Numbers 2:17

Num_2:17

The camp of the Levites in the midst.

The Tabernacle in the midst of the host

I. The reasons for placing the tabernacle after this manner.

1. God doth hereby admonish them, that they should always have Him before their eyes, lest they should forget His worship or offend Him with their sins (comp. Lev_26:11-12).

2. He had respect indifferently unto all the tribes. If any others had pitched their tents farther than from the Tabernacle, they would have quarrelled and complained that they had been contemned and despised.

3. The Levites were hereby put in mind of their duty, and therefore are lodged about it.

II. The uses of placing the tabernacle after this manner.

1. It assureth us that God will ever be in the midst of us, and settle His rest and residence among us (comp. Lev_26:11-12; Eze_27:27).

(1) God is joined unto us in the person of His own only Son Emmanuel--i.e., God with us. We are made members of His body (see Mat_28:20).

(2) We have with Him the preaching of the gospel, whereby God is, as it were, brought down to reside and remain among us.

(3) We have the promise of His presence and the seals thereof in His sacraments, whereby we are at one with Him, and He with us (see Gal_3:27; Joh_6:54-56; 1Co_10:16-17).

(4) When we come together in the Church to call upon His name He is near unto us, and most familiar with us (see Mat_18:20).

(5) He dwelleth among us whensoever He preserveth us from evil and delivereth us from our enemies.

2. It serveth to teach us to what end God hath instituted civil states and commonwealths in this world--to wit, to be stays and props to the Church, that the people of God may assemble together in peace and quietness.

3. It serveth to conclude the full and final happiness of the faithful, which is begun in this life, but shall be consummated in the end of this world. (W. Attersoll.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Num 2:17. In the midst — This is not to be understood strictly, but largely; for in their march they were divided, and part of that tribe marched next after Judah, (Num 10:17,) and the other part exactly in the midst of the camp.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Because it might be in equal distance from each one, and all indifferently have recourse thereunto.

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

17. in the midst of the camps] This appears to mean in the centre of the line of march. The tribes on the east and south sides start first and second. Then follows the Tabernacle with all its parts and accessories, the Levites who carry it forming a hollow square. After them follow the tribes on the west and north sides. The Levitical families retain the respective positions which they occupy when encamped. In the present order of the text, these positions are not described till Num_3:23; Num_3:29; Num_3:35; Num_3:38. A different priestly tradition as to the order of match is given in Num_10:17-21.

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.

Then the tabernacle of the congregation shall set forward with the camp of the Levites,.... Which reached four miles, according to the Targum of Jonathan, as did Judah's. Levi's stone, as the Jews say (i), was the carbuncle, and his flag was coloured, a third part white, and a third part black, and a third part red, and on it were formed Urim and Thummim:

in the midst of the camp; or "camps" (k); between the camps of Judah and Reuben, before mentioned, and those of Ephraim and Dan, which are after spoken of: the order in which they moved was this, as Aben Ezra observes; the Gershonites and Merarites marched between the standard of Judah and the standard of Reuben; and the Kohathites marched, and with them Aaron and his sons, between the standard of Reuben and the standard of Ephraim:

as they encamp, so shall they set forward; this is to be understood, according to Aben Ezra, not of the camp of Levi, since the standard of Judah was to the east, and the Gershonites, which were to the west of the sanctuary, and the Merarites in the north, set forward together; but of the camps of Israel, which set forward, not as they were encamped about the tabernacle, for those that were encamped on the side of it, in marching went before and behind, but as they were encamped with respect to themselves; first marched the standard of Judah, then that of Reuben, which went before, and then those of Ephraim and Dan, which followed; and besides, as each camp was pitched, so it moved; as the camp of Judah, his host marched between those of Issachar and Zebulun, and the same order the rest observed:

every man in his place by their standards, as every individual person in the several tribes were ranked under their respective banners, so they marched.

(i) Bemidbar Rabba, sect. 2. fol. 178. 2. (k) "in medio castrorum", Pagninus, Montanus, Tigurine version; so Ainsworth; "in medio reliquorum castrorum", Junius & Tremellius.

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

And. Hebrew, "when the tabernacle of the assembly, shall depart, the camp of the Levites in the midst of the camp, they shall depart in the same order as they encamp, each in his rank, and his ensigns." The Levites shall always be in the middle. (Calmet) --- So the Romans made their camps, of a square form, and placed the sacred things in the centre. (Grotius) --- Down. The same officers who took it down, shall set it up again. (Menochius)

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).

In the midst of the camp, which is not to be understood strictly or exactly, but largely; for in their march they were divided, and part of that tribe marched next after Judah, Num 10:17, and the other part exactly in the midst of the camp.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

17. The camp of the Levites is fully described in Num_3:14-39. The tabernacle itself, transported by the Gershonites and Merarites, had not its position in the column behind Reuben, but immediately in the rear of Judah, so as to be set up early for the reception of the sacred vessels and furniture, carried by the Kohathites in this central position in the rear of Reuben, for their better protection. See Num_10:17.

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

Then the tabernacle... shall set forward. Thus it was provided that, whether at rest or on the march, the Divine habitation should be exactly in the midst of Israel.

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

In the midst - This is not to be understood strictly, but largely; for in their march they were divided, and part of that tribe marched next after Judah, chap. x, 17, and the other part exactly in the midst of the camp.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

the tent of meeting must go out ... in the middle of all the camps

This means that the tent of meeting must be carried by the Levites in the middle of the tribes as they travel.

They must go out

"They" refers to the twelve tribes.

by his banner

Each man does not have his own personal banner; rather, this refers to the banner belonging to his tribe. AT: "by his tribe's banner" (See: Synecdoche)

translationWords

tent of meeting

Levi

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

ונסע אהל מועד AND THE TENT OF MEETING SHALL SET FORWARD after these two divisions (those of Judah and Reuben), as is shown by the position of this statement in the narrative.

כאשר יחנו כן יסעו AS THEY ENCAMP SO SHALL THEY JOURNEY — just as I have explained (v. 9): their positions when marching shall be the same as when encamping — each division marches on that side that is assigned to it.

על ידו means, in his place. The term יד does not even in this sense lose its original meaning, viz., that of “hand’’ — the area at one’s side is termed על ידו “that which is by his hand”, being that which is closest to him, and always within the reach of his hand (and not beyond it); en son aise in O. F.

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.