Deuteronomy 1:13

Summary

Moses instructs the people to select men described by three qualities — wise, discerning, and known/recognized — from their tribes, so that he may then appoint these men as leaders over them. The verse combines a command (given to the people) with a stated purpose (Moses' future action).

Key words

• ha.Vu ("provide/give", H3051) — qal imperative masculine plural; the root is used almost exclusively in this command form, directing the people to select or produce something.
• ne.vo.Nim ("understanding", H0995) — niphal participle, masculine plural; the niphal stem gives this a reflexive/stative nuance — not simply "wise" but "one who shows himself discerning."
• yedu.'Im ("known", H3045) — qal passive participle, masculine plural; passive form indicating men who are known/recognized by others, rather than men who know something themselves.
• 'a.si.Mem ("I may appoint", H7760) — qal imperfect with vav, 1st person singular with 3rd person plural suffix ("them"); the vav-imperfect links this clause to the preceding imperative as a stated purpose or result — "so that I may appoint them."
• ra.shei.khem ("your chiefs", H7218 construct + H9026) — masculine plural construct with pronominal suffix, literally "heads of you," an idiom for leaders.

What the text says

The sentence opens with the imperative ha.Vu ("provide/give"), addressed to the assembled people, followed by a string of three descriptors applied to 'a.na.Shim ("men", H0582): chakha.Mim ("wise", H2450, adjective), ne.vo.Nim (niphal participle, "showing discernment"), and yedu.'Im (qal passive participle, "known/recognized"). The shift in verbal stem across these three terms — adjective, niphal participle, qal passive participle — creates a grammatical progression from an inherent quality (wise) to a demonstrated behavior (discerning) to an externally attested reputation (known), though all three modify the same noun "men."

The phrase le.shiv.tei.khem ("for/to your tribes") specifies the source or destination of the selection — men drawn from or recognized within each tribe. The clause then pivots with va.'a.si.Mem ("and I will appoint them"), a first-person imperfect verb with vav, expressing what Moses will do once the people have carried out the imperative — the men chosen become the object placed be.ra.shei.khem ("among/as your heads"), using the idiom "heads" for leadership positions.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew presents three descriptive terms (wise, discerning, known). The LXX renders three terms as well — σοφοὺς ("wise"), ἐπιστήμονας ("skilled/knowing"), συνετοὺς ("understanding") — but in a different order and with ἐπιστήμονας where the Hebrew has the passive "known." The Vulgate expands yedu.'Im into a descriptive clause, "et quorum conversatio sit probata" ("and whose conduct is proven"), rather than a single adjective, offering an interpretive gloss on "known." The BSB translates this same term as "respected," while RV1909 uses "expertos" ("experts") — each translation choice reflecting a different reading of what "known" implies about these men.