Numbers 3:35

Summary

The verse names the leader of the Merarite clans, Zuriel son of Abihail, and specifies that the Merarites were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle. It follows the pattern established for other Levitical clans in this chapter, combining a leadership designation with a spatial directive.

Key words

• nasi ("leader of", H5387A) — masculine singular construct noun, linking to "house of a father" to indicate the specific office of clan chief.
• beit-av ("house of a father", H1004M + H0001G) — construct chain denoting a paternal lineage group, the organizational unit of the clan.
• Merari ("Merarite", H4848) — proper name marking the specific Levitical clan (descendants of Merari) under discussion.
• yachanu ("they will encamp", H2583) — qal imperfect, third person plural, expressing an ongoing or future action: the encampment arrangement as a standing instruction.
• tzafonah ("northward", H6828G + H9011) — noun with directional he suffix, explicitly indicating motion or orientation toward the north.

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence opens with a construct chain: nasi ("leader of", H5387A) beit ("house of", H1004M) av ("a father", H0001G) le-mishpechot ("of the clans of", H4940) Merari ("Merarite", H4848). This chain identifies the office—leader of the paternal house for the Merarite clans—before naming the person who holds it: Tzuriel ben Avichayil ("Zuriel son of Abihail", H6700 + H1121A + H0032G). The construct structure means the title and lineage are established first, and the personal name follows as the referent, a pattern consistent with the surrounding verses in the chapter.

The second clause shifts to spatial instruction: al yerekh ha-mishkan ("at the side of the tabernacle", H5921A + H3409 + H9009 + H4908) sets the location, followed by the verb yachanu ("they will encamp", H2583), a qal imperfect third-person plural form that can carry either future or habitual/ongoing force. The final word tzafonah ("northward", H6828G) carries the directional he suffix (H9011), which grammatically marks orientation toward the north rather than simply naming it as a location—a nuance not distinguished in translations that render it simply as "north" or "al aquilón."

Differences between versions

The LXX renders nasi ("leader of", H5387A) with archōn and structures the clause slightly differently, placing "the leader of the house of the paternal clan of the district of Merari" before the name, without the same construct-chain compactness of the Hebrew. The Vulgate condenses the leadership title entirely, beginning simply with Princeps eorum ("their leader"), omitting the explicit reference to "house of a father" and "clans" found in the Hebrew construct chain.