please do not leave us. You know where we should camp in the desert, and you can be our eyes.

31And he said, Leave us not, I pray thee; forasmuch as thou knowest how we are to encamp in the wilderness, and thou mayest be to us instead of eyes.

NoteA guide who "is eyes" for a party is a standard expression for a scout: someone who knows from experience where water, grazing and sheltered ground can be found in country that looks featureless to outsiders.

32If you come with us, then whatever good the LORD gives us, we will share the same good with you."

32And it shall be, if thou go with us, yea, it shall be, that what goodness the LORD shall do unto us, the same will we do unto thee.

33So they left the mountain of the LORD and traveled for three days. The ark of the covenant of the LORD went ahead of them during those three days to find a place for them to rest.

33And they departed from the mount of the LORD three days’ journey: and the ark of the covenant of the LORD went before them in the three days’ journey, to search out a resting place for them.

Note"The mountain of the LORD" is Sinai, where they had been camped. The ark of the covenant was a gold-covered wooden chest holding the tablets of the law, carried on poles; here it travels at the head of the column rather than in the middle, as scout and marker for the route.

34And the cloud of the LORD was over them during the day, whenever they set out from the camp.

34And the cloud of the LORD was upon them by day, when they went out of the camp.

35Whenever the ark started out, Moses would say, "Rise up, LORD! Scatter your enemies. Make those who hate you run away from you."

35And it came to pass, when the ark set forward, that Moses said, Rise up, LORD, and let thine enemies be scattered; and let them that hate thee flee before thee.

NoteThese two short sayings in verses 35 and 36 are old set formulas, quoted rather than composed on the spot, the words spoken each time the ark was lifted and each time it was set down. Ancient Hebrew manuscripts mark them off with special symbols, as if they were a separate small book inside the text.

36And whenever the ark came to rest, he would say, "Return, LORD, to the countless thousands of Israel."

36And when it rested, he said, Return, O LORD, unto the many thousands of Israel.

NoteThe Hebrew is literally "the ten thousands of the thousands of Israel," a stock expression for an uncountably large number, not a figure to be added up.