Numbers 2:12

Summary

The verse specifies which tribe will camp adjacent to a previously named group and identifies its leader. The tribe of Simeon is designated as neighbor, and Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai is named as its leader.

Key words

• cho.Nim ("[who] encamp", H2583) — qal participle, masculine plural, with the article ha ("the", H9009) prefixed. The article turns the participle into a substantive: "the ones encamping," functioning as the grammatical subject of the clause.
• 'a.Lav ("upon him", H5921A) — preposition with 3rd person masculine singular suffix, pointing back to a referent established earlier in the chapter (the group already positioned), which the Simeon camp is said to be located beside.
• ma.Teh ("tribe of", H4294H) — masculine singular noun in construct state, linking directly to the following proper name Shim'on to form "tribe of Simeon."
• na.Si' ("leader", H5387A) — masculine singular noun, here functioning as the subject of the second clause identifying the individual leader.
• tzu.ri-sha.Dai ("Zuri-shaddai", H6701) — a compound proper name built from two elements, functioning as the patronymic identifier "son of Zurishaddai."

What the text says

The verse divides into two linked clauses. The first uses the substantivized participle ha-cho.Nim ("the ones encamping") followed by 'a.Lav ("upon/beside him") to state that a group camps next to a previously mentioned reference point; the subject of this encamping is then specified in apposition as ma.Teh Shim'on ("tribe of Simeon"), using the construct chain "tribe of Simeon." The participle form conveys an ongoing or characteristic action ("those who camp") rather than a single completed event, describing the standing arrangement of the camp rather than a one-time occurrence.

The second clause shifts to identify personnel: ve-na.Si' li-v.nei Shim'on ("and the leader of the sons of Simeon") introduces the title before the proper name Shelumiel, which is then further specified by the patronymic ben Tzuri-shaddai ("son of Zurishaddai"). The construct chains ma.Teh Shim'on and li-v.nei Shim'on both use "Simeon" but with different governing nouns — "tribe of" versus "sons of" — showing two ways of referring to the same group, one collective and one individual.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew participle cho.Nim ("those who encamp") is rendered in the LXX as an aorist participle παρεμβαλόντες combined with ἐχόμενοι ("adjacent," a form of ἔχω), and in the Vulgate as a finite perfect verb, castrametati sunt ("they have encamped"). Where the Hebrew presents an ongoing/habitual participial construction, both LXX and Vulgate shift toward completed-action phrasing. The name Tzuri-shaddai appears transliterated as Σουρισαδαί (LXX) and Surisaddai (Vulgate), and Shelumiel as Σαλαμιήλ / Salamiel, reflecting standard Greek/Latin adaptation of Hebrew phonology rather than translation differences in meaning.