Numbers 33:32

Summary

This verse records one stage in the wilderness itinerary of the Israelites, stating that they departed from Bene-jaakan and set up camp at Hor-haggidgad. It follows the standard formulaic pattern used throughout Numbers 33 to list successive stopping points.

Key words

• va-yis'u ("and they set out", H5265) — qal narrative verb, third person masculine plural, marking sequential action ("and then they set out").
• mi ("from", H9006) — preposition indicating the point of departure, attached to the place name.
• Bene-Ya'akan ("Bene-jaakan", H1142G) — proper name of a location, marking the starting point of this stage.
• va-yachanu ("and they encamped", H2583) — qal narrative verb, third person masculine plural, parallel in form to va-yis'u, marking the resulting action ("and then they camped").
• Chor ha-Gidgad ("Hor-haggidgad", H2735) — proper name of a location, marking the destination.

What the text says

The verse follows a fixed two-part structure typical of the itinerary list in Numbers 33: a departure clause (va-yis'u mi-X, "and they set out from X") followed by an arrival clause (va-yachanu be-X, "and they encamped at X"). Both verbs, va-yis'u and va-yachanu, are qal narrative forms with the vav-consecutive construction, which chains each stage of the journey to the previous one in strict sequence. This grammatical parallelism reinforces the repetitive, list-like character of the passage, where each verse names a departure point and an arrival point without further narrative elaboration.

The preposition mi ("from", H9006) before Bene-Ya'akan marks the place left behind, while the preposition be ("at", H9003) before Chor ha-Gidgad marks the location where the encampment occurred. The place name Chor ha-Gidgad is a compound name, rendered by the two Hebrew elements Chor and ha-Gidgad.

Differences between versions

The Septuagint renders Bene-Ya'akan as Βαναία (Banaia), a transliteration variant of the Hebrew name. It also translates Chor ha-Gidgad as "the mountain of Gadgad" (εἰς τὸ ὄρος Γαδγάδ), treating Chor not as part of the proper name but interpreting it with the sense of "mountain," differing from the Hebrew, which presents Chor ha-Gidgad as a single place name without an explicit term for "mountain." The Vulgate similarly reads "montem Gadgad" ("mountain of Gadgad"), following the same interpretive pattern as the LXX. Modern translations such as BSB render the Hebrew name directly as "Hor-haggidgad," preserving it as a compound proper noun rather than translating Chor as "mountain."