Numbers 11:35

Summary

The verse records a stage in the wilderness itinerary: the people set out from Kibroth-hattaavah and arrived at Hazeroth, where they then were. It is a short notice of departure and arrival, typical of the travel-list style found elsewhere in Numbers.

Key words

• na.se.'U ("they set out", H5265) — qal perfect, 3rd person common plural; marks the completed act of departure from the previous location.
• ha.'Am ("the people", H5971A) — masculine singular noun with definite article; a collective singular that here takes a plural verb (na.se.'U).
• va.yih.Yu ("and they were", H1961) — qal verb in the narrative (wayyiqtol) chain, introduced by the narrative va ("and"); it advances the story to the next event, "and then they were...".
• cha.tze.Rot ("Hazeroth", H2698) — proper place name, appearing twice: first without a preposition (word 7), then with the preposition ba ("at/in", H9003) in ba.chatzeRot (words 10–11).
• mi ("from", H9006) — preposition prefixed to kiv.Rot, marking the point of origin of the movement.

What the text says

The clause structure is simple and typical of Hebrew itinerary notices: origin (mi-Kibroth-hattaavah) + verb of movement (na.se.'U) + subject (ha.'Am) + destination (Chatzerot, without preposition), followed by a second clause introduced by the narrative va that states the resulting condition: va.yih.Yu ba.chatzeRot, "and they were at Hazeroth." The first occurrence of Chatzerot lacks any preposition, functioning as a directional accusative ("to Hazeroth"), while the second occurrence takes the locative preposition ba ("in/at Hazeroth"), marking a shift from direction of movement to location of being. This alternation — direction without preposition, then location with preposition — is a feature of the Hebrew that a translation using "to" and "at" in both instances does not reproduce as distinctly.

The collective noun ha.'Am ("the people") is grammatically singular but paired with the plural verb na.se.'U ("they set out"), a common Hebrew agreement pattern for group nouns treated as a plurality of individuals.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders Kibroth-hattaavah as "Μνήματα ματων ἐπιθυμίας" ("tombs/monuments of desire"), translating the meaning of the Hebrew name rather than transliterating it, while it transliterates Chatzerot as "Ἁσηρώθ." The Hebrew treats both as proper toponyms without semantic rendering. The LXX also uses a singular verb (ἐξῆρεν, "he/it set out") with the singular noun ὁ λαός, differing from the Hebrew's plural verb with singular collective noun. The BSB's phrase "where they remained for some time" adds a duration not explicit in the Hebrew va.yih.Yu ba.chatzeRot, which states only that they were at Hazeroth.