Bilangan 10:11-12

The Journey From Sinai to Kadesh

10:11 ¹ On the twentieth day of the second month, in the second year, the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle of the testimony. ²  10:12 So the Israelites set out ³  on their journeys from the wilderness of Sinai; and the cloud settled in the wilderness of Paran.

[10:11]  ¹ sn This section is somewhat mechanical: It begins with an introduction (vv. 11, 12), and then begins with Judah (vv. 13-17), followed by the rest of the tribes (vv. 18-27), and finally closes with a summary (v. 28). The last few verses (vv. 29-36) treat the departure of Hobab.

[10:11]  ² tc Smr inserts a lengthy portion from Deut 1:6-8, expressing the command for Israel to take the land from the Amorites.

[10:11]  tn The expression is difficult; it is מִשְׁכַּן הָעֵדֻת (mishkan ha’edut). The reference is to the sacred shrine that covered the ark with the commandments inside. NEB renders the expression as “tabernacle of the Token”; NAB has “the dwelling of the commandments.”

[10:12]  ³ sn The verb is the same as the noun: “they journeyed on their journeyings.” This underscores the point of their continual traveling.