Standard

Boyd’s Bible Dictionary:

[ENSIGN

Concise Bible Dictionary:

Each tribe had its own standard, degel, and each family its own ensign, oth. In the camp the twelve tribes were arranged with three on each side, one of each three giving the name to that side or camp. Thus the standard of Judah is called the standard of the camp of Judah, which was on the east; the camp of Reuben on the south; the camp of Ephraim on the west; and the camp of Dan on the north. See CAMP.

Scripture does not state the form of the standards and ensigns. The Rabbis say that the standard of Judah resembled a lion (compare Gen. 49:9⁹Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? (Genesis 49:9); Rev. 5:5⁵And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. (Revelation 5:5)); of Reuben a man; of Ephraim an ox (compare Deut. 33:17¹⁷His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns: with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth: and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh. (Deuteronomy 33:17)); and of Dan an eagle. If this were so, the same characters appear in the faces of the living creatures in Ezekiel 1:10¹⁰As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle. (Ezekiel 1:10) and in Revelation 4:4-7⁴And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold. ⁵And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God. ⁶And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind. ⁷And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle. (Revelation 4:4‑7). For the Christian, CHRIST is the only standard, and His banner (degel) is LOVE.