New International Reader s Version - NIrV - 1996
Numbers 10
1
The Lord spoke to Moses. He said,
2
"Make two trumpets out of hammered silver. Blow them when you want the community to gather together. And blow them when you want the camps to start out.
Reference
3
When both trumpets are blown, the whole community must gather in front of you. They must come to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
Reference
Parallel theme
Jeremiah 4:5
4
Suppose only one trumpet is blown. Then the leaders must gather in front of you. They are the heads of the tribes of Israel.
Reference
5
When a trumpet blast is blown, the tribes that are camped on the east side must start out.
Reference
Parallel theme
Numbers 10:14
6
When the second blast is blown, the camps on the south side must start out. The blast will tell them when to start.
Reference
Parallel theme
Numbers 10:18
7
Blow the trumpets to gather the people together. But do not use the same kind of blast.
Reference
Parallel theme
Joel 2:1
8
"The sons of Aaron, the priests, must blow the trumpets. That is a law for you and your children after you for all time to come.
Reference
9
Suppose you go into battle in your own land. And suppose it is against an enemy who is beating you down. Then blow a blast on the trumpets. If you do, I will remember you. I will save you from your enemies. I am the Lord your God.
Reference
Parallel theme
Psalm 106:42
Joshua 6:5
Numbers 31:6
Judges 10:12
Judges 6:9
References God
1 Samuel 10:18
Genesis 8:1
References Lord
Judges 2:18
2 Chronicles 13:14
Salvation
Psalm 106:4
10
You must also blow the trumpets when you are happy. Blow them at your appointed feasts. Blow them at your New Moon Feasts. Blow them when you sacrifice your burnt offerings. Blow them when you sacrifice your friendship offerings. They will remind me of you. I am the Lord your God."
Reference
Parallel theme
Psalm 81:3
Nehemiah 12:35
Leviticus 23:24
2 Chronicles 29:26
Numbers 29:1
References God
1 Chronicles 15:24
1 Thessalonians 4:16
Numbers 10:9
References Lord
2 Chronicles 7:6
Sacrifice
2 Chronicles 29:28
11
It was the 20th day of the second month of the second year. On that day the cloud began to move. It went up from above the holy tent where the tablets of the covenant were kept.
12
Then the people of Israel started out from the Desert of Sinai. They traveled from place to place. They kept going until the cloud came to rest in the Desert of Paran.
Reference
Parallel theme
Genesis 21:21
Numbers 12:16
References Israel
Deuteronomy 1:1
Numbers 13:3
Numbers 13:26
Sin
Numbers 1:1
Numbers 9:5
13
The first time they started out, the Lord commanded Moses to tell them to do it. And they did it.
14
The companies of the camp of Judah went first. They went out under their flag. Nahshon was their commander. He was the son of Amminadab.
Reference
Parallel theme
Numbers 1:7
15
Nethanel was over the company of the tribe of Issachar. Nethanel was the son of Zuar.
16
Eliab was over the company of the tribe of Zebulun. Eliab was the son of Helon.
17
The holy tent was taken down. The men of Gershon and Merari started out. They carried the tent.
Reference
Temple
Numbers 1:51
18
The companies of the camp of Reuben went next. They went out under their flag. Elizur was their commander. He was the son of Shedeur.
Reference
Parallel theme
Numbers 1:5
19
Shelumiel was over the company of the tribe of Simeon. Shelumiel was the son of Zurishaddai.
Reference
Parallel theme
Numbers 1:6
21
The men of Kohath started out. They carried the holy things. The holy tent had to be set up before they arrived.
Reference
22
The companies of the camp of Ephraim went next. They went out under their flag. Elishama was their commander. He was the son of Ammihud.
Reference
Parallel theme
Numbers 1:10
23
Gamaliel was over the company of the tribe of Manasseh. Gamaliel was the son of Pedahzur.
24
Abidan was over the company of the tribe of Benjamin. Abidan was the son of Gideoni.
Reference
Parallel theme
Numbers 1:11
25
Finally, the companies of the camp of Dan started out. They marched out under their flag. They followed behind all of the other companies and guarded them. Ahiezer was their commander. He was the son of Ammishaddai.
Reference
26
Pagiel was over the company of the tribe of Asher. Pagiel was the son of Ocran.
Reference
Parallel theme
Numbers 1:13
27
Ahira was over the company of the tribe of Naphtali. Ahira was the son of Enan.
Reference
Parallel theme
Numbers 1:15
28
As the companies of Israel started out, that was the order they marched in.
Reference
References Israel
Numbers 2:34
29
Moses spoke to Hobab, the son of Reuel. Reuel was Moses' father-in-law. Reuel was from Midian. Moses said to Hobab, "We're starting out for the place the Lord promised to us. He said to us, 'I will give it to you.' So come with us. We'll treat you well. The Lord has promised to give good things to Israel."
