^2:2“Every one² of the Israelites must camp³ under his standard with the emblems of his family;⁴ they must camp at some distance⁵ around the tent of meeting.⁶

The Tribes on the East

^2:3“Now those who will be camping⁷ on the east, toward the sunrise,⁸ are the divisions⁹ of the camp of Judah under their standard. The leader of the people of Judah is¹⁰ Nahshon son of Amminadab.

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Footnotes

2 Heb “a man by his own standard.”
3 The imperfect tense is to be taken in the nuance of instruction.
4 Heb “of/for the house of their fathers.”
5 The Hebrew expression מִנֶּגֶד (minneged) means “from before” or “opposite; facing” and “at some distance” or “away from the front of” (see 617 נֶגֶד. 2.c.a; 5:603–4 3.b).
6 The Israelites were camping as a military camp, each tribe with the standards and emblems of the family. The standard was the symbol fastened to the end of a pole and carried to battle. It served to rally the tribe to the battle. The Bible nowhere describes these, although the serpent emblem of Numbers 21:8–9 may give a clue. But they probably did not have shapes of animals in view of the prohibition in the Decalogue. The standards may have been smaller for the families than the ones for the tribes. See further K. A. Kitchen, “Some Egyptian Background to the Old Testament,” 5 (1960): 11; and T. W. Mann, Divine Presence and Guidance in Israelite Tradition, 169–73.
7 The sentence begins with a vav (ו) on a word that is not a finite verb, indicating a new section begins here. The verbal form is a participle with the article used substantivally, with the meaning “and/now those camping.” Many English versions employ a finite verb; cf. “on the east side … shall they of the standard of the camp of Judah pitch.”
8 The two synonyms might seem to be tautological, but this is fairly common and therefore acceptable in Hebrew prose (cf. Exod 26:18; 38:13; etc.).
9 The sentence actually has “[those camping … are] the standard of the camp of Judah according to their divisions.”
10 Or “will be.”

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

“The 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 Nahshon the son of Amminadab,

NIVNew International Version (2011)

“The Israelites are to camp around the tent of meeting some distance from it, each of them under their standard and holding the banners of their family.”

On the east, toward the sunrise, the divisions of the camp of Judah are to encamp under their standard. The leader of the people of Judah is Nahshon son of Amminadab.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

“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:

Judah’s military divisions will camp on the east side toward the sunrise under their banner. The leader of the descendants of Judah is Nahshon son of Amminadab.

NLTNew Living Translation

“When the Israelites set up camp, each tribe will be assigned its own area. The tribal divisions will camp beneath their family banners on all four sides of the Tabernacle, but at some distance from it.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

“The Israelites will encamp each with his standard, with a banner according to their families; they will encamp around the tent of assembly. The ones who encamp on the eastern side, toward the sunrise, will be of the standard of the camp of Judah according to their divisions; and the leader of the descendants of Judah will be Nahshon son of Amminadab,

KJV 1900King James Version

Every man of the children of Israel shall pitch by his own standard, with the ensign of their father’s house: far off about the tabernacle of the congregation shall they pitch.

And on the east side toward the rising of the sun shall they of the standard of the camp of Judah pitch throughout their armies: and Nahshon the son of Amminadab shall be captain of the children of Judah.

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