Numbers 2: Group Study Handout

Overview

Yahweh spoke to Moses and Aaron to instruct the children of Israel to encamp by their standards around the Tent of Meeting (vv. 1-2). The tribes on the east, led by Judah, include Nahshon as their prince and total one hundred eighty-six thousand four hundred (vv.

Key verse

“The children of Israel shall encamp every man by his own standard, with the banners of their fathers’ houses: at a distance from the Tent of Meeting shall they encamp around it.”

Numbers 2:2 (WEB)

Outline

1. Numbers 2:1–2 God's Instructions on Camping Order
2. Numbers 2:3–9 Tribes on the East: Judah's Position
3. Numbers 2:10–16 Tribes on the South: Reuben's Position
4. Numbers 2:17 Placement of the Tent of Meeting
5. Numbers 2:18–24 Tribes on the West: Ephraim's Position
6. Numbers 2:25–31 Tribes on the North: Dan's Position
7. Numbers 2:32–34 Total Counts and Compliance

Discussion questions

1. In v2, what does Yahweh command regarding the Israelites’ encampment?
2. What is the total number of those counted in the camp of Judah in v9?
3. In v17, why is the Tent of Meeting placed in the middle of the camps?
4. In v34, what does it mean that the children of Israel encamped 'by their standards'?
5. When have you felt a sense of belonging in a community, similar to the encampment described in v2?

Go deeper

Passages that echo Numbers 2: Numbers 1, Numbers 10, Numbers 7.

Before next time: read Numbers 3.