Numbers 1:5

Summary

Numbers 1:5 introduces the list of men who will assist Moses in the census, beginning with the representative of the tribe of Reuben. The verse names Elizur son of Shedeur as the individual designated for this role.

Key words

• 'E.leh ("these", H0428) — demonstrative particle opening the verse, pointing forward to the list of names that follows.
• she.Mot ("[the] names of", H8034) — feminine plural noun in construct state, linking directly to ha'anashim ("the men") to form "the names of the men."
• ya.'am.Du ("they will stand", H5975G) — qal imperfect, third person masculine plural, indicating future or ongoing action; describes what these men are to do — "stand" alongside Moses in an official capacity.
• 'i.te.khem ("with you", H0854+H9036) — preposition with second person masculine plural suffix, specifying that the men will stand "with you" (Moses, addressed directly).
• li.r'u.Ven ("for Reuben", H9005+H7205) — preposition li prefixed to the proper name Reuben, marking this as the tribal heading under which the named individual is listed.

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence opens with the conjunction ve ("and") joined to the demonstrative 'Eleh ("these"), a construction that ties this verse to what precedes and announces a list. The construct chain shemot ha'anashim ("names of the men") is then qualified by a relative clause introduced by 'asher ("who"): ya'amdu 'ittekhem ("they will stand with you"). The verb ya'amdu is an imperfect form, which in Biblical Hebrew narrative can express future or habitual action — here it describes a role these men will fulfill, standing alongside the addressee (grammatically second person plural, "you").

After this general introduction, the text shifts to the list itself. The preposition li ("for") prefixed to Re'uven marks the tribal designation, structurally separate from the personal name that follows: Elitzur ben-Shede'ur ("Elizur son of Shedeur"). The construct noun ben ("son of") links the personal name to the patronymic, a standard Hebrew genealogical formula. The verse thus moves from a general statement about the assisting men to the specific naming of the first tribal representative.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew preposition li ("for Reuben") is rendered in the LXX as τῶν υἱῶν Ῥουβὴν ("of the sons of Reuben"), which makes explicit the tribal/genealogical sense that the Hebrew preposition leaves more compact. The Vulgate uses de Ruben ("from Reuben"), similarly expanding the terse Hebrew construction into a clearer prepositional phrase. The BSB and SBLIBRE translations render this as "from the tribe of Reuben," adding the word "tribe" explicitly, though "tribe" does not correspond to a separate word in the Hebrew text at this point.