Numbers 1:10

Summary

This verse names the tribal representatives from the sons of Joseph: Elishama son of Ammihud for the tribe of Ephraim, and Gamaliel son of Pedahzur for the tribe of Manasseh. The verse continues the census list structure established earlier in Numbers 1, identifying leaders by patronymic (father's name).

Key words

• li ("for", H9005) — the preposition prefixed to v.Nei marks the phrase as introducing "the sons of Joseph," setting up the two named sub-tribes that follow.
• v.Nei ("[the] sons of", H1121A) — construct plural form of "son," grammatically binding "sons" to the following name Yosef, forming the phrase "sons of Joseph."
• 'Ef.Ra.yim ("Ephraim", H0669G) — proper name preceded by le, marking this tribe as one specific division within "the sons of Joseph."
• ben- ("[the] son of", H1121A) — singular construct form appearing twice in this verse, each time linking a leader's personal name to his father's name (patronymic formula).
• m.na.Sheh ("Manasseh", H4519G) — proper name preceded by li, marking the second tribal division within Joseph's descendants, parallel in structure to 'Ef.Ra.yim.

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence structure relies on the construct chain and repeated prepositions to organize the list hierarchically. The phrase opens with li-v.Nei Yosef ("for the sons of Joseph"), establishing a superordinate category. Within that category, two prepositional phrases follow, each marked by le- / li-: le-'Ef.Ra.yim ("for Ephraim") and li-m.na.Sheh ("for Manasseh"). This use of prefixed prepositions before each tribal name signals that the two tribes are being introduced as subdivisions under the broader heading "sons of Joseph."

For each tribe, the text supplies a leader's name followed by the construct noun ben- ("son of") plus the father's name: 'e.li.sha.Ma' ben-'a.mi.Hud ("Elishama son of Ammihud") for Ephraim, and gam.li.'El ben-pe.da.h.Tzur ("Gamaliel son of Pedahzur") for Manasseh. This patronymic formula — personal name plus construct ben plus father's name — is a recurring structural device in this list of tribal leaders, providing identification through lineage rather than title or office. The syntax contains no verbs; the entire verse is a series of nominal phrases linked by prepositions and construct relationships, typical of census or list-style Hebrew prose.

Differences between versions

The Vulgate (VULCLEM) and Spanish translations (RV1909, SBLIBRE) render the initial prepositions as "de" ("of/from"), matching the Hebrew construct sense of belonging to a group. The BSB uses "from," similarly preserving the partitive nuance of le-/li-. The provided LXX fragment (LXXSWETE) begins only with "τῶν Μανασσὴ" ("of the [sons] of Manasseh"), omitting the Ephraim clause and the opening "sons of Joseph" phrase found in the Hebrew; this suggests the LXX text as given here starts partway through the verse, though the full LXX rendering of the earlier clauses is not shown in the data provided.