Numbers 2–3

ORGANIZATION OF THE CAMPS

2The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: ²“The Israelites are to camp under their respective banners beside the flags of their ancestral families. They are to camp around the tent of meeting at a distance from it:

³Judah’s military divisionsⁿ will camp on the east side toward the sunrise under their banner. The leader of the descendants of Judah is Nahshon^o son of Amminadab. ⁴His military division numbers 74,600. ⁵The tribe of Issachar will camp next to it. The leader of the Issacharites is Nethanel son of Zuar. ⁶His military division numbers 54,400. ⁷The tribe of Zebulun will be next. The leader of the Zebulunites is Eliab son of Helon. ⁸His military division numbers 57,400. ⁹The total number in their military divisions who belong to Judah’s encampment is 186,400; they will move out first.

¹⁰Reuben’s military divisions will camp on the south side under their banner. The leader of the Reubenites is Elizur son of Shedeur. ¹¹His military division numbers 46,500. ¹²The tribe of Simeon will camp next to it. The leader of the Simeonites is Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai. ¹³His military division numbers 59,300. ¹⁴The tribe of Gad will be next. The leader of the Gadites is Eliasaph son of Deuel.^{B 15}His military division numbers 45,650. ¹⁶The total number in their military divisions who belong to Reuben’s encampment is 151,450; they will move out second.

¹⁷The tent of meeting is to move out with the Levites’ camp, which is in the middle of the camps. They are to move out just as they camp, each in his place,^A with their banners.

¹⁸Ephraim’s military divisions will camp on the west side under their banner. The leader of the Ephraimites is Elishama son of Ammihud. ¹⁹His military division numbers 40,500. ²⁰The tribe of Manasseh will be next to it. The leader of the Manassites is Gamaliel son of Pedahzur. ²¹His military division numbers 32,200. ²²The tribe of Benjamin will be next. The leader of the Benjaminites is Abidan son of Gideoni. ²³His military division numbers 35,400. ²⁴The total in their military divisions who belong to Ephraim’s encampment number 108,100; they will move out third.

²⁵Dan’s military divisions will camp on the north side under their banner. The leader of the Danites is Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai. ²⁶His military division numbers 62,700. ²⁷The tribe of Asher will camp next to it. The leader of the Asherites is Pagiel son of Ochran. ²⁸His military division numbers 41,500. ²⁹The tribe of Naphtali will be next. The leader of the Naphtalites is Ahira son of Enan. ³⁰His military division numbers 53,400. ³¹The total number who belong to Dan’s encampment is 157,600; they are to move out last, with their banners.”

³²These are the Israelites registered by their ancestral families. The total number in the camps by their military divisions is 603,550. ³³But the Levites were not registered among the Israelites, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.^a

³⁴The Israelites did everything the Lord commanded Moses; they camped by their banners in this way and moved out the same way, each man by his clan and by his ancestral family.^Bb

AARON’S SONS AND THE LEVITES

3These are the family records of Aaron and Moses at the time the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai.^{c 2}These are the names of Aaron’s sons: Nadab, the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ³These are the names of Aaron’s sons, the anointed priests, who were ordained to serve as priests. ⁴But Nadab and Abihu died in the Lord’s presence when they presented unauthorized fire^d before the Lord in the Wilderness of Sinai, and they had no sons. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests under the direction of Aaron their father.^e

⁵The Lord spoke to Moses: ⁶“Bring the tribe of Levi near and present them to the priest Aaron to assist him. ⁷They are to perform duties for him and the entire community before the tent of meeting by attending to the service of the tabernacle. ⁸They are to take care of all the furnishings of the tent of meeting^f and perform duties for the Israelites by attending to the service of the tabernacle. ⁹Assign the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they have been assigned exclusively to him from the Israelites.^{g 10}You are to appoint Aaron and his sons to carry out their priestly responsibilities, but any unauthorized person who comes near the sanctuary is to be put to death.”^h

¹¹The Lord spoke to Moses: ¹²“See, I have taken the Levites from the Israelites in place of every firstborn Israelite from the womb.ⁱ The Levites belong to me, ¹³because every firstborn belongs to me. At the time I struck down every firstborn in the land of Egypt,^a I consecrated every firstborn in Israel to myself, both man and animal. They are mine; I am the Lord.”^b

