Numbers 2:9

Summary

Numbers 2:9 gives the total count of all enrolled men belonging to the camp of Judah, totaling 186,400, organized according to their military divisions, and states that this group will set out first when the Israelite camp moves.

Key words

• pekuDim ("enrolled", H6485A) — qal passive participle, masculine plural; describes men who have undergone a census, functioning here as a substantive ("those enrolled/counted").
• machaNeh ("camp of", H4264) — feminine singular construct; links directly to Yehudah, forming "camp of Judah" as a bound phrase.
• tzivoTam ("their military groups", H6635A) — feminine plural construct with 3rd person plural suffix ("their"), indicating the subdivisions within Judah's camp.
• rishoNah ("first", H7223G) — feminine singular ordinal number, modifying the verb adverbially to indicate sequence in the march order.
• yissaU ("they will set out", H5265) — qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural; expresses future or repeated action, here the marching order of the camp.

What the text says

The verse opens with kal- ("all of", H3605) in construct with ha-pekuDim ("those enrolled", H6485A), forming the phrase "all of those enrolled," which functions as the subject of the sentence. This subject is further specified by le-machaNeh Yehudah ("of/belonging to the camp of Judah," H9005 + H4264 + H3063G), a prepositional phrase indicating association rather than strict possession.

The numerical total is built through a chain of construct and non-construct cardinal numbers joined by the conjunction ve- ("and", H9002): meAt Elef ("hundred of thousand," H3967 + H0505G) plus shemoNim Elef ("eighty thousand," H8084 + H0505G) plus sheshet-alaFim ("six of thousands," H8337 + H0505G) plus arba-meOt ("four of hundreds," H0702 + H3967). This additive construction of thousands and hundreds yields the sum of 186,400, matching the numeral given in the versions.

The phrase le-tzivoTam ("to/according to their military groups," H9005 + H6635A + H9028) specifies that this count is organized by their divisions, using the same construct-plus-suffix pattern seen in verse-level formulas throughout this chapter. The clause closes with rishoNah yissaU ("first, they will set out," H7223G + H5265), where the ordinal number rishoNah precedes the imperfect verb yissaU, placing grammatical emphasis on the sequence of departure before the action itself.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders the phrase with σὺν δυνάμει αὐτῶν ("together with their power/forces"), corresponding to the Hebrew le-tzivoTam ("to their military groups", H6635A), using a term (δύναμις) that emphasizes military strength rather than the structural sense of "divisions" implied by the Hebrew construct form. The Vulgate's per turmas suas ("through their troops") aligns more closely with the divisional sense of the Hebrew. All versions and the Hebrew agree on the numerical total of 186,400.