Numbers 2:1; Numbers 2:2–3:51

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Numbers 2:1

Arrangement of the Camp

The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,


Numbers 2:2–3:51

sThe people of Israel shall camp each by his own standard, with the banners of their fathers’ houses. They shall camp facing the tent of meeting on every side. Those to camp on the east side toward the sunrise shall be of the standard of the camp of Judah by their companies, the chief of the people of Judah being tNahshon the son of Amminadab, his company as listed being 74,600. Those to camp next to him shall be the tribe of Issachar, the chief of the people of Issachar being Nethanel the son of Zuar, his company as listed being 54,400. Then the tribe of Zebulun, the chief of the people of Zebulun being Eliab the son of Helon, his company as listed being 57,400. All those listed of the camp of Judah, by their companies, were 186,400. uThey shall set out first on the march.

10 On the south side shall be the standard of the camp of Reuben by their companies, the chief of the people of Reuben being Elizur the son of Shedeur, 11 his company as listed being 46,500. 12 And those to camp next to him shall be the tribe of Simeon, the chief of the people of Simeon being Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai, 13 his company as listed being 59,300. 14 Then the tribe of Gad, the chief of the people of Gad being Eliasaph the son of vReuel, 15 his company as listed being 45,650. 16 All those listed of the camp of Reuben, by their companies, were 151,450. wThey shall set out second.

17 xThen the tent of meeting shall set out, with the camp of the Levites in the midst of the camps; as they camp, so shall they set out, each in position, standard by standard.

18 On the west side shall be the standard of the camp of Ephraim by their companies, the chief of the people of Ephraim being Elishama the son of Ammihud, 19 his company as listed being 40,500. 20 And next to him shall be the tribe of Manasseh, the chief of the people of Manasseh being Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur, 21 his company as listed being 32,200. 22 Then the tribe of Benjamin, the chief of the people of Benjamin being Abidan the son of Gideoni, 23 his company as listed being 35,400. 24 All those listed of the camp of Ephraim, by their companies, were 108,100. yThey shall set out third on the march.

25 On the north side shall be the standard of the camp of Dan by their companies, the chief of the people of Dan being Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai, 26 his company as listed being 62,700. 27 And those to camp next to him shall be the tribe of Asher, the chief of the people of Asher being Pagiel the son of Ochran, 28 his company as listed being 41,500. 29 Then the tribe of Naphtali, the chief of the people of Naphtali being Ahira the son of Enan, 30 his company as listed being 53,400. 31 All those listed of the camp of Dan were 157,600. zThey shall set out last, standard by standard.

32 These are the people of Israel as listed by their fathers’ houses. All those listed in the camps by their companies were a603,550. 33 But bthe Levites were not listed among the people of Israel, as the Lord commanded Moses.

34 Thus did the people of Israel. According to all that the Lord commanded Moses, cso they camped by their standards, and so they set out, each one in his clan, according to his fathers’ house.

The Sons of Aaron

These are the generations of Aaron and Moses at the time when the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. These are the names of the sons of Aaron: dNadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. These are the names of the sons of Aaron, ethe anointed priests, fwhom he ordained to serve as priests. gBut Nadab and Abihu died before the Lord when they offered unauthorized fire before the Lord in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests in the lifetime of Aaron their father.

Duties of the Levites

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, hBring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him. They shall keep guard over him and over the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, ias they minister at the tabernacle. They shall guard all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and keep guard over the people of Israel as they minister at the tabernacle. And jyou shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are kwholly given to him from among the people of Israel. 10 And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and lthey shall guard their priesthood. But if many outsider comes near, he shall be put to death.

11 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 12 Behold, nI have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the people of Israel. The Levites shall be mine, 13 for oall the firstborn are mine. pOn the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both of man and of beast. They shall be mine: I am the Lord.

14 And the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying, 15 List the sons of Levi, by fathers’ houses and by clans; qevery male from a month old and upward you shall list. 16 So Moses listed them according to the word of the Lord, as he was commanded. 17 rAnd these were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon and Kohath and Merari. 18 And these are the names of the sons of Gershon by their clans: sLibni and Shimei. 19 And the sons of Kohath by their clans: tAmram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 20 And the sons of Merari by their clans: uMahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites, by their fathers’ houses.

21 To Gershon belonged the clan of the Libnites and the clan of the Shimeites; these were the clans of the Gershonites. 22 Their listing according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was1 7,500. 23 vThe clans of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle on the west, 24 with Eliasaph, the son of Lael as chief of the fathers’ house of the Gershonites. 25 And the wguard duty of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting involved xthe tabernacle, ythe tent with zits covering, athe screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting, 26 bthe hangings of the court, cthe screen for the door of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and dits cordsall the service connected with these.

27 To Kohath belonged the clan of the eAmramites and the clan of the Izharites and the clan of the Hebronites and the clan of the Uzzielites; these are the clans of the Kohathites. 28 According to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, there were 8,600, keeping guard over the sanctuary. 29 The clans of the sons of Kohath were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle, 30 with fElizaphan the son of Uzziel as chief of the fathers’ house of the clans of the Kohathites. 31 And their guard duty involved gthe ark, hthe table, ithe lampstand, jthe altars, the vessels of the sanctuary with which the priests minister, and kthe screen; all the service connected with these. 32 And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest was to be chief over the chiefs of the Levites, and to have oversight of those who kept guard over the sanctuary.

33 To Merari belonged the clan of the Mahlites and the clan of the Mushites: these are the clans of Merari. 34 Their listing according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was 6,200. 35 And the chief of the fathers’ house of the clans of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle. 36 lAnd the appointed guard duty of the sons of Merari involved the mframes of the tabernacle, nthe bars, othe pillars, the bases, and all their accessories; all the service connected with these; 37 also pthe pillars around the court, with their bases and qpegs and rcords.

38 Those who were to camp before the tabernacle on the east, before the tent of meeting toward the sunrise, were Moses and Aaron and his sons, sguarding the sanctuary itself, to protect2 the people of Israel. And any outsider who came near was to be put to death. 39 All those listed among the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron listed at the commandment of the Lord, by clans, all the males from a month old and upward, were t22,000.

Redemption of the Firstborn

40 And the Lord said to Moses, List all the firstborn males of the people of Israel, from a month old and upward, taking the number of their names. 41 uAnd you shall take the Levites for meI am the Lordinstead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the cattle of the people of Israel. 42 So Moses listed all the firstborn among the people of Israel, as the Lord commanded him. 43 And all the firstborn males, according to the number of names, from a month old and upward as listed were 22,273.

44 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 45 vTake the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle. The Levites shall be mine: I am the Lord. 46 And was the redemption price for the 273 of the firstborn of the people of Israel, over and above the number of the male Levites, 47 you shall take xfive shekels3 per head; you shall take them according to ythe shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel of twenty gerahs4), 48 and give the money to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for those who are over. 49 So Moses took the redemption money from those who were over and above those redeemed by the Levites. 50 From the firstborn of the people of Israel he took the money, z1,365 shekels, by the shekel of the sanctuary. 51 And Moses agave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons, according to the word of the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses.