Numbers 10:20

Summary

The verse identifies the leader placed over the military division of the tribe of the descendants of Gad. That leader is named Eliasaph, son of Deuel.

Key words

• tze.Va' ("[the] military group of", H6635A) — masculine singular construct noun, linking this group to the following noun in a chain of possession ("group of...").
• ma.Teh ("[the] tribe of", H4294H) — masculine singular construct, continuing the construct chain: "group of the tribe of...".
• ve.nei- ("[the] descendants of", H1121G) — masculine plural construct of "son/descendant," forming "tribe of the sons of Gad."
• 'el.ya.Saf ("Eliasaph", H0460G) — proper name, the subject who stands "over" ('al-, H5921A) the group described in the construct chain.
• ben- ("[the] son of", H1121A) — masculine singular construct, attaching the patronymic de.'u.'El ("Deuel", H1845) to Eliasaph's name.

What the text says

The verse is built as a single nominal clause without a finite verb in Hebrew, a common pattern in these tribal-leader lists in Numbers 10. The preposition 'al- ("over", H5921A) governs a long construct chain: tze.Va' ("military group of") + ma.Teh ("tribe of") + ve.nei- ("descendants of") + Gad ("Gad"). This chain stacks four nouns in construct relationship, each modifying the next, producing the sense "over the military-group of the tribe of the descendants-of Gad." The subject of this prepositional phrase is placed afterward: 'el.ya.Saf ("Eliasaph"), followed by his patronymic ben- ("son of") de.'u.'El ("Deuel").

Because Hebrew lacks a copula ("is/was") in this type of verbless clause, the relationship between "over the division of the tribe of the sons of Gad" and "Eliasaph son of Deuel" is established purely by juxtaposition — the prepositional phrase precedes the named person it describes. Translations must supply a verb ("was over," "estaba al frente de") to render this smoothly, which the Hebrew itself does not contain.

Differences between versions

The Vulgate (VULCLEM) renders the tribal designation differently, saying "in tribu Gad erat princeps" ("in the tribe of Gad there was a leader"), which shifts 'al- from "over the division of" to "in the tribe," and introduces the word "princeps" ("leader/chief") not present as a separate lexical item in the Hebrew construct chain. The LXX (Ἐλεισὰφ ὁ τοῦ Ῥαγουήλ) transliterates the patronymic as "Ragouel" rather than corresponding to the Hebrew de.'u.'El ("Deuel", H1845), reflecting a different vocalization or reading tradition of the name's initial consonant.