The Two Silver Trumpets
Israel needed signals that were loud and clear...
- Israel needed signals that were loud and clear so that the tribes could receive instructions. Two silver trumpets provided a simple, effective means to signal all the tribes to move.
- These trumpets were not the ram’s horns (Hebrew shopar) mentioned frequently in the Old Testament (e.g., Josh 6:4–6); they were fashioned by Israelite craftsmen from hammered silver brought out of Egypt.
1Then the LORD said to Moses,
The two trumpets were used to get people’s...
The two trumpets were used to get people’s attention for important pronouncements (cp. Rev 8–11).
2“Make two trumpets of hammered silver to be used for calling the congregation and for having the camps set out. 3When both are sounded, the whole congregation is to assemble before you at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. 4But if only one is sounded, then the leaders, the heads of the clans of Israel, are to gather before you.
When it was time to break camp, the...
When it was time to break camp, the sound of the trumpets supplemented the movement of the pillar of cloud (cp. 9:15–22) by signaling when to camp and when to move on (see ch 2).
5When you sound short blasts, the camps that lie on the east side are to set out. 6When you sound the short blasts a second time, the camps that lie on the south side are to set out. The blasts are to signal them to set out. 7To convene the assembly, you are to sound long blasts, not short ones. 8The sons of Aaron, the priests, are to sound the trumpets. This shall be a permanent statute for you and the generations to come.
The trumpets marked holy events that might not...
The trumpets marked holy events that might not readily be recognized as such. Trumpets that sounded a call to arms (Hos 5:8; Joel 2:1) would remind … the Lord to rescue the Hebrews from their enemies.
9When you enter into battle in your land against an adversary who attacks you, sound short blasts on the trumpets, and you will be remembered before the LORD your God and saved from your enemies. 10And on your joyous occasions, your appointed feasts, and the beginning of each month, you are to blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and peace offerings to serve as a reminder for you before your God. I am the LORD your God.”
From Sinai to Paran
Leaving Sinai was a pivotal moment in Israel’s...
Leaving Sinai was a pivotal moment in Israel’s history. Now the Israelites had the law and would be tested as to how they would keep it. The departure from Sinai was the beginning of the march toward Canaan, though it turned into a long journey (cp. Deut 1:6–8, 19). This passage summarizes the daily procedures on the journey.
11On the twentieth day of the second month of the second year, the cloud was lifted from above the tabernacle of the Testimony, 12and the Israelites set out from the Wilderness of Sinai, traveling from place to place until the cloud settled in the Wilderness of Paran.
The order of march is different here than...
The order of march is different here than in 2:3–34, which specifies that all three clans of Levites were to carry the Tabernacle and its furnishings in the middle of the troop, between the groups headed by Judah and Reuben and the groups headed by Ephraim and Dan. Here, the Gershonites and Merarites carried the components of the Tabernacle structure between Judah and Reuben, and the Kohathites carried the most sacred furniture between Reuben and Ephraim. This useful arrangement allowed time for the Gershonites and Merarites to set up the Tabernacle before the Kohathites arrived with the sacred objects. It also provided security for their special cargo, and it spread the Levites out among the tribes, perhaps enhancing the leavening effect of their influence (cp. Matt 13:33; 16:6, 11–12; 1 Cor 5:6–7).
13They set out this first time according to the LORD’s command through Moses.
14First, the divisions of the camp of Judah set out under their standard, with Nahshon son of Amminadab in command. 15Nethanel son of Zuar was over the division of the tribe of Issachar, 16and Eliab son of Helon was over the division of the tribe of Zebulun. 17Then the tabernacle was taken down, and the Gershonites and the Merarites set out, transporting it.
18Then the divisions of the camp of Reuben set out under their standard, with Elizur son of Shedeur in command. 19Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai was over the division of the tribe of Simeon, 20and Eliasaph son of Deuel was over the division of the tribe of Gad. 21Then the Kohathites set out, transporting the holy objects; the tabernacle was to be set up before their arrival.
22Next, the divisions of the camp of Ephraim set out under their standard, with Elishama son of Ammihud in command. 23Gamaliel son of Pedahzur was over the division of the tribe of Manasseh, 24and Abidan son of Gideoni was over the division of the tribe of Benjamin.
25Finally, the divisions of the camp of Dan set out under their standard, serving as the rear guard for all units, with Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai in command. 26Pagiel son of Ocran was over the division of the tribe of Asher, 27and Ahira son of Enan was over the division of the tribe of Naphtali.
28This was the order of march for the Israelite divisions as they set out.
After the trek toward Paran had begun, Moses...
- After the trek toward Paran had begun, Moses took the practical step of asking his brother-in-law, Hobab (cp. Judg 4:11), to join the Israelites as their guide (literally to serve as Israel’s eyes) and so to share in their promised blessings. As a Midianite shepherd, Hobab knew the routes and possible sources of food and water in this region of the Sinai Peninsula.
- Reuel the Midianite: See “Jethro (Reuel)” Profile.
- my own land and family: Midian was probably in northwestern Arabia. Judges 1:16 suggests that Hobab accepted the appeal.
29Then Moses said to Hobab, the son of Moses’ father-in-law Reuel† the Midianite, “We are setting out for the place of which the LORD said: ‘I will give it to you.’ Come with us, and we will treat you well, for the LORD has promised good things to Israel.”
30“I will not go,” Hobab replied. “Instead, I am going back to my own land and my own people.”
31“Please do not leave us,” Moses said, “since you know where we should camp in the wilderness, and you can serve as our eyes. 32If you come with us, we will share with you whatever good things the LORD gives us.”
33So they set out on a three-day journey from the mountain of the LORD, with the ark of the covenant of the LORD traveling ahead of them for those three days to seek a resting place for them. 34And the cloud of the LORD was over them by day when they set out from the camp.
35Whenever the ark set out, Moses would say,
“Rise up, O LORD!May Your enemies be scattered;may those who hate You flee before You.”36And when it came to rest, he would say:
“Return, O LORD,to the countless thousands of Israel.”