Numbers 2:1Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

We will describe below the arrangement of the entire Israelite camp; for now, it suffices to mention that it was organized in a quadrilateral formation surrounding the Tabernacle, which served as the focal point of the encampment. The specifics of the banners, known as degel, remain unclear; however, Rabbinical tradition suggests that there were four principal banners assigned to the four tribes, each forming the central column of a front composed of three tribes, while the other tribes of Israel bore smaller banners. Espin proposes that the term degel may originate from a root meaning to illuminate, proposing that the banners resembled metallic figures akin to those of the Egyptians.