Numbers 10:17

(17) And the tabernacle was taken down . . . —The order of precedence as regards the twelve tribes which were encamped on the four sides of the Tabernacle is clearly laid down in Numbers 2, where it is ordered that the camp of the Lervites should set forward “in the midst of the camps” (Num_10:17). The precise position which the three bodies of Levites were to occupy in the marches is defined in this chapter. The Gershonites, who had the charge of the curtains and hangings of the Tabernacle and the court (Num_4:25-26), with their two wagons, and the Merarites, who had the charge of the heavier and more bulky materials (Num_4:31-32), with their four wagons, were to set forward after the first or eastern camp, which was composed of the tribes of Judah, Issachar, and Zebulon, in order that they might have time to erect the Tabernacle before the arrival of the Kohathites, “bearing the sanctuary” (or sacred things). Next in order after the Gershonites and Merarites followed the southern camp, consisting of the three tribes of Reuben, Simeon, and Gad. Then followed the Kohathites in the centre of the procession, “bearing the sanctuary.” After them marched the three tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin, who formed the western camp, and as the rereward, the three tribes of Dan, Asher, and Naphtali, which formed the northern camp. This arrangement serves to throw light upon Psa_80:2 : “Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh stir up thy strength, and come and save us.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

With all the appertainances thereof.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

17. The verbs in this and the following verse, and in 21 f., 25, are perfects with Vav. This use, to describe consecutive actions in the past, though not unexampled in late literature, is rare. And it is probable that the writer intended them to be frequentative. The order of the host in the first march was that which was observed throughout the journeys.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And the standard of the camp of Reuben set forward according to their armies,.... Next proceeded the standard of Reuben, having under it the tribes of Simeon and Gad, Num 10:19; as "Reuben" signifies, "behold the son", and he had the tabernacle borne before him and the holy things behind him, which way soever this camp looked, it had in view what was a type of Christ the Son of God, the object of faith, the ark.

and over his host was Elizur the son of Shedeur; over which respective armies were the same captains as in Num 2:10;

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

A more precise determination of the method of executing the order given in Num 2:17. The appointed place of the tabernacle, in the midst of the host, was represented during the march by the ark, the holy vessels, etc. carried by the Kohathites. The actual structure of the tabernacle was borne in advance by the Gershonites and Merarites, immediately behind the camp of Judah; so as to be set up ready against the arrival of the sacred utensils borne by the Kohathites. Compare Num. 2; 4,

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

It. Hence it would appear, that part of the Levites followed Juda’s division, which was preceded by the priests bearing the ark, (ver. 33,) while the Caathites bore the sacred vessels after Ruben, (ver. 21,) and were followed by Ephraim and Gad. But Calmet observes, that the Levites, and the whole camp of the Lord, came in the middle of the four great divisions, immediately after Ruben, chap. ii. 9, 17. Salien thinks, that the ark and cloud led the way, and returned to the middle at the end of the journey, ver. 36. (Haydock) (Tirinus)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

17-21. Bearing the tabernacle — By inspecting the plan of the camp (Num_2:5, cut) it will be seen that the bearers of the various parts of the tabernacle wheeled into the column after the entire eastern division of the camp had moved. The bearers of the sanctuary, or the most holy things, (Num_4:4, note,) waited after the removal of the tabernacle till the entire southern side of the camp was in line, when they also marched. This arrangement afforded ample protection to the body of Levites, and gave the bearers of the tabernacle the opportunity to set it up in time for the reception of its furniture against the Kohathites came, that is, by the time when they should arrive. For the place of the ark on the march see Num_10:33, note. This fixed order, rigidly adhered to, was necessary not only for military reasons, but to prevent the host from becoming a confused mob.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And the tabernacle was taken down. That is, the fabric of it; the boards, curtains, and other heavy portions which were packed upon the six wagons provided for the purpose. (Num_7:5-9) And the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari set forward. Between the first and second divisions of the host. In chapter 2 it had been directed in general terms that "the tabernacle" should set forward with the camp of the Levites in the midst of the host, between the second and third divisions. At that time the duties of the several Levitical families had not been specified, and the orders for the taking down and transport of the tabernacle and its furniture had not been given in detail. It would be historically an error, and theologically a superstition, to imagine that Divine commands such as these had no elasticity, and left no room for adaptation, under the teaching of experience, or for the sake of obvious convenience. Whether the present modification was directly commanded by God himself, or whether it was made on the authority of Moses, does not here appear. There can be no question that subsequent theocratic rulers of Israel claimed and used a large liberty in modifying the Divinely-originated ritual and order. Compare the case of the passover, the arrangements of Solomon"s temple as corresponding with those of the tabernacle, and even the use of the silver trumpets. The Septuagint has the future tense here, kayelousi thn k.t.l. as if to mark it as a fresh command.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Gershon ... Merari

See how you translated these men's names in Numbers 3:17.

the armies under the banner of Reuben's camp

This refers to the armies of the tribes under the division of Reuben: Reuben, Simeon, and Gad.

Elizur son of Shedeur

See how you translated this man's name in Numbers 1:5.

Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai

See how you translated this man's name Numbers 1:6.

