Numbers 27:9

Summary

Numbers 27:9 states the second case in a legal sequence about inheritance: if a deceased man has no daughter, his inheritance is to be given to his brothers. The verse continues a conditional chain begun in the preceding verses, moving from "no son" to "no daughter" as the trigger for the next inheritance rule.

Key words

• 'im ("if", H0518A) — conditional particle introducing the hypothetical case that governs the verse.
• 'ein ("not", H0369) — a construct-form negative existential noun, literally "there is not of," used here to deny possession ("he has no...").
• bat ("a daughter", H1323G) — feminine singular noun, the specific condition being negated.
• netatem ("you will give", H5414G) — Qal sequential perfect, 2nd person masculine plural; this verb form continues the narrative sequence begun by earlier verses, functioning like a future/imperative in legal instruction addressed to a group (likely Moses and the community, or those administering the law).
• nachalat ("inheritance of", H5159) — feminine singular construct noun, directly bound to the following pronominal suffix, meaning "his inheritance."

What the text says

The verse opens with the conjunction ve ("and", H9002) attached to 'im ("if", H0518A), forming "and if," which links this clause to the prior verse's conditional about a son. The negation 'ein (H0369) is grammatically a construct noun meaning "absence of," combined with the prepositional phrase lo ("to him", H9005+H9033) to produce the idiomatic "he has no" — literally "there is no [daughter] to him." The object of this negated existence is bat ("daughter", H1323G).

The apodosis begins with the narrative vav (H9001) prefixed to netatem (H5414G), a sequential perfect verb in the 2nd person masculine plural. This verbal form ties the clause to the ongoing sequence of instructions and carries a directive force ("you shall give"), addressed to multiple hearers rather than a single addressee. The direct object is marked by 'et (H0853) followed by nachalat (H5159), a construct noun meaning "inheritance of," bound to the suffix "his" (H9023), yielding "his inheritance." This inheritance is then directed le'echayv ("to his brothers"), where 'echayv ("brothers", H0251G) is a masculine plural construct noun with a possessive suffix.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders 'echayv ("his brothers", plural) as τῷ ἀδελφῷ αὐτοῦ, "to his brother" (singular), differing from the Hebrew plural form. The Vulgate restructures the clause syntactically: "habebit successores fratres suos" ("he will have his brothers as successors"), framing the brothers as the subject who inherit rather than as the indirect object receiving the inheritance, as in the Hebrew construction with netatem ("you will give").