Numbers 32:31

Summary

Numbers 32:31 records the response of the descendants of Gad and Reuben, who affirm that they will act according to what Yehovah has spoken to "your servants." The verse is structured as a direct quotation introduced by a verb of speech, followed by a relative clause and a concluding statement of compliance.

Key words

• va-ya'anu ("and they answered", H6030B) — qal narrative form, masculine plural, advancing the story with a collective response from both tribal groups.
• le'mor ("saying", H0559) — qal infinitive construct, the standard formula introducing direct speech in Biblical Hebrew narrative.
• dibber ("he has spoken", H1696G) — piel perfect, third person masculine singular; the piel stem marks intensive/factitive speech, and the perfect aspect indicates a completed action prior to the moment of response.
• avadeikha ("your servants", H5650 + H9021) — masculine plural construct noun with second-person masculine singular pronominal suffix, "your servants," referring to the addressee (Moses) rather than to the speakers themselves in the third person.
• na'aseh ("we will do", H6213A) — qal imperfect, first person plural, expressing future or ongoing action: "we will do" or "we will keep doing."

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence opens with the narrative verb va-ya'anu ("and they answered", H6030B), whose subject is compound: bnei-Gad ("descendants of Gad", H1121G + H1410G) and u-vnei Re'uven ("and descendants of Reuben", H9002 + H1121G + H7205). The speech itself is introduced by le'mor ("saying", H0559), a standard infinitive marker for direct discourse.

The quoted content contains a relative clause built with asher ("that which", H0834A) governing the verb dibber ("he has spoken", H1696G), whose subject is YHWH (H3068G) and whose object is el-avadeikha ("to your servants", H0413 + H5650 + H9021). Notably, the phrase "your servants" uses a second-person singular suffix, meaning the speakers (Gad and Reuben) refer to themselves in the third person as addressed by an implied "you" — likely Moses, per the narrative context — rather than saying "us."

The main clause concludes with ken na'aseh ("thus we will do", H3651C + H6213A), where ken ("thus", H3651C) points back to the content of the relative clause, and na'aseh (H6213A) is an imperfect form, allowing for a nuance of future or habitual action ("we will do" or "we will keep doing").

Differences between versions

The Hebrew word order lists Gad before Reuben (bnei-Gad... u-vnei Re'uven), while the LXX (Swete) reverses this order, naming υἱοὶ Ῥουβὴν ("sons of Reuben") first and υἱοὶ Γὰδ ("sons of Gad") second. The Vulgate follows the Hebrew order, listing filii Gad before filii Ruben.