Numbers 2 arranges twelve tribes (not including Levites) in four major divisions, consisting of three tribes each. The Israelite war camp has the shape of a hollow square, with the residence of the divine king protected in the middle. Strikingly similar is the war camp around the palatial tent of Pharaoh Rameses II (ruled 1279 to 1212 BC) pictured in his temple at…
Baker Publishing Group, The Baker Illustrated Bible Commentary, by Gary M. Burge