Reference
People
Good
Genesis 32:12
Parallel theme
Exodus 2:18
References Lord
Genesis 12:7
Word
Exodus 3:1
Judges 4:11
30
Hobab answered, "No. I can't go. I'm going back to my own land. I'm returning to my own people."
31
But Moses said, "Please don't leave us. You know where we should camp in the desert. You can be our guide.
Reference
Parallel theme
Job 29:15
33
So they started out from the mountain of the Lord. They traveled for three days. The ark of the covenant of the Lord went in front of them during those three days. It went ahead of them to find a place for them to rest.
Reference
35
When the ark started out, Moses said, "Lord, rise up! Let your enemies be scattered. Let them run away from you."
36
When the ark came to rest, Moses said, "Lord, return. Return to the many thousands of people in Israel."
Reference
References Lord
Deuteronomy 1:10
Summary of Numbers 10
Numbers 10 describes an important transition in Israel's pilgrimage through the wilderness. The children of Israel had tarried at Mount Sinai, where God had imparted his law to them and the tabernacle had been erected; but they were now to set forward on the journey leading to the Promised Land. The chapter contains an account of the silver trumpets by which the people were to be summoned to assemble, the orders in which the tribes were to march, and the journey itself.
The Lord instructed Moses to make two silver trumpets. These were to be used for such announcements as would be necessary in the midst of a great and scattered people. When both trumpets were blown, the whole congregation was to assemble at the door of the tabernacle. A single trumpet would call the princes, that is, the chief men of the tens of thousands of Israel. Notes from the trumpets were also to be played when Israel was to prepare for journeying. The eastern tribes were to move first when the signal was given.
The trumpets were also to be used when Israel was going to war against her enemies in the land. The priests and Levites were to sound an alarm upon them, and the Lord had promised to remember them and deliver them out of the hands of their foes. The trumpets were to sound on days of feasts, the set feasts, and the days of offerings; and thus they were associated with the regular rhythms of Israel's pilgrimage.
The Lord told Moses that the trumpets were to be made and sounded by the priests. They were to provide a systematic means of communication for the people. It is not surprising that signals from these trumpets would be necessary, since hundreds of thousands of people were making a pilgrimage through the wilderness. The people were to move as a single body rather than in a congeries of independent companies.
This great host had now left off its waiting. The twentieth day of the second month of the second year since their departure from Egypt was the day on which the cloud above the tabernacle had risen from over it. The children of Israel followed the directions they had been given. The first company to move off was the camp of the children of Judah. The tribes of Issachar and Zebulun followed. Then the Gershonites and Merarites took up their burden of the tabernacle furniture and moved off. The camp of Reuben was the next to move, followed by Simeon and Gad. The Kohathites followed with the holy furniture, their task being distinct from that of the Gershonites and Merarites, who had carried that which had been covered by the priests.
The camp of Ephraim followed the Kohathites. Ephraim was accompanied by Manasseh and Benjamin. The camp of Dan followed last of all, with Asher and Naphtali. The order of march had great significance. Israel was not a mob, but had become an organized body of troops. Each tribe had its place, each family within the tribe its responsibility. The Levites performed their peculiar task of bearing the tabernacle, while the other tribes acted as Israel's vanguard, center, and rear.
Moses addresses Hobab, the son of Reuel the Midianite. He asks him to come with the Israelites, for he knew the wilderness and could help them find suitable camping grounds. Hobab replied that he would rather return to his own land and his brethren. Moses entreats him not to leave them; but if he did, then he was to make Israel prosper.
The chapter ends with an interesting statement that was destined to become a familiar saying among Israel. When the ark of the covenant set forward, Moses called upon the Lord to rise up and let his enemies be scattered abroad. When the ark came to a stand, Moses prayed that the Lord would return to the ten thousands of Israel. The ark was the token of God's presence with his people, and its movements were intimately connected with those of Israel.
The children of Israel journey from the wilderness of Sinai and eventually halt in the wilderness of Paran. This marks the end of one phase of their journey and the beginning of another. They have left behind Mount Sinai, where they had been given the law and built the tabernacle, and now they were to move towards the land of promise.
Numbers 10 shows the kind of organization that was necessary for Israel to undertake such an undertaking as this march through the wilderness. The silver trumpets provided means of communication with the people. There was an order in which the tribes were to march, and the Levites were to bear the tabernacle. The movement of the nation was regulated by the cloud and the sound of the trumpets. Moses' orders were not to decide when the nation was to go, but rather to regulate the march in accordance with the will of God.
