Deuteronomy 32:8

Summary

The verse describes the Most High assigning territories to the nations and fixing the boundaries of peoples, using as a reference point a specific "number" tied to a group named at the end of the verse. The clause structure presents two parallel temporal actions (inheritance-giving, separating) followed by a main action (fixing boundaries) tied to a numerical standard.

Key words

• hanchel ("gave inheritances to", H5157) — hiphil infinitive absolute, causative stem, marking Elyon as the agent who causes nations to receive an inheritance.
• elyon ("Most High", H5945B) — used here as a substantive title for the deity, without the tetragrammaton in this clause.
• haphrid ("separated", H6504) — hiphil infinitive with attached 3ms suffix o ("his"), forming "in his separating," making explicit who performs the separating.
• yatzev ("he fixed", H5324) — hiphil jussive form of the verb, though functioning here as a narrative past ("he fixed/established"), a common poetic usage where jussive morphology carries preterite force.
• benei Yisrael ("sons/children of Israel", H1121A + H3478) — construct chain forming the standard ("according to the number of...") against which the boundaries of the peoples are measured.

What the text says

The verse is built on two parallel be + infinitive clauses (behanchel, behaphrid), both governed by the causative hiphil stem, describing Elyon's actions toward "nations" (goyim, H1471A) and "sons of man" (benei adam, H0120G). These temporal clauses set up the main verb yatzev, whose jussive form is read as a completed past action in this poetic register — a feature not visible in translation, since English and Latin renderings ("he set," "constituit") flatten the jussive/preterite ambiguity into a simple past tense.

The final phrase, lemispar benei Yisrael ("according to the number of the sons of Israel"), functions as the measuring standard for how "the boundaries of peoples" (gevulot amim) were established. The construct chains throughout (gevulot amim, mispar benei Yisrael) create a layered comparison: the boundaries of foreign peoples are calibrated to a count associated with Israel specifically.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew (TAHOT), the Vulgate (VULCLEM: "filiorum Israël"), and the Spanish SBLIBRE ("hijos de Israel") all read "sons of Israel" at the close of the verse. The LXXSWETE instead reads ἀγγέλων θεοῦ, "angels of God," a rendering that departs from the Hebrew wording entirely rather than translating benei Yisrael. The BSB translation reads "sons of God," which also diverges from the Hebrew "sons of Israel" given here, aligning instead with the type of wording found in the Greek tradition rather than the Hebrew text provided.