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1Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2“Make two trumpets of silver. You shall make them of beaten work. You shall use them for the calling of the congregation and for the journeying of the camps. 3When they blow them, all the congregation shall gather themselves to you at the door of the Tent of Meeting. 4If they blow just one, then the princes, the heads of the thousands of Israel, shall gather themselves to you. 5When you blow an alarm, the camps that lie on the east side shall go forward. 6When you blow an alarm the second time, the camps that lie on the south side shall go forward. They shall blow an alarm for their journeys. 7But when the assembly is to be gathered together, you shall blow, but you shall not sound an alarm.

8“The sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow the trumpets. This shall be to you for a statute forever throughout your generations. 9When you go to war in your land against the adversary who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets. Then you will be remembered before Yahweh your God, and you will be saved from your enemies.

10“Also in the day of your gladness, and in your set feasts, and in the beginnings of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; and they shall be to you for a memorial before your God. I am Yahweh your God.”

11In the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth day of the month, the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle of the covenant. 12The children of Israel went forward on their journeys out of the wilderness of Sinai; and the cloud stayed in the wilderness of Paran. 13They first went forward according to the commandment of Yahweh by Moses.

14First, the standard of the camp of the children of Judah went forward according to their armies. Nahshon the son of Amminadab was over his army. 15Nethanel the son of Zuar was over the army of the tribe of the children of Issachar. 16Eliab the son of Helon was over the army of the tribe of the children of Zebulun. 17The tabernacle was taken down; and the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari, who bore the tabernacle, went forward. 18The standard of the camp of Reuben went forward according to their armies. Elizur the son of Shedeur was over his army. 19Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai was over the army of the tribe of the children of Simeon. 20Eliasaph the son of Deuel was over the army of the tribe of the children of Gad.

21The Kohathites set forward, bearing the sanctuary. The others set up the tabernacle before they arrived.

22The standard of the camp of the children of Ephraim set forward according to their armies. Elishama the son of Ammihud was over his army. 23Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur was over the army of the tribe of the children of Manasseh. 24Abidan the son of Gideoni was over the army of the tribe of the children of Benjamin.

25The standard of the camp of the children of Dan, which was the rear guard of all the camps, set forward according to their armies. Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai was over his army. 26Pagiel the son of Ochran was over the army of the tribe of the children of Asher. 27Ahira the son of Enan was over the army of the tribe of the children of Naphtali. 28Thus were the travels of the children of Israel according to their armies; and they went forward.

29Moses said to Hobab, the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses’ father-in-law, “We are journeying to the place of which Yahweh said, ‘I will give it to you.’ Come with us, and we will treat you well; for Yahweh has spoken good concerning Israel.”

30He said to him, “I will not go; but I will depart to my own land, and to my relatives.”

31Moses said, “Don’t leave us, please; because you know how we are to encamp in the wilderness, and you can be our eyes. 32It shall be, if you go with us—yes, it shall be—that whatever good Yahweh does to us, we will do the same to you.”

33They set forward from the Mount of Yahweh three days’ journey. The ark of Yahweh’s covenant went before them three days’ journey, to seek out a resting place for them. 34The cloud of Yahweh was over them by day, when they set forward from the camp. 35When the ark went forward, Moses said, “Rise up, Yahweh, and let your enemies be scattered! Let those who hate you flee before you!” 36When it rested, he said, “Return, Yahweh, to the ten thousands of the thousands of Israel.”

Place

Hebron

Type
City
Location
31.524, 35.109
 Site Study | Brian Kvasnica

Beyond the important connections between Abraham, the other patriarchs, and the matriarchs centered around the Machpelah Cave (see above at Gen 23:3), Hebron continued to be a central city in Biblical history, earning the place of one of the four most sacred cities in Jewish tradition. Hebron was a city of refuge and a Levitical city (Josh 21:11-13 and 1 Chr 6:55-57)  as well as the place where David first centered his reign: at the pool (traditionally connected with Birket es-Sultan), David executed the two sons of Rimmon who had murdered Saul’s son Ishboshet (2 Sam 4:12); and  where David was crowned king (2 Sam 2:3-4; 5:5)  and reigned for 7 ½ years where six sons were born to him before conquering Jerusalem where he had 13 more sons.  Even after the Exile in the sixth century BC, Jews returned to Hebron (Neh 11:25) probably living alongside Edomites.  In the second-century BC Simon Maccabeus took Hebron from the Edomites (1 Macc 5:65; Josephus, Antiquities, XII, viii, 6) and in the Great revolt of AD 70, first Simon bar-Gioras captured the city (Josephus, War, IV, ix, 7), and then Vespasian’s general Cerealis conquered it, slaughtering its inhabitants and burning it (War IV, ix, 9).

Copyright © 2026 Brian Kvasnica. All rights reserved.

Hebron in the Land of Canaan

 Site Study | Brian Kvasnica | Hebron

23:2 Hebron was first built as a Canaanite city seven years prior to Zoan (Greek Tanis) in Egypt (Num 13:22) and is located 3,040 ft. above sea-level in the southern tribal allotment of Judah.  The city is also called Kiriath-Arba (Gen 23:2, etc.) possibly after a forefather of the Anakim (Josh 14:15; 15:13), or as of the four cities, thus “City-of-Four” (Hebrew arba, “four”; see Josh 15:54; 2 Sam 2:3; Neh 11:25). Here Abram’s name was changed to Abraham (Gen 17:5) and here (in conjunction with Mamre), came the three angels with the promise of a son (18:1 ff.).  At Hebron, Isaac and Jacob often lived (35:27; 37:14).  From Hebron Jacob sent Joseph to seek his brothers (37:14).  There also Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt (46:1).  Abraham purchased the cave of Machpelah from Ephron in order to bury Sarah (Genesis 23), and Abraham himself was buried there (Gen 25:9-10), as was Isaac (Gen 35:27-29), and all the patriarchs and their wives except Rachel (49:30ff; 50:13).  Today the site is known as Tel Hebron or Jebel Rumeidah and is inhabited by a few dozen Jewish families after excavations were carried out by P.C. Hammond in the 1960’s but not published and in the 1980’s by A. Ofer as well as M. Anbar and N. Na’aman.  More recently Emanuel Eisenberg excavated the north side of the tell and Jeffrey Chadwick is beginning to write up Hammond’s report.  In Arabic today, the town is known as el Khalil ("the friend” of God), a favorite name for Abraham, as seen also in James 2:23.  The gigantic edifice built by Herod the Great still stands and is a place for many pilgrimages even today.  For later Biblical and post-biblical connections see further site study on Hebron at 1 Chr 3:1.

Copyright © 2026 Brian Kvasnica. All rights reserved.
Person & place data: Theographic Bible Metadata by Robert Rouse (Viz.Bible), CC BY-SA 4.0.