Numbers 2:2 " "Each man of the children of Israel shall pitch by his own standard, with the ensign of their father's house: far off about the tabernacle of the congregation shall they pitch."

In Chapter one we saw that the Israelites were to start their journey from the base of Sinai, and journey through the wilderness to the promise land. Before the journey started, God had Moses take a poll head count of every male over the age of twenty, that was physically able to fight in an army that Moses was to form. That poll was take, and the men of all the tribes identified, as well as the men that would be their generals. Now with the massive number of men in the army, with their wives and children, God wanted order in the camp, and each tribe identified according to their forefather, one of the sons of Jacob.

Our Heavenly Father wanted each of the tribes to be a separate entity, and each of the tribes was to have its own "standard", in the Hebrew text "degel" which we call a flag. And it also was to have its own "ensign", which in the Hebrew is different than the ensigns of the book of Isaiah, for it's # 226 in Strong's Hebrew dictionary; "Owth; oth; in the sense of appearing (as a signal), as beacon, monument, prodigy, evidence." This chapter deals with the order of the encampment of each person of the children of Israel to be identified with his own tribe. These flags were to at their camp site to identify their family tribal unit, while the ensign was used when there was to be movement of the whole camp.

It was believed in early days, as recorded in the Targum of Jonathan, that these "Oths" or ensigns were given each a sign after one of the twelve constellations; Such as Asher's sign being (Sagittarius); Dan's ensign, (Scorpio); Napthali's, (Capricornus); and so on. The flag identifying the people as a national entity, while the ensign governed the movement of those people, and pitched at the campsite of each tribe, not at the tabernacle. However an ensign is assigned to the lead tribe for each of the four sides of the camp. The flag would identify their father's house, such as Asher, or a subdivision within the family unit, by family name with their father's (Asher's) house.

Numbers 2:3 "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."

Keep in mind that there is no place in the bible does it spell out what these standards or ensigns were, but we are given a hint in Genesis 49, when Jacob called all of his sons together, and identified each of them prophetically as to what they would become. So down through the years, we do have standards and ensigns of peoples that exist today are presented on their flags and we can trace them to their ancient times. An example of these flags are given following chapter one.

The tribe of Judah was thought to be the "lion", as Jacob called Judah the "lion's whelp" in Genesis 49:9, and we know that Queen Elizabeth the second's flag has three lions on it, and the royal family is from the seed of David. That fact can easily be traced through the three overturnings of Jeremiah's prophecy, as the daughters of the king, at the fall of the house of Judah in the sixth century B.C., moved to Ireland; to Scotland; and then when king James the sixth of Scotland moved his throne to England to become the third overturning, to become King James the first of England, the man that we owe the king James version of the bible to.

So Judah would be the center tribe on the east side of the camp, and his ensign would be (leo) after the lion. Note also that Nahshon the son of Amminadab are in the seed line of Jesus Christ, as we read in Luke 3:32, 33.

Numbers 2:4 "And the host, and those that were numbered of them, were threescore and fourteen thousand and six hundred."

The host or army of the tribe of Judah, of those that were to be in the army were 74,600 fighting men. This is the same number that was recorded in chapter one.

Numbers 2:5 "And those that do pitch nest unto him shall be the tribe of Issachar: and Nethaneel the son of Zuar shall be captain of the children of Issachar."

So Issachar was pitching his tents on the north east corner of the side of the east from the Tabernacle.

Numbers 2:6 "And his host, and those that were numbered thereof, were fifty and four thousand and four hundred."

Issachar's army unit numbered 54,400, and they and their families were identified under the ensign or sign of (Cancer).

Numbers 2:7 "Then the tribe of Zebulun: and Eliab the son of Helon shall be captain of the children of Zebulun."

To the south of Judah, on the east side of the tabernacle was the third tribe. Each of these three tribes, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun would mover as a unit. As the leader of this tribe, God designated Helon as it's captain.

Numbers 2:8 "And the host, and those that were numbered thereof, were fifty and seven thousand and four hundred."

The number of men in this army from Zebulun was 57,400 men, that would encamp with their families. The sign of Zebulun is thought to be (Virgo).

