Numbers 2:25
דֶּגֶל מַחֲנֵה דָן צָפֹנָה לְצִבְאֹתָם וְנָשִׂיא לִבְנֵי דָן אֲחִיעֶזֶר בֶּן־עַמִּֽישַׁדָּֽי׃
✦ Hebrew interlinear
Tap a word to see its entry
✦ The same verse in five languages
דֶּ֣גֶל מַחֲנֵ֥ה דָ֛ן צָפֹ֖נָה לְצִבְאֹתָ֑ם וְנָשִׂיא֙ לִבְנֵ֣י דָ֔ן אֲחִיעֶ֖זֶר בֶּן־עַמִּֽישַׁדָּֽי׃
Τάγμα παρεμβολῆς Δὰν πρὸς βορρᾶν σὺν δυνάμει αὐτῶν, κοὶ ὁ ὄρχων τῶν υἱῶν Δὰν Ἀχιέζερ υἱὸς Ἀμεισαδαί·
Greek text from Swete's edition, CC BY-SA 4.0
Latin (Vulgate)
Ad aquilonis partem castrametati sunt filii Dan: quorum princeps fuit Ahiezer filius Ammisaddai.
“En el lado norte estará la bandera del campamento de Dan, según sus divisiones. El líder de los hijos de Dan será Ahiezer, hijo de Amisadai.
Classic Spanish (Reina-Valera 1909)
La bandera del ejército de Dan estará al aquilón, por sus escuadrones: y el jefe de los hijos de Dan, Ahiezer hijo de Amisaddai;
On the north side, the divisions of Dan are to camp under their standard: The leader of the Danites is Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai,
✦ What the text says
Summary
The verse assigns the position of the tribal camp of Dan to the north side of the Israelite encampment, organized by its military divisions. It also names Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai as the leader of the descendants of Dan.
Key words
- degel ("[the] standard of", H1714) — construct singular noun, opening the verse by naming the banner/standard that identifies the camp, linked to what follows via construct chain.
- machaneh ("[the] camp of", H4264) — feminine singular construct, forming a chain with degel: "standard of the camp of Dan," identifying whose encampment the standard represents.
- tzafonah ("[will be] north", H6828G) — feminine noun with directional he (H9011) attached, indicating motion or orientation "toward the north," specifying the camp's location.
- tziv'otam ("their military groups", H6635A) — feminine plural construct with third-person plural suffix "their," indicating the organized divisions belonging to Dan's camp.
- nasi' ("[the] leader", H5387A) — masculine singular noun, introducing the named individual who holds authority over the descendants of Dan.
What the text says
The verse opens with a construct chain: degel ("standard of") + machaneh ("camp of") + Dan, literally "the standard of the camp of Dan." This chain establishes a hierarchical relationship — the standard represents the camp, and the camp belongs to Dan. The directional he suffix on tzafonah turns the noun "north" into a directional marker, "northward" or "to the north," indicating the camp's assigned position relative to the central sanctuary structure described earlier in Numbers 2.
The phrase le-tziv'otam ("to their military groups") uses the preposition le (H9005) attached to the plural construct noun tziv'otam, indicating that the positioning applies specifically according to Dan's organized divisions or military units. This grammatical structure parallels similar formulas used for the other tribal camps in Numbers 2, creating a formulaic repetition throughout the chapter.
The second half of the verse shifts to identify leadership: ve-nasi' ("and the leader") introduces a new clause connected by the conjunction ve (H9002). The construct phrase li-vnei Dan ("of the descendants of Dan") specifies whose leader is named — using bnei (H1121G, "descendants/sons of") in construct form. The leader's name, Achi'ezer, is followed by the patronymic construct ben ("son of", H1121A) + Ammishaddai, giving his father's name.
Differences between versions
The LXX renders tziv'otam ("their military groups") as σὺν δυνάμει αὐτῶν ("with their power/force"), using a singular collective noun where the Hebrew has a plural construct form. The Vulgate omits an explicit rendering of degel ("standard") and tziv'otam ("their divisions"), instead summarizing the positioning with "castrametati sunt" ("they encamped"), condensing the Hebrew's structural detail about the standard and military divisions into a simpler statement of encampment.
This explanation describes the text using linguistic data; it adds no doctrine or confessional interpretation.