Eliasaph son of Deuel

See how you translated this man's name in Numbers 1:14.

translationWords

tabernacle

Reuben

Simeon

Gad

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

והורד המשכן THEN THE TABERNACLE WAS TAKEN DOWN — As soon as the division of Judah was on the point of journeying, Aaron and his sons went in (into the Tabernacle), took down the Partition Vail and covered the Ark with it, as it is said, (Numbers 4:5) “and when the camp setteth forward (i. e. is on the point of setting forward) Aaron shall come, and his sons, [and they shall take down the Partition Vail, etc.]”; the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari then dismantled the Tabernacle, and loaded it on the waggons, and started off (so Berliner’s edition which adds ונוסעים). The Ark and the other holy vessels, the burden of the sons of Kohath (cf. Numbers 3:31), remained as they were, covered over, the latter hanging on poles, until the division of the sons of Reuben set out, and only after that did (v. 21) “the Kohathites set forward”.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

AND THE TABERNACLE WAS TAKEN DOWN; AND THE SONS OF GERSHON AND THE SONS OF MERARI WHO BORE THE TABERNACLE SET FORWARD. The indication of the verses on this subject is as follows: After the standard of Judah had set forward, they would begin dismantling the Tabernacle, and the beginning of this dismantling was when Aaron and his sons came [into the Tabernacle] and took down the partition Veil, as it says, And when ‘the camp’ setteth forward, Aaron shall go in, and his sons, and they shall take down the Veil etc., that is to say, when the first camp [i.e., that of Judah] set forth. When they [the priests] finished covering the ark and all the holy vessels which were to be borne by the Kohathites, the Levites would take down the whole Tabernacle and load it upon the wagons; and the sons of Gershon and Merari then journeyed [with these wagons] after the standard of Judah, the ark and the holy vessels remaining covered and placed upon the staves until the standard of Reuben set forth. And the meaning of the verse Then the Tent of Meeting, with the camp of the Levites, shall set forward in the midst of the camps, 2:17. is that the Tent of Meeting together with all the camps of the Levites shall set forward in the midst of those camps perviously mentioned, for the Gershonites and Merarites journeyed between the standard of Judah and that of Reuben, while the Kohathites journeyed between the standard of Reuben and that of Ephraim, as He is to explain. He mentioned the reason [for the Gershonites and Merarites journeying before the Kohathites, namely] so that they might set up the Tabernacle before they [the Kohathites who carried the ark and the holy vessels] arrive [and thus they could immediately deposit the holy vessels therein].However, in the Beraitha of the Work of the Tabernacle, Chapter 13. I have seen the following text: “They blew t’kiah, t’ruah, ‘t’kiah, is a succession of nine tremulous or quavering sounds. A t’kiah is a continuous plain sound. The sh’varim are broken disconnected sounds, but they are not as broken as those of the t’ruah. The three broken sounds of the sh’varim are equal [in length of time] to the nine quavering sounds of the t’ruah. and the standard of Judah would set forth first, as it is said, And in the first place the standard of the camp of the children of Judah set forward. The sons of Aaron would then enter [the Tent of Meeting] and take down the Veil, and cover the ark with it, as it is said, And when the camp setteth forward, Aaron shall go in, and his sons etc. They then blew t’kiah, t’ruah, t’kiah, is a succession of nine tremulous or quavering sounds. A t’kiah is a continuous plain sound. The sh’varim are broken disconnected sounds, but they are not as broken as those of the t’ruah. The three broken sounds of the sh’varim are equal [in length of time] to the nine quavering sounds of the t’ruah. and the standard of the camp of Reuben would set forth. The sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari would immediately enter and dismantle the Tabernacle, and load it upon wagons and re-erect it [in the new resting-place] by the time the sons of Kohath arrived, as it is said, And the Kohathites the bearers of the Sanctuary set forward, that the Tabernacle might be set up against their coming. They blew t’kiah, t’ruah, t’kiah, is a succession of nine tremulous or quavering sounds. A t’kiah is a continuous plain sound. The sh’varim are broken disconnected sounds, but they are not as broken as those of the t’ruah. The three broken sounds of the sh’varim are equal [in length of time] to the nine quavering sounds of the t’ruah. and the standard of Ephraim would set forth. The sons of Kohath would immediately enter and dismantle the Sanctuary, (the Sanctuary) is evidently to be understood as in Verse 21 here: And the Kohathites the bearers of ‘the Sanctuary’ set forward, which Rashi explains as meaning: “the bearers of ‘the holy vessels’” [and not of the Sanctuary itself, for it was carried by the sons of Gershon and Merari]. This explanation is also clearly evident from the language of Ramban further on [“and the sons of Kohath would … load the holy vessels upon their shoulders”]. and put it upon their shoulders, as it is said, And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the Sanctuary etc.”, since the Beraitha states that they journeyed after the standard of Reuben. Ramban now interprets the Beraitha so that it accords with the above interpretation which is in line with the simple meaning of Scripture. But perhaps the following is the correct interpretation of the Beraitha: “They blew t’kiah, t’ruah, t’kiah is a succession of nine tremulous or quavering sounds. A t’kiah is a continuous plain sound. The sh’varim are broken disconnected sounds, but they are not as broken as those of the t’ruah. The three broken sounds of the sh’varim are equal [in length of time] to the nine quavering sounds of the t’ruah. to alert the standard of Reuben to set forth, [but they did not actually set forth at once, for] immediately the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari would precede them and dismantle the Tabernacle, but they would journey before the sons of Reuben. Similarly, they blew t’kiah, t’ruah, t’kiah is a succession of nine tremulous or quavering sounds. A t’kiah is a continuous plain sound. The sh’varim are broken disconnected sounds, but they are not as broken as those of the t’ruah. The three broken sounds of the sh’varim are equal [in length of time] to the nine quavering sounds of the t’ruah. that the standard of Ephraim be ready to set forth, and the sons of Kohath would immediately set forth and load the holy vessels upon their shoulders, and they would journey before the sons of Ephraim.” Thus the Rabbis taught that the journeying of the Levites should be preceded by blowing [of the trumpets], and immediately after them came the standard which followed them.

Ramban (Nachmanides) on the Tanakh — English translation: “Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.