Numbers 2:9 "All that were numbered in the camp of Judah were an hundred thousand and four score thousand an six thousand and four hundred, throughout their armies. "These shall first set forth."

So the army of Israelites that would camp on the east side of the tabernacle that would be under the tribe of Judah's leadership was 186,400 fighting men and their families. When God gave Moses instructions that it was time to move, the cloud overhead was on the move, then this unit of these three tribes would set forth first. The other tribes to follow. All of the people of this east side were from the sons of Leah, the first wife of Jacob. The standard was given and placed in the center of the east side of the camp to unite those men into a fighting unit. So there will be four division in the army of God, each moving separately and in order to each other. These three tribes making up the first division. Picture each tribe then one of the battalions of that division.

We will see later in Numbers 10:2 that God instructed Moses to have two silver trumpets made, for the sound had to reach over many square miles, when the assembly was called to gather, or it was time to signal for movement, or setting up camp. So we see that the Lord is instructing Moses on all matters, the poll count for the army, the location of the tents in the camp, even to the way the people would be called together, of make their movements. YHVH God is the king over them. It was the duties of the priests to blow the trumpets when it came to to call the People to them, or get ready to move. The long steady blast was to come together as a congregation. So when the trumpet blasted many short blasts, it was time for Judah to move out, and following Judah were the other tribes on the east side of the camp, Issachar and Zebulun.

Now we come to the tribes that would be encamped on the south side of the tabernacle and area of the Levities.

Numbers 2:10 "On the south side shall be the standard of the camp of Reuben according to their armies: and the captain of the children of Reuben shall be Elizur the son of Shedeur." "

On the south side of the tabernacle and the camps of the Levites and Moses were the people of the tribe of Reuben. Reuben was the firstborn of Jacob, the son that defiled his father's bed by bedding with Bilhah, one of Jacob's wives. Because of this Jacob withheld the bless of Abraham that was passed through his father Isaac, and would then be passed to the firstborn of Rachel his second wife. Genesis 48:20 gives us the details of the passing of the blessing on to Joseph, through his two sons.

Genesis 49:4 "Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel..." The flag for Reuben became that of a man, earthy and on its ensign was the sign of Aquarius in the Zodiac. The first mention of the Zodiac is in Genesis 1:13-19, and it's purpose was clearly stated by the Creator. The sun and the Moon was to divide the day from the night, and the other stars were set in their place; "for signs and for seasons, and for days and for years." A sign is for one reason, to give warning as to something or some One to come. Jeremiah 10:2 tells us that those that understand them (signs) are enlightened, but those that do not understand the signs will be dismayed. The meaning of the stars biblically are given in Appendix 12 of the Companion Bible.

Keep in mind that all the captains that God is naming here are the same leaders from each tribe that God called out in Numbers one, to help with the numbering of the men for the army.

Numbers 2:11 "And his host, and those that were numbered thereof, were forty and six thousand and five hundred."

The total number of men that were polled for the army from the tribe of Reuben was 46,500 men.

Numbers 2:12 "And those which pitch by him shall be the tribe of Simeon: and the captain of the children of Simeon shall be Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai." "

So Simeon would be on the south east of the camp, pitched next to Reuben. Notice the location to Reuben, Zebulun and Kohathites, for this will be the center of the trouble that will come up in the camp, that will come up later, after the twelve spies return from spying out the land. Both Reuben and Zebulun were descendants of Leah, the first wife of Jacob, and Gad was from Leah's handmaiden, Zilpha.

Numbers 2:13 "And the host, and those that were numbered of them, were fifty and nine thousand and three hundred."

The army of men from Simeon number 59,300 men. The sign for Simeon was (Pisces); "The blessing in abeyance, the Deliver coming to deliver".

Numbers 2:14 " "Then the tribe of Gad: and the captain of the sons of Gad shall be Eliasaph the son of Reuel." "

The tribe of Gad encamped on the next to Reuben, on the south west part of the camp. The sign of Gad was the fish, (Aries). Notice that there is an error in the name of "Reuel", for the "Resh" was mistaken for the "Daleth" or D, and the name should read "Deuel". Numbers 1:14 is correct in this name.

Numbers 2:15 "And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were forty and five thousand and six hundred and fifty."

