Numbers 2:25 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Numbers 2:25
The standard of the camp of Dan shall be on the north side by their armies: and the captain of the children of Dan shall be Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.
a flag · noun, common masculine singular construct
camp
מַחֲנֵ֥הma.cha.Neh
H4264
an encampment (of travellers or troops) · noun, common feminine singular construct
Dan
דָ֛ןdan
H1835
Dan · proper noun, a place name
side
צָפֹ֖נָהtza.Fo.nah
H6828
properly · noun, common feminine singular absolute + directional suffix
armies
לְצִבְאֹתָ֑םle.tziv.'o.Tam
H6635
a mass of persons (or figuratively · preposition + noun, common feminine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
captain
וְנָשִׂיא֙ve.na.Si'
H5387
properly · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular absolute
children
לִבְנֵ֣יliv.Nei
H1121
a son (as a builder of the family name) · preposition + noun, common masculine plural construct
Dan
דָ֔ןDan
H1835
Dan · proper noun, a place name
Ahiezer
אֲחִיעֶ֖זֶר'a.chi.'E.zer
H295
Achiezer · proper noun, a man's name
son
בֶּןben-
H1121
a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine singular construct
Ammishaddai
עַמִּֽישַׁדָּֽי'am.Mi.sha.Dai
H5996
Ammishaddai · proper noun, a man's name
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Numbers 1:12 Of Dan; Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.
Numbers 7:66 On the tenth day Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai, prince of the children of Dan, offered:
Numbers 7:71 And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Ahiezer t…
Numbers 10:25 And 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 hi…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Numbers 2:3–end
We have here the particular distribution of the twelve tribes into four squadrons, three tribes in a squadron, one of which was to lead the other two. Observe, 1. God himself appointed them their place, to prevent strife and envy among them. Had they been left to determine precedency among themselves, they would have been in danger of quarrelling with one another (as the disciples who strove which should be greatest); each would have had a pretence to be first, or at least not to be last. Had it been left to Moses to determine, they would have quarrelled with him, and charged him with partiality; therefore God does it, who is himself the fountain and judge of honour, and in his appointment a…
On the south side the standard of the camp of Reuben--The description given of the position of Reuben and his attendant tribes on the south, of Ephraim and his associates on the west, of Dan and his confederates on the north, with that of Judah on the east, suggests the idea of a square or quadrangle, which, allowing one square cubit to each soldier while remaining close in the ranks, has been computed to extend over an area of somewhat more than twelve square miles. But into our calculations of the occupied space must be taken not only the fighting men, whose numbers are here given, but also the families, tents, and baggage. The tabernacle or sacred tent of their Divine King, with the camp…
The standard of the camp of Dan shall be on the north side by their armies,.... To the left of the tabernacle as encamped, and so was the left wing of the grand army; it consisted of the tribes of Dan, Asher, and Naphtali, in which were several divisions and companies, whose camp also the Targum of Jonathan says reached four miles. According to the Jewish writers (m), Dan's stone was the "ligure", and his flag was coloured like to a sapphire, and there was figured upon it a serpent, on account of what is said Genesis 49:17; Asher's stone was the "tarshish" or beryl, and his flag was coloured like to a precious stone, with which women adorn themselves, and on it was figured an olive tree, on…
Dictionary and topics
Ahiezer — Brother of help; i.e., “helpful.” (1.) The chief of the tribe of Dan at the time of the Exodus (Num. 1:12; 2:25; 10:25). (2.) The chief of the Benjamite slingers that repaired to David at Ziklag (1…
Amminadib — A person mentioned in Cant. 6:12, whose chariots were famed for their swiftness. It is rendered in the margin “my willing people,” and in the Revised Version “my princely people.”
Ammishaddai — People of the Almighty, the father of Ahiezer, who was chief of the Danites at the time of the Exodus (Num. 1:12; 2:25). This is one of the few names compounded with the name of God, Shaddai,…
Army — The Israelites marched out of Egypt in military order (Ex. 13:18, “harnessed;” marg., “five in a rank”). Each tribe formed a battalion, with its own banner and leader (Num. 2:2; 10:14). In war the…
Banner — (1.) The flag or banner of the larger kind, serving for three tribes marching together. These standards, of which there were four, were worked with embroidery and beautifully ornamented (Num. 1:52;…
Camp — During their journeys across the wilderness, the twelve tribes formed encampments at the different places where they halted (Ex. 16:13; Num. 2:3). The diagram here given shows the position of the…
Dan — A judge. (1.) The fifth son of Jacob. His mother was Bilhah, Rachel’s maid (Gen. 30:6, “God hath judged me”, Heb. dananni). The blessing pronounced on him by his father was, “Dan shall judge his…
Encamp — An encampment was the resting-place for a longer or shorter period of an army or company of travellers (Ex. 13:20; 14:19; Josh. 10:5; 11:5). The manner in which the Israelites encamped during their…
Naphtali — My wrestling, the fifth son of Jacob. His mother was Bilhah, Rachel’s handmaid (Gen. 30:8). When Jacob went down into Egypt, Naphtali had four sons (Gen. 46:24). Little is known of him as an…
And the Lord spake unto Moses, and unto Aaron This distribution into separate bands must have served to prevent contention; for, had not God thus assigned to each their proper position, so natural is ambition to man, that they would have quarrelled for the place of honor. It would have been grievous to the family of Reuben, the first-born, to resign his dignity; and, even if they had patiently submitted to the punishment inflicted upon them, they would have been made to take the lowest place, as being condemned to ignominy. Disputes would also have arisen respecting the children of the concubines, for they would not have thought it consistent that; those who sprang from Leah and Rachel shoul…
Order of the tribes in the camp and on the march. - Num 2:3-9. The standard of the tribe of Judah was to encamp in front, namely towards the east, according to its hosts; and by its side the tribes of Issachar and Zebulun, the descendants of Leah, under the command and banner of Judah: an army of 186,400 men, which was to march out first when the camp was broken up (Num 2:9), so that Judah led the way as the champion of his brethren (Gen 49:10).
Num 2:4-9
"His host, and those that were numbered of them" (cf. Num 2:6, Num 2:8, Num 2:11, etc.), i.e., the army according to its numbered men.
Num 2:10-16
On the south side was the standard of Reuben, with which Simeon and Gad, descendants of Leah…
Asher, The Tribe Of · Encamped next to, and under the standard of Dan, north of the tabernacles — Encamped next to, and under the standard of Dan, north of the tabernacles
Dan · .Position of, in journey and — .Position of, in journey and
Dan, The Tribe Of · Encamped north of the tabernacle — Encamped north of the tabernacle
Desert, Journey Of Israel Through The · Order of encamping during — Order of encamping during
Naphtali, The Tribe Of · Encamped under the standard of Dan north of the tabernacle — Encamped under the standard of Dan north of the tabernacle
Tribes Of Israel, The · Encamped in their divisions and by their standards round the tabernacles — Encamped in their divisions and by their standards round the tabernacles
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
