Numbers 2:3
in Numbers 2On the east side, toward the sunrise, the divisions of Judah are to camp under their standard:
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And those that encamp on the east side toward the sunrising shall be they of the standard of the camp of Judah, according to their hosts: and the prince of the children of Judah shall be Nahshon the son of Amminadab.
KJV
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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This verse in Numbers 2
Commentary
5 notes on this verseAnd 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.
This site's exposition
on the east side toward the rising of the sun
on Numbers 2:3-4
Judah camps east, toward the sunrise, and Judah is Jacob's fourth son. The precedence is the sceptre of Genesis 49:10, and the man holding it here, Nahshon the son of Amminadab, stands in the line that runs to David at Ruth 4:20 and is named Naasson in Matthew 1:4. His sister Elisheba had married Aaron at Exodus 6:23, and Numbers 7:12 gives him the first of the twelve days of the dedication. At 74,600 Judah is the largest tribe in the census, so the front of the camp is also its heaviest part.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Judah - This tribe was in the first post, and in their marches led the van, not only because it was the most numerous, but chiefly because Christ, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, was to descend from it: Yea, from the loins of Nahshon, who is here appointed the chief captain of it.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The following plan shows the general arrangement of the camp, which would vary in different places according to local exigencies. The area of the camp might be about three square miles: Num 2:14 Reuel - Doubtless an error of transcription for Deuel Num 1:14.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
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.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
EVERY MAN SHALL ENCAMP BY HIS OWN STANDARD, WITH THE SIGNS OF THEIR FATHER’S HOUSE. “Each standard was to have a colored cloth hanging on it, the color of one being unlike the color of another.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
The meaning thereof, as well as of all that were numbered of the camp of Judah, 132 Further, Verse.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהַחֹנִים֙ | vehachonim | and those [who] encamp | H2583 → | 143 times |
| קֵ֣דְמָה | kedemah | east -ward | H6924 → | 87 times |
| מִזְרָ֔חָה | mizrachah | east -ward | H4217 → | 74 times |
| דֶּ֛גֶל | degel | [will be] [the] standard of | H1714 → | 14 times |
| מַחֲנֵ֥ה | machaneh | [the] camp of | H4264 → | 215 times |
| יְהוּדָ֖ה | yehudah | Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| לְצִבְאֹתָ֑ם | letzivotam | to military groups their | H6635 → | 485 times |
| וְנָשִׂיא֙ | venasi' | and [the] leader | H5387 → | 134 times |
| לִבְנֵ֣י | livnei | of [the] descendants of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יְהוּדָ֔ה | yehudah | Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| נַחְשׁ֖וֹן | nachshon | [was] Nahshon | H5177 → | 10 times |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| עַמִּינָדָֽב׃ | ʾaminadav | Amminadab | H5992 → | 13 times |
וְהַחֹנִים֙and those [who] encamp
vehachonimH2583 →143 times
קֵ֣דְמָהeast -ward
kedemahH6924 →87 times
מִזְרָ֔חָהeast -ward
mizrachahH4217 →74 times
דֶּ֛גֶל[will be] [the] standard of
degelH1714 →14 times
מַחֲנֵ֥ה[the] camp of
machanehH4264 →215 times
יְהוּדָ֖הJudah
yehudahH3063 →819 times
לְצִבְאֹתָ֑םto military groups their
letzivotamH6635 →485 times
וְנָשִׂיא֙and [the] leader
venasi'H5387 →134 times
לִבְנֵ֣יof [the] descendants of
livneiH1121 →4930 times
יְהוּדָ֔הJudah
yehudahH3063 →819 times
נַחְשׁ֖וֹן[was] Nahshon
nachshonH5177 →10 times
בֶּן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
עַמִּינָדָֽב׃Amminadab
ʾaminadavH5992 →13 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
1 Chronicles 2:10Ram was the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab was the father of Nahshon, a leader of the descendants of Judah.
it leads to
- Matthew 1:4
Ram was the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Numbers 1:7
from Judah, Nahshon son of Amminadab;
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Numbers 7:12
On the first day Nahshon son of Amminadab from the tribe of Judah drew near with his offering.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ruth 4:19–20
Hezron was the father of Ram, Ram was the father of Amminadab,
- Luke 3:32–33
the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Sala, the son of Nahshon,
- Matthew 1:4
Through
Numbers 1:7from Judah, Nahshon son of Amminadab;
it leads to
- Luke 3:32
the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Sala, the son of Nahshon,
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Chronicles 2:10–11
Ram was the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab was the father of Nahshon, a leader of the descendants of Judah.
- Matthew 1:2–5
Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.
- Luke 3:32
About Numbers
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.