The army of the men of Gad numbered 45,600 men.

Numbers 2:16 "All that were numbered in the camp of Reuben were an hundred thousand and fifty and one thousand and four hundred and fifty, throughout their armies. "And they shall set forth in the second rank."

So the division of men made up from the tribes of Reuben, Simeon and Gad numbered 151,450 men. When the tribes of Israel were on the move, this division of men in the army would be the second rank to move out, of course with their families. The tribe of Reuben would lead this division as they moved out of camp, and they would follow the first division headed by Judah. So after Judah had departed, the silver trumpets would sound short blasts and this division would take it's turn.

Numbers 2:17 "Then the tabernacle of the congregation shall set forward with the camp of the Levites in the midst of the camp: as they encamp, so shall they set forward, every man in his place by their standards."

After the encampment to the east and south moved out, the Levites and those three families of Meharites, Gershonites and Kohathites would follow. The sign of the Levites in ancient times was the altar, (Libra) biblically speaking made up of "Crux, Lupus, and Conona": "the Cross endured, the Victim and the Crown bestowed". The tribe of Levi had no man that would stand in the army of Israel, they would be protected and placed with two division of the army in front and two behind them, both in movement and in the camp.

Numbers 2:18 "On the west side shall be the standard of the camp of Ephraim according to their armies: and the captain of the sons of Ephraim shall be Elishama the son of Ammihud." "

The tribe of Ephraim would be the center of the three tribes to the west of the tabernacle. Ephraim was the youngest son of Joseph, yet Jacob put the Abrahamic blessing on Ephraim as well as Manasseh, the firstborn of Joseph. God would bless the nations through both, Ephraim as growing into many nations, and Manasseh as a nation that would be the strongest. So as we see from Genesis 48:14-20, it would be Ephraim that would be the standard bearer, or lead tribe in this division of the camp. Ephraim will be the center tribe with Manasseh and Benjamin on each side. Notice also that these three tribes are from their mother Rachel, the most loved by Jacob by of his four wives.

Numbers 2:19 "And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were forty thousand and five hundred."

The number of armed men from the tribe of Ephraim was 40,500 men, with the sign of Ephraim being (Taurus) the bull, for Ephraim and Manasseh would be "the two horns of Taurus". Horns of course being symbolic of power. Each will have it's strengths, and reflected "Messiah, coming to rule"..

Numbers 2:20 " "And by him shall be the tribe of Manasseh: and the captain of the children of Manasseh shall be Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur." "

Of course Ephraim and Manasseh were brother, and the sons of Joseph. So Manasseh would encamp at the southwest corner of the camp. They would move out following Ephraim when God ordered the time to move.

Numbers 2:21 "And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were thirty and two thousand and two hundred."

Then number of men in arms from the tribe of Manasseh was 32,200 men at the time all Israel was camped at the foot of Sinai.

Numbers 2:22 " "Then the tribe of Benjamin: and the captain of the sons of Benjamin shall be Abidan the son of Gideoni." "

Benjamin was the youngest of all the sons of Jacob, and Joseph was very protective of their youngest brother. Benjamin was born at the time of Rachel's death, so Benjamin was protected much more than the other sons by Jacob. Here now, some two hundred years following Jacob's death, the tribes of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh are still looking after their younger brothers.

Numbers 2:23 "And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were thirty and five thousand and four hundred."

The host or army from the tribe of Benjamin numbered 35,400 men. The Zodiac sign for Benjamin was (Gemini), "Messiah the Prince of princes".

Numbers 2:24 "All that were numbered of the camp of Ephraim were an hundred thousand and eight thousand and an hundred, throughout their armies. "And they shall go forward in the third rank." "

The children of the lineage of these three tribes that came through Rachel number 108,100 men

Numbers 2:25 "The standard of the camp of Dan shall be on the north side by their armies: and the captain of the children of Dan shall be Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai." "

This will be the fourth division of the and last of the division of three tribes, and this division will be at the rear of the movement through the wilderness. When these three tribes would be encamped, they would be camped to the north side of the tabernacle, and between Asher and Naphtali.

