Numbers 33:18

Summary

The verse records one stage in the wilderness itinerary of the Israelites: departure from Hazeroth and encampment at Rithmah. It follows the standard formulaic pattern used throughout Numbers 33 to list stations of the journey.

Key words

• va-yis'u ("and they set out", H5265) — qal narrative verb (vav-consecutive), marking sequential action: "and then they set out."
• me-Chatzerot ("from Hazeroth", H2698) — preposition me ("from", H9006) plus the proper place name, indicating point of departure.
• va-yachanu ("and they encamped", H2583) — qal narrative verb, parallel in form to va-yis'u, continuing the chain of sequential events.
• be-Ritmah ("at Rithmah", H7575) — preposition be ("at", H9003) plus the proper place name, indicating point of arrival.

What the text says

The verse is built on two parallel clauses, each following the same grammatical pattern: a narrative (vav-consecutive) verb + prepositional phrase with a place name. This structure — verb of departure with min ("from") followed by verb of encampment with be ("at") — recurs throughout Numbers 33 as the formula for recording each stage of the wilderness march. Both verbs, va-yis'u ("they set out", H5265) and va-yachanu ("they encamped", H2583), are third-person masculine plural qal forms, referring to the collective group (Israel) without the subject being restated, since it is understood from the surrounding narrative context of the chapter.

The syntax is economical: no additional description, time reference, or explanation is added beyond the two place names and the two verbs. This terse, list-like style is characteristic of the itinerary genre in this chapter, where each verse typically names a departure point and an arrival point in sequence, forming a chain of travel stations.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew place names Chatzerot (H2698) and Ritmah (H7575) are transliterated with minor phonetic variation across versions: the LXX renders them as Hasērōth and Rhathama, and the Vulgate as Haseroth and Rethma. These are transliteration differences reflecting each version's phonetic adaptation of the Hebrew proper names, not differences in meaning or grammatical structure. The verbal structure (departure/encampment) is preserved consistently across the Hebrew, LXX, and Vulgate.