Numbers 1:16

Summary

Numbers 1:16 closes the list of tribal representatives named in verses 5-15, summarizing their collective role: they are the ones "called" from the assembly, functioning as tribal leaders and heads of Israel's family units. The verse uses a resumptive pronoun structure typical of Hebrew summary statements.

Key words

• 'Elleh ("these", H0428) — demonstrative particle opening the sentence, pointing back to the twelve names just listed.
• qeru'ei ("called ones of", H7121G) — qal passive participle, plural construct; describes the men as those summoned or designated, in construct with ha'edah.
• nesi'ei ("leaders of", H5387A) — masculine plural construct, first link in a three-word construct chain (nesi'ei matot avotam) that stacks "leaders" → "tribes" → "fathers."
• alfei ("families/thousands of", H0505H) — plural construct of a word whose core sense is "thousand"; here used for a social/military subdivision below the tribe.
• hem ("they", H1992) — independent personal pronoun placed at the very end, resuming the subject 'Elleh after the long descriptive chain.

What the text says

The verse is built as a casus pendens: the demonstrative 'Elleh ("these") opens the clause, then a long chain of construct phrases describes who "these" are, and the pronoun hem ("they") closes the sentence, resuming the initial subject. This produces a structure like "These — [description] — they [are it]," a common Hebrew way to emphasize identity after an extended description rather than using a simple copula.

Within the description, two construct chains stack titles: nesi'ei matot avotam ("leaders of the tribes of their fathers") and ra'shei alfei Yisra'el ("heads of the alfei of Israel"). The word alfei (H0505H) is the plural construct of the noun ordinarily meaning "thousand," and its use here for tribal subdivisions is why the gloss given is "families" rather than a numeral. The participle qeru'ei (H7121G), from the passive stem of "to call," treats the men's status as something conferred — they are "called ones," not simply appointed, which the construct with ha'edah ("the congregation") ties directly to the communal body.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders ra'shei alfei Yisra'el as χιλίαρχοι Ἰσραήλ ("commanders of thousands of Israel"), reading alfei in its numeral/military sense rather than as clan units. The Vulgate similarly gives capita exercitus Israël ("heads of the army of Israel"), also taking a military framing. Modern translations reflected in the data split on this word: RV1909 and SBLIBRE keep "millares" ("thousands"), while BSB renders it "clans," following the alternative social-unit sense of the Hebrew root rather than the literal numeral.