Having counted the army, the book tells it where to stand: twelve tribes in four camps of three, one on each side of the tent, each under a degel — a standard, or a division of troops; the Hebrew is genuinely ambiguous. Judah takes the east and moves first, Dan goes hindmost. At the centre of the chapter sits verse 17: the tent travels in the midst of the camps. The square does not become a line when the march begins; it walks.