THE LEVITICAL CENSUS

¹⁴The Lord spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai: ¹⁵“Register the Levites by their ancestral families and their clans. You are to register every male one month old or more.” ¹⁶So Moses registered them in obedience to the Lord as he had been commanded:

¹⁷These were Levi’s sons by name: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. ¹⁸These were the names of Gershon’s sons by their clans: Libni and Shimei. ¹⁹Kohath’s sons by their clans were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. ²⁰Merari’s sons by their clans were Mahli and Mushi. These were the Levite clans by their ancestral families.^c

²¹The Libnite clan and the Shimeite clan came from Gershon; these were the Gershonite clans. ²²Those registered, counting every male one month old or more, numbered 7,500. ²³The Gershonite clans camped behind the tabernacle on the west side,^{d 24}and the leader of the Gershonite families was Eliasaph son of Lael. ²⁵The Gershonites’ duties^e at the tent of meeting involved the tabernacle, the tent, its covering, the screen for the entrance to the tent of meeting,^{f 26}the hangings of the courtyard, the screen for the entrance^g to the courtyard that surrounds the tabernacle and the altar, and the tent ropes—all the work relating to these.

²⁷The Amramite clan, the Izharite clan, the Hebronite clan, and the Uzzielite clan came from Kohath; these were the Kohathites. ²⁸Counting every male one month old or more, there were 8,600^D responsible for the duties of the sanctuary. ²⁹The clans of the Kohathites camped on the south side of the tabernacle,^{h 30}and the leader of the families of the Kohathite clans was Elizaphan son of Uzziel. ³¹Their duties involved the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the sanctuary utensils that were used with these, and the screenⁱ—and all the work relating to them.^{j 32}The chief of the Levite leaders was Eleazar^k son of Aaron the priest; he had oversight of those responsible for the duties of the sanctuary.

³³The Mahlite clan and the Mushite clan came from Merari; these were the Merarite clans. ³⁴Those registered, counting every male one month old or more, numbered 6,200. ³⁵The leader of the families of the Merarite clans was Zuriel son of Abihail; they camped on the north side of the tabernacle.^{l 36}The assigned duties of Merari’s descendants involved the tabernacle’s supports, crossbars, pillars, bases, all its equipment, and all the work related to these,^{m 37}in addition to the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their bases, tent pegs, and ropes.

³⁸Moses, Aaron, and his sons, who performed the duties of^B the sanctuary as a service on behalf of the Israelites, camped in front of the tabernacle on the east,ⁿ in front of the tent of meeting toward the sunrise. Any unauthorized person who came near it was to be put to death.^o

³⁹The total number of all the Levite males one month old or more that Moses and Aaron^C registered by their clans at the Lord’s command was 22,000.

REDEMPTION OF THE FIRSTBORN

⁴⁰The Lord told Moses, “Register every firstborn male of the Israelites^p one month old or more, and list their names. ⁴¹You are to take the Levites for me—I am the Lord—in place of every firstborn among the Israelites, and the Levites’ cattle in place of every firstborn among the Israelites’ cattle.” ⁴²So Moses registered every firstborn among the Israelites, as the Lord commanded him. ⁴³The total number of the firstborn males one month old or more listed by name was 22,273.

⁴⁴The Lord spoke to Moses again: ⁴⁵“Take the Levites in place of every firstborn among the Israelites, and the Levites’ cattle in place of their cattle. The Levites belong to me; I am the Lord.^{q 46}As the redemption price for the 273 firstborn Israelites who outnumber the Levites, ⁴⁷collect five shekels for each person, according to the standard sanctuary shekel—twenty gerahs to the shekel.^{Da 48}Give the silver to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for those who are in excess among the Israelites.”

⁴⁹So Moses collected the redemption amount from those in excess of the ones redeemed by the Levites. ⁵⁰He collected the silver from the firstborn Israelites: 1,365 shekels^E measured by the standard sanctuary shekel. ⁵¹He gave the redemption silver to Aaron and his sons in obedience to the Lord, just as the Lord commanded Moses.