Exodus 28:10

Summary

The verse specifies how the twelve names are to be divided between two stones: six names on the first stone and the remaining six names on the second stone, with the arrangement following the order of birth.

Key words

• shishShah ("six", H8337) — cardinal number appearing twice, once for each group of six names distributed across the two stones.
• she.mo.Ta ("names", H8034) — feminine plural construct of "names," linking to the pronominal suffix "their" (H9028) to mean "their names"; the same word (she.Mot) reappears in construct with ha.shi.Shah ("the six") for the second group.
• no.ta.Rim ("remain over", H3498) — Niphal participle, masculine plural, describing the six names as "the ones remaining" — a passive/reflexive form indicating those left over after the first six are assigned.
• tol.do.Ta ("genealogies", H8435) — feminine plural construct with suffix "their," meaning "their genealogies" or generational order, the criterion by which the names are arranged on the stones.
• 'e.Chat / she.Nit ("one" / "second", H0259 / H8145) — ordinal and cardinal feminine forms distinguishing "the first stone" from "the second stone."

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence is structured in two parallel clauses. The first clause states shishShah mi-shemoTam ("six of their names") followed by 'al ha-'Even ha-'eChat ("on the one stone"). The second clause uses the direct object marker 'et before shemot ha-shishShah ha-notaRim ("the names of the six that remain"), followed by 'al ha-'Even ha-sheNit ("on the second stone"). This construction — first six names described simply by the numeral plus construct noun, and the second six described with a participial clause ("the ones remaining") — creates an asymmetry in how the two groups are introduced, even though the underlying meaning is symmetrical (six and six).

The final phrase ke-tolDoTam ("according to their genealogies/generations") uses the preposition ke ("according to," H9004) to indicate the criterion governing the distribution: the order in which the names are placed follows genealogical or birth sequence, though the Hebrew noun itself denotes "generations" or "begettings" rather than "birth" as a single event.

Differences between versions

The Vulgate renders ke-tolDoTam as juxta ordinem nativitatis eorum ("according to the order of their birth"), narrowing the Hebrew's broader "generations" (tol.do.Ta, H8435) to a specific reference to birth order. The BSB and RV1909 similarly translate this as "order of their birth" or "conforme al nacimiento," following the Vulgate's interpretive narrowing rather than a literal rendering of "generations."