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.
10:13 This was the first time they set out on their journey according to the commandment 4 of the Lord, by the authority 5 of Moses.
10:33 So they traveled from the mountain of the Lord three days’ journey; 6 and the ark of the covenant of the Lord was traveling before them during the three days’ journey, to find a resting place for them.
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.
2 tc Smr inserts a lengthy portion from Deut 1:6-8, expressing the command for Israel to take the land from the Amorites.
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.”
3 sn The verb is the same as the noun: “they journeyed on their journeyings.” This underscores the point of their continual traveling.
4 tn Heb “mouth.”
5 tn Heb “hand.”
6 tn The phrase “a journey of three days” is made up of the adverbial accusative qualified with the genitives.