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. 49:9; Rev. 5:5); of Reuben a man; of Ephraim an ox (compare Deut. 33:17); and of Dan an eagle. If this were so, the same characters appear in the faces of the living creatures in Ezekiel 1:10 and in Revelation 4:4-7. For the Christian, CHRIST is the only standard, and His banner (degel) is LOVE.