Numbers 10:3

10:3 When ¹  they blow ²  them both, all the community must come ³  to you to the entrance of the tent of meeting.

Numbers 10:5

10:5 When you blow an alarm, ⁴  then the camps that are located ⁵  on the east side must begin to travel. ⁶ 

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¹ tn The perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive is here subordinated as a temporal clause to the following similar verbal construction.

² tn The verb תָקַע (taqa’) means “to strike, drive, blow a trumpet.”

³ tn Heb “the assembly shall assemble themselves.”

⁴ tn The word for an alarm is תְּרוּעָה (tÿru’ah). The root verb of this word means “to give a blast on the trumpet.” It may also on occasion mean “give a shout” in battle (Josh 6:10). In this passage it must refer to the sound of the trumpet.

⁵ tn Heb “the camps that are camping.”

⁶ tn The perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive functions as the equivalent of the imperfect tense. Here the emphasis is on the start of the journey.