וַעֲנַ֧ן יְהוָ֛ה עֲלֵיהֶ֖ם יוֹמָ֑ם בְּנָסְעָ֖ם מִן־הַֽמַּחֲנֶֽה׃ (׆) (ס)
И облако Господне над ними было днем, когда они вышли из стана.
Rashi
וענן ה׳ עליהם יומם AND THE CLOUD OF THE LORD WAS UPON THEM BY DAY — Seven times is the word ענן used in the account of their journeys alluding to four clouds which screened them on all four sides, one that was above them, one beneath their feet, and one in front of them which leveled the elevations and raised the depressions, and killed all serpents and scorpions (Sifrei Bamidbar 83:1; Mekhilta; Br. d’ Melechet ha-Mishkan 14).
Sforno
וענן ה' עליהם יומם, it was not traveling ahead of them as it did during the other journeys, seeing that the Ark was performing the task of seeking out a suitable spot for making camp. Instead, it positioned itself above the people.
Chizkuni
וענן ה' עליהם יומם ולילה, “and the cloud of the Lord was above them both by day and by night. Regarding Rashi’s commentary that there were seven clouds during theIsraelites’ journeys, they were not all mentioned in a single paragraph, as pointed out in Torat Kohanim. Four enveloped them from the four directions of the globe, and two from above and below. The seventh traveled ahead of them. This latter one is the one mentioned here. The others are mentioned in Numbers 14,14, Numbers 9,19, Exodus 40,36 and 40,37. According to the view of Rabbi Yehudah, there were 13 such clouds, 2 in each direction of the globe, two above and two below, and one in front of them. According to the opinion of Rabbi Yoshia, there were only four clouds, whereas according to the opinion of Rabbi Yehudah hanassi, there were only two such clouds.