The chapter also shows the importance of the ark, which went before the people. Israel was not a lawgiver's people, but a pilgrim's people, and it needed guidance. Its guidance was to come from the Lord, and his directions were made known in the signals and sounds of the trumpets. The march of Israel was one of faithfulness, as is illustrated in Moses' conference with Hobab. Moses knew that a man acquainted with the wilderness might be of use to a traveling company such as Israel was, and he entreated Hobab to remain with them.
Numbers 10, then, is a chapter which serves to bridge Israel's sojourn at Mount Sinai and the march through the wilderness. The people had been given the law and had learned the order of march and the manner in which the tabernacle was to be handled. Now the cloud moved, the trumpets sounded, the tribes formed their order of march, and Israel began to move. After months of preparation, the nation was ready to journey to the land God had promised to give them.
The Lord instructed Moses to make two silver trumpets. These were to be used for such announcements as would be necessary in the midst of a great and scattered people. When both trumpets were blown, the whole congregation was to assemble at the door of the tabernacle. A single trumpet would call the princes, that is, the chief men of the tens of thousands of Israel. Notes from the trumpets were also to be played when Israel was to prepare for journeying. The eastern tribes were to move first when the signal was given.
The trumpets were also to be used when Israel was going to war against her enemies in the land. The priests and Levites were to sound an alarm upon them, and the Lord had promised to remember them and deliver them out of the hands of their foes. The trumpets were to sound on days of feasts, the set feasts, and the days of offerings; and thus they were associated with the regular rhythms of Israel's pilgrimage.
The Lord told Moses that the trumpets were to be made and sounded by the priests. They were to provide a systematic means of communication for the people. It is not surprising that signals from these trumpets would be necessary, since hundreds of thousands of people were making a pilgrimage through the wilderness. The people were to move as a single body rather than in a congeries of independent companies.
This great host had now left off its waiting. The twentieth day of the second month of the second year since their departure from Egypt was the day on which the cloud above the tabernacle had risen from over it. The children of Israel followed the directions they had been given. The first company to move off was the camp of the children of Judah. The tribes of Issachar and Zebulun followed. Then the Gershonites and Merarites took up their burden of the tabernacle furniture and moved off. The camp of Reuben was the next to move, followed by Simeon and Gad. The Kohathites followed with the holy furniture, their task being distinct from that of the Gershonites and Merarites, who had carried that which had been covered by the priests.
The camp of Ephraim followed the Kohathites. Ephraim was accompanied by Manasseh and Benjamin. The camp of Dan followed last of all, with Asher and Naphtali. The order of march had great significance. Israel was not a mob, but had become an organized body of troops. Each tribe had its place, each family within the tribe its responsibility. The Levites performed their peculiar task of bearing the tabernacle, while the other tribes acted as Israel's vanguard, center, and rear.
Moses addresses Hobab, the son of Reuel the Midianite. He asks him to come with the Israelites, for he knew the wilderness and could help them find suitable camping grounds. Hobab replied that he would rather return to his own land and his brethren. Moses entreats him not to leave them; but if he did, then he was to make Israel prosper.
The chapter ends with an interesting statement that was destined to become a familiar saying among Israel. When the ark of the covenant set forward, Moses called upon the Lord to rise up and let his enemies be scattered abroad. When the ark came to a stand, Moses prayed that the Lord would return to the ten thousands of Israel. The ark was the token of God's presence with his people, and its movements were intimately connected with those of Israel.
The children of Israel journey from the wilderness of Sinai and eventually halt in the wilderness of Paran. This marks the end of one phase of their journey and the beginning of another. They have left behind Mount Sinai, where they had been given the law and built the tabernacle, and now they were to move towards the land of promise.
Numbers 10 shows the kind of organization that was necessary for Israel to undertake such an undertaking as this march through the wilderness. The silver trumpets provided means of communication with the people. There was an order in which the tribes were to march, and the Levites were to bear the tabernacle. The movement of the nation was regulated by the cloud and the sound of the trumpets. Moses' orders were not to decide when the nation was to go, but rather to regulate the march in accordance with the will of God.
The chapter also shows the importance of the ark, which went before the people. Israel was not a lawgiver's people, but a pilgrim's people, and it needed guidance. Its guidance was to come from the Lord, and his directions were made known in the signals and sounds of the trumpets. The march of Israel was one of faithfulness, as is illustrated in Moses' conference with Hobab. Moses knew that a man acquainted with the wilderness might be of use to a traveling company such as Israel was, and he entreated Hobab to remain with them.
Numbers 10, then, is a chapter which serves to bridge Israel's sojourn at Mount Sinai and the march through the wilderness. The people had been given the law and had learned the order of march and the manner in which the tabernacle was to be handled. Now the cloud moved, the trumpets sounded, the tribes formed their order of march, and Israel began to move. After months of preparation, the nation was ready to journey to the land God had promised to give them.