Chapter Ten
Silver Trumpets
10:1 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Make two silver trumpets. Of hammered work you shall make them, and you shall use them for summoning the congregation and for breaking camp. 3 And when both are blown, all the congregation shall gather themselves to you at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 4 But if they blow only one, then the chiefs, the heads of the tribes of Israel, shall gather themselves to you.
The shofar (Hebrew ‘šō·pār’, a ram’s horn, usually translated as a trumpet) has been employed by the Israelites since they arrived at Mount Sinai for various applications (see Exodus 19:16, 19; 20:18; Leviticus 25:9). God now instructs Moses to construct two silver trumpets, something that is intended to sound very different than the shofar. The purpose of these trumpets was to alert or summon people. When both trumpets were blown all the people of Israel were to meet in front of the Tabernacle. If only one trumpet was blown, then the chiefs of the tribes were to come to Moses. The Hebrew word translated here as ‘blow’ is ‘tāqa’,[1] meaning to thrust, such as to pitch a tent, wind blowing, or to blow a trumpet, believed to be the root word for the modern Hebrew word ‘tekiah’,[2] referring to a long blast on a shofar or trumpet.
10:5 When you blow an alarm, the camps that are on the east side shall set out. 6 And when you blow an alarm the second time, the camps that are on the south side shall set out. An alarm is to be blown whenever they are to set out. 7 But when the assembly is to be gathered together, you shall blow a long blast, but you shall not sound an alarm. 8 And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow the trumpets. The trumpets shall be to you for a perpetual statute throughout your generations.
The trumpets were also to be used to sound various alarms or to signal a specific action to proceed. When they blow an alarm, the camps on the east side are to move out, then when the second alarm is made, that would signal the camps on the south side to proceed out. The word translated here as ‘alarm’ three times in verses five and six, is the Hebrew ‘terû·’āh’,[3] referring to a shout of alarm, a shout of joy, a battle cry, or as a noise or signal made with an instrument. The ‘teruah’ (common spelling), will later be identified in the Talmud as an “quavering blast,”[4] a series of short trumpet blasts. To gather the people together the priests are to blow a long blast without any alarm (no quavering). The use of these trumpets was to be an ongoing practice.
10:9 And when you go to war in your land against the adversary who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, that you may be remembered before the LORD your God, and you shall be saved from your enemies.
The trumpets were to be blown when they went into battle, serving as both an alarm for the Israelites to prepare and engage in war, but also for them to be reminded that they are not alone. God is promising that He will be there and save them from their enemies.
10:10 On the day of your gladness also, and at your appointed feasts and at the beginnings of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings. They shall be a reminder of you before your God: I am the LORD your God.”
The trumpets were to be used to celebrate joyous days (Hebrew ‘śim·ḥā(h)’,[5] celebration of something cheerful), the seven appointed feasts and at the beginning of each month (monthly offerings, see Numbers 28:11-15). Plus, the trumpets were to be blown when either a burnt offering or peace offering was made (Hebrew ‘tāqa’, using long blasts, see above). Just like the sound of the trumpets were to remind the people that God was with them (verse 9), the sound of these trumpets was to remind the people of Israel that YHWH was their God.
This verse concludes what is often referred to as the first section of the book of Numbers. The people of Israel have been near Mount Sinai for nearly one year (see Exodus 19:1), and now God signals it is time to move on.
The People of Israel Leave Mount Sinai Area
10:11 In the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth day of the month, the cloud lifted from over the tabernacle of the testimony, 12 and the people of Israel set out by stages from the wilderness of Sinai. And the cloud settled down in the wilderness of Paran. 13 They set out for the first time at the command of the LORD by Moses.
The people of Israel began their journey from the wilderness of Mount Sinai towards the wilderness of Paran,[6] on the twentieth day of the second month (Ziv)[7] in the second year after leaving Egypt. God instructed them to move out as indicated by the cloud rising over the Tabernacle, however the instructions came through Moses as he reported in Deuteronomy 1:6-8.
10:14 The standard of the camp of the people of Judah set out first by their companies, and over their company was Nahshon the son of Amminadab. 15 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Issachar was Nethanel the son of Zuar. 16 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Zebulun was Eliab the son of Helon.
The procession begins in the order previously established in Numbers chapter two. Under the standard of Judah was the tribe of Judah, followed by the tribes of Issachar and Zebulun.
10:17 And when the tabernacle was taken down, the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari, who carried the tabernacle, set out. 18 And the standard of the camp of Reuben set out by their companies, and over their company was Elizur the son of Shedeur. 19 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Simeon was Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai. 20 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Gad was Eliasaph the son of Deuel.
Then next in the procession after the Tabernacle is taken down and packed, the Gershonites and the Merarites from the tribe of Levi, which carry the frame and coverings for the Tabernacle, move out, followed by the tribes of Reuben, Simeon and Gad, each under the standard of Reuben.
10:21 Then the Kohathites set out, carrying the holy things, and the tabernacle was set up before their arrival. 22 And the standard of the camp of the people of Ephraim set out by their companies, and over their company was Elishama the son of Ammihud. 23 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Manasseh was Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur. 24 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Benjamin was Abidan the son of Gideoni.
Then the Kohathites of the tribe of Levi proceed out carrying the various furnishings of the Tabernacle, which were prepared for transportation prior to their arrival by the priests (see Numbers 4:5-15). The Kohathites were followed by those belonging to the standard of Ephraim: the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin.
