Numbers 10:21

Summary

The verse describes the Kohathite clan setting out on the march, identified as the carriers of the sanctuary objects, followed by a statement about the tabernacle being erected in relation to their arrival. The precise timing and subject of the "setting up" action is grammatically ambiguous in the Hebrew.

Key words

• na.se.'u ("they set out", H5265) — qal sequential perfect (vav-consecutive), continuing the narrative chain of the marching order established in the preceding verses; subject is the Kohathites.
• ke.ha.tim ("Kohathites", H6956) — gentilic plural noun with definite article, naming the specific Levitical clan responsible for carrying sacred items.
• no.se.'ei ("bearers of", H5375H) — qal active participle, masculine plural, in construct state; functions as an appositional title for the Kohathites, literally "carriers of."
• he.ki.mu ("they caused to stand / erected", H6965I) — hiphil (causative) sequential perfect, same 3rd-person masculine plural form as na.se.'u; the causative stem indicates an action of "making stand up," i.e., erecting.
• bo.'am ("their coming", H0935G + suffix) — infinitive construct with 3rd masculine plural pronominal suffix, marking a temporal boundary ("until their coming/arrival").

What the text says

The verse opens with the sequential perfect na.se.'u ("they set out"), continuing the narrative sequence of the marching order of Israelite camps and clans described earlier in the chapter. The subject, ha.ke.ha.tim ("the Kohathites"), is further specified by the construct participle no.se.'ei ha.mik.dash ("bearers of the sanctuary"), identifying their role as porters of sacred objects rather than the tabernacle structure itself.

The second clause, introduced by another narrative vav, uses the same verbal person and number (he.ki.mu, 3rd plural) as the first clause. Because Biblical Hebrew sequential perfects typically continue the subject of the previous clause unless a new subject is explicitly named, the grammatical subject of he.ki.mu is not overtly stated to differ from "the Kohathites." However, the causative hiphil stem ("caused to stand," i.e., "erected") combined with the temporal clause 'ad-bo.'am ("until their coming") creates an interpretive question: does the erecting happen upon the Kohathites' arrival, or does it happen by others before they arrive, with bo.'am marking the terminus of that separate action?

Differences between versions

The Hebrew leaves the subject of he.ki.mu grammatically continuous with "the Kohathites," but the versions resolve this differently. The LXX (στήσουσιν... ἕως παραγένωνται, future tense) keeps the sentence structurally tied to the sons of Kaath as subject. The Vulgate renders the clause quite differently: "tamdiu tabernaculum portabatur, donec venirent ad erectionis locum" ("the tabernacle was being carried until they came to the place of erection"), shifting from an erecting action to an ongoing carrying action. RV1909 introduces an explicit new subject, "los otros" ("the others"), which is not present in the Hebrew text, while BSB and SBLIBRE use a passive/impersonal construction ("was to be set up") that avoids naming an agent altogether.