Numbers 13:6

Summary

This verse identifies the representative sent from the tribe of Judah to scout the land: Caleb, son of Jephunneh. It is a simple identification formula consisting of tribal affiliation followed by personal name and patronymic.

Key words

• maTteh ("tribe of", H4294H) — masculine singular construct noun; the construct form links it directly to the following name, producing "tribe of Judah" rather than a standalone "tribe."
• Yehudah ("Judah", H3063G) — proper name marking the tribal ancestor/eponym to whom the tribe belongs.
• Kalev ("Caleb", H3612G) — proper name, the individual being identified; stands in apposition to the preceding construct phrase, naming the specific person from that tribe.
• ben ("son of", H1121A) — masculine singular construct noun; introduces the patronymic, linking Caleb to his father.
• Yefunneh ("Jephunneh", H3312G) — proper name of Caleb's father, completing the identification chain.

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence has no verb; it is a nominal identification chain typical of list entries. The preposition le ("for", H9005) attaches to maTteh ("tribe of", H4294H) to form the phrase "for the tribe of Judah," marking the tribal source of the person named next. The construct chain maTteh Yehudah ("tribe of Judah") sets the category, and Kalev ben-Yefunneh ("Caleb son of Jephunneh") gives the specific individual, using the standard patronymic construction with ben ("son of", H1121A) in construct with the father's name. This structure — preposition + tribe + personal name + patronymic — repeats across the surrounding verses of the chapter as each tribal representative is listed, so the grammar itself signals a catalog format rather than narrative prose.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew text (TAHOT) names the tribe as Yehudah ("Judah", H3063G) and the individual as Kalev ("Caleb", H3612G), son of Yefunneh ("Jephunneh", H3312G). The LXX (Swete) text given for this verse instead reads "of the tribe of Symeon, Saphat son of Souri," and the Vulgate (Clementine) correspondingly reads "De tribu Simeon, Saphat filium Huri" — both naming a different tribe (Symeon/Simeon) and a different person (Saphat, son of Souri/Huri) than the Hebrew. The RV1909, BSB, and SBLIBRE translations align with the Hebrew reading (Judah, Caleb, Jephunneh). This divergence reflects a difference in verse content between the Hebrew tradition represented here and the Greek/Latin textual tradition at this verse position, without indication in the provided data of which arrangement is prior.