Numbers 26:17

Summary

Numbers 26:17 records two subdivisions within the tribal genealogical census: the clan descended from Arod and the clan descended from Areli, each named with its corresponding gentilic (clan-name) form.

Key words

• 'a.Rod ("Arod", H0720) — proper name of a person, functioning as the ancestor from whom the clan takes its name.
• mish.Pa.chat ("clan of", H4940) — feminine singular noun in construct state, meaning it must be followed by another noun to complete its meaning ("clan of X").
• ha.'a.ro.Di ("the Arodite[s]", H0722) — gentilic noun (a form denoting "belonging to a people/group"), preceded by the definite article, identifying the collective group descended from Arod.
• 'Ar.'e.Li ("Areli", H0692) — proper name of the second individual ancestor mentioned in this verse.
• ha.'ar.'e.Li ("the Arelite[s]", H0692) — gentilic form with definite article, parallel in structure to ha'arodi, naming the clan descended from Areli.

What the text says

The verse follows a fixed formulaic pattern used throughout Numbers 26 for listing tribal subdivisions: la- + [ancestor name], mishpachat ("clan of") + ha- + [gentilic form of the same name]. This pattern repeats twice in the verse, first for Arod and then for Areli. The preposition la (from le, H9005, "of/belonging to") attached to each personal name indicates possession or association — the clan belongs to, or is named after, that ancestor.

The construct noun mishpachat ("clan of", H4940) cannot stand alone grammatically; it requires the following noun to complete its sense, here the gentilic noun marked with the definite article (ha'arodi, ha'ar'eli). This construct-plus-gentilic structure is the standard way Biblical Hebrew expresses "the clan named after X" in genealogical lists. The doubling of the root — appearing first as a personal name ('Arod, 'Ar'eli) and then as a derived gentilic (ha'arodi, ha'ar'eli) — visually and phonetically ties the clan identity directly to its eponymous ancestor, a feature that a translation using only "the Arodite clan from Arod" preserves but which is more compact and rhythmic in the Hebrew original.

Differences between versions

The Vulgate renders the second name as Ariel rather than matching the Hebrew 'Ar'eli (H0692) exactly, though the underlying consonantal correspondence is close. The LXX (Swete) diverges more significantly here, presenting entirely different names — Asrōn and Iamoun — corresponding to a different set of clan names than the Hebrew Arod and Areli found in the Masoretic tradition reflected in TAHOT. The Reina-Valera 1909 renders the first name as "Aroz" rather than "Arod," a spelling variant not directly explained by the word-by-word Hebrew data provided.