Numbers 27:20

Summary

The verse instructs Moses to place some of his hod ("majesty/authority", H1935) upon Joshua, with the stated purpose that the whole congregation of the sons of Israel will listen to him. It functions as the final directive in the commissioning of Joshua as Moses' successor.

Key words

• na.ta.Tah ("you will put", H5414H) — qal sequential perfect, second person masculine singular; continues the chain of instructions God gives to Moses, marking this as the next required action in the sequence.
• hod ("majesty", H1935) — masculine singular noun in construct form ("majesty of"), bound to the suffix -kha ("your"); the construct state ties the majesty specifically to Moses as its source.
• 'a.Lav ("on him", H5921A + suffix) — preposition with third person masculine singular suffix, marking Joshua as the recipient upon whom the majesty is placed.
• yish.me.'U ("they may hear", H8085H) — qal jussive, third person masculine plural; jussive mood expresses purpose/result ("so that they may hear"), governed by the particle le.Ma.'an.
• 'a.Dat ("congregation of", H5712) — feminine singular construct noun, linking to "sons of Israel" and specifying which group is meant.

What the text says

The clause opens with the narrative vav on na.ta.Tah, continuing a sequence of divine commands to Moses (this verb follows earlier instructions in the passage). The verb is a qal sequential perfect, which in Biblical Hebrew narrative chains carries the force of a continued imperative or instruction — "and you shall put."

The object of the giving is expressed through the partitive preposition me ("some of", H9006) attached to hod ("majesty", H1935), meaning Moses transfers only a portion of his hod, not the whole of it. This hod is grammatically bound to Moses via the construct chain hod-kha ("majesty of you"), making explicit that the quality originates with him before being placed 'a.Lav ("on him") — onto Joshua.

The purpose clause is introduced by le.Ma.'an ("so that", H4616), a subordinating particle that governs the jussive verb yish.me.'U ("they may hear/obey", H8085H). The subject of this jussive is kol-'adat bene Yisra'el ("all the congregation of the sons of Israel"), built through a double construct chain: 'adat ("congregation of") governs bene ("sons of"), which governs Yisra'el. This layered construct structure specifies the totality and identity of the group whose obedience is the stated goal of transferring the hod.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders hod ("majesty", H1935) as doxēs ("glory"), a broader term than the Hebrew's specific "majesty/authority" nuance. The Vulgate expands the verse by adding "præcepta cunctis videntibus" ("precepts before all who see"), a phrase with no corresponding element in the Hebrew text, alongside "partem gloriæ tuæ" ("a part of your glory") for hod.