Numbers 33:30

Summary

Numbers 33:30 records one stage in the wilderness itinerary of the Israelites: they departed from Hashmonah and set up camp at Moseroth. The verse follows the standard two-verb formula used throughout Numbers 33 to mark successive stopping points.

Key words

• va-yis'u ("and they set out", H5265) — qal verb with narrative vav, third person masculine plural; marks sequential action ("and then they set out").
• me-Chashmonah ("from Hashmonah", H2832) — proper place name prefixed with the preposition min ("from", here shortened to me), indicating the point of departure.
• va-yachanu ("and they encamped", H2583) — qal verb with narrative vav, third person masculine plural; parallel in form to va-yis'u, marking the resulting action.
• be-Moserot ("at Moseroth", H4149B) — proper place name prefixed with the preposition be ("at"/"in"), indicating the destination where the encampment occurred.

What the text says

The verse consists of two clauses joined by the narrative vav construction, a pattern typical of Hebrew historical narrative. Each clause follows the same syntactic shape: a converted imperfect verb (va-yis'u, va-yachanu) followed by a prepositional phrase naming a place. The first verb, va-yis'u ("and they set out", H5265), takes the preposition min ("from", H9006) attached to Chashmonah (H2832), establishing the origin of movement. The second verb, va-yachanu ("and they encamped", H2583), takes the preposition be ("at", H9003) attached to Moserot (H4149B), establishing the terminus of movement.

Both verbs are third person masculine plural qal forms, referring to the collective group (Israel) without an explicit subject noun in this verse — the subject is carried over from the surrounding itinerary list. The repetition of this verb pair (yisa / chanah) throughout Numbers 33 creates a formulaic rhythm: departure from one site, arrival and encampment at the next. This verse contains no additional narrative content beyond the place names and the two movement verbs; it is a purely itinerary notice.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders Chashmonah (H2832) as Σελμωνά (Selmōná) and Moserot (H4149B) as Μασσουρώθ (Massourōth), both differing in transliteration from the Hebrew consonantal forms. The Vulgate uses Hesmona and Moseroth, the latter matching the Hebrew form closely, while Hesmona diverges slightly from Chashmonah. These are differences in proper-name transliteration across textual traditions, not differences in the verbs or grammatical structure of the verse.