Numbers 27:16

Summary

Numbers 27:16 records Moses' request that Yehovah appoint a successor to lead the congregation. The verse identifies Yehovah with a specific title — "God of the spirits of all flesh" — before asking for a man to be set over the community.

Key words

• yifqod ("let him appoint", H6485J) — qal imperfect, third person masculine singular; expresses a wish or request for future/ongoing action, hence "let him appoint" rather than a flat statement.
• Elohei ("God of", H0430G) — masculine plural noun in construct state, linking directly to the following noun to form a title, "God of...".
• ha-ruchot ("the spirits", H7307G) — feminine plural noun with definite article, the object of the construct chain begun by Elohei.
• kol-basar ("all flesh", H3605 + H1320) — construct phrase, "all" governing "flesh," extending the divine title to cover the totality of living beings.
• ish ("a man", H0376G) — masculine singular noun, indefinite, the direct object that the verb yifqod seeks to place "over the congregation."

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence opens with the verb yifqod ("let him appoint," H6485J) in the imperfect, which in this context carries a jussive/petitionary sense — a request addressed to Yehovah rather than a simple future statement. The subject, Yehovah (H3068G), is immediately followed by a construct chain: Elohei ha-ruchot le-khol-basar — literally "God of the spirits of all flesh." This chain stacks three elements (Elohei, ha-ruchot, le-khol-basar) into a single extended title describing Yehovah's relationship to all living beings.

After this title, the object ish ("a man," H0376G) appears without a definite article, marking it as an unspecified individual — someone yet to be designated — who is to be placed al ha-edah ("over the congregation," H5921A + H5712), the community as a defined, bounded group (marked by the definite article on edah).

The construct chain's grammar means the title "God of the spirits of all flesh" functions as one continuous phrase modifying Yehovah, rather than two separate ideas.

Differences between versions

The Septuagint (LXXSWETE) renders the construct chain with a conjunction, "ὁ θεὸς τῶν πνευμάτων καὶ πάσης σαρκὸς" ("the God of the spirits and of all flesh"), inserting "καὶ" ("and") where the Hebrew has an unbroken construct chain ha-ruchot le-khol-basar without a conjunction. The Vulgate ("Deus spirituum omnis carnis") follows the Hebrew construct structure more closely, without an added conjunction. The LXX also adds "ταύτης" ("this") to "συναγωγῆς" ("congregation"), a demonstrative not present in the Hebrew ha-edah ("the congregation").