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Numbers 2: Algorithms and the camp of Israel
1. Numbers 2: Algorithms and the camp of Israel
Numbers 2:4 And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were threescore and fourteen thousand and six hundred. [kjv]
The book of Numbers is named for the detailed
census appearing in Numbers 2. The details can be boring but are part of an "
algorithm" provided by God for their camp in the desert.
If the Israelites in the desert had followed the "
algorithm" provided by God as how to precisely camp, their camp would have been laid out in the shape of a cross from the point of view of the "
rising sun" in the morning.
2. Numbers 2:4
KJV: And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were threescore and fourteen thousand and six hundred.
Hebrew: וצבאו ופקדיהם ארבעה ושבעים אלף ושש מאות׃
Greek: δυναμις αυτου οι επεσκεμμενοι τεσσαρες και εβδομηκοντα χιλιαδες και εξακοσιοι
And so on, for the entire camp of Israel.
3. Numbering the tribes
The book of Numbers starts, in chapter 1, with the numbering of the tribes - which is why the book is called Numbers! Books of Moses (Pentateuch)
Genesis (the beginning)
Exodus (the way out)
Leviticus (law of the Levites)
Numbers (census of the tribes)
Deuteronomy (the second law)
How many tribes of Israel are there?
4. Tribes of Israel
Remember that there are 13 tribes, a bakers dozen.
Levi (center)
Judah, Issachar, Zebullun (east)
Ephraim, Manasseh, Benjamin (south)
Reuben, Simeon, Gad (west)
Dan, Asher, Naphtali (north)
Remember: Joseph had two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, and had a double blessing.
Whenever 12 tribes are listed, and one is not Joseph, notice which one is omitted and ask yourself why.
5. Algorithm
The described method of laying out the camp of Israel in Numbers 1 is what computer scientists would call an algorithm.
An algorithm is a precise step-by-step method for (eventually) solving a problem.
In this case, the solved problem is the layout of the camp of Israel in the wilderness.
The 34 verses take a while to go through, so only the summary of the verses needed for the algorithm is given here.
6. Tabernacle and Levi
The tabernacle is to be in one spot, the middle, with the tribe of Levi.
Each group of four tribes (13 tribes, remember) is to camp on one of the four sides of the tabernacle, leaving a gap between them and the tabernacle region occupied by the tribe of Levi.
7. East side
Here is the east side, expressed as "
toward the rising sun".
8. South side
Here is the south side.
9. West side
Here is the west side.
10. North side
Here is the north side.
11. Verses
(verses omitted due to formatting issue)
12. Totals
Here are the totals.
How might these numbers appear when depicted visually?
13. Totals as formulas
A spreadsheet was used for all of the tables. Here are the formulas for the totals.
How might these numbers appear when depicted visually?
14. Visual depiction
Assume that the area used in each part is proportional to the number of people in that part. What would this camp look like from a high mountain, or from the air, from the point of view of the rising sun?
Here is the camp of Israel from the point of view of the rising sun in the east.
Do you see a cross?
Note that the number of the Levites in the center is not given, so pick any square and proportion the other sides to fit on that square.
15. Remarks
There is no evidence that the Israelites in the wilderness actually camped according to the specific instructions given to them.
If they had followed those precise directions (i.e., the algorithm provided), they would have been camped in the shape of a cross.
Nor is it certain that the actual cross was this shape. But this is the historical shape most used for the cross.
Were these instructions and the associated numbers an accident of chance? Or was there another reason?
16. End of page
