Numbers 1:11

Summary

The verse names the tribal representative appointed for the tribe of Benjamin: Abidan, identified by patronymic as the son of Gideoni. It belongs to a list of tribal leaders enumerated for the census organized in Numbers 1.

Key words

• le ("for", H9005) — preposition attached to the tribe name, marking Benjamin as the group to which this leader is assigned, equivalent to "belonging to" or "for [the tribe of]."
• Vinyamin ("Benjamin", H1144G) — proper name of the tribe, in construct-like use following the preposition le, functioning as the head of the phrase "for Benjamin."
• Avidan ("Abidan", H0027) — proper name of the individual designated as the tribe's representative; stands as the grammatical subject of the implied naming clause.
• ben ("[the] son of", H1121A) — masculine singular noun in construct state, linking the personal name Abidan to his father's name Gideoni; this construct form is the standard Hebrew way of expressing patronymic descent.
• Gid'oni ("Gideoni", H1441) — proper name of the father, completing the construct chain begun by ben.

What the text says

The verse is a minimal nominal clause with no verb, typical of list-style enumeration in this chapter. The structure is: preposition + tribe name, followed by personal name + construct noun + father's name. The preposition le ("for", H9005) prefixed to Vinyamin ("Benjamin", H1144G) establishes the tribal affiliation before the leader's name is given — a pattern repeated throughout the chapter's list of tribal representatives.

The core identifying information is carried by the construct phrase ben Gid'oni ("son of Gideoni", H1121A + H1441), which follows immediately after the personal name Avidan ("Abidan", H0027). In Hebrew, the construct state of ben directly binds the two proper names into a single genealogical unit without any additional linking word — the juxtaposition itself signals "son of." No finite verb appears in the clause; the sentence functions as a bare identification formula, consistent with administrative or census-record style rather than narrative prose.

Differences between versions

The Vulgate (VULCLEM) renders Gid'oni as "Gedeonis," a Latin genitive form of the name Gedeon, differing orthographically from the Hebrew Gid'oni and from the LXX's Gedeōneí. The Septuagint (LXXSWETE) reads tōn Beniameín with the genitive article tōn, slightly expanding the bare Hebrew le ("for", H9005) into a fuller genitive construction. These are transliteration and grammatical-marker variations rather than differences in the identity of the persons named.