Numbers 26:30

Summary

The verse lists two of the clans descending from Gilead: the Iezerite clan, named after Iezer, and the Helekite clan, named after Helek. It follows the standard genealogical formula used throughout Numbers 26 to record tribal subdivisions.

Key words

• 'Elleh ("these", H0428) — demonstrative particle opening the genealogical unit, pointing forward to the list that follows.
• benei ("descendants of", H1121G) — masculine plural construct noun, establishing the construct chain "sons/descendants of Gilead."
• mishpachat ("clan of", H4940) — feminine singular construct noun, repeated twice, each time introducing a named clan-group.
• ha'Iezri ("the Iezerite", H0373) — gentilic form (with definite article ha-, H9009) derived from the personal name Iezer, denoting "belonging to the people of Iezer."
• ha-Chelqi ("the Helekite", H2516) — gentilic form (with definite article) derived from the personal name Helek, functioning identically to ha'Iezri.

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence is built as a construct chain: 'Elleh benei Gil'ad ("these are the descendants of Gilead") sets the frame, after which each descendant is presented through a fixed pattern: personal name, followed by mishpachat + gentilic form of that same name. So Iezer is named, then mishpachat ha'Iezri ("the clan of the Iezerite") restates the same referent in adjectival/gentilic form. The same happens with Chelek / mishpachat ha-Chelqi. The preposition le- (H9005) before Chelek ("of Helek") links this second clan back into the same list governed by benei Gil'ad, showing that Helek, like Iezer, is a son of Gilead whose descendants form a mishpachah ("clan," H4940).

This construction — proper name followed by its gentilic derivative with the definite article — is a recurring device in the Numbers 26 census: it names an ancestor and then designates the collective clan named after him, without needing a separate verb "to be," since Hebrew genealogical lists often function through simple apposition.

Differences between versions

The Vulgate (VULCLEM) expands the construct chain into a full narrative sentence — "Galaad habuit filios: Jezer... et Helec..." ("Gilead had sons: Jezer... and Helec...") — supplying the verb "habuit" ("had") that the Hebrew leaves implicit through construct syntax. The Spanish and English translations (RV1909, SBLIBRE, BSB) similarly render the construct chain as an explicit sentence with "were" or "son(es) of," making explicit what the Hebrous construct forms leave grammatically compressed. The LXX text supplied (καὶ τὸ ὄνομα θυγαΚάρα, "and the name of daughter Kara") does not correspond lexically to the Hebrew content of this verse and cannot be aligned word-for-word with the Hebrew list of Iezer and Helek shown here.