Numbers 26:45

Summary

The verse continues the census-list of the tribe of Asher, specifying the descendants of Beriah. Two lines are given: Heber, from whom comes the Heberite clan, and Malkiel, from whom comes the Malchielite clan.

Key words

• v.Nei ("[the] descendants of", H1121G) — construct plural of "sons," linking the names Beriah's line to the following genealogical unit; a construct form always requires a following noun to complete its meaning.
• mishPachat ("[the] clan of", H4940) — feminine singular construct, "clan/family of," repeated twice in the verse to introduce each named group descending from an individual ancestor.
• chevRi ("Heberite[s]", H2277) — a gentilic noun formed from the personal name Heber (Chever, H2268G), marked with the definite article ha (H9009), indicating "the Heberite" as a collective clan designation.
• malki'eLi ("Malchielite[s]", H4440) — gentilic form built from the personal name Malkiel (H4439), likewise definite, naming the clan descended from him.
• Chever ("Heber", H2268G) and Malki'El ("Malkiel", H4439) — proper names of individuals, each introduced by the preposition le ("of/to," H9005), marking them as the head of the clan that follows.

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence is built entirely on construct chains and prepositional phrases, without a finite verb. It opens with liv.Nei Veri'Ah ("of the descendants of Beriah," H1121G/H1283G), establishing the genealogical frame. Within that frame, two parallel micro-units appear, each following the same pattern: preposition le + personal name + mishPachat ("clan of") + definite gentilic noun. This structure — "to Heber, the clan of the Heberite; to Malkiel, the clan of the Malchielite" — mirrors the standard formula used throughout Numbers 26 to move from an ancestor's name to the named clan attributed to him.

The gentilic nouns chevRi and malki'eLi are morphologically derived from the personal names Chever and Malki'El by the addition of the gentilic ending, a common Hebrew mechanism for turning a personal or place name into a collective/clan designation. The definite article on both gentilic forms (ha-chevRi, ha-malki'eLi) marks them as specific, known clan-groups within the broader listing, not general descriptive terms.

Differences between versions

The Vulgate (VULCLEM) renders the same two-part structure but shifts the preposition pattern: "Heber, a quo familia Heberitarum" ("Heber, from whom [comes] the family of the Heberites"), making explicit a causal/derivational relationship that the Hebrew construct chain leaves implicit through juxtaposition alone. The Greek text supplied (LXXSWETE) does not correspond to this verse's content — it reads as a summary census formula ("these are the sons according to their families, from their numbering, thirty-five thousand five hundred"), which addresses population totals rather than the Beriah/Heber/Malkiel genealogy found in the Hebrew and Vulgate here.