The sign of the ensign for Dan was (Scorpio) [the eagle], "the Redeemer's conflict"

So now we have the four division named and numbered: Judah the lion to the north; Ephraim being the Ox to the west; Reuben being a man, and Dan being the Eagle, Ezekiel 1:10 calls attention to this of his vision of the whirlwind that came out of that cloud.

Ezekiel 1:5 "And out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance:" [5] "And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings." [6]

Ezekiel 1:10 "As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; and they four also had the face of an eagle."

These four living creatures provided the protective barrier around the throne of God, that platform of brightness that came out of the north, to commune with Ezekiel. Then in Revelation 4:6, 7 we see these beasts in heaven again.

Revelation 4:6, 7 "And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind." [6] "And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf [ox], the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle." [7]

Take "beasts" back to the Hebrew text, and they are called "Zoa", which also means creatures. So just as these four divisions of the army of Israel are encamped around the seat of God, at the holy of holies in the tabernacle, and the ark of the covenant. Those four beasts or creatures stood guard over the throne of God, both in the whirlwind of Ezekiel, and in heaven from the book of Revelation. Remember that God is the one that put the sign on each tribe and placed them around his throne, the mercy seat in the tabernacle; and he is also the one to name the commanders, and one of them would even be in the Lineage that He would come through, when God became flesh and dwelt with man, in the body and name of Jesus the Christ.

Numbers 2:26 "And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were threescore and two thousand and seven hundred."

The number of men in arms of the tribe of Dan, the Eagle, numbered 62,700 men.

Numbers 2:27 " "And those that encamped by him shall be the tribe of Asher: and the captain of the children of Asher shall be Pagiel the son of Ocran." "

The tribe that will be on the the North side, the northwest corner of the encampment is the tribe of Asher. Asher will carry the sign or ensign of of the (Sagittarius), meaning "the Redeemer's triumph" in the Biblical Zodiac. Jacob prophesied the tribe of Asher to be prosperous, in Genesis 49:20; "His bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties." Again, each of these captain are the ones that were in charge of polling the tribes, and recording the names of the men over the age of twenty, that would serve in the army. Pagiel was not only the man selected by God to be over these people, but he would be their general if and when they went to war.

Numbers 2:28 "And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were forty and one thousand an five hundred."

The sign that would appear on their ensign would be the archer, and they numbered 41,500 men in arms.

Numbers 2:29 " "Then the tribe of Naphtali: and the captain of the children of Naphtali shall be Ahira the son of Enan." "

So Naphtali would camp on the northeast corner of the camp, between the tribes of Dan of his division, and Issachar of Judah's division. The sign of Naphtali was (Capricornus), meaning "the result of the Redeemer's sufferings": on their flag was the goat.

Numbers 2:30 "And the host, and those that were numbered of them, were fifty and three thousand and four hundred."

"And the host", means "according to their host". According to the poll of the tribe of Naphtali, the number of their poll was 53,400 men in arms. Their camp included their families along with these men. This tribe of Naphtali would be the rear guard of the children of Israel when they traveled in the wilderness.

Numbers 2:31 "All they that were numbered in the camp of Dan were an hundred thousand and fifty and seven thousand and six hundred. "They shall go hindmost with their standards." "

The total number of men in arms in the fourth division was 157,600 men. This fourth division would be the last to leave the old camp and the end of the mass movement of the children of Israel. The camp of Dan was made up of the tribes of Dan, Asher to his right and Naphtali to his left. The were all under the one standard of Dan when it came to a battle or in their movement.

Numbers 2:32 "These are those which were numbered of the children of Israel by the house of their fathers: all those that were numbered of the camps throughout their hosts were six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty."

Again as we read in Numbers 1:46 the total number of men in the army of the children of Israel was 603, 550 men, along with their families, to make the total of the children of Israel between 2.1 and 2.4 million souls.

Numbers 2:33 "But the Levites were not numbered among the children of Israel; as the Lord commanded Moses."

The Levites were not numbered or polled for duty in the army, for they had duties in and around the tabernacle. Their duties and responsibilities will be discussed in Numbers 3, and 4.

Numbers 2:34 "And the children of Israel did according to all that the Lord commanded Moses: so they pitched by their standards, and so they set forward, every one after their families, according to the house of their fathers."