Numbers 2

There isn't much to say about the chapter today - just a description of where the various Israelite clans would camp relative to each other. It does remind me of how important their family ties were, though, which was something fairly common among ancient cultures that has largely been lost in modern American society. I wonder why they felt the need to identify themselves with a far-removed ancestor so much, to the point where if a woman married into another 'clan' she was now identified with them, rather than her genetic relatives. It seems to me that it artificially created barriers where none need exist.