Commentaria in Numeros
Chapter 2. Synopsis of the Chapter
The camp of the twelve tribes of Israel is arranged round the tabernacle, toward the four quarters of the world, in four battle-lines; whereby is signified tropologically that kings, princes and all the faithful ought to protect and defend the Church.
1. And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: 2. The children of Israel shall pitch their tents every one by their troops, ensigns, and standards, and the houses of their kindreds, round about the tabernacle of the covenant. 3. On the east, Juda shall pitch his tents by the bands of his army; and the prince of his sons shall be Nahasson the son of Aminadab, 4. and the whole sum of the fighting men of his stock, seventy-four thousand six hundred. 5. Next to him they that pitched were of the tribe of Issachar, whose prince was Nathanael the son of Suar, 6. and the whole number of his fighting men, fifty-four thousand four hundred. 7. In the tribe of Zabulon the prince was Eliab the son of Helon; 8. all the army of his stock of fighting men, fifty-seven thousand four hundred. 9. All that were numbered in the camp of Juda were a hundred and eighty-six thousand four hundred, and by their troops they shall set forth first. 10. In the camp of the children of Ruben, toward the south, the prince shall be Elisur the son of Sedeur, 11. and all his army of fighting men that were numbered, forty-six thousand five hundred. 12. Next to him they that pitched were of the tribe of Simeon, whose prince was Salamiel the son of Surisaddai. 13. And all his army of fighting men that were numbered, fifty-nine thousand three hundred. 14. In the tribe of Gad the prince was Eliasaph the son of Duel, 15. and all his army of fighting men that were numbered, forty-five thousand six hundred and fifty. 16. All that were reviewed in the camp of Ruben were a hundred and fifty-one thousand four hundred and fifty, by their troops: they shall set forth in the second place. 17. And the tabernacle of the testimony shall be taken down by the offices of the Levites and their troops: as it shall be set up, so shall it be taken down: every one shall march in their place and order. 18. On the west side shall be the camp of the children of Ephraim, whose prince was Elisama the son of Ammiud. 19. All his army of fighting men that were numbered, forty thousand five hundred. 20. And with them the tribe of the children of Manasses, whose prince was Gamaliel the son of Phadassur, 21. and all his army of fighting men that were numbered, thirty-two thousand two hundred. 22. In the tribe of the children of Benjamin the prince was Abidan the son of Gedeon, 23. and all his army of fighting men that were reviewed, thirty-five thousand four hundred. 24. All that were numbered in the camp of Ephraim were a hundred and eight thousand one hundred, by their troops: they shall march in the third place. 25. On the north side the children of Dan pitched their tents, whose prince was Ahiezer the son of Amisaddai. 26. All his army of fighting men that were numbered, sixty-two thousand seven hundred. 27. Next to him they pitched their tents that were of the tribe of Aser, whose prince was Phegiel the son of Ochran. 28. All his army of fighting men that were numbered, forty-one thousand five hundred. 29. Of the tribe of the children of Nephthali the prince was Ahira the son of Enan. 30. All his army of fighting men, fifty-three thousand four hundred. 31. All that were numbered in the camp of Dan were a hundred and fifty-seven thousand six hundred; and they shall set forth last. 32. This is the number of the children of Israel, according to the houses of their kindreds, and the divisions of the army, six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty. 33. But the Levites were not numbered among the children of Israel; for so the Lord commanded Moses. 34. And the children of Israel did according to all things that the Lord commanded. They pitched by their troops, and marched by the families and houses of their fathers.
Verse 2. EVERY ONE BY THEIR TROOPS, ENSIGNS AND STANDARDS, AND THE HOUSES OF THEIR KINDREDS SHALL THEY PITCH THEIR TENTS.—The Hebrew has: every man by his standard, under the ensigns of the house of their fathers, shall they pitch. Hence it appears that besides the one standard common to one battle-line, there were also other special standards of houses, that is of families, or rather of the single tribes; each tribe therefore, besides the one common and archducal standard, seems to have had in addition another of its own.
Question the first: how was this arrangement of the camp and of the twelve tribes made round the tabernacle? For the answer note that the tabernacle, and the court surrounding it, were square, or rather rectangular. For the court was a hundred cubits in length and fifty in breadth; the south and north sides (which were the sides of the length) were therefore each a hundred cubits. Hence it follows that the camp was arranged in a square about the court, and was square, which is the best figure of a camp, says Vegetius, treating of military matters. The Hebrews relate that the Israelites encamped round the tabernacle in such a way that a mile lay between, that is a space of a thousand paces, both from reverence and for the sake of room and convenience; and that this was the Sabbath-day’s journey, beyond which it was not lawful to go on the Sabbath. If this is true, the spread of the camp of Israel in the desert was great, of many miles. So God commanded that the ark should go before the camp in the passage of the Jordan at the distance of two thousand cubits, Josue 3:4; understand this of the camp of the laity; for the camp of the Levites guarding the tabernacle was beside it all round, as was also the dwelling of Moses and Aaron. Now I say: Round the court was the first square, or square camp, of the Levites: Moses and Aaron were on the east, at the entrance of the court; the Gersonites on the west, the Merarites on the north, the Caathites on the south; after these was the second square, or square camp, of the other Israelites, namely the twelve tribes, who were distributed round the court and the camp of the Levites in such wise that at each side of the square, or toward each quarter of the world, three tribes were placed, and consequently the twelve tribes so placed made four threes, or battle-lines, and in each three, or line, the first was some more distinguished tribe, which went before the rest and was as it were archducal, so that by this arrangement the four more distinguished tribes, like archdukes, might guard the four corners and flanks of the army, from which the other tribes and the whole camp were named; as the standard of Ruben, for example, indicated and named all the camp lying to the south. For Ruben was elder than Simeon and Gad, his followers, to the south; and so of the rest. And so on the east was spread the standard of the first line, namely of the archduke Juda, under which in order on the same side followed first Issachar, then Zabulon. On the south was the standard of Ruben, under which behind was Simeon, then Gad. On the west was the standard of Ephraim, under which behind was Manasses, then Benjamin. On the north finally was the standard of Dan, under which behind was Aser, then Nephthali. The Egyptians and other Gentiles who had followed the Hebrews out of Egypt were probably mingled with these; hence they were wont to murmur with them and stir up murmuring.
Note: Among all the archducal and first tribes the one placed on the east was Juda. First, because this tribe was the more numerous and stronger, and therefore the kingdom was assigned to it by Jacob, Genesis 49:10, that this royal and most powerful tribe might the more easily defend its king. Secondly, because Christ was to be born of this tribe. So Theodoret here, Question 3. But the tribe of Dan was on the north, because from the north all evil is opened up; and from Dan shall be born the most wicked Antichrist. So Rupert and Radulphus on Leviticus 24.
Note secondly: This square position and order of the tribes obtained only when they pitched camp; for when they moved the camp the order was different; for they did not march in a square body but in a long, extended line, one tribe after another, separately, as will appear in verse 9.
Tropologically, how each one ought to live according to his own standards, that is the order and degree of his calling, grace and the state given him, and to keep himself quietly in it, Origen teaches here, homily 2.