Numbers 2:7

Summary

The verse identifies the tribe of Zebulun (H2074) as positioned alongside the previously named tribes, and names its leader: Eliab (H446G), son of Helon (H2497). The sentence follows the fixed formula used throughout Numbers 2 to list tribal encampment order and leadership.

Key words

• ma.Teh ("tribe of", H4294H) — masculine singular construct noun; opens the verse in construct relation with Zebulun, meaning "tribe of Zebulun," marking this as a continuation of a list rather than a new independent clause.
• na.Si' ("leader", H5387A) — masculine singular noun, joined by the conjunction ve ("and", H9002); introduces the second half of the verse, shifting from the tribe's name to its designated head.
• v.Nei ("descendants of", H1121G) — masculine plural construct of the same root as ben later in the verse; construct form links it to Zebulun, producing "leader of the sons of Zebulun."
• ben ("son of", H1121A) — masculine singular construct; here it functions genealogically, attaching Eliab to his father Helon rather than to a tribal group.
• 'e.li.'Av ("Eliab", H446G) — proper name in apposition to na.Si', identifying the specific individual holding the office of leader.

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence has no verb; it is a nominal clause built entirely through construct chains and apposition, a structure typical of list-like administrative texts. The first unit, ma.Teh zevulun, simply names the tribe as an ongoing item in a series begun earlier in the chapter. The conjunction ve then introduces a second nominal phrase, nasi livnei zevulun, "leader of the sons of Zebulun," where the preposition li (H9005) marks possession or belonging — the leadership belongs to that specific group of descendants. The name Eliab ben Chelon stands in apposition to nasi, so the grammar effectively states: [this is] the tribe of Zebulun, and [this is] the leader of the sons of Zebulun — Eliab, son of Helon. The absence of a finite verb is characteristic of Hebrew census/list registers, where identity and role are stated through juxtaposed noun phrases rather than through predication.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders the opening phrase with an added participial clause, καὶ οἱ παρεμβάλλοντες ἐχόμενοι φυλῆς Ζαβουλών ("and those encamping next to the tribe of Zabulon"), where the Hebrew simply has the construct noun ma.Teh zevulun ("tribe of Zebulun") without any verb of encamping. The Vulgate condenses the verse into a short declarative sentence, "In tribu Zabulon princeps fuit Eliab filius Helon," using the verb fuit ("was") to supply what the Hebrew leaves as a verbless nominal clause.