Preparations for Resuming Journey (1:1–10:10): Preparation for completing the trip to Canaan and conquering that land requires organization of the Israelites as a sacred fighting force. This process includes a military census (Numbers 1), arrangement of tribes in a holy war camp and assignment of their marching order (chap. 2), as well as a census of sanctuary personnel (members of the Levite tribe) and allocation of their duties (chaps. 3–4). The military census numbers able-bodied adult males along tribal lines, implying that military divisions correspond to tribes and their subunits. Organizing the army in this way would have had two major advantages. First, tribal hierarchy supplied a naturally effective military chain of command. Second, Israelites fighting alongside members of their …