Numbers 10:4

Summary

The verse describes what happens if only one trumpet blast is sounded, as opposed to the two blasts described in the surrounding context: instead of the whole community, only the leaders — described as "heads of the thousands of Israel" — are to gather before Moses.

Key words

• 'im ("if", H0518A) — introduces a conditional clause, setting up an alternative scenario to the one already given (two trumpets vs. one).
• 'aChat ("one", H0259) — feminine cardinal number agreeing with the implied feminine noun for trumpet, marking the single-blast condition.
• yitKa'u ("they will give a blast", H8628) — qal imperfect, expressing the hypothetical/future action inside the conditional clause ("if they blow...").
• no'aDu ("they will gather together", H3259) — niphal sequential perfect; the niphal stem gives a reflexive/passive nuance ("gather themselves"), and the vav-perfect form marks it as the consequence following the conditional verb.
• ra'shei ("heads of", H7218H) construct + 'alfei ("thousands of", H0505H) construct — a double construct chain, "heads of the thousands of Israel," naming the specific group who responds to the single blast.

What the text says

The sentence is built as a conditional structure: 'im plus the imperfect verb yitKa'u forms the protasis ("if they blow on one [trumpet]"), and the vav-consecutive perfect no'aDu forms the apodosis ("then they will gather"). This grammatical pairing — imperfect in the condition, sequential perfect in the result — is a standard construction for future conditional sentences in Biblical Hebrew narrative, showing that the "gathering" is presented as the direct sequel to the trumpet blast, not a separate independent event.

The niphal form of no'aDu suggests the leaders assemble of their own accord in response to the signal, rather than being physically brought together, which softens the causative force implied by an active-voice translation. The double construct chain ra'shei 'alfei Yisra'el ("heads of the thousands of Israel") identifies the specific leadership tier being summoned — those overseeing the units called "thousands" — distinguishing them from the general population.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders the leaders as πάντες οἱ ἄρχοντες, ἀρχηγοὶ Ἰσραὴλ ("all the leaders, chiefs of Israel"), adding "all" (πάντες), which has no direct equivalent in the Hebrew, and drops the specific term "thousands" ('alfei), merging it into a general reference to Israel. The Vulgate renders 'alfei as "multitudinis" ("of the multitude"), an interpretive rather than literal rendering of "thousands." The BSB translates 'alfei as "clans," another interpretive choice, while RV1909 keeps the literal "millares" ("thousands"), closer to the Hebrew construct noun.