Numbers 26:38

Summary

The verse lists the descendants of Benjamin organized by clans (mishpachot, H4940), naming three sons — Bela, Ashbel, and Ahiram — and the clan named after each of them. This is part of the census genealogy structure repeated throughout Numbers 26.

Key words

• benei ("descendants of", H1121A) — masculine plural construct, opening the genealogical list by marking "sons/descendants of" as the head of the chain of relationships.
• mishpechotam ("their clans", H4940 + H9028) — feminine plural construct with a third-person plural pronominal suffix, indicating the clans belong collectively to Benjamin's line.
• mishpachat ("the clan of", H4940) — feminine singular construct, repeated three times, each time introducing a single clan tied to one eponymous ancestor.
• ha-Bal'i ("the Belaite", H1108) — masculine singular gentilic with definite article, a noun form denoting "belonging to the people of Bela," derived directly from the personal name Bela (H1106A).
• ha-Achirami ("the Ahiramite", H0298) — masculine singular gentilic with definite article, structurally parallel to the other two gentilics, closing the list.

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence is built as a chain of construct relationships: benei Vinyamin ("descendants of Benjamin") governs le-mishpechotam ("according to their clans"), which then unfolds into three parallel units, each following the pattern le-[name] mishpachat ha-[gentilic] — "belonging to [name], the clan of the [gentilic-form name]." Each gentilic noun (ha-Bal'i, ha-'Ashbeli, ha-'Achirami) is morphologically derived from the personal name preceding it, with the definite article marking it as a fixed clan designation rather than a simple adjective. This construct-chain style is typical of census lists in Numbers 26, where the syntax itself performs the genealogical function: no verbs are used, only a sequence of nouns in construct state that establishes descent and clan affiliation purely through word order and grammatical binding.

The repetition of mishpachat (H4940) three times, once per son, creates a formulaic rhythm that mirrors the structure of the surrounding tribal lists (e.g., the entries for Manasseh, Ephraim, etc., elsewhere in the chapter), reinforcing that each named individual becomes the reference point for an entire clan-name.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew text of Numbers 26:38 concerns Benjamin's clans (Bela, Ashbel, Ahiram), and the Vulgate (Filii Benjamin in cognationibus suis: Bela... Asbel... Ahiram...) corresponds to this content. However, the LXX text supplied here (οὗτοι δῆμοι Μανασσὴ...) refers instead to Manasseh's census total ("these are the clans of Manasseh, from their numbering: fifty-two thousand seven hundred"), not to Benjamin's clans — indicating the LXX excerpt provided does not align with the Hebrew verse under discussion.