Numbers 10:5
in Numbers 10When you sound short blasts, the camps that lie on the east side are to set out.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And when ye blow an alarm, the camps that lie on the east side shall take their journey.
KJV
When ye blow an alarm, then the camps that lie on the east parts shall go forward.
⋯
This verse in Numbers 10
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Blow an alarm - i. e. along continuous peal. Compare Num 10:7, ye shall blow, but not sound an alarm: i. e. blow in short, sharp notes, not in a continuous peal. A third and a fourth alarm were probably blown as signals.
This site's exposition
When ye blow an alarm
on Numbers 10:5-7
The alarm is a broken quavering blast and the ordinary call is a long even note, and verse 7 states the difference outright, ye shall blow, but ye shall not sound an alarm. One alarm moves the east standard and a second alarm moves the south. The Hebrew text stops at two, while the Septuagint carries signals for the west and the north as well, which is why Barnes and Clarke reckon a third and a fourth alarm were blown.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
), a broken, quavering, interrupted sound, which was proper to excite and encourage the minds of people in their marches against their enemies; whereas a continued equal sound was more proper for the calling of the assembly together (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
When ye blow an alarm,.... Making a broken, uneven, and quavering sound, which is called a "tara-tan-tara": then the camps that lie on the east parts shall go forward; the camps of Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun, which lay to the east of the tabernacle, at the front of it; see Num 1:3; this was to be the token for their march, which was first of all; Num 10:14.
And some think that this was intended to sanctify their marches, for thus were proclaimed by the priests, who were God's mouth to the people, not only the divine orders given them to move, but the divine blessing upon them in all their motions. He that hath ears, let him hear that God is with them of a truth.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
When ye blow an alarm - תרועה teruah, probably meaning short, broken, sharp tones, terminating with long ones, blown with both the trumpets at once. From the similarity in the words some suppose that the Hebrew teruah was similar to the Roman taratantara, or sound of their clarion.
The words behind it
6 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּתְקַעְתֶּ֖ם | uteka'tem | and you will give a blast | H8628 → | 69 times |
| תְּרוּעָ֑ה | teruah | an alarm | H8643 → | 36 times |
| וְנָֽסְעוּ֙ | venaseu | and they will set out | H5265 → | 146 times |
| הַֽמַּחֲנ֔וֹת | hamachanot | the camps | H4264 → | 215 times |
| הַחֹנִ֖ים | hachonim | which encamp | H2583 → | 143 times |
| קֵֽדְמָה׃ | kedemah | east -ward | H6924 → | 87 times |
וּתְקַעְתֶּ֖םand you will give a blast
uteka'temH8628 →69 times
תְּרוּעָ֑הan alarm
teruahH8643 →36 times
וְנָֽסְעוּ֙and they will set out
venaseuH5265 →146 times
הַֽמַּחֲנ֔וֹתthe camps
hamachanotH4264 →215 times
הַחֹנִ֖יםwhich encamp
hachonimH2583 →143 times
קֵֽדְמָה׃east -ward
kedemahH6924 →87 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 58:1“Cry aloud, do not hold back! Raise your voice like a ram’s horn. Declare to My people their transgression and to the house of Jacob their sins.
it leads to
- Titus 2:15
Speak these things as you encourage and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you.
- Hosea 8:1
Put the ram’s horn to your lips! An eagle looms over the house of the LORD, because the people have transgressed My covenant and rebelled against My law.
- Acts 20:26–27
Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men.
- Ezekiel 3:17–21
“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from My mouth, give them a warning from Me.
- Acts 7:51–52
You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit, just as your fathers did.
- Titus 2:15
Through
Joel 2:1Blow the ram’s horn in Zion; sound the alarm on My holy mountain! Let all who dwell in the land tremble, for the Day of the LORD is coming; indeed, it is near—
it leads to
- Joel 2:15
Blow the ram’s horn in Zion, consecrate a fast, proclaim a sacred assembly.
- Joel 1:15
Alas for the day! For the Day of the LORD is near, and it will come as destruction from the Almighty.
- 1 Peter 4:7
The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear-minded and sober, so that you can pray.
- Joel 2:15
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Numbers
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.