Exodus 28:21
וְהָאֲבָנִים תִּֽהְיֶיןָ עַל־שְׁמֹת בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל שְׁתֵּים עֶשְׂרֵה עַל־שְׁמֹתָם פִּתּוּחֵי חוֹתָם אִישׁ עַל־שְׁמוֹ תִּֽהְיֶיןָ לִשְׁנֵי עָשָׂר שָֽׁבֶט׃
✦ Hebrew interlinear
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✦ The same verse in five languages
וְ֠הָאֲבָנִים תִּֽהְיֶ֜יןָ עַל־שְׁמֹ֧ת בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל שְׁתֵּ֥ים עֶשְׂרֵ֖ה עַל־שְׁמֹתָ֑ם פִּתּוּחֵ֤י חוֹתָם֙ אִ֣ישׁ עַל־שְׁמ֔וֹ תִּֽהְיֶ֕יןָ לִשְׁנֵ֥י עָשָׂ֖ר שָֽׁבֶט׃
καὶ οἱ λίθοι ἔστωσαν ἐκ τῶν ὀνομάτων τῶν υἱῶν Ἰσραὴλ δέκα δύο, κατὰ τὰ ὀνόματα αὐτῶν· γλυφαὶ σφραγίδων ἕκαστος κατὰ τὸ ὄνομα ἔστωσαν εἰς δέκα δύο φυλάς.
Greek text from Swete's edition, CC BY-SA 4.0
Latin (Vulgate)
Habebuntque nomina filiorum Israël: duodecim nominibus cælabuntur, singuli lapides nominibus singulorum per duodecim tribus.
Serán doce piedras en total, una por cada tribu de Israel, y cada piedra tendrá grabado el nombre de una de las doce tribus, como si fuera un sello.
Classic Spanish (Reina-Valera 1909)
Y serán aquellas piedras según los nombres de los hijos de Israel, doce según sus nombres; como grabaduras de sello cada una con su nombre, vendrán á ser según las doce tribus.
The twelve stones are to correspond to the names of the sons of Israel, each engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes.
✦ What the text says
Summary
The verse specifies that the twelve stones (mentioned in the preceding verses) must correspond to the names of the sons of Israel, one name per stone, engraved like a seal, so that the set of stones represents the twelve tribes.
Key words
- tihYeina ("they will be", H1961) — qal imperfect, third person feminine plural, referring back to ha'avanim ("the stones"); it appears twice (position 4 and 20), framing the verse with a double statement of correspondence.
- shemot ("names of", H8034) — feminine plural construct, used three times in the verse (positions 6, 12, 18 in singular form shem), establishing the repeated link between stones and names.
- petuchei ("engravings of", H6603) — masculine plural construct joined to chotam ("a seal", H2368), describing the technique: engraving in the manner of a seal.
- ish ("each one", H0376I) — masculine singular noun functioning distributively, "each one according to his name," emphasizing individual assignment rather than a collective label.
- shevet ("tribe", H7626H) — masculine singular, used after shenei asar ("twelve", H8147+H6240) to close the verse by naming the tribal referent of the stones.
What the text says
The Hebrew sentence is built around two occurrences of the verb tihYeina ("they will be," H1961), both in qal imperfect feminine plural agreeing with ha'avanim ("the stones," H0068G). The first occurrence establishes that the stones will be "upon" ('al, H5921A) the names of the sons of Israel — twelve in number (shetteim 'esreh, H8147+H6240) — according to their names ('al-shemotam). The second occurrence of tihYeina restates the outcome after the description of the engraving method, saying the stones "will be for" (li, H9005) the twelve tribes (shenei 'asar shavet).
Between these two verbal anchors, the text specifies the engraving technique: petuchei chotam ("engravings of a seal," H6603+H2368) indicates that each stone is worked in the manner of a seal-engraving. The word ish ("each one," H0376I) is used distributively, paired with 'al-shemo ("upon his name," using the singular shem, H8034, with third person suffix), stressing that each stone individually bears one name, rather than describing the set collectively.
Differences between versions
The LXX renders the Hebrew petuchei chotam ("engravings of a seal") as γλυφαὶ σφραγίδων ("carvings of seals," plural), where the Hebrew has chotam in the singular. The Vulgate uses caelabuntur ("shall be engraved") as a finite verb, restructuring the double Hebrew tihYeina construction into a single verbal statement about the stones being engraved, rather than preserving the Hebrew's twofold "they will be."
This explanation describes the text using linguistic data; it adds no doctrine or confessional interpretation.