Numbers 10:25

Summary

Numbers 10:25 records the departure of the standard (degel) of the camp of the descendants of Dan, which moved as the rearguard for all the other camps according to their military divisions. Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai is named as the one positioned over this division.

Key words

• na.Sa' ("it set out", H5265) — qal perfect verb functioning as a sequential form, linking this verse to the previous departures in the chapter's list-like narrative.
• De.gel ("standard of", H1714) — masculine singular noun in construct state, meaning it must be followed by another noun ("standard of the camp..."); it does not stand alone.
• me.'a.Sef ("a rearguard", H0622) — piel participle, masculine singular, from a verb denoting "gathering" or "collecting"; the intensive piel stem plus participle form conveys an ongoing functional role, not a single completed action — Dan's camp acts as the one "gathering" or closing the march.
• tziv.'o.Ta + m ("their military groups", H6635A + H9028) — feminine plural noun with 3rd person masculine plural suffix, construct form, indicating organized subdivisions belonging to the camp of Dan.
• tze.va.' + O ("its military group", H6635A + H9023) — singular form of the same root as above, now with a singular suffix referring specifically to Ahiezer's own division.

What the text says

The verse opens with the narrative vav attached to na.Sa' ("it set out", H5265), a grammatical pattern repeated throughout Numbers 10 to mark successive stages of departure. The subject is De.gel ("standard of", H1714), placed in construct with ma.cha.Neh ("camp of", H4264) and further with ve.nei-Dan ("descendants of Dan", H1121G + H1835G), producing a chain: "the standard of the camp of the descendants of Dan."

The participle me.'a.Sef ("a rearguard", H0622) functions descriptively, characterizing the ongoing role of Dan's camp relative to khol ha.ma.cha.Not ("all the camps", H3605 + H9009 + H4264), a phrase which repeats the same root ma.cha.Neh seen earlier but now in plural. This construction shows that Dan's degel moves last among the enumerated camps, functioning as their rear escort "for their military groups" (le.tziv.'o.Tam, H6635A + H9028).

The final clause shifts subject via ve.'al-tze.va.'O ("and over its military group", H5921A + H6635A + H9023), introducing Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai ('a.chi.'E.zer ben-'am.mi.sha.Dai, H0295G + H1121A + H5996) as the one positioned over this particular division, using the preposition 'al ("over", H5921A) rather than a verb of appointment.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders the Hebrew construct chain more compactly as "τάγμα σὺν δυνάμει" ("division with force"), collapsing the layered Hebrew constructs (degel/machaneh/tzeva') into fewer terms, and omits an explicit equivalent for me.'a.Sef ("rearguard", H0622) as a distinct participial description. The Vulgate's "Novissimi castrorum omnium" ("last of all the camps") interprets the rearguard function positionally ("last"), while the Hebrew participle me.'a.Sef emphasizes an active "gathering" nuance rather than mere sequence.