6. Some Intriguing Observations (5)

Illustration #4: A Message from the Tribal Camps

“The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: ‘The Israelites are to camp around the Tent of Meeting some distance from it, each man under his standard with the banners of his family.’”
	Numbers 2:1-2
“Their faces looked like this: Each of the four had the face of a man, and on the right side each had the face of a lion, and on the left the face of an ox; each also had the face of an eagle.”
	Ezekiel 1:10
“In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle.”
	Revelation 4:6-7

In Numbers 2 are detailed instructions about how the Israelites had to camp by tribe while in the desert: The Levites were to camp around the Tent of Meeting,[16] the tribes of Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun were placed to the east of the tabernacle. That Judah is mentioned first must have raised some eyebrows since Judah was not the oldest son of Jacob (Reuben was the oldest, then Simeon and Gad with Judah as the fourth oldest son – see also Numbers 1). Judah ’s preferred position (which continues through the history of Israel ) can now be understood because that is the tribe of Jesse, David, and ultimately Jesus – the Messianic tribe. So here also we see a symbolic Messianic prophecy.

The Layout of the Jewish Tribal Camps

The second set of tribes—Reuben, Simeon, and Gad—camped on the south side. The tribe of Reuben, descendants of Jacob’s eldest son, enjoyed primacy in this group. The third group consisted of the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin under the leadership of Ephraim. Ephraim and Manasseh were sons of Joseph, who was a son of Jacob’s favorite wife, Rachel. Benjamin was Rachel’s only other son, so that tribe’s association with Ephraim and Manasseh is readily understandable. The remaining tribes of Dan, Asher, and Naphtali settled on the north side under the leadership of Dan.

Numbers 1 describes a tribal census of all the Israelites, therefore we have the total number of men (woman and children were not counted) per camp (Numbers 1,2): Judah’s camp had a total of 186,400 men, Reuben 151,450 men,  Ephraim 108,100, and finally Dan’s camp numbered 157,600 men. The Levites, camped in the center around the Tent of Meeting, had 22,300 men.

Through Genesis 49:9 (“You are a lion’s cub, O Judah ”) we know that Judah was represented by a lion. Both Jewish and Christian tradition claim that Reuben’s ensign was a man, Ephraim an ox, and Dan an eagle.[17] These are the same symbols that we find around the throne of God in the vision of Ezekiel 1:10 and John’s vision in Revelation 4:6-7.

Imagine the aerial view of the camp if the Israelites followed their tribal camp instruction to the letter.[18] It would look like a giant cross and in the center of the cross, the Tent of Meeting – the place where God would dwell. Around the Tent of Meeting we find the same four symbols as in both Ezekiel’s as well as John’s vision, both the Old Testament and the New Testament: a lion with a man on one side, an eagle on the other and an ox on the opposite site.

Analysis of this message:

• Is it significant? The image of the tribal camps forming a giant cross and confirming an Old Testament and New Testament vision of God’s throne surrounded by the symbols of a lion, a man, an ox and an eagle is quite significant. Provided our analysis is correct, however it obviously rests on some speculative interpretation.
• This is a message unique to the Bible.
• Is this intentionally put into the text by the authors? The link between the symbols of the man, ox, and eagle with the respective tribes of Reuben, Ephraim, and Dan can be disputed as there is no expressed textual evidence for it. The link between Judah and a lion is supported by Scripture. Also the out-of-the-blue dominant role for Judah is impressive. These last two observations compensate perhaps for the somewhat weaker case for symbols of the other tribes.

Therefore, it is my belief, that the image of the tribal encampment is a compelling illustration that God Himself designed and inspired the books of the Torah, Ezekiel, and Revelation.