God establishes the arrangement of the tribes in the camp of Israel. This is how they must stand and how they must move. The camp of Israel forms a cross.
In the center of the camp is the Tabernacle of Meeting:
“Everyone of the children of Israel shall camp by his own standard, beside the emblems of his father’s house; they shall camp some distance from the tabernacle of meeting” (Num. 2:2)
The NRSV renders this: “they shall camp facing the tent of meeting on every side” (Num. 2:2).
The tribe of Levi is also placed in the center of the camp:
“And the tabernacle of meeting shall move out with the camp of the Levites in the middle of the camps; as they camp, so they shall move out, everyone in his place, by their standards” (Num. 2:17)
On the east: the tribe of Judah, then Issachar, then Zebulun:
“On the east side, toward the rising of the sun, those of the standard of the forces with Judah shall camp <...> Those who camp next to him shall be the tribe of Issachar <...> Then comes the tribe of Zebulun” (Num. 2:3,5,7)
On the south: the tribe of Reuben, then Simeon, then Gad:
“On the south side shall be the standard of the forces with Reuben <...> Those who camp next to him shall be the tribe of Simeon <...> Then comes the tribe of Gad” (Num. 2:10,12,14)
On the west: the tribe of Ephraim (from Joseph), then Manasseh (from Joseph), then Benjamin:
“On the west side shall be the standard of the forces with Ephraim according to their armies <...> Next to him comes the tribe of Manasseh <...> Then comes the tribe of Benjamin” (Num. 2:18,20,22)
On the north: the tribe of Dan, then Asher, then Naphtali:
“The standard of the forces with Dan shall be on the north side <...> Those who camp next to him shall be the tribe of Asher <...> Then comes the tribe of Naphtali” (Num. 2:25,27,29)
* Such an arrangement requires 13 camps (1+3+3+3+3), while Jacob had only 12 sons. All the tribes are listed here, but instead of the one tribe of Joseph, the camp has the two tribes of his sons: Manasseh and Ephraim.
Each Side of the Cross Was Counted by the Name of the Tribe Nearest the Center
First the number of the camp of Judah is given:
“On the east side, toward the rising of the sun, those of the standard of the forces with Judah shall camp according to their armies <...> And his army was numbered at seventy-four thousand six hundred” (Num. 2:3-4)
Then the numbers of the people in the tribes that come after Judah are listed:
“And his army was numbered at fifty-four thousand four hundred” (Num. 2:6)
“And his army was numbered at fifty-seven thousand four hundred” (Num. 2:8)
Then everything is added up and called the camp of Judah (the one nearest the center), whose number already includes all three camps:
“All who were numbered according to their armies of the forces with Judah, one hundred and eighty-six thousand four hundred — these shall break camp first” (Num. 2:9)
The same is repeated for all the other sides of the cross.
In the Form of a Cross the Camp Stood and Also Moved
“As they camp, so they shall move out, everyone in his place, by their standards. <...> Thus the children of Israel did according to all that the LORD commanded Moses; so they camped by their standards and so they broke camp, each one by his family, according to their fathers’ houses” (Num. 2:17,34)