Numbers 13:15

Summary

Numbers 13:15 records the final entry in the list of spies sent to scout the land, naming the representative of the tribe of Gad. The verse identifies him as Geuel ("Geuel", H1345), son of Maki ("Maki", H4352).

Key words

• le ("for", H9005) — the preposition prefixed to matteh, marking the phrase as indicating tribal affiliation ("for/of the tribe of...").
• matteh ("[the] tribe of", H4294H) — masculine singular construct noun, grammatically bound to the following name Gad, forming the construct phrase "tribe of Gad."
• Gad ("Gad", H1410G) — proper name of the tribe, functioning as the absolute noun completing the construct chain begun by matteh.
• ben ("[the] son of", H1121A) — masculine singular construct noun linking the spy's personal name to his father's name, the standard patronymic formula.
• Maki ("Maki", H4352) — proper name, the father of Geuel, standing in absolute position after the construct ben.

What the text says

The Hebrew verse is built entirely on two construct chains, a common structural device for genealogical and tribal identification. The first chain, le-matteh-Gad, uses the preposition le plus the construct noun matteh ("tribe of") followed by the tribal name Gad, producing the sense "for/belonging to the tribe of Gad." The second chain, Geuel ben-Maki, follows the standard patronymic pattern: personal name plus construct noun ben ("son of") plus father's name, identifying the individual by lineage. There is no verb in this verse; it is a nominal sentence consisting solely of identifying labels, consistent with the list format of the surrounding chapter, which enumerates one representative per tribe.

Differences between versions

The data shows a substantial divergence between the Hebrew text and the Greek/Latin versions supplied. The Hebrew (TAHOT) names the tribe as Gad (H1410G) and the spy as Geuel (H1345) son of Maki (H4352). The LXX (Swete text) instead reads "of the tribe of Nephthali, Nabei son of Iabei" (τῆς φυλῆς Νεφθαλεί, Ναβεὶ υἱὸς Ἰαβεί), and the Vulgate correspondingly reads "De tribu Nephthali, Nahabi filium Vapsi." Thus the Greek and Latin texts provided assign a different tribe (Nephthali rather than Gad) and different personal names (Nabei/Nahabi and Iabei/Vapsi rather than Geuel and Maki) to this verse position. The modern translations given (RV1909, BSB, SBLIBRE) all follow the Hebrew tradition, naming Gad, Geuel, and Maki.