Numbers 2:3 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Numbers 2:3
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.
the front · noun, common masculine singular absolute + directional suffix
rising
מִזְרָ֔חָהmiz.Ra.chah
H4217
sunrise · noun, common masculine singular absolute + directional suffix
standard
דֶּ֛גֶלDe.gel
H1714
a flag · noun, common masculine singular construct
camp
מַחֲנֵ֥הma.cha.Neh
H4264
an encampment (of travellers or troops) · noun, common feminine singular construct
Judah
יְהוּדָ֖הye.hu.Dah
H3063
Jehudah (or Judah) · proper noun, a place name
pitch
וְהַחֹנִים֙ve.ha.cho.Nim
H2583
properly · conjunction + definite article + verb, qal active participle, masculine plural absolute
armies
לְצִבְאֹתָ֑םle.tziv.'o.Tam
H6635
a mass of persons (or figuratively · preposition + noun, common feminine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
Nahshon
נַחְשׁ֖וֹןnach.Shon
H5177
Nachshon · proper noun, a man's name
son
לִבְנֵ֣יliv.Nei
H1121
a son (as a builder of the family name) · preposition + noun, common masculine plural construct
Amminadab
עַמִּינָדָֽב'a.mi.na.Dav
H5992
Amminadab · proper noun, a man's name
captain
וְנָשִׂיא֙ve.na.Si'
H5387
properly · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular absolute
children
בֶּןben-
H1121
a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine singular construct
Judah
יְהוּדָ֔הye.hu.Dah
H3063
Jehudah (or Judah) · proper noun, a place 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
Ruth 4:20 And Amminadab begat Nahshon, and Nahshon begat Salmon,
1 Chronicles 2:10 And Ram begat Amminadab; and Amminadab begat Nahshon, prince of the children of Judah;
Numbers 1:7 Of Judah; Nahshon the son of Amminadab.
Numbers 10:14-16 In 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 o…
Luke 3:32-33 Which was the son of Jesse, which was the son of Obed, which was the son of Booz, which was the son of Salmon, which was the son of Naasson,
Genesis 49:8-10 Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father’s children shall bow down befo…
Numbers 7:17 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 Nahshon t…
Numbers 26:19-22 The sons of Judah were Er and Onan: and Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan.
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 east side toward the rising of the sun shall they of the standard of the camp of Judah pitch throughout their armies--Judah, placed at the head of a camp composed of three tribes rallying under its standard, was said to have combined the united colors in the high priest's breastplate, but called by the name of Judah. They were appointed to occupy the east side and to take the lead in the march, which, for the most part, was in an easterly direction.
Nahshon--or Naasson (Mat 1:4; Luk 3:32-33).
shall be captain--It appears that the twelve men who were called to superintend the census were also appointed to be the captains of their respective tribes--a dignity which they owed probabl…
And on the east side, towards the rising of the sun,.... Which rises in the east; or of all; for, as Jarchi observes, that which is "before" is called "Kedem", the east, as the west is called "behind":
shall they of the standard of the camp of Judah pitch, throughout their armies; the tribes of Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun, formed one camp, which had its name from the principal tribe Judah; and this was divided into various regiments and companies, called armies, who severally pitched under one and the same standard. It is said (g) Judah's stone was the "nophech" (which we render an emerald), and his flag was coloured in the likeness of the colour of the heavens, and there was formed upon i…
Dictionary and topics
Amminadab — Kindred of the prince. (1.) The father of Nahshon, who was chief of the tribe of Judah (Num. 1:7; 2:3; 7:12, 17; 10:14). His daughter Elisheba was married to Aaron (Ex. 6:23). (2.) A son of Kohath,…
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…
Elisheba — God is her oath, the daughter of Amminadab and the wife of Aaron (Ex. 6:23).
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…
Judah, Tribe of — Judah and his three surviving sons went down with Jacob into Egypt (Gen. 46:12; Ex. 1:2). At the time of the Exodus, when we meet with the family of Judah again, they have increased to the number of…
Shiloh — Generally understood as denoting the Messiah, “the peaceful one,” as the word signifies (Gen. 49:10). The Vulgate Version translates the word, “he who is to be sent,” in allusion to the Messiah; the…
Aloes · Lign-aloes — Lign-aloes
Armies · Generals of corps and divisions — Generals of corps and divisions
Desert, Journey Of Israel Through The · Order of encamping during
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…
The tribes of Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun camped in the most prestigious place on the east side of the Tabernacle and led the way when Israel was on the move. This largest of the tribal groups (186,400) could provide adequate protection for the sacred tent and its attendants.
Rashi on Numbers 2:3
קדמה means IN FRONT, which is expressed by קדם; and which side is it? The east side (מזרחה), and accordingly the west is termed אחור, the back side of the world (cf. Rashi on Exodus 27:13 and Note thereon).
Issachar · .Places in the march and en — .Places in the march and en
Judah · .Place of, in en — .Place of, in en
Judah, The Tribe Of · Encamped with its standard east of the tabernacle — Encamped with its standard east of the tabernacle
Naashon · A — A
Nahshon · General references — General references
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
Zebulun · .Place of, in marching and — .Place of, in marching and
Zebulun, The Tribe Of · Encamped under the standard of Judah, east of the tabernacle — Encamped under the standard of Judah, east of the tabernacle
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).
