And whether the land that they dwell in is good or bad: Apparently this clause does not refer to the quality of the soil (for that, see verse 20), but simply to the quality of the land in general, whether it was relatively “easy or difficult” (Revised English Bible) to live in.

And whether the cities that they dwell in are camps or strongholds: This rendering may not make the difference very clear between camps and strongholds. In this context the Hebrew word for camps refers to towns that open and vulnerable, while the word for strongholds refers to cities that are fortified and thus more difficult to conquer. Good News Translation makes this distinction clear by saying “and whether the people live in open towns or in fortified cities,” and so does Contemporary English Version with “and if they live in open towns or walled cities.” Alter has “… in open [that is, unwalled] settlements or in fortresses.” Canaan consisted of a variety of city-states and regional mini-kingdoms.

Quoted with permission from de Regt, Lénart J. and Wendland, Ernst R. A Handbook on Numbers. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .