Numbers 1:9

Summary

The verse identifies the representative appointed for the tribe of Zebulun: Eliab, son of Helon. It follows the pattern of the census list in Numbers 1, naming the tribal leader and his patronymic.

Key words

• li ("for", H9005) — preposition prefixed directly to the tribal name, marking Zebulun as the tribe "for" or "belonging to" whom the named individual is designated.
• Zvulun ("Zebulun", H2074) — proper name of the tribe, functioning as the object of the preposition li.
• Eliav ("Eliab", H0446G) — proper name of the individual, the tribal representative, standing in apposition to the tribal designation.
• ben ("[the] son of", H1121A) — construct-state noun linking the personal name to the father's name, forming the standard patronymic formula "X son of Y".
• Chelon ("Helon", H2497) — proper name of the father, completing the construct chain begun by ben.

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence is minimal and formulaic, consisting of a prepositional phrase followed by a name and a patronymic construct chain. The preposition li ("for", H9005) is prefixed directly onto Zvulun ("Zebulun", H2074), producing lizvulun, "for Zebulun" — a construction that assigns the following personal name to that tribe without any verb. This elliptical style is typical of list entries: no verb of "being" or "appointing" appears in the Hebrew; the relationship between tribe and representative is expressed purely through juxtaposition and the preposition.

The name Eliav ("Eliab", H0446G) then follows in apposition, identified further by the construct phrase ben Chelon ("son of Helon", H1121A + H2497). The construct noun ben links the two proper names into a single genitive unit, "son-of-Helon," a standard method in Biblical Hebrew for supplying a patronymic without any additional syntax. The verse thus consists structurally of two parts: a prepositional tribal marker and a name-plus-patronymic identifying formula, joined asyndetically (without a connecting particle) to form a complete entry in the list.

Differences between versions

The Greek (LXX) renders the Hebrew construct ben ("son of", H1121A) with the Greek noun huios ("son"), preserving the same patronymic structure. The Vulgate uses "filius" similarly. No substantive divergence in meaning or names appears among the Hebrew, LXX, and Vulgate for this verse; differences are limited to normal transliteration of proper names (e.g., Chelon rendered as "Χαιλών" in Greek and "Helon" in Latin).