Numbers 13:19

Summary

Numbers 13:19 poses two double questions about the land the scouts are to investigate: whether the land itself is good or bad, and whether the cities in it are open camps or fortified strongholds. The verse uses parallel interrogative constructions built around the relative clause "which he dwells in."

Key words

• mah ("what?", H4100) — interrogative pronoun opening both halves of the verse, each introducing a question about a different noun (aretz, "land"; arim, "cities").
• asher ("which/that", H0834A) — relative particle linking the noun to the following clause describing the inhabitant's dwelling.
• yoshev / yoshev ("dwelling", H3427) — qal participle, expressing an ongoing state ("the one who dwells"), used twice (masculine singular) even though its referent shifts from "land" (singular) to "cities" (plural), agreeing instead with the singular collective "he" (hu, H1931) representing the inhabiting population.
• ha (interrogative particle, H9008) — prefixed to tovah ("good", H2896A) and to be-machanim ("in camps", H4264+H9003), marking each as the first term of an alternative question, paired with im ("or", H0518A).
• mivtzarim ("fortresses", H4013) — masculine plural noun, the second alternative in the second question, contrasted with machanim ("camps").

What the text says

The verse is built as two symmetrical interrogative units, each following the pattern: mah + noun + relative clause (asher hu yoshev bah/bahen, "which he dwells in it/them") + alternative question marked by ha...im ("is it X or Y?"). The first unit asks about ha'aretz ("the land", H0776G) using the adjectives tovah ("good") and ra'ah ("bad", H7451A). The second unit shifts to he'arim ("the cities", H5892B) and asks whether they are be-machanim ("in camps") or be-mivtzarim ("in fortresses"), i.e., unwalled settlements versus fortified ones.

A grammatical detail not visible in translation is that both occurrences of yoshev use the masculine singular participle even when referring to the plural "cities," because the participle's subject is hu ("he/it"), a collective reference to the population, not to the land or cities themselves. The interrogative particle ha attached directly to tovah and to be-machanim signals that these are formal yes/no-type alternative questions, structurally paired with im ("or") before the second option in each case.

Differences between versions

The LXX text given here diverges substantially from the Hebrew of this verse: instead of asking about "good or bad" land and "camps or fortresses," it renders questions about the land's identity, whether the inhabiting people are "stronger or weaker" (ὀσχυρότερός/ἀσθενής) and "few or many" (ὀλίγοι/πολλοί) — content matching Numbers 13:18 rather than the Hebrew of 13:19. The Vulgate similarly asks whether the inhabitant is "strong or weak" (fortis/infirmus) and "few or many" (pauci/plures), not addressing "good/bad land" or "camps/fortresses" as the Hebrew does.