Deuteronomy 11:6
וַאֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה לְדָתָן וְלַאֲבִירָם בְּנֵי אֱלִיאָב בֶּן־רְאוּבֵן אֲשֶׁר פָּצְתָה הָאָרֶץ אֶת־פִּיהָ וַתִּבְלָעֵם וְאֶת־בָּתֵּיהֶם וְאֶת־אָהֳלֵיהֶם וְאֵת כָּל־הַיְקוּם אֲשֶׁר בְּרַגְלֵיהֶם בְּקֶרֶב כָּל־יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃
✦ Hebrew interlinear
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✦ The same verse in five languages
וַאֲשֶׁ֨ר עָשָׂ֜ה לְדָתָ֣ן וְלַאֲבִירָ֗ם בְּנֵ֣י אֱלִיאָב֮ בֶּן־רְאוּבֵן֒ אֲשֶׁ֨ר פָּצְתָ֤ה הָאָ֙רֶץ֙ אֶת־פִּ֔יהָ וַתִּבְלָעֵ֥ם וְאֶת־בָּתֵּיהֶ֖ם וְאֶת־אָהֳלֵיהֶ֑ם וְאֵ֤ת כָּל־הַיְקוּם֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר בְּרַגְלֵיהֶ֔ם בְּקֶ֖רֶב כָּל־יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃
καὶ ὅσα ἐποίησεν τῷ Δαθὰν καὶ Ἀβειρὼν υἱοῖς Ἐλιὰβ υἱοῦ Ῥουβήν, οὓς ἀνοίξασα ἡ γῆ τὸ στόμα αὐτῆς κατέπιεν αὐτοὺς καὶ τοὺς οἴκους αὐτῶν καὶ τὰς σκηνὰς αὐτῶν καὶ πᾶσαν αὐτῶν τὴν ὑπόστασιν τὴν μετ’ αὐτῶν ἐν μέσῳ παντὸς Ἰσραήλ·
Greek text from Swete's edition, CC BY-SA 4.0
Latin (Vulgate)
et Dathan atque Abiron filiis Eliab, qui fuit filius Ruben: quos aperto ore suo terra absorbuit, cum domibus et tabernaculis, et universa substantia eorum, quam habebant in medio Israël.
y lo que hizo con Datán y Abiram, hijos de Eliab, hijo de Rubén; cómo la tierra abrió su boca y se los tragó, con sus casas, sus tiendas y todo ser viviente que los seguía, en medio de todo Israel;
Classic Spanish (Reina-Valera 1909)
Y lo que hizo con Dathán y Abiram, hijos de Eliab hijo de Rubén; cómo abrió la tierra su boca, y tragóse á ellos y á sus casas, y sus tiendas, y toda la hacienda que tenían en pie en medio de todo Israel:
and what He did in the midst of all the Israelites to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab the Reubenite, when the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, their households, their tents, and every living thing that belonged to them.
✦ What the text says
Summary
The verse continues a description of what Yehovah did to Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab son of Reuben, describing how the earth opened its mouth, swallowed them along with their households, tents, and all their possessions, in the midst of all Israel.
Key words
- 'asher ("which/that", H0834A) — a relative particle used twice in this verse (positions 2 and 13), each time introducing a subordinate clause; the first ties back to "what he did," the second introduces the description of the earth's action.
- 'asah ("he did", H6213A) — qal perfect, third person masculine singular, marking a completed act; grammatically it lacks an explicit subject in this verse, relying on the preceding context for its agent.
- patzetah ("it opened", H6475) — qal perfect, third person feminine singular, agreeing with ha'aretz ("the earth", H0776H), a feminine noun; the perfect form presents the opening of the earth as a completed event.
- tivla'em ("it swallowed them", H1104) — qal form joined with the narrative vav (H9001), which chains it sequentially after patzetah: first the earth opened, then it swallowed.
- yekum ("substance", H3351) — a masculine singular noun referring to all that belonged to Dathan and Abiram's group, modified by the relative clause "which was at their feet" ('asher be-ragleihem).
What the text says
The verse is built as a chain of relative clauses attached to an implied main verb from the previous context ("what he did"). The first 'asher (position 2) sets up the object of that action — Dathan and Abiram, identified through a genealogical construct chain: benei 'Eli'av ben-Re'uven ("sons of Eliab son of Reuben"), each ben form (H1121A) marking a construct relationship of descent. The second 'asher (position 13) introduces a new subordinate clause describing the earth's action, with ha'aretz as its feminine subject governing both patzetah and, through the narrative vav, tivla'em.
The sequence of destruction is marked by a series of coordinated direct objects, each preceded by the object marker 'et (H0853): "their households" (batei-hem), "their tents" ('oholei-hem), and "all the yekum" that was "at their feet" (be-ragleihem), a construct phrase using the dual noun raglei (H7272) for "feet," here idiomatically indicating what accompanied or belonged to them. The final phrase, be-qerev kol-Yisra'el ("in the midst of all Israel"), locates the event within the assembly of the people rather than in isolation.
Differences between versions
The Hebrew yekum ("substance," H3351) is rendered by the LXX as hypostasis ("substance/possession") and by the Vulgate as substantia, both matching the Hebrew's sense of "possessions" or "goods." The BSB translation renders it as "every living thing," a interpretive rendering not directly present in the Hebrew noun, which denotes possessions or standing property rather than living beings specifically.
This explanation describes the text using linguistic data; it adds no doctrine or confessional interpretation.