And when the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle, then after that the children of Israel journeyed: and in the place where the cloud abode, there the children of Israel pitched their tents.
When the cloud was taken up - i:e., rose to a higher elevation, so as to be conspicuous at the remotest extremities of the camp. That was a signal for removal; and accordingly it is properly called (Numbers 9:18) "the commandment of the Lord." It was a visible token of the presence of God; and from it, as a glorious throne, He gave the order; so that its motion regulated the commencement and termination of all the journeys of the Israelites (see the note at Exodus 14:19).