Camp
“Encampment, whether of troops or nomads”
Summary
The organized encampment of Israel during the wilderness wanderings, arranged in precise order around the tabernacle with each tribe in its designated position.
☩Arrangement
During the wilderness sojourn, the twelve tribes were formed into four great divisions, encamping in a square formation around the tabernacle. The camp of Judah (with Issachar and Zebulun) was positioned on the east; Reuben (with Simeon and Gad) on the south; Ephraim (with Manasseh and Benjamin) on the west; and Dan (with Asher and Naphtali) on the north. Moses, Aaron, and the priests camped nearest to the tabernacle entrance, with the Levites surrounding the other three sides.
☩Order of March
The order of march was also divinely prescribed. Judah led the van with its associated tribes, followed by the Gershonites and Merarites carrying the tabernacle. Reuben's camp came next, then the Kohathites with the holy vessels, followed by Ephraim's camp, with Dan's camp bringing up the rear.
☩Holiness and Defilement
Because God dwelt in the midst of the camp, strict standards of purity were required. Certain defilements, including leprosy and other uncleanness, required exclusion from the camp until purification was completed. When Israel sinned with the golden calf, Moses pitched a tent outside the camp, calling it the 'tent of meeting,' showing that God's presence could not dwell where there was idolatry. The bodies of sin offerings were burned outside the camp, foreshadowing Christ who 'suffered without the gate.'
Related Verses131 mentions
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Camp," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. II (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.George Morrish, "Camp," in Morrish's Concise Bible Dictionary (George Morrish, 1898).