Numbers 10:25

Num 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 his host [was] Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.

Ver. 25. The rearward of all the camp.] Called the gathering host. {Jos 6:9} Because to their charge was committed the care of gathering together the lame, faint, and feeble, and to look that nothing was lost, or left behind. And to this David seems to allude. {Psa 27:10} Compare Isa 58:8; Isa 52:12.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Leaving none behind, nor any of the former that fainted in the way.

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

And Moses said unto Hobab, the son of Raguel the Midianite,

Moses's father in law,.... Some think this Hobab was the same with Jethro, whose father's name was Raguel or Reuel; so Jarchi and Ben Gersom; but rather Raguel or Reuel, and Jethro, seem to be the same, and was Moses's father-in-law, and this Hobab was the son of him, and brother of Zipporah, Moses's wife; and the same relation is designed whether the word is rendered his "father-in-law" or his "wife's brother", so Aben Ezra; as it may be either; if the former, then it may be joined to Raguel, if the latter, then to Hobab: Jethro or Raguel, Moses's father-in-law, came to see him as soon as he came to Horeb, and after some short stay with him returned to Midian, and left this his son Hobab, who remained with Moses unto this time; but now, as Israel was about to remove from the wilderness of Sinai, he showed a disposition to return to his own country, when Moses addressed him in order to persuade him to continue with them:

we are journeying unto the place of which the Lord said, I will give it you; that is, the land of Canaan, which God had promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to their posterity: Moses puts himself among the children of Israel as journeying towards Canaan, with an expectation to possess it; for as yet the decree, as Jarchi observes, was not made, or made manifest, that he should not enter it; or he said this, as others think, because he would not discourage the Israelites nor Hobab, who might argue from thence, that if he, by whom God had brought Israel out of Egypt, and had done such wonders by him, should not enter into the good! and, how should they? but as yet Moses himself knew not that he should not enter into it; however, he speaks of it as a certain thing, that God had promised to give it to Israel, and it might be depended upon; and now they were just going to set forward in their journey, in order to take possession of it, he entreats that Hobab would go with them:

come thou with us, and we will do thee good; by giving him a part of the spoils of their enemies, and a settlement in the land:

for the Lord hath spoken good concerning Israel; and he is faithful, who has promised and will perform.

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

25. The rearward of all the camps — Literally, the gatherer. The division on the north side of the camp, under the lead of the tribe of Dan, was to pick up all the stragglers and the feeble ones, and to close up the rear. See Jos_6:9, note.

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

The rereward of all the camps. Literally, "the collector," or "the gatherer, of all the camps." The word is applied by Isaiah to God himself (Isa_52:12 Isa_58:8) as to him that "gathereth the outcasts of Israel." Dan may have been the collector of all the camps simply in the sense that his host closed in all the others from behind, and in pitching completed the full number.

Under any ordinary circumstances, however (see next note) the work of the rear-guard in collecting stragglers and in taking charge of such as had fainted by the way must have been arduous and important in the extreme.

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

The armies that camped under the banner of Dan's descendants

This refers to the armies of the tribes under the division of Dan: Dan, Asher, and Naphtali.

Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai

See how you translated this man's name in Numbers 1:12.

Pagiel son of Okran

See how you translated this man's name in Numbers 1:13.

Ahira son of Enan

See how you translated this man's name in Numbers 1:15.

translationWords

Dan

descend

son

Asher

Naphtali

people group

Israel

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

מאסף לכל המחנת [THEN THE BANNER OF THE CAMP OF THE CHILDREN OF DAN SET FORWARD] WHICH WAS THE GATHERER OF ALL THE CAMPS — The Talmud Yerushalmi Eruvin 5:1 has the following statement: Because the tribe of Dan consisted of numerous troops (i. e. was more numerous than each of the other tribes, except Judah which marched on the front, cf. Chapter II), it marched in the rear so that if anyone of the other tribes lost anything, he (Dan) restored it to him. (מאסף לכל המחנת therefore means “the one who gathered in everything belonging to all the camps”.) — There is one authority that holds that they traveled in formation like a box (i.e. in a military square) and derives this from the text, (Numbers 2:17) “just as they encamp so shall they journey”, and there is another authority that maintains that they traveled in a straight line like a beam, and derives this from the statement that Dan was “the gatherer of all the camps”.

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.