The Organization of the Camp: The people have been numbered; now the camp must be organized, especially since a long journey is about to commence. This chapter repeats material from the first chapter as a memory aid and introduces the order of march. The arrangement of the camp alluded to in 1:52–53 is now presented in detail.

2:1–2 Divine instruction comes again to Moses and Aaron. The camp is to be organized around the Tent of Meeting with tribes on the four sides; chapter 3 makes clear that Levites and priests will surround the tabernacle. Such an arrangement fits contexts of worship, especially festival occasions, and it also fits a kind of battle array. The arrangement reflects a gradation in holiness from the tabernacle at the center to the priests and Levites and then the rest of the…