10:25 Then the standard of the camp of the people of Dan, acting as the rear guard of all the camps, set out by their companies, and over their company was Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai. 26 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Asher was Pagiel the son of Ochran. 27 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Naphtali was Ahira the son of Enan. 28 This was the order of march of the people of Israel by their companies, when they set out.
The last group, acting as the rear guard under the standard of Dan, were the tribes of Dan, Asher, and Naphtali. The departure was in the order of march of the people as they set out (Hebrew ‘mǎs·sǎ[8]’, means to move out or to begin a journey, translated in verse two as ‘breaking’, in verse six as ‘set out’, and in verse twelve ‘by stages’, however, the word does not imply a structured march).[9]
10:29 And Moses said to Hobab the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses’ father-in-law, “We are setting out for the place of which the LORD said, ‘I will give it to you.’ Come with us, and we will do good to you, for the LORD has promised good to Israel.” 30 But he said to him, “I will not go. I will depart to my own land and to my kindred.” 31 And he said, “Please do not leave us, for you know where we should camp in the wilderness, and you will serve as eyes for us. 32 And if you do go with us, whatever good the LORD will do to us, the same will we do to you.”
The text seemingly calls Moses’ father-in-law Hobab, who has already been identified as Reuel (see Exodus 2:18) and Jethro (see Exodus 3:1; 18:1).[10] There are several different theories and possibilities promoted by commentators. One commentator narrows it down to three:
Probably “Hobab of the Midianite clan of Reuel.” The identification of Hobab is difficult. He is designated here as Moses’ father-in-law (also in Judg. 1:16; 4:11), a role assigned to Reuel in Exodus 2:18 and to Jethro in Exodus 18. Three solutions have been proposed: (1) Hobab and Jethro are the same person and Reuel is their father; (2) the term ḥoten means a relation of the bride, hence, brother-in-law as well as father-in-law, by which Reuel becomes the father of Hobab/Jethro and the father-in-law of Moses; (3) Reuel is a clan name,41 as seen by its association with Midian (Gen. 25:3 LXX) and Edom (Gen. 36:17; 1 Chron. 1:35, 37), and therefore ḥoten in this verse should be read ḥatan, “son-in-law,” thereby making Hobab, the young desert scout of the Midianite clan of Reuel, Moses’ son-in-law.43
A second difficulty is that Hobab the Midianite is elsewhere called a Kenite (Judg. 1:16 LXX; 4:11). This problem, however, can be satisfactorily explained. Midian, it now appears, is not the name of a people but of a confederation of peoples, one of which is the Kenites. Similarly, Enoch is both a Kenite (i.e., the son of Cain, Gen. 4:17) and a Midianite (the son of Midian, Gen. 25:4). The name Kenites means smiths (cf. Gen. 4:22). Probably they worked the mines in the mountain regions of Sinai or Midian (Num. 24:21).[11]
Moses invites Hobab to come with them as they leave for the Promised Land. Moses tells him that he will do well since God, “has promised good to Israel.” Hobab, at first, turns him down, saying that he will not depart from his own land and family. Then Moses pleads with him to come along and help them identify good places to camp, appealing to Hobab’s sense of being invaluable to the people of Israel, even though he won’t be the one deciding where to camp (that’s up to God, not Moses or Hobab). The text does not record a response from Hobab, but apparently, he did accept Moses’ invitation as his descendants are later referenced in Scripture (see Judges 1:16; 4:11). Moses also promised him that whatever YHWH will do for them, He will do the same for him.
10:33 So they set out from the mount of the LORD three days’ journey. And the ark of the covenant of the LORD went before them three days’ journey, to seek out a resting place for them. 34 And the cloud of the LORD was over them by day, whenever they set out from the camp.
After much preparation and anticipation, the journey begins. The first leg of the trip required three days of travel. The Ark of the Covenant (first time the ark was referred to by its most popular and well-known name), named such due to the contents giving testimony of the existence of the covenant between God and the people of Israel (at this time the contents were only the stone tablets and the jar containing manna). The ark was carried in front of the Israelites as God was guiding them with the cloud that was above and set out before them.
So where in the procession was the ark? Was it in front or behind the people following the standard of Judah? Some rabbis believed the only way to resolve this dilemma was to conclude that there were two arks, which would have been identified in Scripture long before this time. While many theories abound, the easiest and possibly the simplest solution is that the Kohathites carrying the ark would proceed to the front of the line when they were traveling.
10:35 And whenever the ark set out, Moses said, “Arise, O LORD, and let your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate you flee before you.” 36 And when it rested, he said, “Return, O LORD, to the ten thousand thousands of Israel.”
Sometimes referred to as the “Song of the Ark” (see also Psalms 68:1; 132:8), this prayer of Moses asks God to scatter their enemies when traveling and to return to bless them when they have stopped. The statement, “to the ten thousand thousands of Israel,” is considered to be the equivalent of saying innumerable.
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[1] Strong’s Hebrew 8628.
[2] Word not found in Scripture.
[3] Strong’s Hebrew 8643.
[4] Neusner, J. (2011). The Babylonian Talmud: A Translation and Commentary (Vol. 6b, p. 214). Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers.
[5] Strong’s Hebrew 8057.
[6] See Considerations under Exodus 21:18-21 and the Considerations under Exodus 14:30-31.
[7] See Considerations under Exodus 12:28.
[8] Strong’s Hebrew 4550.
[9] See commentary under Exodus 17:1.
[10] See also commentary under Exodus 2:16-20.
[11] Milgrom, J. (1990). Numbers (p. 78). Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society.