What is an
encampment in the Bible, and how were they used?

also known as: camp

Hebrew: חָנָה —transliteration: chanah —meaning: to encamp, to pitch tents, to abide in tents, to dwell

An encampment was the resting-place for a longer or shorter period for an army or company of travelers.

Then they set out from Succoth and camped in Etham on the edge of the wilderness. —Exodus 13:20

So the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon, gathered together and went up, they with all their armies, and camped by Gibeon and fought against it. —Joshua 10:5

• The Exodus

  The Exodus escape from Egypt and later extended 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, made this camping trip extraordinarily long and complex, with many different camp sites and logistical issues.

  The manner in which the Israelites encamped during their march through the wilderness is described in Numbers 2 and 3.

  The order of the encampment (see CAMP) was preserved in the march (Numbers 2:17), the signal for which was the blast of two silver trumpets.

  Camp sanitation

  Detailed regulations affecting the camp for sanitary purposes are given in Scripture.

  The reasons were 2-fold. The camp must remain holy because God dwells in its midst, and they are designated as His chosen people on Earth. No indecent thing should be visible. This promoted both hygiene and ritual purity.

  Deuteronomy 23:12-14:

  • Designate a place outside the camp for relieving oneself

  • Carry a spade (or digging tool) in your equipment

  • Dig a hole, relieve yourself, then cover the excrement

  For a person with leprosy:

  He shall remain unclean all the days during which he has the infection; he is unclean. He shall live alone; his place of habitation shall be outside the camp. —Leviticus 13:46

  and the priest shall go out to the outside of the camp. Thus the priest shall look, and if the infection of leprosy has been healed in the leper, —Leviticus 14:3

  “If there is among you any man who is unclean because of a nocturnal emission, then he must go outside the camp; he may not reenter the camp. But it shall be when evening approaches, he shall bathe himself with water, and at sundown he may reenter the camp. —Deuteronomy 23:10-11

  And you, camp outside the camp 7 days; whoever has killed any person and whoever has touched any slain, purify yourselves, you and your captives, on the 3rd day and on the 7th day. —Numbers 31:19

  Other: Leviticus 8:17; 4:11, 12; 6:11; 10:4-5; Numbers 12:14-15; Deuteronomy 23:10, 12

  War time campsIn the subsequent history of Israel, frequent mention is made of their encampments in the time of war (Judges 7:18; 1 Samuel 13:2-3, 16, 23; 17:3; 29:1; 30:9, 24).

  Executions and sin-offerings

  Criminals were executed outside of the camps and cities.

  “Bring the one who has cursed outside the camp, and let all who heard him lay their hands on his head; then let all the congregation stone him. —Leviticus 24:14

  Because Jesus Christ was considered a criminal, he was also executed outside of Jerusalem. This was appropriate because he was actually a sin offering.

  They took Jesus, therefore, and He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha. …the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city… —John 19:17, 20 excerpt

  Sin offering

  Even the whole bullock shall he carry forth without the camp unto a clean place, where the ashes are poured out, and burn him on the wood with fire: where the ashes are poured out shall he be burnt. —Leviticus 4:12 KJV

  Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate. —Hebrews 13:12

• TEMPLE—The temple was sometimes called “the camp of the Lord” (2 Chronicles 31:2, Revised King James Version; compare Psalm 78:28).

• THE MULTITUDES WHO FLOCKED TO DAVID are styled “a great host (i.e., camp; Hebrew: mahaneh), like the host of God” (1 Chronicles 12:22).

More information

• Answers about camps in the Bible
• Answers about tents in the Bible
• What is a tabernacle?
• About wilderness in the Bible
• Answers about the military in the Bible
• What is The Exodus in the Bible?
• What is the wandering of Israel in the wilderness?
• Answers about the ancient Israelite army
• War in the Bible