Israel Leaves Sinai

Numbers 10:11-36

And it happened, in the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth of the month the cloud was lifted from upon the tabernacle of the testimony. And the Israelites set out for their journey from the desert of Sinai, and the cloud dwelled in the desert of Paran. They set out for the first time on the command of Yahweh in the hand of Moses. The standard of the camp of the descendants of Judah set out for the first time according to their divisions, with Nahshon son of Amminadab over its division. And Nathanel son of Zuar was over the division of the descendants of Issachar; Eliab son of Helon was over the division of the tribe of the descendants of Zebulun. The tabernacle was taken down, and the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari, the bearers of the tabernacle, set out. And the standard of the camp of Reuben according to their divisions; Elizur son of Shedeur was over their division. Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai was over the division of the sons of the tribe of Simeon. Eliasaph son of Deuel was over the division of the tribe of the descendants of Gad. The Kohathites, the bearers of the sanctuary, set out, and they set up the tabernacle before they arrived. And the stand of the camp of the descendants of Ephraim set out according to their divisions; Elishama son of Ammihud was over its division. Gamaliel son of Pedahzur was over the division of the tribe of the descendants of Manasseh. Abidan son of Gideoni was over the division of the tribe of the descendants of Benjamin. Then the standard of the camp of the descendants of Dan, who formed a rear guard for all the camps, set out according to their divisions; Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai was over its division. Pagiel son of Ocran was over the division of the tribe of the descendants of Asher. Ahira son of Enan was over the division of the tribe of the descendants of Naphtali. These were the departures of the Israelites according to their divisions; and so they set out. Moses said to Hobab son of Reuel the Midianite, the father-in-law of Moses, “We are setting out to the place that Yahweh said, ‘I will give it to you’; go with us, and we will treat you well because Yahweh promised good concerning Israel.” But he said to him, “I will not go. I will only go to my land and to my family.” He said, “Please, do not abandon us because you know our encampment in the desert, and you should be our guide. Moreover, if you go with us, the good that Yahweh will do to us we will do to you.” And so they set out from the mountain of Yahweh a journey of three days, with the ark of the covenant of Yahweh setting out ahead of them three days’ journey to search out a resting place for them; and the cloud of Yahweh was over them by day when they set out from the camp. And whenever the ark was setting out Moses would say, “Rise up, Yahweh! May your enemies be scattered; may the ones that hate you flee from your presence.” And when it rested he would say, “Return, Yahweh, to the countless thousands of Israel.”

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Numbers 11:1-15

And it happened, the people were like those who complain of hardship in the hearing of Yahweh, and Yahweh became angry, and the fire of Yahweh burned among them, and it consumed the edge of the camp. Then the people cried out to Moses, and Moses prayed to Yahweh, and the fire died down. And he called the name of that place Taberah because the fire of Yahweh burned among them. The riff-raff that were in their midst had a strong desire; and the Israelites turned back and also wept, and they said, “Who will feed us meat? We remember the fish that we ate in Egypt for nothing, the cucumber, melon, leek, the onions, and the garlic. But now our strength is dried up; there is nothing whatsoever except for the manna before us.” Now the manna was like coriander seed, and its outward appearance was like that of bdellium-gum. The people went about and gathered it , and they ground it with mills or crushed it with mortar. Then they boiled it in a pot and made it into bread-cakes; and it tasted like olive oil cakes. When the dew came down on the camp at night, the manna came down with it. Moses heard the people weeping according to their clans, each at the doorway of their tents. Then Yahweh became very angry, and in the eyes of Moses it was bad. And Moses said to Yahweh, “Why have you brought trouble to your servant? Why have I not found favor in your eyes, that the burdens of all these people have been placed on me? Did I conceive all these people? If I have fathered them, that you could say to me, ‘Carry them in your lap, just as a foster-father carries the suckling on the land that you swore an oath to their ancestors?’ From where do I have meat to give all these people? They weep before me, saying, ‘Give us meat and let us eat!’ I am not able to carry all these people along alone; they are too heavy for me. If this is how you are going to treat me, please kill me immediately if I find favor in your eyes, and do not let me see my misery.”

LEB via Biblia API